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Columbus Crew Clinch Supporters' Shield; Three Playoff Spots Still Up for Grabs

Published on October 13, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


The Columbus Crew traveled on the road and earned a 2-2 tie versus the Chicago Fire on Sunday. The result coupled with the Houston Dynamo's 0-0 tie versus D.C. United on Sunday gave Columbus the 2008 Supporters' Shield trophy. They are currently 16-6-6 with 54 points and will finish the regular season with the League's best record.

The Chicago Fire clinched a playoff spot and will face the New England Revolution in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. The Fire were 3-0-0 versus the Revs and outscored them 9-1 during the regular season. Also clinching a berth this past weekend was Chivas USA. Los Angeles staved off elimination by defeating the Colorado Rapids 3-2 on Sunday.

Below are the current standings and a key to where each team would stand if the playoffs started today. More playoff race scenarios will be distributed by MLS Communications tomorrow.

MLS Week 30: Oct. 15-19, 2008

(All times Eastern)

Wednesday, October 15

San Jose Earthquakes at Houston Dynamo, 9:00 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

Rescheduled from Sept. 20 due to the city of Houston's recovery from Hurricane Ike, this is the "game in hand" for both teams, but holds particular importance for the Earthquakes who need a win to realistically stay in playoff contention. San Jose is 1-0-1 against the Dynamo this season, but has won just one of its past four MLS games. All five goals in the first two meetings occurred in the second half. Houston gets two strikers back from international duty. Brian Ching played 68 minutes and scored the fourth goal in the United States' 6-1 victory over Cuba, but was not summoned for Wednesday's match in Trinidad. Kei Kamara, traded from San Jose to Houston on July 24, played 90 minutes in Sierra Leone's 4-1 loss at Nigeria on Saturday.

Thursday, October 16

New England Revolution at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN2, Deportes)

- United is winless in its past seven games (0-4-3), but goalkeeper Louis Crayton's standout performance on Sunday helped D.C. United earn a crucial shutout draw in Houston.

- New England has clinched a playoff berth and will face the Chicago Fire in an Eastern Conference Semifinal series.

- New England forward Taylor Twellman hopes to become the fifth player - and the youngest in MLS history - to reach the century mark in goals. He currently has 98 in his career. Along with FC Dallas, D.C. United have been his most frequent victim; Twellman has scored 14 against each team.

- In their two previous meetings with United this season, both at Gillette Stadium, the Revolution earned a tie and a win.

- New England will be looking for a new catalyst for their offense. Steve Ralston, the team's leading scorer (8 goals, 7 assists), suffered a broken fibula on Saturday against Kansas City.

Saturday, October 18

Chicago Fire at Toronto FC, 3:30 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

Toronto FC is clinging to thin hopes of reaching the playoffs and needs a win, plus help from other results, to remain in contention for a wild card berth. Chicago has clinched a playoff spot and will face New England in the first round. Brian McBride's multi-goal game against his former club, the Columbus Crew, was the 10th of his career, but first with the Fire. The other nine were with Columbus. Toronto FC forward Chad Barrett will face his former mates for the first time since being traded from Chicago on July 25 as part of the deal that brought McBride to the Fire. Barrett has four goals and two assists in 11 games with Toronto.

Columbus Crew at New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

Having clinched the Supporters' Shield, will the Crew rest some starters, or play its top lineup to try and extend its unbeaten streak to 10 games? The home team has won each contest in the series this season. New York won 2-0 on April 5 and Columbus won 3-1 on Sept. 18. The all-time series is tied, 20-20-5. With seven goals and 18 assists, midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto has appeared on the scoresheet on 52 percent of the Crew's goals this season despite missing three games due to injury. After hemorrhaging 11 goals in three games, New York got its defense in order in the 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake last week.

San Jose Earthquakes at Kansas City Wizards, 8:00 p.m. (DK, MLSLIVE.tv)

A battle of two teams desperate for points is also the Wizards' final home game of the season. After going on the longest unbeaten streak in MLS so far this season (10 games), San Jose is suddenly winless in three straight league games. Defender Jimmy Conrad could finish the season as the Wizards' leading scorer. But if he does, perhaps the team should award him a golden skull instead of a golden boot. He has scored five of his six goals on headers.

Los Angeles Galaxy at Houston Dynamo, 8:30 p.m. (HDNet)

This is the second meeting of the season between the winners of the last three MLS Cups. They played to a 2-2 draw at The Home Depot Center on April 19. The home team has won just once all-time in the series between the clubs - a 2-1 Houston win June 3, 2006 at Robertson Stadium. The Galaxy have taken points on their last three trips to the Space City (2-0-1), while LA has never defeated Houston at The Home Depot Center. The game will conclude a five-game homestand for the Dynamo, which included three league matches and two games in the CONCACAF Champions League. Edson Buddle scored his 14th goal on Saturday, and along with the 19 goals from Landon Donovan, their combined total of 33 goals is the most by a pair of teammates since Alex Pineda Chacon (19) and Diego Serna (15) hit for 34 in 2001 for the Miami Fusion. The record for two teammates combined is 37 - which came in the league's inaugural season, as Raul Diaz Arce (23) and Steve Rammel (14) did it for D.C. United.

