American Soccer News

Landon Donovan took ASN's Week Seven Player of the Week honors though his competition did well to keep pace. San Jose's Bobby Convey did his best impression of Donovan, grabbing a trio of assists in the Quakes 4-0 romp of visiting New York. Toronto FC's Chad Barrett and DC United's Danny Allsopp earned their first spot on the Best XI with a brace each in respective wins. Amidst a week of blowouts and scoring, however, most impressively FC Dallas' and former Kansas City castoff Kevin Hartman pulled off two shutouts for a FC Dallas squad hungry for wins. Head over to ASN Philly to see this week's squad!

You’ve read the reports. Now behold the photo galleries! At left, Todd Dunivant heads in the LA Galaxy’s third goal of the day at Seattle’s Qwest Field. The Seattle Sounders were soundly defeated by the LA Galaxy by 4-0, a transgression the Sounders front office would atone for by refunding season ticket holders for the cost of the game. Here is a photo gallery supplied by David Lindsay.

ASN’s Carmina Besson was at the San Jose Earthquakes 4-0 defeat of the New York Red Bulls on Saturday (right), a match that didn’t quite live up to its billing as an early red card cost the visitors. Here the photographic evidence. All ©Carmina Besson/ASN

For the second week in a row Real Salt Lake faced an Eastern Conference foe at home, and for the second week they emerged victorious, though the match could have taken an entirely different tack had the Philadelphia Union converted their chances. Check out the photo gallery. All photos ©Julie Harper/ASN

It was a Saturday of spankings in Major League Soccer. Four of the seven matches were decided by three goals or more, as teams from New York, Philadelphia and Seattle turned in lackluster (or worse) performances. The LA Galaxy continued their dominance in the latest sign that maybe, just maybe, MLS’ culture of parity is coming undone a bit. Or not, judging by events in Toronto and Columbus.

The Galaxy returned to the scene of their MLS Cup defeat and demonstrated why they are the best team in the league by defeating Seattle Sounders 4-0. It was the first time a visiting team has scored more than twice at Qwest Field. The drubbing leaves the men in green to wonder what exactly went wrong – and how they can turn around their increasingly disappointing season. “We got beat and we got beat solidly,” said Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid. “It’s not the kind of game we ever want to repeat again.” ASN’s Nick Schiffler reports from Seattle and provides Sounders player ratings.

The team that defeated the Galaxy in that MLS Cup match had an easy time of it on their home ground as the Philadelphia Union rolled over at Rio Tinto Stadium and Real Salt Lake strolled to a 3-0 lead. Patrick McShane reports from Sandy, Utah and provides player ratings for the victorious home side. A photo gallery is on the way as well (sneak preview on the right). ASN Philly has an initial reaction from head coach Piotr Nowak as well.

The Houston Dynamo got goals from Brad Davis and Adrian Serioux in the first eight minutes of the match and Chivas USA never recovered at the Home Depot Center Saturday night. With the 2-0 loss, Chivas’ three game unbeaten run came to an abrupt end. “We came out flat, and they took advantage,” head coach Martin Vasquez said after the match. “That was the difference.” ASN’s Tony Bruce reports from Carson, Calif. and provides player assessments for the home side. Also, Chivas’ discussions forum is open for business for fans to discuss matters amongst themselves.

A few hundred miles to the north, the home side had far better luck. A poor decision by Luke Sassano 13 minutes into turned costly for the visiting New York Red Bulls at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. A surprise starter at right back, Sassano’s studs up challenge on the San Jose Earthquakes’ Bobby Convey earned an automatic ejection. The team kept its shape for about 30 minutes before things came apart. The home side scored on the stroke of halftime and the floodgates opened in the second half. Tim Ream and Bouna Condoul played poorly to contribute to the Red Bulls’ malaise. Final score: Quakes 4, Red Bulls 0. The RBNY reaction is up, complete with player ratings for the visiting starters. The Quakes POV to follow.

