Weekend Recap

While everyone was probably focused on this Wednesday’s USA-Mexico match, there were still plenty of games this weekend worth noting.

United States fans will be happy to know that Landon Donovan’s torrid streak of form still hasn’t stopped, as his left-footed bending volley against New England is in the Goal of the Year discussion. Donovan and the Galaxy were able to defeat New England 2-1 at Gillette Stadium in front of the Revolution’s largest crowd of the year (26,623). The Galaxy have taken 16 points from their last 6 games, vaulting them into second place in the Western Conference. Bruce Arena’s men seem to be hitting their stride, and Los Angeles is looking like a team that could challenge for the MLS Cup come November.

Another player on the US roster for Wednesday’s qualifier also put in a great performance on Saturday, as Conor Casey netted his third career hat-trick with three first half goals in Colorado’s 4-0 rout of Chivas USA. Colorado’s win and Seattle’s loss to Real Salt Lake means that the Rapids now occupy third place in the Western Conference. Seattle’s defeat drops them to 1-4-4 on the road this season, with their lone away win coming on April 4th against Toronto FC. With six of their final 10 games away from Qwest Field, the Sounders will have to figure out how to win on the road if they want to make the playoffs in their inaugural season.

Sunday night saw two of the top sides in MLS square off at Robertson Stadium, as the Houston Dynamo were able to defeat the Chicago Fire 3-2. Once again, Americans on the roster for Wednesday’s match against Mexico played an important role in the victory. Brian Ching set up Ricardo Clark for a first half goal, while Stuart Holden scored the game-winning goal on an 83rd minute penalty kick. The win puts Houston seven points clear of the Galaxy in the West and two points clear of Columbus in the race for the Supporters’ Shield (though Houston has played 2 more games than LA and 1 more game than the Crew).

DC United had the weekend off from league play, but they hosted Real Madrid in a friendly at FedEx Field on Sunday afternoon in front of 72,368 fans. The Red and Black held their own for the first 55 minutes of the match, stifling the Real Madrid attack and creating a couple of opportunities themselves. Josh Wicks made several quality saves in the first half to keep the score level, with the score 0-0 at halftime. Unfortunately, DC could not weather the storm in the second half, as Real Madrid blew the game open in a matter of minutes.

The crowd in Landover, Maryland surely came to see the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, and Xabi Alonso, but it was Gonzalo Higuain who stole the show. The striker scored two goals in two minutes, much to the delight of the Real Madrid fans in attendance. Arjen Robben then capped the scoring in the 69th minute, with a deft chip over substitute goalkeeper Milos Kocic. Though DC continued to press for what would have been a well-deserved goal, they never found the back of the net, and the match ended 3-0.

-