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Let the Rivalries Roll - This Week in MLS

August 25, 2014 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


This past weekend offered a heated rivalry in the form of the Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders FC. This week will offer a bit of the same, but with an East Coast flavor. After beating Sporting Kansas City over the weekend, D.C. United is now atop the Eastern Conference standings and will square off against longtime rival New York Red Bulls on Sunday, August 31 at 2:30 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. The last time these two teams met, D.C. United took the spoils in a 1-0 victory at RFK Stadium.

New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips extended his lead in the Budweiser Golden Boot race with two goals against the Montreal Impact on Saturday. The brace put him into the club's history books having set the record for goals in a single season with 20. The record was previous held by Juan Pablo Angel who scored 19 goals in 2007. With ten regular season games to go, Wright-Phillips is also in serious contention to match and/or surpass the all-time MLS single season scoring record of 27 goals currently co-held by Roy Lassiter and Chris Wondolowski.

The Red Bulls start their busy week with their first CONCACAF Champions League match as they host C.D. FAS from the Salvadorian Primera Division on Tuesday, August 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET on Fox Sports 2. D.C. United also have a mid-week match to contend with as they travel to Los Angeles to play the LA Galaxy on Wednesday, August 27 at 10:30 p.m. ET.

U.S. World Cup Star Jermaine Jones Signs with New England Revolution

If it was not interesting enough, the playoff race in the Eastern Conference just kicked up a notch as the New England Revolution signed Jermaine Jones as the fourth Designated Player in club history. The U.S. International midfielder won the hearts of fans with his gritty performances during the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Jones started all four games in Brazil, tallying a goal and an assist to help the U.S. Men's National Team reach the Round of 16. In a storied 14-year career, Jones has made stops throughout Europe, having played with Bundesliga sides Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen and FC Schalke 04, Blackburn Rovers of the English Premier League and Turkish Super Lig team Besiktas. Jones will be presented in a press conference at Gillette Stadium at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 26.

National MLS Broadcasts

Friday, August 29

Sporting Kansas City vs. Houston Dynamo, 8:00 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

Saturday, August 30

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Portland Timbers, 10:30 p.m. ET (TSN2)

Sunday, August 31

D.C. United vs. New York Red Bulls, 2:30 p.m. ET (NBCSN)

Chivas USA vs. LA Galaxy, 8:00 p.m. ET (UDN)

Sweet Tweets

@amobisays - August 22 - Amobi Okugo, Philadelphia Union

Top 5 list of who you'd love to two foot tackle list by the Mls players would be really funny...pretty sure I might make top 20

@Matt_Hedges - August 23 - Matt Hedges, FC Dallas

People who get Chipotle and proceed to eat it in their car while sitting directly outside of the restaraunt, I don't understand you. #why

@DaxMcCarty11 - Aug 22 - Dax McCarty, New York Red Bulls

Sometimes, when driving through the streets of NYC, I get the sudden urge to reach out and high 5 people trying to hail a cab.

@TonyTchani23 - August 24 - Tony Tchani, Columbus Crew

Damn Nicki Minaj

that thing tho!! #Unreal #ThatAnacondaTho

"@2Fast2Farrell - August 24 - Andrew Farrell, New England Revolution

#BeardGameProper pic.twitter.com/yItDdGFbop

"@Ddwyer14 - August 24 - Dom Dwyer, Sporting Kansas City

Big WWE @JohnCena fans #YouCantSeeMe @b_feilhaber22 pic.twitter.com/hQEg6OAecE

@natborchers - August 24 - Nat Borchers, Real Salt Lake

Another awesome brunch courtesy of @parkcafeslc. Thanks guys! @randazzle18 pic.twitter.com/l6e3yu4vEj

"@BakySoumare - August 24 - Bakary Soumare, Chicago Fire

@QuincyAmarikwa @sjohn25 #quincytime pic.twitter.com/Psxm7IzAqS

Quotables

"He's committed. He understands what it takes to get to the next level. Now he's in a place where he has not been before and he is experiencing that. Now he's feeling it, and he understands that he will be the one to raise his own bar and keep going up. He's young. We forget that he's young - he's just 22. But Fabian has embraced this program and this project and that's great. It's a long way to go, it's a long journey. He knows."

FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja on Fabian Castillo's recent form

"The key is the group. I'm blessed to coach them; I'm honored to coach them. It's a gift from up there for me. It's very easy to coach these guys, to be honest. Their heart is there all the time. They empty [themselves in] every training; they empty themselves in every game. They make it easy. My job is easy because of the group that I have."

FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja on how much he has enjoyed coaching his team this season

"This isn't last year, it's a different group, it's a different team, there's a different attitude. This team knows what they want. Right now we're still on top in the Supporters Shield, we're still on top in the Western Conference, we're in an Open Cup final, and we still are looking at playoffs ahead of us. Germans always say "˜We're still dancing at three weddings.' "

Seattle Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid on his team's attitude towards this season

"This is a great opportunity for us to add one of the best players in the United States to our club. We thought Jermaine was the best player for the U.S. in the World Cup and we are excited to welcome him to New England. Robert and I have always said that any major DP signing would need to make an impact, on and off the field, and we believe the addition of Jermaine will do just that. When we learned that he was interested in signing with MLS, we immediately informed the league of our interest. He is a dynamic player and is certain to have a tremendous impact on our team and in our community. We look forward to his many contributions."

New England Revolution investor/operator Jonathan Kraft on signing U.S. International Jermaine Jones

"It's been a dream season so far. But I've been very fortunate having a top-class player beside me."

New York Red Bulls forward Bradley Wright-Phillips on playing alongside Thierry Henry

"He makes us better. When you talk about what he does during the 90 minutes, he breaks up plays, wins tackles, covers ground, sits in a good position, is a good distributor of the ball and he's tireless."

Houston Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear on what Luis Garrido brings to the team

"That one we feel very, very strongly about. We already have a plan in place to get an academy started as quickly as possible. We already have eight affiliate clubs around the New York City area that will feed into that academy. We have a long-term plan there. We have a short-term plan and we believe that it is absolutely vital for MLS teams going forward to get involved in the youth marketplace and to develop your own players that can be part of your club for a long time going forward. As I touched on earlier, if the side product of that is that we're creating U.S. youth national team players and full U.S. national team players, then that is an excellent thing as well. It's very high on our list and something we're going to be very focused on doing an excellent job at."

NYC FC head coach Jason Kreis on the clubs attitude towards building their youth academy

Week 25 Game Previews

Wednesday, Aug. 27

LA Galaxy vs. D.C. United, 10:30 p.m.

"¢ Robbie Keane set up both Galaxy goals in their 2-0 win Saturday night vs. Vancouver. He now has 11 assists for the season to tie for the MLS league lead; he has four assists in the last three games.

"¢ Chris Rolfe, Luis Silva and Fabian EspÃ-ndola all continued their fine form as United rolled to a 3-0 win against Sporting KC on Saturday in matchup of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. Rolfe had a goal and an assist (now with two goals and the assist in the last two games), Silva had two assists (now with two goals and two assists in the last two games), and EspÃ-ndola scored for a second consecutive game in his return from injury.

"¢ The Galaxy have a nine-game unbeaten streak alive vs. United. Since a 4-1 D.C. win in 2008 at RFK Stadium, the Galaxy have won four times with five draws, including a 2-2 tie last Sept. 14 in Washington in the only meeting between the teams.

"¢ United's last win against the Galaxy in Carson came all the way back in 2005, a 1-0 victory on July 23.

Friday, Aug. 29

Sporting Kansas City vs. Houston Dynamo, 8 p.m. (NBCSN)

"¢ The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Soony Saad and Dom Dwyer netted goals in Sporting KC's 2-0 victory, June 6 at BBVA Compass Stadium.

"¢ In league play, the last three meetings at Sporting Park have ended in draws. Sporting has come away with points on their last three league visits to BBVA Compass Stadium, with two wins and a draw.

"¢ The teams have met each of the last three years in the MLS Cup Playoffs, with Sporting winning the Eastern Conference Championship matchup a year ago 2-1 on aggregate. The Dynamo had advanced each of the two previous years, including in 2011 at Sporting Park with a trip to MLS Cup on the line.

"¢ Sporting suffered their heaviest home defeat since the 2010 season in a 3-0 loss to D.C. United on Saturday evening at Sporting Park.

