MLS Week 29 Recap - The Regular Season is Over
Taylor Twellman got his seventeenth goal of the season and the Golden Boot award. The goal came 10 minutes before halftime when midfielder Jose Cancela knocked a pass to Twellman who was at the top of the penalty area. Twellman tapped it a couple times then fired a shot home past Chicago 'keeper Zach Thornton. Chicago had some good chances that made the Rev's goalie Matt Reis work for his paycheck, but they could not finish. Their last good chance came in the 75th minute when substitute Justin Mapp found himself in the box and looking to score, but before he could take the shot, he was hauled down. It should have been a pk, but referee Abbey Okulaja waved play on. There were no more good chances on the night. NE 1 - 0 Chicago
The Columbus Crew finished their season on a high note by tying with defending champions DC United 2-2. It was up to United to come back as Columbus’s Edson Buddle found ways to score in the 17th and 52nd. DC answered in the 45th when Dema Kovalenk took a back-heeled pass by Ben Olsen to the back of the net. DC's second goal came off a pk when the Crew's Jamal Sutton jumped all over the back of Lucio Filomeno, leaving the ref with little choice but to point to the spot. Jaime Moreno took the shot and scored, keeping him one goal behind Taylor Twellman in the race for the Golden Boot, but he would get no more. DC 2 - 2 Crew
LA has been a powerhouse at home, but not last night. When they needed a point the most, they could not get. By falling to San Jose, LA ends the regular season in fourth place and has to play the 'Quakes during the first round of the playoffs. If yesterday's match is an indication, it's going to be an awful time for the Galaxy. If anyone thought this was going to be a nice little "tea time" affair, those illusions were gone by the 22nd due to two red cards. Both LA's Tyrone Marshall (17th) and San Jose's Kevin Goldthwaite (22nd) were sent off due to rough play (to be fair, Marshall got a direct red while Goldthwaite saw double yellow). So 10-10, always an interesting make up. San Jose got the scoring going in the 42nd when Mark Chung headed a Brian Mullan pass into goal. They doubled it up just three minutes later with nothing short of perfect art. Dwayne De Rosario curled a beautiful free kick past the wall and into the upper corner of the goal. Just wonderful. Landon Donovan got one back for LA in the 68th, but Brian Mullan was able to get a third for San Jose in the 77th. I think next Sunday is going to be fun. LA 1 - 3 San Jose
The Wizards didn't have to get a result in Dallas and for about 20 minutes it looked like that was just what was going to happen. In the 69th, Roberto Mina faked a shot on KC's goal, which caused the defense to rush him. He then popped a little pass over to Oscar Pareja who slung it home. Just six minutes later FCD's Ramon Nunez got one past the diving Wizards 'keeper. But the goals didn't stop there as KC's Davy Arnaud beat FCD's goalie Scott Garlick in a one-on-one just two minutes later. For the next 13 minutes it was back and forth till Josh Wolff got a point blank shot on Garlick. He deflected it but Preki picked up the rebound, which fell right to his feet, and banged it home. That play by Preki, playing in his last regular season MLS game, forced the MetroStars to get all three points from Chivas if they want to advance. FCD 2 - 2 KC
The final MLS regular season broadcast on ESPN2 ended up being one of the best matches they have aired all year. Seeing as Chivas USA was playing, that's not what most people would have expected, but it was Chivas who dominated this game. Watching this match, one would have thought the MetroStars had their playoff spot wrapped up in a nice little bow. Chivas outshoot the Metros by almost a 2-1 margin. On top of that, the Metros seemed better at finding the post then the net (three easy goals ended up bouncing off the frame). So how did the MetroStars survive? Their goaltender Tony Meola had the best game of his life. He made amazing save after amazing save. His backline kept crumbling, but he just would not let his team down. Don't let the late second goal fool you; this was Chivas's game. With the win, the MetroStars manage to pull themselves into fourth place and a date with the New England Revolution in the first round of the playoffs. Chivas 0 - 2 MetroStars
My Guesses vs. Final Scores
Game (my guess) Final score
New England - Chicago Fire (2-0) 1-0
DC United - Columbus (2-1) 2-2
FC Dallas - KC Wizards (1-0) 2-2
LA Galaxy - San Jose Earthquakes (2-1) 1-3
Chivas USA - MetroStars (1-3) 0-2
This week 2-3
Total for this season 40-42
So I end the regular season at .487. Not that great, but it could have been so much worse.
