MLS Week 24 Recap

It was a great deal of fun watching the Taylor Twellman show last night. I guess he was not feeling tired from the US game on Wednesday. Twellman got the hat trick but could have had one or two more. I don't know where the Crew's defense was last night. I have not seen them make that many mistakes in a couple months. I mean how many times did they just pass the ball to the Revs in midfield? But back to Tellman. All three of his goals were nice, but his second one was my favorite. He stumbled over the ball and almost fell on his face, but he retains possession. He then spun around and catapulted one past Crew keeper Jonny Walker. Wonderful show. So do you think New England has a chance at taking the cup this year? NE 3 - Crew 1

It just was not Kansas City's night. They were the better team, but the MetroStars walk away with three points and a chance to make the playoffs. How bad was it for KC? In the 26th minute, Scott Sealy beat the Metro's Jeff Agoos, got past the keeper, put a shot on goal only to have Agoos somehow catch-up to the ball and clear it off the line. The lone goal came right before the half when a free-kicked was not cleared and ended up at Eddie Gaven's feet. He fired it off and it took an odd deflection and found the net. The second half got real interesting in the 65th minute when the Star's Tim Regan got his second yellow in two minutes. With his side down to 10, KC took to banging the ball at the posts. However, most of their shots seemed to take on reflections or were just out of reach of other players. No goal could be found. KC 0 - MetroStars 1

Poor Dallas. Ten games ago they looked like a force and seemed ready to finish the season at home in the MLS Cup. Now, they are thankful they are in a conference with Salt Lake and Chivas because that might just be the only reason they'll be seeing the playoffs this year. DC United has got to be happy with their signing of Argentinean Facundo Erpen. In the 15th minute he set the tone by wildly connecting with a corner kick and sending it past a standing FCD defense. The sad thing is looking at the face of the FCD players. With that goal, they just fell flat. This is a team in deep, deep trouble. They just don't think they can win. Enough psychobabble. Anyway, DC controlled the rest of the half and most of the second. Santino Quaranta got a goal off a pass to the far post by Jamil Walker. It was a great team goal. Late in the match, Ramon Nunez got a smooth streak to cut the lead in half and Dallas had a few more chances in the final moments, but nothing came of it. FCD 1 - DC 2

San Jose and Chivas gave us the best slugfest of the night. It seemed like players were spending more time rolling on the pitch then actually playing on it. Chivas managed to earn 5 yellow cards during the 90 minutes with two of them being against Quakes' Brian Mullan who was not cautioned for a take down he made in the 24th. But beyond all the ultra violence of the match, both teams played they way you would expect. Chivas's defense was absent and keeper Sergio Garcia, who went out due to injury in the 81st, looked spooked between the posts. San Jose's offense was a thing to behold and could have got a few more goals. My favorite of the night was in the 74th when Quakes San Jose's midfielder Ricardo Clark took a feed from De Rosario and made a great run to the Chivas box. Clark took a shot that was reflected right back to him. He then smashed the rebound into the net. San Jose's Brian Ching added a third in the 87th. Chivas is no officially eliminated from the playoffs while San Jose has all but solidified their first place position. San Jose 3 - Chivas 0

This is the way LA is always suppose to play. Herculez Gomez got things started in the seventh minute and then the Rapids' Nat Borchers shot his team in the foot. He got two yellows early (5th and 21st) to earn himself a trip to the locker room. The second foul was just foolish. It didn't take long for LA to take advantage of their advantage when Landon Donovan connected in the 24th to double their lead. Colorado got a goal back a few minutes after the half when Kyle Beckerman nailed a long distance shot into the netting. But that was the best it would be for the Rapids. Herculez Gomez got his second goal of the night in the 66th and Guillermo Ramirez got the final goal of the night off a penalty kick in the 87th. This win put LA in second place in the West.

My Guesses vs. Final Scores
Game (my guess) Final score
New England - Columbus (2-1) 3-1
KC - MetroStars (2-0) 0-1
FC Dallas - DC United (1-2) 1-2
San Jose - Chivas (2-0) 3-0
LA - Colorado (2-1) 4-1

This week 4-1
Total so far this season 23-23