FC Dallas at Real Salt Lake, 9:00 p.m. (FSC, FSE)

This is the third meeting between the teams this season, the first since May, when they split 2-1 decisions within a two-week span as each club won at home. Kenny Cooper will have a chance to set the FC Dallas single-season goal scoring record, and take it away from the man coaching his opponents. RSL coach Jason Kreis scored 18 goals in 1999 for the record, matched this year by Cooper. He has scored FCD's last four goals -three in the 89th minute or later. Cooper enters the week one goal behind the LA Galaxy's Landon Donovan in the race for the Budweiser Golden Boot. The honor could come down to the final week and on the same field, when FCD travels to The Home Depot Center to play LA. After opening Rio Tinto Stadium with a 1-1 draw, RSL will be looking to better the mark of teams in the second game in their new ground, 3-2-1. If RSL defeats FC Dallas and the Colorado Rapids fail to win at Chivas USA on Sunday afternoon. RSL will clinch its first playoff berth in club history.

Sunday, October 19

Colorado Rapids at Chivas USA, 3:00 p.m. (TeleFutura)

This is the team's second meeting of the year. Chivas USA took a 2-1 decision on May 24 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Chivas USA's victory in San Jose on Saturday was their fourth victory in a row, the club record. The Red-and-White had won three games in a row on three separate occasions. A year ago, Chivas has the second-best defensive record in MLS history, conceding just 28 goals in 30 games. Defense has been a reason for their charge up the Western Conference standings: three of the team's eight shutouts this year have come in the last four games. The Rapids had pulled themselves back into a playoff spot with strong defense, allowing just one goal in three games Sept. 4-20. But Colorado has allowed 10 goals in its last three matches, going 1-2-0 to fall out of a wild card spot. Alecko Eskandarian has also been a reason for the Chivas surge. They have scored seven goals in the last four games and he has been involved in five, scoring three and setting up two, including Justin Braun's game-winner against San Jose.

Chicago Fire Forward Brian McBride Wins MLS Player of the Week Award

Brian McBride was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 29 of the 2008 season. McBride scored two goals on Sunday in his club's 2-2 tie with the Columbus Crew, which helped the Fire clinch a berth in the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs. This is McBride's first Player of the Week honor this season and the fifth of his career. It's his first since 2003 when he was a member of the Columbus Crew. McBride and the Fire play Toronto FC on the road on Saturday, Oct. 18 before completing their regular season on Thursday, Oct. 23 versus the New York Red Bulls.

The Major League Soccer Player of the Week is selected each week of the MLS regular season by a panel of journalists from The North American Soccer Reporters (NASR). The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media. More information and membership information can be found at http://www.soccerreporters.com/.

Rio Tinto Stadium Opens in Primetime; Van den Bergh Scores Historic Goal

Real Salt Lake opened the doors of their new stadium Thursday night, in front of a sold out crowd of 20,008. After showing off its majestic scenery and state of the art facilities, Real Salt Lake and New York Red Bull played to a 1-1 draw. Dave van den Bergh christened Rio Tinto with the stadiums first goal in the 31st minute of play. Jamison Olave equalized in the 41st minute, but that's all the home team would get. Van den Bergh is only the second away player to score an inaugural goal on opening night of a new MLS stadium. Toronto FC forward Carlos Ruiz has scored the opening goal in two soccer specific stadiums with two different teams.

Soccer Specific Stadium First Goals:

Crew Stadium

Jeff Cunningham (Columbus Crew) vs. New England, May 15, 1999

Home Depot Center

Carlos Ruiz (LA Galaxy), 2 Goals vs. Colorado Rapids, June 7, 2003

Pizza Hut Park

Carlos Ruiz (FC Dallas), 2 Goals vs. New York Red Bulls, August 6, 2005

Toyota Park

Nate Jaqua (Chicago Fire), 2 Goals vs. New England, June 11, 2006

Dick's Sporting Goods Park

Herculez Gomez (Colorado Rapids) vs. D.C. United, April 4, 2007

BMO Field

Eddie Johnson (Kansas City Wizards) vs. Toronto FC, April 28, 2007

Rio Tinto Stadium

Dave van den Bergh (New York Red Bull) vs. Real Salt Lake, October 8, 2008

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Major League Soccer Stories from October 13, 2008


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