American Soccer News

Real Salt Lake extended their win streak Saturday to a franchise-best five games after dispatching the Kansas City Wizards 4-1 in a hotly contested affair. While RSL jumped off to an early lead after a pair of goals by Fabian Espíndola and Álvaro Saborío, the Wizards were able to capitalize on RSL’s occasional sloppy play to pull a goal back just before half. Inspired by 15,588 raucous fans at Rio Tinto Stadium, RSL controlled the second half and finished the match off late thanks to a Davy Arnaud ejection and goals from Robbie Russell and Ned Grabavoy. ASN’s Patrick McShane reports from Rio Tinto Stadium and supplies player ratings for the victorious home side.

Conor Casey beat out Jeff Parke on a running battle into the box in the 63rd minute of the Seattle Sounders match-up with the Colorado Rapids and caught Kasey Keller off his line with a deft chip to the far post. The goal stood up as the winner in a 1-0 decision in the home team’s favor at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Pat Shea reports from Colorado and supplies player ratings for both sides.

Toronto FC booked their first road win in MLS play this season when Dwayne DeRosario broke a 2-2 deadlock with his second goal of the game deep into stoppage time at San Jose. Chris Hazard has that report.

In the nation’s capital, Steve Long finally sees reasons to believe in Curt Onalfo’s plans for DC United, after their 3-2 victory over Chivas USA.

The Philadelphia Union surprised an incredibly tough Houston home team last night coming from behind to win 3-2 in the dying moments. It was the #1 draft pick Danny Mwanga that grabbed the game winner all thanks to the unwavering work ethic of both Alejandro Moreno and Sebastien Le Toux. The win now puts the Union at 2-5-1. ASN Philly’s Breton Bonnette observed the match and supplied the following player ratings for the winners.

Finally, at Toyota Park in suburban Chicago, AC Milan strutted their stuff for a sell-out crowd before defeating the Chicago Fire by 1-0. Jeff Tobin has that report.

The shutouts keep flowing in as the quality defenses in Major League Soccer keep churning out wins for their respective squads. San Jose, Los Angeles, Columbus, Toronto FC and Houston all enjoyed shutout wins even as key players were off on national team duty. The Crew’s Will Hesmer set the franchise’s mark for Most Career Shutouts but still was beat out for the keeper spot on Week 9’s ASN Best XI. Notable performances from unexpected sources was also on Week 9’s agenda with players like Houston’s Danny Cruz, Toronto FC’s Nick Garcia, and the Crew’s Emilio Renteria having big impacts this week. Read on at ASN Philly...

It was a week of shotstoppers and productive off-the-bench cameos. Fredy Montero and Danny Mwanga, only one of which made Week Eight's Best XI, each had a little more than 10 minutes to do the trick. Both were up to the task, Mwanga rocketing a shot past seemingly unbeatable Kevin Hartman to grab a point and Montero proving that Red Bull Arena is no fortress with his late contribution to a 1-0 Seattle Sounders win. Kevin Hartman, Stefan Frei, Will Hesmer, and Preston Burpo all logged impressive performances but only one could grab the honor of Best XI goalkeeper this week. Who would it be? Head over to ASN Philly to find out!

The LA Galaxy hoped to send Landon Donovan and Edson Buddle off to national team camp in style, with a win over Toronto FC Saturday night at the Home Depot Center. It didn’t happen thanks in no small part to the exploits of TFC keeper Stefan Frei. “A goalkeeper can always be a great equalizer in our sport and he was great tonight,” Donovan said of Frei’s effort after the match. Still, the 0-0 draw allows the Galaxy to keep their unbeaten start to the season intact. ASN’s Ivan Yeo reports from Carson, Calif.

Three thousand miles away, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., Fred Montero single-handedly put an end to the New York Red Bulls unbeaten run at their new ground. Montero slotted home the only goal of the match in the 85th minute. ASN has tons of coverage from that match.

Down the road in Philadelphia, FC Dallas midfielder Brek Shea scored his first ever MLS regular season goal, which stood up until the very last minute of stoppage time when Philadelphia’s Danny Mwanga got his first career goal. The Union rookie rocketed a shot from just inside the box for a 1-1 final at Lincoln Financial Field. Breton Bonnette wrote a match report while Sam Toma rated the Philadelphia players.

Philip Woodruff followed the proceedings from Dallas and supplied a match report and FC Dallas player ratings.

In the nation’s capital, the Colorado Rapids ended one of the longest streaks in MLS history, defeating DC United 1-0 at RFK Stadium for the first time in 11 years and sending the home side further into the abyss of the MLS table. Chris Snear has that report.

For just the second time this season and the first time in over a month, the New England Revolution were able to keep a clean sheet as they held their opponents the San Jose Earthquakes scoreless. Although the Revs were not able to find the back of the net themselves, they proved not only to have the defensive mettle necessary to earn a draw, but showed strength in the midfield for the second league game in a row. Hank Alexandre reports from Gillette Stadium.

Finally, in Kansas City, with the home side trailing 2-1 in the 89th minute, Kei Kamara found himself all alone in front of a gaping goal. Less than a month ago in similar circumstances, the Wizards striker garnered worldwide attention when he slipped, missed the ball, and handled on his way to the ground. This time, Kamara remained on his feet and easily tapped it in to complete a two goal, second-half comeback for the Wizards. “This time I was wearing blue shoes,” Kamara explained after the match, which was covered by Nate Brinson.