Week 14 Preview

By: travis | June 27th, 2008

Is it already the 14th week of MLS action? Time is sure flying by. June is coming to an end, which will bring us to July, and then the All-Star game! Yesssss (sarcasm). As you can tell, I am no fan of said meaningless exhibition. But there’s another time and place for that. This week, road teams will look for more success, there’s a big game out in LA, and let’s not forget congratulating Dallas for taking home “el capitan” this season.

Columbus v Colorado
The Crew appear to have smoothed things out after a rough stretch last month. They scored six goals from two games while on the road, earning a win out in KC and a draw out in LA. A pretty good showing if you ask me - and now they host the struggling Rapids, who are winless in the past three. For the Crew, it boils down to the midfield play of Robbie Rogers and Guillermo Barletto Schelottos, who must work the ball up top to striker Alejandro Moreno. Rogers had a mini goal scoring streak going earlier this season, and recapturing that form will only help. The Rapids were allergic to scoring last weekend, as they made a point to either miss the frame or nick the post, mustering a single shot on goal against Houston last week. Colin Clark and Tom McManus, where are you guys? Christian Gomez has fallen back to earth a bit, and perhaps may end up pining for DC by the end of the season. Crew should continue their roll…
Verdict: Columbus 2-1 Colorado

New England v Toronto
The Revolution are used to being this high up the table - while Toronto is a newbie at the top. They sit in third place, six points off pace behind NE. They’ll have all their big guns back as well - Maurice Edu, Amado Guevara to name a couple, who will need to come up big to get some points on the road. A chink has appeared on the Revolution’s armor, as their seven game unbeaten streak was ended against Real Salt Lake last weekend. Adam Cristman has been performing well in spot duty for the injured striker Taylor Twellman, a player that NE has missed at times. Giving them a boost is a return of Kheli Smith and Shalrie Joseph from international duty - and with their respective countries knocked out of CONCACAF qualifying, they won’t be missing any more games this season. While Toronto have played well this season, they’ll probably come up short on the road against the Revs.
Verdict: New England 2-0 Toronto

Kansas City v Real Salt Lake
This is a huge game for the Wizards - they have RSL coming into town, a team that has struggled on the road (one win all season). KC is languishing in last place, and if they can’t get anything from this match, they’ll have little hope. The main struggle has been goals - only 10 the whole season. Things are desperate enough that we could see the return of Josh Wolff to Kansas City, a player who hasn’t exactly light up the score sheet while playing overseas. Salt Lake is quietly sneaking up the table in the West, and is now in second place, only two points behind LA. Impressive for a team that looked a bit disheveled earlier on. The play of Javier Morales and Robbie Findley has marked their resurgence, and while things in the West are tight, the play of RSL at home could lead them to the playoffs. Despite KC’s offensive struggles, they are near the top of the league in goals conceded and Kevin Hartman leads the league in shutouts. I think they’ll end their winless streak with a close win.
Verdict: Kansas City 1-0 Real Salt Lake

Chicago v San Jose
The perfect recipe for a struggling Fire team is the arrival of the Quakes. The curse of success has been a rampant theme this season, as Dallas and Columbus both started off well, only to recently fall of the pace. Chicago is mired in a three game losing streak, having been shutout two games in a row. Poor finishing cursed them last week, as Chad Barrett missed two glorious chances in a 2-0 loss to Chivas. They’ve had few worries at the back, with John Busch playing extremely well, bolstered by a consistent defense. The Fire seem to be waiting for Brian McBride to come to the rescue - and securing his rights from Toronto has proven to be trickier than anticipated. San Jose is hardly going to roll over and die - Ryan Johnson and Ronnie O’Brien have been two bright spots on a typically spotty first season. San Jose will be a remedy for the Fire’s struggles, and Blanco and co should get all three points.
Verdict: Chicago 2-1 San Jose

Chivas USA v New York
After a 4-1 humiliation in DC, the Red Bull have picked up their game a bit, drawing at New England and winning against Dallas last week. It’s a difficult time for them regardless, with Claudio injured (yet playing in a charity match?), Juan Pablo also struggling with injuries, and Jozy shipped off to Spain. It’s opening up chances for some of the younger players, such as Dane Richards, Sinisa Ubiparipovic, and Danleigh Borman. Whatever tricks Juan Carlos Osorio has up his sleeves, he needs to reveal it soon. A point or win on the road would be a real plus for the boys from the Big Apple. Chivas has endured similar struggles with injuries as the Red Bull, with Ante Razov missing at the beginning of the season, now coming off as a substitute. They could use some more goals from Jorge Flores and Sacha Kljestan (whose brother Gordon just signed with New York). I’ll take the Red Bull to grab a point on the road.
Verdict: Chivas 2-2 New York

DC v Los Angeles
The matchup of the weekend which will be on ABC features the two worst defenses (LA conceded 24 goals, DC 25) and the two best offenses (LA has scored 31, DC 24) statistically. With a huge crowd expected, as well as high game temperatures, it will be interesting to see what gives way between these two. United is hot, having won three in a row and unbeaten in five, as a surging Luciano Emilio has keyed their recent success - as well as the play of Fred in midfield, and the still adjusting Marcelo Gallardo. LA boasts Landycakes, Edson Buddle, perhaps Carlos Ruiz, and some bloke from England. Hopefully it’ll be an instant classic with goals aplenty - United’s home advantage will leave the Galaxy cooked.
Verdict: DC 4-3 Los Angeles

Last Week’s record 2-4 Season so far 32-56