The Columbus Crew finished their season on a high note by tying with defending champions DC United 2-2. It was up to United to come back as Columbus’s Edson Buddle found ways to score in the 17th and 52nd. DC answered in the 45th when Dema Kovalenk took a back-heeled pass by Ben Olsen to the back of the net. DC's second goal came off a pk when the Crew's Jamal Sutton jumped all over the back of Lucio Filomeno, leaving the ref with little choice but to point to the spot. Jaime Moreno took the shot and scored, keeping him one goal behind Taylor Twellman in the race for the Golden Boot, but he would get no more. DC 2 - 2 Crew
LA has been a powerhouse at home, but not last night. When they needed a point the most, they could not get. By falling to San Jose, LA ends the regular season in fourth place and has to play the 'Quakes during the first round of the playoffs. If yesterday's match is an indication, it's going to be an awful time for the Galaxy. If anyone thought this was going to be a nice little "tea time" affair, those illusions were gone by the 22nd due to two red cards. Both LA's Tyrone Marshall (17th) and San Jose's Kevin Goldthwaite (22nd) were sent off due to rough play (to be fair, Marshall got a direct red while Goldthwaite saw double yellow). So 10-10, always an interesting make up. San Jose got the scoring going in the 42nd when Mark Chung headed a Brian Mullan pass into goal. They doubled it up just three minutes later with nothing short of perfect art. Dwayne De Rosario curled a beautiful free kick past the wall and into the upper corner of the goal. Just wonderful. Landon Donovan got one back for LA in the 68th, but Brian Mullan was able to get a third for San Jose in the 77th. I think next Sunday is going to be fun. LA 1 - 3 San Jose
The Wizards didn't have to get a result in Dallas and for about 20 minutes it looked like that was just what was going to happen. In the 69th, Roberto Mina faked a shot on KC's goal, which caused the defense to rush him. He then popped a little pass over to Oscar Pareja who slung it home. Just six minutes later FCD's Ramon Nunez got one past the diving Wizards 'keeper. But the goals didn't stop there as KC's Davy Arnaud beat FCD's goalie Scott Garlick in a one-on-one just two minutes later. For the next 13 minutes it was back and forth till Josh Wolff got a point blank shot on Garlick. He deflected it but Preki picked up the rebound, which fell right to his feet, and banged it home. That play by Preki, playing in his last regular season MLS game, forced the MetroStars to get all three points from Chivas if they want to advance. FCD 2 - 2 KC
The final MLS regular season broadcast on ESPN2 ended up being one of the best matches they have aired all year. Seeing as Chivas USA was playing, that's not what most people would have expected, but it was Chivas who dominated this game. Watching this match, one would have thought the MetroStars had their playoff spot wrapped up in a nice little bow. Chivas outshoot the Metros by almost a 2-1 margin. On top of that, the Metros seemed better at finding the post then the net (three easy goals ended up bouncing off the frame). So how did the MetroStars survive? Their goaltender Tony Meola had the best game of his life. He made amazing save after amazing save. His backline kept crumbling, but he just would not let his team down. Don't let the late second goal fool you; this was Chivas's game. With the win, the MetroStars manage to pull themselves into fourth place and a date with the New England Revolution in the first round of the playoffs. Chivas 0 - 2 MetroStars
My Guesses vs. Final Scores
Game (my guess) Final score
New England - Chicago Fire (2-0) 1-0
DC United - Columbus (2-1) 2-2
FC Dallas - KC Wizards (1-0) 2-2
LA Galaxy - San Jose Earthquakes (2-1) 1-3
Chivas USA - MetroStars (1-3) 0-2
This week 2-3
Total for this season 40-42
So I end the regular season at .487. Not that great, but it could have been so much worse.
posted by Mike H at 5:34 PM
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