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This Week in MLS

April 5, 2011 - Major League Soccer (MLS) News Release


Real Salt Lake chase history in Costa Rica

Real Salt Lake are bidding to become the first MLS team in more than a decade to reach the final of the CONCACAF region ‚¬â„¢s international club competition when they take on Deportivo Saprissa in the second leg of their semifinal series Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on FOX Soccer. The only other MLS clubs to reach a CONCACAF final ‚¬" LA Galaxy (1997 and 2000) and D.C. United (1999) ‚¬" did so before the first FIFA Club World Cup and before the tournament format was expanded in 2008.

RSL hold a 2-0 advantage over Saprissa after the first leg. The winner of the series will take on the winner of the all-Mexican semifinal between Monterrey and Cruz Azul, which concludes Wednesday night in Mexico City.

Real Salt Lake forward Álvaro Saborío scored 95 goals in 149 gameds for Saprissa from 2002-2005 and Saprissa defender Douglas Sequiera played for RSL in 2006.

Real Salt Lake ‚¬â„¢s all-time record in meaningful international competitions is now 6-1-2, but they face the intimidating atmosphere at ‚¬Å“The Monster ‚¬â„¢s Cave, ‚¬Â where MLS clubs are 1-6-1 in official competitions. All-time in Central America, MLS clubs are 5-21-8 in official competitions.

Quotables

‚¬Å“That came purely from the energy from the crowd. You can really drive yourself and your team off of that. This city is a great hotbed for soccer. ‚¬Â

-- Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Wes Knight, to the Vancouver Sun, after the team ‚¬â„¢s comeback vs. Sporting Kansas City

‚¬Å“We ‚¬â„¢re good enough. De Rosario was the last piece for us. ‚¬Â

-- New York Red Bulls coach Hans Backe on the acquisition of Dwayne De Rosario from Toronto FC

‚¬Å“It looks like that TFC has not treated him well, and it ‚¬â„¢s not true. We have treated him well. And we ‚¬â„¢ve given him a good offer. At the end he was not happy because he wants to be a DP. We have tried everything to make him a DP, but at the end, no. It was like that at a certain moment, he was also not happy and he asked to be traded. And that ‚¬â„¢s the real story. ‚¬Â

-- Toronto FC coach Aron Winter on the Dwayne De Rosario trade

"Yesterday [Yallop] goes, "Khari, you're going to have the goal of the season -- a 35-yard bomb.' And then I said, 'And then I'm going to be the leading goal scorer (this season),' and so I did one. Now I'm working on the second part."

-- San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Khari Stephenson, after scoring the tying goal vs. Seattle Sounders FC

‚¬Å“Playing professional soccer has always been a dream of mine. I moved to Chicago in 1998 and grew up idolizing Fire players like Razov, Nowak and Klopas and now I ‚¬â„¢m a part of this team. I ‚¬â„¢m thankful to the Fire organization for this unbelievable opportunity. ‚¬Â

-- Fire defender Pari Pantazopoulous, who earned a contract after participating a walk-on tryout.

Sweet Tweets

@SimonBorg ‚¬" March 31

If you haven't already, scroll to 4:32 of this video for a spectacular goal and spine-tingling call by @brendanhannan: http://bit.ly/dYw4p3

@JimmyConrad_com ‚¬" April 1

Soccer Insights with Jimmy Conrad: If your child plays soccer, please don't yell 'KICK IT' This impedes development.

@SteveDavis90 ‚¬" April 3

I know saying "card happy" is fashionable. But of 10 cards in LA-PHI, I could argue with maybe one of them. Sometimes it's on the players.

@SteveNash ‚¬" April 3

Anyone have any video of the @WhitecapsFC crowd after the 3 goal comeback' Heard Empire was rockin!! Congrats fellas!

@Dwaynederosario ‚¬" April 3

Thanks for all the support from my TFC fans. Wish you all the best for the season and thanks for the warm welcome in last night ‚¬â„¢s game in NY.

All credit to @3dimes RT @MLSConvert: If you haven't seen the #CCL behind the scenes videos of #RSL ... Very well done:

@DaxMcCarty10 - April 3

From 80° down to 39° here in Denver within 24 hours making for a dramatic change in my playing attire 4 kickoff...#iheartmothernature

According to the Elias Sports Bureau: More goalkeepers coming from abroad

At age 39, Philadelphia Union ‚¬â„¢s Colombian goalkeeper, Faryd Mondragón, is symbolic of a league-wide trend toward experienced goalkeepers born outside the United States. From 1998 through 2005, 94 percent of MLS matches were started by GKs born in the U.S., including every match during the 2002 season.