"¢ The Dynamo had their club-record road losing streak extended to seven games in a 3-0 loss at the Columbus Crew on Saturday. The Dynamo are 1-10-1 on their travels, having scored just seven road goals, fewest in MLS this season.

Saturday, Aug. 30

Seattle Sounders FC vs. Colorado Rapids, 4 p.m.

"¢ Obafemi Martins scored a pair of goals - his first goals since netting a brace in a 3-2 win at Chicago on June 7 - in leading Sounders FC to a 4-2 win at the Portland Timbers on Sunday afternoon. The four goals matched the season-high for Sounders FC this year - they've done it twice in games against their arch-rivals at Providence Park.

"¢ The Rapids return to action after conceding four goals for a second consecutive game in their last match, a 4-3 home loss to the LA Galaxy on Aug. 20 when they held a 3-1 lead. The Rapids have allowed 11 goals over their last three games.

"¢ The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Clint Dempsey scored twice and Lamar Neagle and Obafemi Martins also added goals as Sounders FC rolled to a 4-1 win April 26 at CenturyLink Field.

"¢ Sounders FC have not lost to the Rapids in Seattle, in nine meetings in all competitions, including a 2-0 win in the Knockout Round of the MLS Cup Playoffs a year ago.

Toronto FC vs. New England Revolution, 5 p.m.

"¢ Gilberto scored a goal in a fourth consecutive match, netting his sixth goal of the season in TFC's 2-2 draw against the Chicago Fire on Saturday. The TFC club record is five consecutive games with a goal, set by Danny Koevermans (2010) and Dwayne De Rosario (2012).

"¢ Lee Nguyen scored his ninth goal of the season as the Revolution took a 1-0 win against Chivas USA on Saturday evening at Gillette Stadium. Nguyen had scored nine goals total over his first two MLS seasons.

"¢ The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Lee Nguyen's penalty kick in the 84th minute snapped a late deadlock and gave the Revolution a 2-1 win May 3 at BMO Field.

"¢ It was the Revolution's first victory ever at BMO Field, with two losses and five draws in their first seven all-time visits. But the Revs have taken points on their last four trips to Toronto; the last TFC home win came in 2010.

Montreal Impact vs. Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.m.

"¢ The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Bernardo Anor scored twice in the second half to haul the Crew back from a first-half deficit for a 2-1 victory July 19 at Crew Stadium.

"¢ The Crew have won all four encounters lifetime in Columbus. The Crew won 2-1 last Sept. 14 at Stade Saputo, the only victory by the away team in seven meetings in the all-time series.

"¢ The Crew scored three or more goals for a second consecutive game in rolling to a 3-0 win Saturday against Houston. They had not scored three goals in a game since the season-opening 3-0 win at D.C. United on March 8; the Crew have hit for seven goals in their back-to-back wins.

"¢ Dilly Duka scored his first goal with Montréal since arriving in a trade from Chicago, but the Impact still suffered their fifth consecutive road loss and remained winless away from Stade Saputo in league play with a 4-2 defeat at the New York Red Bulls. Five teams in MLS history have gone winless for the season away from home (the last: D.C. United in 2013).

Chicago Fire vs. FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m.

"¢ FC Dallas extended their undefeated streak to 10 games - their longest since their club-record 19-game run in 2010 when they went to MLS Cup - in their 2-1 home victory against Real Salt Lake on Friday evening.

"¢ Fabian Castillo scored the game-winning goal in the win against RSL, now with a goal and/or assist in seven consecutive league games when he's played, dating back to May 31, with six goals and three assists in that time. Castillo has a goal and/or an assist in his last 11 games in all competitions, scoring four goals and adding three assists in FCD's run to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals.

"¢ Robert Earnshaw made his Fire debut one to remember in his return to Major League Soccer, scoring in the second half as the Fire came back for a 2-2 draw at Toronto FC on Saturday. It was the 14th draw for the Fire this season, just two behind the all-time MLS record set in 2011 by the Fire and the New York Red Bulls.

"¢ The Fire have won the Brimstone Cup - awarded by the two supporters' clubs of the two teams so named when it matched the Fire and the Burn - each of the last two years, following a 3-2 triumph Oct. 12 at Toyota Stadium. It's the club's first wins in the series between the teams since 2001.

"¢ When the Fire won 2-1 at Toyota Park in 2012, it was their first win ever in Bridgeview, their last previous home win coming in 2005. It was also the first for the Fire in the all-time series since 2009.

San Jose Earthquakes vs. Real Salt Lake, 10:30 p.m.

"¢ Chris Wondolowski scored his 10th goal of the season in the Earthquakes' 4-2 loss to Philadelphia on Sunday, his second consecutive game with a goal and his fifth goal in eight games since returning from the World Cup. Wondolowski became just the third player in MLS history to score 10 goals or more in five consecutive seasons.

"¢ Real Salt Lake saw their three-game winning run and six-game undefeated streak overall put to an end in a 2-1 loss at FC Dallas on Friday evening, which left the clubs tied for second place in the Western Conference three points behind leaders Seattle Sounders FC.

"¢ The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Quakes center back Victor Bernardez scored two goals - including a dramatic equalizer five minutes into second-half stoppage time - to leave the teams in a 3-3 draw March 15 at Buck Shaw Stadium.

"¢ The Quakes have won at Rio Tinto Stadium each of the last two seasons, including a 2-1 victory last Sept. 21. All-time at Rio Tinto Stadium, each team has won twice in the all-time series, with three draws.

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. Portland Timbers, 10:30 p.m.

"¢ Whitecaps FC saw their six-game undefeated streak come to an end, shut out at the attacking end for a third time in four games in their 2-0 loss at the LA Galaxy on Saturday evening.

"¢ Fanendo Adi scored a pair of goals for the third time since coming to MLS as the Timbers conceded four goals in a home game for their second time to their arch-rivals, falling 4-2 to Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday afternoon. All six of Adi's MLS goals have come when he's scored multiple goals in a game.

"¢ The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Javier Morales scored twice as Whitecaps FC withstood a second-half charge from the Timbers before taking a 4-3 victory June 1 at Providence Park.

"¢ It was the first victory for Whitecaps FC against the Timbers since the two teams have played in MLS competition. The Timbers had won four of the first eight meetings all-time, including two of the four contests at BC Place.

Sunday, Aug. 31

D.C. United vs. New York Red Bulls, 2:30 p.m. (NBCSN)

"¢ The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Davy Arnaud's goal after just four minutes proved the difference in a 1-0 United victory April 12 at RFK Stadium.

"¢ The United win in the first meeting snapped a Red Bulls a five-game undefeated streak in league play between the teams. United's last previous regular season win vs. New York had come April 22, 2012, a 4-1 triumph at RFK Stadium.

"¢ Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his 19th and 20th goals of the season in the Red Bulls' 4-2 victory Saturday against Montréal, becoming the club's all-time single-season goalscoring leader. It was the fourth two-goal game of the season for Wright-Phillips, who has 19 goals over the last 16 league games.

"¢ Thierry Henry scored multiple goals in a game for the seventh time in his MLS career - the second time in as many seasons vs. Montréal - with his brace Saturday. Henry also recorded his 11th assist of the season, moving into a tie atop the league leaders with LA's Robbie Keane.

Chivas USA vs. LA Galaxy, 8 p.m. (UDN)

"¢ The teams are meeting for the third time this season. On June 8, the Galaxy's Gyasi Zardes and Chivas USA's Erick Torres traded first-half goals as the teams reached a 1-1 draw. Robbie Keane, Stefan Ishizaki and Baggio Husidic all scored as the Galaxy rolled to a 3-0 win April 6.

"¢ The Galaxy now have a seven-game undefeated streak alive against their in-house rivals (5-0-2), and have won 11 of the last 14 league meetings, dating back to 2009. Chivas USA won 1-0 on May 19, 2012, their first victory against the Galaxy since Aug. 23, 2007, snapping an 11-game winless run in SuperClásicos.

"¢ Chivas USA saw their shutout streak extended to 456 minutes in a fifth consecutive blanking, falling 1-0 at New England on Saturday. It's the second-longest goalless drought in club history (601 minutes in 2012), the second-longest in the league this season (Houston, 480 minutes from May 17-July 4) and the 11th-longest such streak in league history.

"¢ Billed as the Last SuperClásico, Landon Donovan has scored 11 goals and added 16 assists in 25 games all-time against Chivas USA. He scored the 140th league goal of his career in the 2-0 win vs. Vancouver on Saturday evening.

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Major League Soccer Stories from August 25, 2014


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