FC Dallas followed a mid-week first ever win at Robertson Stadium against heated and hated rival the Houston Dynamo with 1-0 win over visiting DC United Saturday night at Pizza Hut Park. This extends to 12 the unbeaten game streak at home, dating to June 2009 for regular season play. ASN’s Phil Woodruff was on hand in Frisco, Tex., and filed the following report.

The Quakes and Red Bulls play Saturday night at Buck Shaw Stadium in a contest of the two most improved sides in the MLS.

What a difference a year makes. Just last October the Quakes and Red Bulls shared the dubious distinction of being the worst sides in their respective divisions. The Quakes struggled mightily for any form on the road, and let homes games they should have won slip through their fingers. The only side more hopeless was the New York Red Bulls who collected even fewer points.

Everything has changed with the new season, somehow. The Quakes are showing steely determination and are winning games. The Red Bulls are outplaying their opponents and top the Eastern Division with a stunning 5-1 record. The Red Bulls have won two of their three away games.

ASN’s Eric Pederson previews the match from the Quakes perspective.

Give n’ Quake

ASN was approached by CenterLineSoccer‘s Robert Jonas this week, who came to us with a unique idea for a preview of the match. (CenterLineSoccer, for the uninitiated, is the leading soccer website for all things Quakes and Bay Area soccer). Jonas’ idea was to engage in an email dialogue where he and ASN’s Red Bulls’ correspondent Nathaniel Baker would ask each other questions about their respective teams. The resulting give-and-take would be transcribed in its entirety, and would surely be an interesting read for fans of both teams. Here is the result of these efforts.

San Jose Earthquakes goalkeeper Joe Cannon spoke out on his team’s slow start to the season, with just one win in its first eight games. “Our confidence just seems real low,” he said (ASN, May 6, 2009).

It’s a different story in 2010. The Quakes have won three of their first five games, most recently a 1-0 decision over the Colorado Rapids. This weekend they host the even more surprising New York Red Bulls, who boast a 5-1 record, their best start in franchise history.

It’s the start of a new month, which means it is time to revisit our Twitter account standings! This table tracks the number of followers each Major League Soccer team has through its ASN Twitter account. We launched this feature
about six months ago.

1. (1). LA Galaxy: 837 followers (4 more than on April 9)
2. (2). Seattle Sounders FC: 620 (+3)
3. (3). New York Red Bulls: 615 (+35)
4. (4). Toronto FC: 529 (+63)
5. (5). Chicago Fire: 401 (+3)
6. (6). Houston Dynamo : 385 (-1)
7. (7). Chivas USA: 340 (+6)
8. (8). Columbus Crew: 325 (+9)
9. (11). Philadelphia Union: 317 (+35)
10. (9). DC United: 311 (+0)
11. (10). New England Revolution: 294 (+0)
12 (12). Real Salt Lake: 267 (+2)
13. (14). FC Dallas: 255 (+10)
14. (13). San Jose Earthquakes: 245 (-1)
14. (15). Kansas City Wizards: 245 (+8)
16. (16). Colorado Rapids: 191 (+7)

A very interesting month. For the first time since we’ve been keeping this table teams actually lost followers. Granted it was just one follower in both instances; @DynamoASN and @QuakesASN. But it is still surprising, particularly in the latter’s case. The Quakes have been performing better on the field since, well, since they became the Houston Dynamo. And nearby Silicon Valley should surely result in more tech-savvy (and Twitter savvy?) fans than in a place like Salt Lake City or Columbus (to grossly over-generalize)?

But it wasn’t just these two accounts that suffered. Growth was anemic or inexistent (0 new followers by @dcuASN and @RevsASN–the first time that’s happened too) in all but three accounts: @TorontoFCasn (the biggest gainer by far), @RBNYasn and @PhillyUnionASN. The Union jumped two spots and the Red Bulls are within striking distance of @SoundersASN, whom they trail by five followers–something that can easily be made up in the month ahead. @LAgalaxyASN remains far ahead in the distance but a paltry four new followers at least means it didn’t expand this lead.