Note the rise in average age and the decline in reliance on domestic goalkeepers since 2006:

Category 1998 ‚¬"2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Average age (years.days) 28.013 31.120 29.169 30.314 31.245 31.047 32.219

Percentage born in U.S. 94% 82% 67% 72% 70% 69% 71%

Along with longtime U.S.goalkeepers such as Kevin Hartman, Zach Thornton, and Matt Reis, a number of foreign-born goalkeepers have had success in recent seasons, including Pat Onstad (Canada), Donovan Ricketts (Jamaica), Dario Sala (Argentina), Jimmy Nielsen (Denmark), and now Mondragón.

Week 4 match previews: April6-10, 2011 (all times ET)

Tuesday, April 5

DeportivoSaprissa vs. Real Salt Lake (CONCACAF Champions League), 10 p.m. (FOX Soccer)

· Goals from Alvaro Saborío and Fabian Espindola gave RSL the first-leg victory on March 15 at Rio Tinto Stadium.

· That victory was the third in 17 meetings in official competition for MLS clubs vs. Saprissa (3-8-6). MLS teams are 1-6-1 all-time at Estadio Saprissa.

· The winner of the RSL-Saprissa series will take on the winner of the all-Mexican semifinal between Cruz Azul and Monterrey. Monterrey holds a 2-1 lead after the first leg, with the return match set for Wednesday in Mexico City. The finals will be held April 20 and 27.

· Two MLS clubs have won the highest continental club honor: D.C. United (1998) and the LA Galaxy (2000).

Wednesday, April 6

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. New England Revolution, 10 p.m. (TSN)

· Whitecaps FC became the fourth club in MLS history to overcome a deficit of three goals to gain a point, matching the largest in MLS history. All four matches ended in draws.

· The pair of goals in stoppage time marked the sixth time two or more goals were scored in added time to gain a result, one shy of the record. On July 27, 2003, D.C. United scored three goals in stoppage time to overturn a 2-1 deficit for a 4-2 win against the New England Revolution.

· Since 2005, the Revs are undefeated ‚¬" 5-0-3 ‚¬" in their first meeting against expansion or relocated teams, including last weekend ‚¬â„¢s 1-1 draw against Portland at home.

· The Revolution have scored four goals this season ‚¬" all in the first half. Against Portland, Stephen McCarthy ‚¬â„¢s first MLS goal came in the 22nd minute ‚¬" the latest of the four.

Friday, April 8

FC Dallas vs. Colorado Rapids, 9 p.m. (FOX Soccer)

· The game is a rematch of MLS Cup 2010, which the Rapids won 2-1 in extra time at Toronto ‚¬â„¢s BMO Field. The teams played to draws in both league meetings last season.

· Newcomer Caleb Folan earned a spot on the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week for scoring two goals in the 4-1 win against D.C. United, in his second consecutive start as Omar Cummings returned from international duty. Cummings came on in the second half and scored the fourth goal.

· The Rapids are the only team with 9 points from 3 matches. Real Salt Lake, who had last weekend off, is the only other club with an unblemished record (2-0-0).

· FC Dallas has just one point in three matches. But they got off to a slow start a year ‚¬" opening 1-4-0, and winning just twice in the first 19 games ‚¬" before reeling off a 19-game league unbeaten streak.

Saturday, April 9

Seattle Sounders FC vs. Chicago Fire, 4 p.m.

· The Fire had last weekend off, but played in a U.S. Open Cup match at midweek, defeating the Colorado Rapids 2-1 behind a goal from rookie Jalil Anibaba.

· Sounders FC striker Fredy Montero missed the San Jose game after undergoing wrist surgery earlier in the week, but coach SigiSchmid said he is day-to-day.

· In each of the Fire ‚¬â„¢s two games this season, Gaston Puerari has suffered a foul from which an opponent has been sent off.

· The Fire have never defeated Sounders FC. Seattle won both meetings last season, a 2-1 win at Qwest Field and a 1-0 victory at Toyota Park; the teams played to two draws in the Sounders FC inaugural season.

Philadelphia Union vs. New York Red Bulls, 7 p.m. (ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/ESPN3.com)

· The shortest distance between any two MLS stadiums is the 106 miles between Red Bull Arena and PPL Park. Travelling Red Bull fans are likely to add volume to an already noisy PPL Park.

