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Schelotto Wins Player of the Week

Published on June 15, 2009 under Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


Columbus Crew forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto Wins MLS Player of the Week for Week 13

Columbus Crew forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto was voted Major League Soccer's Player of the Week for Week 13 of the 2009 season. The reigning Volkswagen MLS MVP netted two goals in the Crew's 2-1 come-from-behind win over Chivas USA, which extended the Crew's unbeaten streak to nine games. He leads all MLS goal scorers with 10 so far this season.

This is Schelotto's seventh-career MLS Player of the Week Award and his first of the 2009 season. El Mellizo "the twin" was the recipient of the Volkswagen MLS MVP award in 2008, his first full season in MLS, in which he notched seven goals and 19 assists. Schelotto has been named SI Latino's Sportsman of the Year and was named the MLS Cup Volkswagen MVP after helping the Crew defeat the New York Red Bulls 3-1 in MLS Cup 2008. Schelotto also has 10 career appearances with the Argentina national team. Read more about Schelotto's Player of the Week Award here.

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.

Houston's Dominic Kinnear leading chase for All-Star Game coaching honors

Dominic Kinnear has the Houston Dynamo running on all cylinders. The Dynamo are unbeaten in 10 matches and Kinnear is now in the driver's seat to be named manager of the MLS side in the 2009 All-Star Game against Everton FC at Real Salt Lake's Rio Tinto Stadium on July 29.

If the Dynamo earn one point in their next two matches -- against Real Salt Lake (6/20) at home and against the Los Angeles Galaxy (6/28) on the road -- it will give Kinnear a 1.866 points per game average and he will represent the Dynamo as the head coach of the MLS squad. The MLS All-Star game coach is awarded to the coach whose team has the best record based on points per game by the close of games on June 28. Kinnear, who played in the League for five years, led the Houston Dynamo to back-to-back MLS Cups in 2006 and 2007.

Dynamo take control in West; D.C. hurdles Chicago; Reigning champs find form

In a weekend that featured seven exciting games, all of which had a winner, the victor of four of the past five MLS Cups made strides in their respective conferences.

The Houston Dynamo took control of the Western Conference defeating intrastate rival FC Dallas, 3-1. The Dynamo got two goals from Cam Weaver, who was recently acquired in a trade with the San Jose Earthquakes. Weaver has made an immediate impact up front for the Dynamo while filling in for injured forward Brian Ching. Since joining the Dynamo, Weaver has two goals and an assist in two games. The victory gave the Dynamo (8-2-3) 27 points and put them in a tie with Chivas USA atop the Western Conference standings; although Houston leads by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.

With their 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire, D.C. United took over as the top team in the Eastern Conference. Jaime Moreno added to his all-time league leading goal tally, scoring his 127th goal and United handed the Fire their first road loss of the season. It was the Fire's third straight loss after starting the season with an 11-game unbeaten streak. The win gives United (5-2-7) 22 points, one more than the Chicago Fire (5-3-6, 21 points) and continues United's assent to the top of the Eastern Conference after failing to qualify for the 2008 MLS Cup playoffs.

Behind a two-goal performance by Guillermo Barros Schelotto, the Columbus Crew have regained their top form despite having a number of players sidelined by injury and suspension. With goalkeeper William Hesmer (back), Frankie Hejduk (hamstring), Brian Carroll (shoulder), and Chad Marshall (red card suspension) all sitting out the Crew's game against Chivas USA, Schelotto shouldered the load to lead the team back from a 1-0 halftime deficit to defeat Chivas USA, 2-1. After failing to win in their first seven matches, the Crew are on a nine-game unbeaten streak and are within striking distance of D.C. United.

2009 SuperLiga Tournament Kicks Off Saturday, June 20

The 2009 edition of SuperLiga is kicks off this Saturday, June 20 in a match between the Chicago Fire and San Luis at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. Following the opener, Tigres UANL will take on Chivas USA at The Home Depot Center in Caron, Calif.

The third annual SuperLiga tournament pits Club Atlas, San Luis, Tigres UANL and Santos Laguna of Mexico's Primera Division against the Chicago Fire, Chivas USA, the Kansas City Wizards and the New England Revolution of MLS.

The tournament extends the passion of the United States-Mexico rivalry. The previous two SuperLiga finals were decided on penalty kicks. Mexico's Pachuca won the inaugural SuperLiga by defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy 1-1 (4-3 on penalty kicks). In the 2008 final, the New England Revolution defeated the Houston Dynamo, 2-2 (6-5 on PKs).

MLS Quotables

Steven Lenhart commenting on Guillermo Barros Schelotto's second goal in yesterday's 2-1 come from behind win over Chivas USA.

"He just knew where to go. I think he hid behind my fro. I knew someone was back there, but I didn't know who. Dude, he's the man."

Freddie Ljungberg on how many great shots they had early in the game and how good it felt to finally score:

"It was great. I mean, I don't know how he kept the ball out...I was about to celebrate, but of course, it was nice when the ball went in, because we were wondering what the hell was going on. We scored, and then we scored a second one. We felt that we could control the game and then we did maybe a sloppy mistake on their goal. And they got back into the game, and we became a bit nervous at the end. But we rode the storm and it was quite nice."

Houston's Head Coach Dominic Kinnear takes notice of their strong Dynamo support:

"It's nice to see a large crowd. Wherever we go, there are pockets of orange but today was a huge gathering. It's nice when people travel. We work hard to get a result for our locker room and the people traveling as well."

Previewing Week 14: June 17-20, 2009

Wednesday, June 17

D.C. United at Seattle Sounders FC, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN2, Deportes)

- This will be the first meeting between the 2009 expansion side and the club with more titles than any in MLS history, D.C. United. On a two-game winning streak, D.C. United have catapulted into first place in the Eastern Conference. Former MLS Most Valuable Player Christian Gomez and MLS All-Time leading scorer Jaime Moreno have sparked the offense, while Josh Wicks has solidified himself as the team's starting goalkeeper. Wicks' save on a McBride penalty kick last week provided the emotional edge that helped United capture the victory over the Fire. Sounders FC, a strong playoff contender in their first season in MLS, is also playing well. Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg provided the scoring in a 2-1 win over San Jose that broke a six-game winless streak in League play.

Saturday, June 20

Los Angeles Galaxy at San Jose Earthquakes, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN2, Deportes)

- The Galaxy's long unbeaten stretch came to an end last week at the feet of Real Salt Lake, while the Earthquakes dropped a close decision 2-1 to Seattle Sounders FC. Both teams will look to rebound in this intrastate rivalry that dates back to the inaugural year of MLS. The teams tied their previous meeting this season 1-1 on April 18 at the Oakland Coliseum. San Jose will look to defeated a depleted Galaxy lineup who will be missing Eddie Lewis due to a red card suspension and Landon Donovan, who is on national team duty. The Quakes welcomed the return of 2008 MLS Newcomer of the Year Darren Huckerby as he scored the only goal for them in their loss last week. He had been sidelined by injury most of the season.

Seattle Sounders FC at New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m. (DK, Match Center)

- The Red Bulls will be glad to return home, where they've notched their only two wins of the season, while Seattle has won once in six road matches. A pair of exciting Colombian forwards meet - New York's Juan Pablo Angel and Seattle's Fredy Montero. A goal by Angel will prevent his second four-game goalless streak of the season and just the third of his MLS career. Montero opened the season with a scintillating two-goal performance in a 3-0 victory over the Red Bulls and a goal in his second MLS game before playing five without scoring. Montero has two goals, two assists, in his past four games.

Columbus Crew at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m. (FSC, FSE)

- The defending MLS Cup Champion Crew stumbled out of the gate, going winless in their first seven games, but the last three in that run were the start of what is now a nine-game unbeaten streak. FC Dallas will look to improve its second half performances, in which they've been outscored 15-5. In the first half, they've outscored their opponents 10-7. Crew talisman Guillermo Barros Schelotto is in top form, with consecutive two-goal outings putting him atop the League with 10 goals this season.

Real Salt Lake at Houston Dynamo, 8:30 p.m. (DK, Match Center)

- Houston leads the all-time series 5-2-2 and they have won every meeting at Robertson Stadium (4-0-0). History will be on the side of the Dynamo, who are the hottest team in Major League Soccer sporting a 10-game unbeaten streak and the best defense in the League (8 goals allowed in 13 games). Real Salt Lake handed the Galaxy their first defeat in 10 games last week led by Yura Movsisyan. The striker has goals in two straight games. Cam Weaver has adapted nicely to the Dynamo's style and has two goals and an assist since coming over from the San Jose Earthquakes in a trade last week.

D.C. United at Colorado Rapids, 9:30 p.m. (DK, Match Center)

- The Rapids sit right in the middle of a strong Western Conference bracket. They traded for veteran forward Pat Noonan during on Monday and will look for him to help offset the absence of Conor Casey, who is with the U.S. national team. This is the first meeting of the season between the clubs. Each team captured a win in 2008, but United still lead the all-time series 14-10-6.

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Major League Soccer Stories from June 15, 2009


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