From the pre-game Friday night to the waning minutes of the late Saturday game, MLS provided a number of compelling story lines for the American soccer fan. &nbsp;Soccer Night in America received at least tepid praise from most commentators (<a href="http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/fox-soccer-channels-soccer-night-in-america-equals-a-big-success/12542" target="_blank">see our review here</a>) and the Los Angeles/New York match up was excellent all around, even setting up a compelling&nbsp;sequel&nbsp;in August. &nbsp;Those on the Fox Soccer email list even got treated to a free preview of Match Day Live.
But the weekend was not all good news: Javier Morales became the latest MLS player felled by a major injury and will miss months with a broken ankle. &nbsp;In addition, only 9 goals were scored between eight matches, with three scoreless draws and Toronto (!) scoring the most goals with two.
Before the weekend roundup, take a second to vote in the following poll, and leave comments in the comments section:
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Portland Timbers 1, Philadelphia Union 0: Lost amidst the discussion of Soccer Night in America was a very good game. &nbsp;The Timbers and Union seemed destined for a scoreless draw until a 72nd minute Danso goal broke the Philadelphia defense for the winning strike. &nbsp;While it was the Timbers that had the most chances the Union held their own, especially on the 39th minute Le Toux follow-up that Troy Perkins corralled. &nbsp;This match was a good contrast in styles as fans saw maybe the best defense in MLS (on the road even) try to contain a very good offense. &nbsp;My only complaint was I wish more fans could have seen this match – it was a 10:30 start on the East Coast but would have been a good introduction to American soccer to international soccer fans.
Real Salt Lake 1, Chivas USA 0: Obviously the Morales injury impacted this game as did the two red cards early in this match. &nbsp;From the injury on, Chivas packed it in to try and get a draw (a tactic quite understandable playing two men down) while RSL tried to navigate around the defense. &nbsp;Will Johnson finally broke the draw in the 87th minute and got the home team three tough points.
Toronto FC 2, Houston Dynamo 1: All of that talk about Houston’s momentum towards a top two finish in the East can be put on hold after this week. &nbsp;Their visit to BMO Field saw Toronto create most of the early scoring chances and allowed Joao Plata to remind MLS fans why he was a hot prospect going into this year’s draft. &nbsp;The 5’3″ forward converted a penalty in the fiftieth minute then assisted on the Maicon goal in the 81st minute; his speed was almost too much for the Houston defense to handle.
New England Revolution 0, Colorado Rapids 0: Two teams with shuffled lineups faced off in a scoreless draw, the first of the weekend. &nbsp;New England welcomed back Matt Reis and started Ousmane Dabo for the first time this season. &nbsp;Colorado was without Omar Cummings and Jamie Smith in addition to their other long-term injuries. &nbsp;There were only three total shots on goal in the defensive battle, although New England saw two shots hit the post.
Columbus Crew 1, Seattle Sounders 1: Rain made for a sluggish tie at Crew Stadium as a Renteria penalty allowed Columbus to claim their first point against Sigi Schmid since he left the Crew. &nbsp;Fredy Montero scored his fifth goal of the season for the Sounders on a seventh minute header, continuing his return to last year’s form. &nbsp;The Emilio Renteria penalty in the 67th minute allowed the Crew to run their unbeaten streak to seven games.
DC United 0, FC Dallas 0: A Kevin Hartman save of a Fred header in the 89th minute allowed Dallas to grab a point on the road and preserve a scoreless draw at RFK. &nbsp;Much of the talk in DC has been about the&nbsp;improved&nbsp;play of the DC back line, but I remain skeptical of declaring the fullbacks as set for a few more games, particularly on the road. &nbsp;Both teams pushed at times and had their chances, with Dallas’ best possibly being a Dejan Jakovic deflection that almost trickled in DC’s net. &nbsp;However, this was an&nbsp;appropriate&nbsp;and good result for both sides.
Chicago Fire 0, Vancouver Whitecaps 0: Possibly the two worst teams in MLS playing to a scoreless draw may be an&nbsp;appropriate&nbsp;result here. &nbsp;Statistically Chicago dominated: they had eleven shots to Vancouver’s eight and had literally 2/3rds of possession during the game. &nbsp;Dominic Oduro had a great chance in the 32nd minute when he got some space in the box but his shot went over the bar. &nbsp;Congratulations to the Whitecaps for getting their first MLS road point.
Los Angeles Galaxy 1, New York Red Bulls 1: <a href="http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com/la-galaxy-1-1-ny-red-bulls-hype-well-worth-the-price-of-admission/12544" target="_blank">Daniel has this match covered for the site </a>and the analysis (and praise) is all over the Internet, so I have little new to add. &nbsp;Both goals were incredible and it was great to see the superstars play like, well, superstars at the same time. &nbsp;I am having a hard time remembering when such a hyped MLS match lived up to the hype and I argue it was a level of excellence of play equal to some of the larger European leagues this weekend.

MLS Provides a Weekend of Talking Points

MLS Provides a Weekend of Talking Points - World Soccer Talk

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MLS Provides a Weekend of Talking Points