After suffering a demoralizing 3-2 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday night, Ronnie O'Brien and the San Jose Earthquakes look to regain their momentum and energize their final playoff push with their game against FC Dallas this Thursday. The Quakes need to recover quickly in their short week in order to stay in the playoff hunt. As it stands, they are in second-to-last place in the West, with a game in hand over every Western conference team save Houston. With a win Thursday night, the team will be just two points outside a playoff berth, an exciting prospect for any expansion franchise and possibly even more so for a city who has come to expect championships from its team. As the regular season comes to a close, San Jose is in a must-win situation. Coach Frank Yallop remains optimistic about the team’s chances, reminding his players and the press that, if the team can "get a result then everything is wide open again.”

A new study conducted by the Chief Marketing Officer Council finds Major League Soccer toward the bottom of a list of 25 companies reviewed for customer experience. The study (registration required) examined the accuracy, uniformity and timeline of information delivery across “customer touchpoints.” What this truly means is anybody’s guess, but Home Depot received the highest grades. Others whose performance was “less than stellar” included DirectTV, JetBlue, Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, Music TV and Comcast.

At the start of the game there were two teams fighting for their MLS playoff hopes but only the home side, FC Dallas, was able to net any goals in front of 12,138 faithful at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Tex., on a hot Sunday afternoon. Goals from Andre Rocha, Jeff Cunningham and Kenny Cooper gave FCD a 3-0 win against D.C. United. The Hoops have now won consecutive matches for only the third time this season, while United lost for the third time in their last four league matches. It was a disappointing game for the visitors, the most decorated team in MLS history with 10 domestic trophies. It really appears that all the extra games they have played this year (CONCACAF Champions Cup, SuperLiga, CONCACAF Champions League, various friendlies and winning the 2008 U.S. Open Cup) have really taken a toll on this team.

The Columbus Crew's 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution Saturday night gives Sigi Schmidt's team a lead with an eight-point lead with four regular season games remaining. The Crew managed to dominate the match without star player Guillermo Barros Schelotto and playing a man down after defender Frankie Hejduk was ejected in the 65th minute. Chad Marshall secured the win with a header off a corner kick by Robbie Rogers for his fourth goal of the season.

Two goals by Yura Movsisyan helped give Real Salt Lake a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes, ending the Quakes nine game undefeated streak. The Quakes’ defense, the strength of the team throughout the season, got abused by the faster and more organized Real side led by Movsisyan and Javier Morales, who scored the game winner and assisted on Real’s first goal.

Chivas USA moved another step closer to the playoffs with a 2-1 victory versus the Kansas City Wizards, Saturday night at the Home Depot Center. Alecko Eskandarian and Sasha Victorine scored first half goals to claim the win for the Red and Whites. “It was an incredible win,” said Preki. “I was very pleased with our performance.”

The Colorado Rapids defeated the New York Red Bulls 5-4 in a rainy Saturday night game that was marked by defensive lapses on both sides. “Very disappointed,” said New York head coach Juan Carlos Osorio, summarizing his feelings of New York’s first home loss since May. “Atrocious defending…we got the worst of it: no points.”

The chances of D.C. United staying in the District appear to be dying a very slow death, according to the Washington Business Journal. A year after breaking off talks with Victor MacFarlane in favor of soliciting bids from Poplar Point, the lack of movement on a stadium has put the future of the franchise on precarious peril, the Journal reports.

DCU fans: Is the report an overreaction? Or is the prospect of a United-less DC serious?

The chances of D.C. United staying in the District appear to be dying a very slow death, according to the Washington Business Journal.

U.S. U-20 national team forward Vincenzo Bernardo has signed a three-year professional deal with Serie A side Napoli, according to Soccer365.com.