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 - World Soccer Talk

MLS Provides a Weekend of Talking Points

<figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-135582" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/full/WST_20110506_CMS_12537_portland-timbers-600x400_8b0db461.webp&amp;width=600&amp;height=400" alt="portland-timbers" width="600" height="400" srcset="https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/portland-timbers-600x400.jpg 600w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/portland-timbers-150x100.jpg 150w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/portland-timbers-300x200.jpg 300w, https://worldsoccertalk.cms.futbolsitesnetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/04/portland-timbers.jpg 1380w" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px"></figure>
Are you ready for some SOCCER? &nbsp;Tonight is the debut of Soccer Night in America, which this week means Friday. &nbsp;Portland and Philadelphia will kick off around 10:30 PM ET. &nbsp;That plus an 11 PM kickoff in the #LAvNY match means East Coast soccer fans will have a few late nights (as West Coast fans roll their eyes). &nbsp;If anyone has any good Twitter hash tags for tonight’s Fox Soccer unveiling, share them in the comments section below.
And now a roundup of the week’s news:
<ul>
<li>DC United legend Jaime Moreno has taken a position as head coach of the team’s U-23 squad. &nbsp;This team is the bridge between the youth team and the reserve team. &nbsp;Best of luck to Jamie!</li>
<li>MLS Soccer’s Jonah Freedman writes a <a href="http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/05/05/throw-why-mls-needs-ray-hudson-back" target="_blank" rel="noopener">compelling article</a> on the need for a return of Ray Hudson. &nbsp;A must read.</li>
<li>Hans Backe has said <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/soccer/news/story?id=6481426" target="_blank" rel="noopener">he will release </a>Dwayne De Rosario to play in this summer’s Gold Cup. &nbsp;Initially he had said he wouldn’t release the midfielder because DeRo had not indicated he wanted to play, but that had contradicted a report from Team Canada.</li>
<li>David Ferreira successfully had <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/soccer/05/05/ferreira.surgery.ap/index.html?eref=si_soccer&amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fsi_soccer+%28SI.com+-+Soccer%29" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surgery</a> on his broken ankle, and the team is still not releasing a timetable for his return. &nbsp;Best wishes to him as he heals.</li>
<li>Thomas Rongen has been let go as head coach of the U.S. U-20 team. &nbsp;Last we saw them, the team was beaten by&nbsp;Guatemala&nbsp;and had lost their chance to advance to the U-20 World Cup. &nbsp;Tab Ramos will guide the team during their next tournament in France, but has not been given the title of interim coach.</li>
<li>Bren Latham over at <a href="http://insider.espn.go.com/sports/soccer/blog?name=us_national_soccer&amp;id=6464737&amp;campaign=rss&amp;source=ESPNHeadlines" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ESPN </a>writes about the struggles of Gale Agbossoumonde to cement a spot on Bob Bradley’s team, as well as breaks down some of his soccer weaknesses. &nbsp;ESPN Insider status required.</li>
<li>And finally, for those who enjoy scandal and intrigue, Grant Wahl <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/grant_wahl/04/01/fifa.candidacy/index.html?eref=writers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">details</a> his failed attempt to run for the top job at FIFA. &nbsp;An excellent read.</li>
</ul>
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Week in Review May 2-6, 2011

Week in Review May 2-6, 2011 - World Soccer Talk

Latest news from Soccer Night in America. Find out about all the news related to Soccer Night in America on worldsoccertalk.com

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Leagues: MLS

MLS Provides a Weekend of Talking Points

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Week in Review May 2-6, 2011