Click to view round six

Click to view round five

Click to view round four

Click to view round three

Click to view round two

Click to view round one

Oh by the way: Just in case you were wondering, ASN’s “mothership” Twitter account, @amersocc, which covers broader (not always team-specific) issues affecting the American game, boasts 1,341 followers at the time of this writing. Our Women’s Professional Soccer account, @wpsASN, is followed by 703 people.

ASN’s Carmina Besson was at the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 defeat of the Colorado Rapids on Saturday (right) and filed these photographs.

The Seattle Sounders were unable to close out the Columbus Crew Saturday (left) and were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw against the defending Supporters Shield champions. Photo gallery supplied by David Lindsay.

Julie Harper was at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah, for Real Salt Lake’s triumphant return home (right). Granted Toronto FC is not exactly Man United, but a win is a win. Check out those photos here.

Alison Ciarleglio was at RFK Stadium for the New York Red Bulls’ 2-0 defeat of DC United (left). Those photos, along with others, on Alison’s website here.

In the nation’s capital, DC United lost its plot in the second half of a steamy encounter (over 90 degrees at kickoff) with the New York Red Bulls, succumbing 2-0. The loss drops United to 0-5 (something DCU fans can lament in their new forum if they so choose).

For New York it was the first victory at RFK Stadium in nearly five years, which was of particular satisfaction to veteran defender Mike Petke. But the most noise was made once again by Edson Buddle.

With every week that brings us closer to the South Africa World Cup, Buddle makes another strong case for his inclusion into Bob Bradley’s World Cup Roster. The LA Galaxy forward added the role of facilitator to his scoring duties Saturday night against the Philadelphia Union. Buddle had a hand in the Galaxy’s second fastest strike in team history, then added his eighth and ninth goals of the season later in the first half, as the Galaxy remained atop the Western Conference standings with a 3-1 victory over the first-year Union at the Home Depot Center. ASN’s Ivan Yeo reports on that match. ASN Philly has coverage as well; check out their player ratings.

Baggio Husidic scored his second goal in as many games for the Chicago Fire, but the team’s overall efforts were mediocre Saturday night at Toyota Park. The visiting team, Chivas USA, did little to contribute to the game’s flow and the 1-1 result was just desserts for both sides. Jeff Tobin reports and supplies player ratings for the home side. Fire fans are encouraged to discuss the game (and whatever else suits their fancy) in the new forum created specifically for this purpose.

An early Steve Zakuani goal was canceled out by Steven Lenhart’s first-half stoppage-time header as the Columbus Crew held the Sounders to another frustrating draw, 1-1, at Qwest Field. Seattle was not lacking in chances to score, taking 16 shots on the night, but only put three of those on target – and more importantly, only one of them ended up in the back of the net. But the overall play on the Xbox Pitch was some of the best this season, and will leave fans of the rave green team with reason to be optimistic, reports Nick Schiffler, who also supplied player ratings for Seattle.

It was a pleasant return home for Real Salt Lake as the defending champs dominated an inept Toronto FC squad for a 2-1 victory. Possibly attempting to earn a point on the road, Toronto fielded a defensive formation with the majority of their attacking starters on the bench. Unfortunately this tactic wasn’t particularly effective, as RSL strolled throughout the match imposing their will on an outmatched TFC squad. Patrick McShane reports from Rio Tinto Stadium and also supplies player ratings for the victorious home side. RSL fans are encouraged to discuss the game in their forum.

The San Jose Earthquakes shut out the Colorado Rapids 1-0 Saturday night in a confident performance that was decided when Chris Wondolowski raced onto a bouncing ball and struck it for a bell ringer that bounced up and down off the cross bar and into goal. “Tonight was a typical Wondo goal that we see everyday in practice,” coach Frank Yallop said after the match. “He can really hit a ball.” The Quakes now have three wins in five games. Eric Pederson reports from the Bay Area.

See more of Alison’s work from the game on her website.