· After arriving earlier in the day following the blockbuster trade with Toronto FC, Dwayne De Rosario made his Red Bulls debut, coming on at halftime of the 1-1 draw with Houston. He didn ‚¬â„¢t take long to make his mark, setting up Dane Richards ‚¬â„¢ 47th-minute goal.

· Leonardo ‚¬â„¢s goal, the only one in the weekend loss to the LA Galaxy, snapped the Union shutout streak to start the season at 213 minutes. Union became the final team in MLS to concede a goal this season.

· The teams split their two league meetings in Union ‚¬â„¢s expansion campaign, each winning 2-1 at home. The Red Bulls also dumped Philadelphia out of the U.S. Open Cup with a 2-1 victory.

D.C. United vs. LA Galaxy, 7:30 p.m.

· Donovan Ricketts, the 2010 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, and Best XI honoree Omar Gonzalez made their first starts for the Galaxy in the 1-0 win against Philadelphia after missing the first two games due to injury.

· United were without striker Charlie Davies in the 4-1 loss at Colorado; he missed the trip with a groin injury. Davies had scored goals in each of United ‚¬â„¢s first two games.

· The Galaxy are on a five-game unbeaten streak against United. D.C. last won June 29, 2008; LA has won three of the five meetings since, including 2-1 victories in both contests last season.

· Landon Donovan has scored 14 goals, along with 3 assists, in 18 career games vs. D.C. United.

New England Revolution vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m.

· RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando was named the MLS Player of the Month for March; New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph continued his sharp form and was named to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week.

· Real Salt Lake won both meetings a season ago, including a 5-0 win at Rio Tinto Stadium.

· Real ‚¬â„¢s win at Gillette Stadium, a 2-1 victory Oct. 2, 2010, was their first in New England since 2007.

· Both clubs will come off midweek road games, the Revolution with a cross-country trip to take on Vancouver Whitecaps FC, and Real with a cross-continent trip to play Costa Rica ‚¬â„¢s Deportivo Saprissa in the CONCACAF Champions League.

Chivas USA vs. Columbus Crew, 10:30 p.m.

· Alejandro Moreno returned to the Chivas USA lineup after international duty, and scored his first goal for the club.

· Moreno ‚¬â„¢s goal came in the 2nd minute, after Chivas USA had been shut out in their previous two matches.

· Seconds after coming on as a substitute in the 2-0 win against FC Dallas, Jeff Cunningham had a glorious opportunity, but fired his effort into the side netting. Cunningham is still one shy of Jaime Moreno ‚¬â„¢s MLS career record 133 regular-season goals.

· Neither team has won on the road in the series since 2005, Chivas USA ‚¬â„¢s inaugural season, when the teams split their two games. Chivas USA have won the last four meetings at The Home Depot Center.

San Jose Earthquakes vs. Toronto FC, 10:30 p.m.

· Simon Dawkins, acquired on loan from Tottenham Hotspur just before the start of the season, scored his first MLS goal in the 2-2 draw with Seattle and also made the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week.

· TFC coach Aron Winter put both players he acquired from the New York Red Bulls in the blockbuster deal for Dwayne De Rosario ‚¬" Tony Tchani and Danleigh Borman ‚¬" into the starting lineup against Chivas USA.

· TFC Designated Player Julian de Guzman also made his 2011 season debut, coming on at halftime. Earlier in the week he said he was still a couple of weeks away from recovering from off-season surgery.

· The road teams won both meetings a season ago, TFC winning 3-1 at Buck Shaw Stadium on May 29, and the Quakes winning 3-2 on Sept. 25 at BMO Field.

Sunday, April 10

Houston Dynamo vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 7 p.m. (Galavision)

· Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall made a career-high nine saves against New York, bettering his previous high set last season against Seattle. He also recorded his first career assist on the Dynamo goal.

· Dynamo striker Brian Ching left the draw with New York in the 39th minute with a rib injury.

· Starting in place of suspended forward Eric Hassli on Saturday, Vancouver ‚¬â„¢s Camilo scored twice in stoppage time to lift his team to a 3-3 tie. Camilo was named MLS Player of the Week.

· Both teams will come into the match after midweek assignments. Whitecaps FC will take on the New England Revolution on Wednesday at home at Empire Field, while the Dynamo will be facing Sporting Kansas City in a U.S. Open Cup play-in match in College Station, Texas.

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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