Week 12 Recap

By: travis | June 16th, 2008

It was the weekend of hat tricks and shutouts. The goal scoring heroes were Edson Buddle for LA (National team anyone?) and Luciano Emilio for DC (awesome celebration courtesy of Behind the Badge) lead their respective teams to victory; LA defeating San Jose and DC continuing their home dominance over the New York Red Bull. Along with the two hat tricks, five games of the weekend featured a shutout. Keeper Matt Reis continued his recent superhuman form in goal, making five saves against the Dynamo while stoning Stuart Holden on a penalty. International action also kept a number stars out of action, though on first impression it didn’t seem to make a huge difference.

Also, shout out to DC United supporters. I briefly mentioned the Toronto fans earlier this season, but a crowd of 18,000+ in a game that was played almost entirely during a downpour deserves props. Memo to the District: give them a stadium. If the Nationals get one and now hardly play in front of anyone, while the United supporters keep showing up.

Houston 0-2 New England
I hope these teams don’t play in the MLS Cup this year. Nothing against them, but variety would be nice. It’s hard to predict the Revolution missing out – and I know that it’s way to early to predict this – but three years running of the same two teams battling out for the league’s highest honors would be dull for fans outside their respective fan bases. That rant aside, it was another outstanding Matt Reis performance carrying the Revolution through. Obviously goals were needed, and Steve Ralston and Kheli Dube took care of business. The Dynamo were missing a number of players through international duty – Onstad, DeRo, Ching, to name a few – giving them a bit of an excuse. Plaudits to Reis for then earning a call up to the National team for last Sunday’s qualifier, although on the bench behind Guzan. Still, good to see him get some respect from Bob Bradley and the powers that be.

Toronto 3-1 Colorado
Toronto continues their quiet but strong season. Missing Amado Guevara and Maurice Edu (among others) they easily dispatched the Rapids, who are mired in a bit of a dry spell. Former Spur Rohan Ricketts was man of the match, netting an impressive brace. BMO field continues its role as a fortress – Toronto is 5-0-2 at home this season and riding a nine game unbeaten streak dating back to last year. Danny Dichio opened the scoring for the Reds, getting a favorable bounce off the turf to volley home in the 37th minute. Christian Gomez with a late consolation for the visitors, who lost their second in a row.

DC United 4-1 New York Red Bull
Is this enough to confidently proclaim a DC return to form? A sound thrashing of New York took place at RFK, and while the Red Bull had a decent contingent out through injuries (Reyna and Angel – not to mention Jozy being gone) it was a solid performance from United through and through. The only negative is the inability of Zach Wells to actually get a shutout – unfair to place the blame entirely on him, but he fails to inspire real confidence. Trouble could be ahead for New York. They are lacking up front right now, and the combination of injuries and transfers is starting to catch up. I bet they have July 15 circled, highlighted, and starred on their calender.

Kansas City 0-3 Columbus
A disappointing result for the Wizards, to say the least. After all the hoopla of playing so many games away from home, they came out flat (dreadful?) against the Crew. Columbus entered the game struggling for goals, and come game time on Sunday found it real easy against a normally decent KC backline. Crew players had too much space and too much time, getting off a total of 13 shots. Meanwhile, offensive problems continue to plague the Wizards – just two shots on goal the whole game. Dare I ask – are they missing Eddie Johnson? If they can’t start turning things around soon, they’re toast.

San Jose 0-3 LA Galaxy
Speaking of hat tricks, Edson Buddle was at it again. He put on a clinical finishing show, especially with his noggin. The Galaxy look like they are getting used to Ruud’s system, and considering that Beckham was only involved in their first goal and Donovan/Ruiz were out through international duty, they definitely are a team coming into their own (outside their three stars). Buddle has managed two hat tricks this season, meaning six of his eight goals on the season have come through just two games. Meanwhile, the San Jose offense continues to struggle, managing just one shot on target. Hard to tell if the Galaxy defense is improving or the poor San Jose offense just made them look good. I would lean towards picking the latter – the only shutouts that LA has this season are against the Quakes. Worth mentioning: it was a packed house in SJ – 39,872, many of whom may or may not have been to watch Becks.

Chivas USA 0-1 Real Salt Lake
The monkey is off their back. RSL grabbed a solid road win of the season – their first of the season! How about that. Didn’t seem like a very exciting game for those involved. Robbie Findley, who is continuing to play better with every game, accounted for the game’s lone goal. Brad Guzan was MIA through Nat’l team duty, and maybe he would have saved Findley’s goal. I’d reckon he wouldn’t have. RSL hopped over Chivas on the table, and now sit tied for the last playoff spot with Colorado.

FC Dallas 1-0 Chicago Fire
Other people out there like Kenny Cooper. Let’s hope Bob Bradley jumps on the bandwagon. The big man’s scoring run continues, lifting his struggling team to a win. Great run, great ball, easy finish past Jon Busch. He had a few more chances, but couldn’t lob Busch and forced a save for the other shot. It was a real oven in Dallas, and I can’t imagine it was much fun playing in triple digits. Seemed to have an effect on the Fire. Ironic that the only thing cooling them down (on the road) was the heat. Busch was forced into nine saves, keeping the game close, but nobody backed him up.

Goal of the week
Rohan Ricketts’ second goal against the Rapids. Some fancy footwork in the penalty area which was followed by a quick driving shot that beat Preston Burpo. Don’t forget to vote: