FC Dallas top Club America in friendly

FRISCO, Texas -- On the strength of first-half goals from Dominic Oduro in the ninth minute and Kenny Cooper in the 28th, FC Dallas defeated Mexico's Club America 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Pizza Hut Park.

America, who finished the game with nine men after two players were sent off in the final 12 minutes, saw their lone goal come on a penalty kick by Alfredo Moreno in the 33rd minute.

Oduro put the home side up 1-0 in the ninth minute thanks to a great assist from Bruno Guarda. The Brazilian midfielder dribbled almost to the touchline, taking an America defender with him, then laid the ball off to Oduro, who was about seven yards from goal. The Ghanaian striker then calmly sent it into the far side of the net.

Cooper too benefited from a great assist, his coming from fellow Dallas native Drew Moor in doubling the lead. The FCD captain dashed up the right flank and spotted his teammate open in virtually in the same spot from where Oduro scored minutes prior. Moor hit a perfect ball and Cooper then finished with a shot into the far side of the net to make it 2-0.

In the 33rd, America drew a goal back after Moreno converted a penalty kick. He stepped to the spot after Moor took him down about 10 yards from goal. FCD goalkeeper Dario Sala went the right direction, going right, but Moreno hit his shot inches over Sala's outstretched hands.

America's Alejandro Arguello was ejected in the 78th minute after delivering a hard elbow to the head of Guarda, then the Aguilas dropped to nine men in the 89th minute when Antonio Castro was sent off for a hard kick to FCD forward Jamie Watson near the far sideline.

FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman used a lineup sprinkled with starters and reserves. Up top, he went with Cooper and Oduro. The Hoops' midfield consisted of Dax McCarty on the right, Guarda and Pablo Ricchetti in the middle with Eric Avila on the right.

In the back, Hyndman went with Blake Wagner on the left, Brek Shea and Aaron Pitchkolan in the middle with Drew Moor wearing the captain's armband on the right flank. Dario Sala started between the posts.

Early on, the FCD attack was on the offense. In the second minute, a slow roller by Cooper toward the America goal was saved by 'keeper Armando Navarette. Three minutes later, Oduro got his first serious look at goal when he blasted an attempt toward the far post but Navarette delivered a great diving save to deny him.

But following the America goal, the Aguilas attack came to life as Rafael Marquez had a pair of chances at the equalizer in the 35th minute. His first opportunity came when he shot the ball high. But literally seconds later, Marquez was unmarked at the far post, but put his uncontested header high over the goal.

In the 43rd, Marquez was active yet again and this time nearly converted, but his shot plastered the right post at the last moment. Seconds later, the America striker struck a great ball from 20 yards out but Sala made a diving save to deny his effort.

At the break, America held the edge in shots 11-7 with six of the Aguilas' efforts being denied by Sala.

America continued their push in the second half when in the 48th minute, Juan Carlos Mosqueda hit one right at Sala.

In the 54th minute, things got a little interesting when Oduro and Navarette collided on a 50-50 ball about 13 yards from goal and both fell to the ground hard. With the net open, McCarty had a chance at making the game 3-1 but his shot was offline.

As the half progressed, America got stronger. Marquez fed Moreno in the 59th about 20 yards from goal but Sala was once again there to deny.

The chances for FCD were few and far between in the second half but in the 62nd, the Hoops were awarded a free kick about 30 yards out. Cooper stepped up and took it but his effort was more of a slow roller that was well-played by Navarette.

In the 65th minute, Hyndman went to his bench bringing on Andre Rocha for Avila and taking out McCarty for Jamie Watson.

After a shot by Watson was saved by Navarette in the 71st, things got heated when Arguello was sent off. The America striker delivered an apparent high elbow to Guarda that drew blood and was quickly ejected by referee Jason Anno.

In the 89th, things again got heated when Castro kicked Watson hard on the far sideline. Matters got tense enough that security personnel dashed over to defuse the situation.

Sala finished the night with nine saves and was clearly the star of the afternoon for FCD. The Hoops, who are 0-3-1 in their last four league games, return to MLS action next Saturday when they face D.C. United at RFK Stadium.

CONCACAF Qualifying roundup

It's been 26 years since Honduras last played in a World Cup, but the catrachos moved a step closer to the final CONCACAF hexagonal, defeating Jamaica 2-0 Wednesday night in San Pedro Sula.

One-time FC Dallas central midfielder Ramon Nunez, who scored a brace in a come-from-behind 2-1 win against Canada on the weekend, put the hosts in front on the hour mark. Toronto FC's Amado Guevara, who has been one of the most automatic in Major League Soccer from the penalty spot, buried a penalty in the 73rd minute to double the hosts' lead.

The Reggae Boyz, which featured Real Salt Lake veteran Andy Williams, who came off in the 55th minute, FC Dallas defender Shavar Thomas, who was booked in the 20th minute and Toronto FC defender Tyrone Marshall, are desperate for three points when they step back on the field Oct. 11 against Mexico.

In Group 3, Costa Rica joined the United States and Mexico with a perfect record after three CONCACAF qualifying matches. Looking to advance to the World Cup for a third consecutive time, Costa Rica made short work of Haiti, coming away with a 3-1 win in Port-au-Prince Wednesday night.

Bryan Ruiz scored a brace and Alejandro Alpizar added an insurance goal in the 86th minute. Chicago Fire fullback Gonzalo Segares played the entire 90 minutes and was booked in the 35th minute, while New England Revolution defender Gabriel Badilla remained on the substitute's bench for Costa Rica, which plays at winless Suriname and hosts Haiti when qualification continues next month.

El Salvador maintained its stranglehold on second place in Group 3 with a 2-0 victory at Suriname Wednesday in Paramaribo. Shawn Martin opened the scoring in the second minute and an own goal by Marlon Felter in the 12th minute doubled the Central Americans' lead.

El Salvador now has six points out of three matches and is comfortably in front of both Suriname and Haiti, who have one point apiece.

A combination of the United States' 3-0 victory against Trinidad & Tobago at Toyota Park and Guatemala's 4-1 thrashing of Cuba in Guatemala City Wednesday night moved the Guatemalans into a second-place tie with the Soca Warriors in Group 1.

Leading the way for Guatemala was Toronto FC forward Carlos Ruiz, who struck for a brace, including one of three unanswered goals for the hosts after an even first half. Mario Rodriguez and Jose Contreras scored for Guatemala in the final five minutes to sink Cuba, which saw goal scorer Roberto Linares sent off with a straight red card by Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez in the 56th minute.

Worn-out Revs look for spark

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Revolution captain Steve Ralston spent last Saturday far away from the site of his team's 4-0 loss to Columbus.

Instead of patrolling midfield or playing as a second striker to allow Khano Smith to shift back to the left wing at Crew Stadium, Ralston rested at home in suburban Boston watching on television, with an eye on the Revs and an eye on the United States' 1-0 win in Cuba.

"It was difficult to watch," Ralston said of the Revs' defeat. "It wasn't our best game to say the least."

Ralston hopes to return to the lineup to help change that in the Revolution's MLS Primetime Thursday clash with Chivas USA. Back spasms forced Ralston off the field in Trinidad two weeks ago and caused the veteran to miss the next three games while recovering.

"I feel good," Ralston said. "I've trained the last couple of days. Knock on wood, it's been OK. I've done two weeks of not a whole lot to get my legs back under me."

Barring a late setback, Ralston will return to the lineup to partner Taylor Twellman with the Revs still missing strikers Kenny Mansally and Kheli Dube.

"He's a big part of what we do," Revs manager Steve Nicol said. "He'll tell you himself that he's not a center forward. But he has the ability that we can play him up that high and he still looks comfortable. When you can control and pass the ball with the soccer brain he has, he can play anywhere on the field. He's shown that."

Mansally could make a cameo off the bench if absolutely necessary, Nicol said, but Dube won't rejoin full training for another week. Ralston's return could facilitate the return of the team's preferred 3-5-2 formation with Shalrie Joseph featuring in a more advanced midfield role.

Amaechi Igwe (suspension), Adam Cristman (season-ending toe injury) and Gabriel Badilla (Costa Rican national team duty) are unavailable.

Nicol will take all of the options he can find to spark his team after a languid performance in Columbus led to the team's second consecutive four-goal reverse.

"We're looking to see some passion to play the game," Nicol said. "We've had a couple of days off, which is great, but we need more than that to get back to where we were. It's about giving everything. That's one thing this team does. That's what we're looking for (Thursday). If we get that, we'll take our chances with the outcome."

The outcome has increased in importance with the Crew's surge over the past few months and the five-point deficit the Revs face to claim top spot in the Eastern Conference.

"We need to win," Ralston said. "We haven't won in a long time. Playing at home we need three points."

Obtaining three points might be easier against one of the few teams that has faced a similar schedule and has dealt with similar, and perhaps even more expansive, injury issues.

"They're on the tail end of a long road trip too," Revs 'keeper Matt Reis said. "Everyone goes through it. It's about how you deal with it and manage it."

Managing the game for the Revs means obtaining more possession and tightening up defensively. Reis faced 14 shots in Columbus. But for a friendly crossbar, the Crew's goal tally would have been higher. Scooping three points against Chivas USA will require an improved defensive effort, Nicol said.

"You have to start by defending properly," Nicol said. "Ask Los Angeles. They feel as if they have to score three or four goals to win a game. That's not a great place to be. We certainly don't want to end up having to do that either. First and foremost, it's important that we keep a clean sheet and defend properly from the front. We do it as a team. That's better for everybody."

Victory eases pressure for U.S.

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Let us count the ways the U.S. national team helped itself in its 3-0 World Cup qualifying triumph against Trinidad & Tobago Wednesday night:

• The most obvious way was the fact the U.S. found itself on the verge of qualifying for the final CONCACAF round. A win against Cuba in Washington, D.C. Oct. 11 will clinch a spot for the Americans.

• The goal production certainly did not hurt the USA's confidence, especially since they had scored exactly three goals in their past three qualifiers.

• And if the U.S. doesn't have to put out an 'A' team against Trinidad & Tobago and Guatemala in its final two Group 1 matches, it will make a lot of people happy, and not just coach Bob Bradley.

MLS coaches gearing up for the playoffs will be happy because they won't miss key players for the regular-season stretch run for the Oct. 15 game in Trinidad & Tobago. And with the Nov. 19 match in Guatemala only four days prior to MLS Cup 2008 on Nov. 23, Bradley would not have to call in any key players from the MLS teams or anyone from a European club.

And it will make some younger players an opportunity to play and impress Bradley.

So, it was a win-win-win proposition for the U.S.

"It builds depth on our team and a lot of guys are not flying back and forth across the pond to Trinidad and Denver at the end of the year," said forward Landon Donovan, whose ninth-minute free kick set up Michael Bradley's nifty three-yard volley for the USA's first goal. "It makes it nice. But we've got to get through Cuba first."

If the U.S. continues what they did at Toyota Park, that should not be a problem.

"Goals are not important," he said. "The most important thing was to win. Whether we score one or score five, a win's a win. You get the same points. The most important thing is that we put ourselves in a good position that we are almost guaranteed a spot in the next round."

But it certainly helped the U.S.'s confidence and sent a message to the rest of CONCACAF.

"It's good to have a decisive win," Dempsey added. "We're looking to make the next round and qualify for the World Cup."

That ultimate goal, of course, is South Africa in 2010.

Wednesday's win was the U.S.'s best performance of its qualifying venture. The first game, an 8-0 trouncing of Barbados, doesn't count because the game was so lopsided.

Then came 1-0 wins against Barbados, Guatemala and Cuba. The U.S. did not have to be motivated in the second Barbados match because it was a total goals series. The Guatemala affair was one of survival since it was in the cauldron in Guatemala City. The Cuba 1-0 result was a bit disappointing because the Cuban team is an amateur side, playing in amateur leagues on the Caribbean island.

"I still think that people don't always understand how difficult it is sometimes playing in these other countries, the fields and whatnot," said forward Brian Ching, who connected for the third goal, a three-yard header, in the 57th minute. "We came out tonight with the mission of putting this game away early and scoring a lot of goals and I think with the field being the way it is and with being in the States."

Added Donovan: "We were excellent tonight. The first half was one of the most dominating performances I ever have been a part of."

Trinidad began the game throwing as many as eight players behind the ball. The U.S. was patient and quickly broke down the defense with goals in the ninth and 18th minutes.

"We knew we had to come out with a high tempo and keep the ball moving fast," defender Steve Cherundolo said. "That was the key -- put pressure on them. It was just a matter of time."

Trinidad came out and tried to make a game of it in the second half. The Caribbean side threw just about everything it could at the U.S., forcing four corner kicks in the opening 10 minutes. But the team was never a factor after Ching's goal.

"It killed the game off," Donovan said.

One key to the U.S.'s success was midfielder DaMarcus Beasley, whose speed confounded the T&T defense and whose well-timed pass set up Dempsey's goal in the 18th minute. Beasley recently came back from a hamstring injury he hurt in July.

"DaMarcus had a very good game for us," Bradley said. "He's always been a two-way player, and his energy really adds to the rest of the group. He's a player who has the ability to find good spots on the field. He's capable of coming inside, and he can drift wide and get by people. He also works hard when the ball turns over. He's the whole package and coming back from injury he hasn't played that many 90-minute games since coming back from injury so I think it's good to see him contribute in the way he has."

It's easy to forget how well the U.S. has played on the other side of the ball as the Red, White and Blue recorded a record sixth consecutive shutout, going back to the scoreless tie with Argentina at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. June 8.

"I hadn't seen a defensive effort like that in a long time," goalkeeper Tim Howard said. "We just put them on our terms. We had two and three and four guys around the ball. We really dictated the play. I don't think that they were able to do what they wanted to do. Our midfield did great in terms of defending. We know what they did, attacking-wise. Defensively these guys are really playing well."

But despite a 3-0 win, Cherundolo was far from satisfied.

"We're still not maximizing our potential," he said. "We need to keep plugging away."

The USA are not maximizing their potential and they're 3-0 and leading their group. Not exactly what the rest of CONCACAF wants to hear.

Jaqua's double fuels Dynamo victory

HOUSTON -- The Houston Dynamo are starting to run away from the competition in the Western Conference. On a hot afternoon at Robertson Stadium, the Dynamo increased their lead to seven points ahead of Real Salt Lake with a 3-1 whipping of the Kansas City Wizards.

Nate Jaqua scored two second-half goals, Kei Kamara added the first two assists of his MLS career and Brad Davis scored his third goal in the last seven games to help the Dynamo win for the fourth consecutive match at home.

And the Dynamo did all this without the services of three key players. Brian Ching (USA), Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad (both Canada) were all out of action while helping their respective national teams in World Cup qualifying matches.

Tony Caig filled in nicely in goal for the unflappable Onstad. Caig made one save, and nearly shut out the Wizards for the second time this season. Caig improved to 3-1-3 while filling in for Onstad this season and allowed just a goal by Nederland, Texas native Davy Arnaud in the 87th minute.

Houston dominated the first half, but thanks to bad luck and great goalkeeping by Kansas City's Kevin Hartman, the score was just 1-0 at the break.

Stuart Holden got free and took a perfect cross from Waibel in the 10th minute. Holden's header was a bit high, but Hartman got a hand on it to keep the game scoreless in the early going.

Ten minutes later, Kamara broke free and fired a shot on goal from about 23 yards out, but again, Hartman was there to make a stop.

In the 24th minute, Brian Mullan got around the K.C. defense and saw Kamara with room inside the box and to the right of the Wizards goalkeeper. But midfielder Kerry Zavagnin slid into the pass, knocking the ball out of harm's way.

In the 28th minute, the Dynamo finally broke through. Kamara raced ahead of the defense to corral a long flick-on in the left corner, stopped and slid a pass back to a trailing Davis, who blasted a left-footer just under the crossbar inside the near post to make it 1-0.

Davis is one of the league's hottest players at the moment and has recorded two goals and eight assists in his last seven MLS matches.

The goal was a beauty, but Kamara's work on the play cannot be discounted. Instead of forcing a shot, he held up the ball and set up an unmarked Davis and his midfielder delivered. For Kamara, it was his first career MLS assist in 54 matches.

Before the break, the Dynamo had two more chances to double their lead, but Davis bounced what could have been an easy goal off the turf and over the crossbar in the 41st minute.

Two minutes later, Kamara got control of a loose ball and fired a shot on goal from 17 yards out only to be denied yet again by Hartman.

Putting the heat and home-field advantage to good use, the Dynamo finally put the Wizards away with a dominating second-half performance even as Herculez Gomez and Abe Thompson made their respective debuts for Kansas City.

Before leaving to a nice ovation in the 83rd minute, Jaqua cut the K.C. defense to pieces, getting open twice to break open what was a close match.

In the 54th minute, he found room just inside the box, took a square pass from Holden and fired a shot underneath Hartman. Kamara made a nice play just to control a long pass on the right flank, and the Dynamo were rolling.

Just under 15 minutes later, Craig Waibel, getting the start with De Rosario gone, sent a beautiful long through ball to Jaqua, whose shot from inside the box flew just under the crossbar in the 68th minute, effectively ending any and all hope for the Wizards.

Arnaud provided a late consolation for the Wizards when he charged down a clearance attempt by Wade Barrett, fought off the Dynamo fullback to reach the deflection and powered the ball home from close range.

Unlikely pieces fuel Chicago backline

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- When the 2008 Major League Soccer season began, there was no reason to think the top defense in the league would belong to the Chicago Fire.

In 2007, the Fire had the fifth-best defense, giving up 36 goals in 30 games. But the 2008 season began with one of their lead defenders, veteran C.J. Brown, sidelined by injury. Under new coach Denis Hamlett, the plan was to use four backs instead of three, and he called upon waiver wire pickup Brandon Prideaux and second-year defender Bakary Soumare to work with long-time left back Gonzalo Segares. Finding the fourth back would take time, and Hamlett had a lot of candidates to choose from.

Behind that line would stand veteran goalkeeper Jon Busch, who would have to make up for what he lacks in height (at 5-10) with the desire to succeed as he attempted to make a comeback after a couple of injury-plagued seasons with the Columbus Crew.

Fast forward to mid-September. The Fire are 11-7-5, own the second-best record in the league, and lead the league in goals against and shutouts.

With Wilman Conde settled into the fourth defender spot, the Fire have given up 18 goals in 23 games, and with their 1-0 win against the New York Red Bulls last Saturday, have recorded 10 shutouts. The Red Bulls, who entered the game with a six-game unbeaten streak, recorded just two shots on goal in the game.

"Everybody plays their role and that is the key," Busch said. "Nobody tries to do too much. Everybody just does their job. When you do your job, the guy beside you knows what you are going to do and knows what he has to do. And you are seeing the result. (They gave up) two shots against a very dangerous team."

Conde, who joined the Fire late last season in order to play for former coach Juan Carlos Osorio, had to be convinced to stay after Osorio took his whistle to New York. After struggles early, Conde settled into a center back position next to Soumare.

Soumare played as a defensive midfielder position last season, but under Hamlett was moved to center back, a position of incredible responsibility. Although he is responsible for an own goal this season, he has started in 22 of the 23 games (he was suspended for yellow card accumulation for one game) and been a strong, intimidating force in the back, standing 6-4 (although he looks taller because he is standing in front of Busch).

"To see Baky mature into the player he is, in front of me, in that position, is a joy for me to watch," Busch said. "He is a tremendous athlete and he is getting the soccer brain. He is learning how to play the position. He is a beast."

Soumare played as a defender at the University of Virginia, so he appreciated the opportunity to return to his favored spot.

"I was drafted out of college as a defender," Soumare said. "Last year I was just filling in. This year I am back in my original position. It is a great opportunity for me.

"This is a different level, and it is so much faster (than college)," he continued. "I think playing the middle helps me, with my feet, getting smarter, as far as not getting the fouls. I am a work in progress, and there is still room for improvement, but I am getting more comfortable."

The Fire also gets offensive contributions from the back. Against New York, Soumare had two chances for assists when he sent long balls to the left side, setting up first Justin Mapp and then Mike Banner on naked runs toward goal. Neither turned into goals, but the opportunities were there because Soumare got the ball to them.

Prideaux also had his own chance to score. In the second half, Prideaux stole the ball near midfield and dribbled all the way to the top right corner of the penalty area before taking a surprise shot.

Segares has two goals and Conde has one for the Fire, who lead the league with a plus-12 goal differential.

There are five teams in the league that have scored more goals than the Fire, but it doesn't matter when you simply don't allow the other team to score at all.

"Our group feels we can definitely win games with a single goal in a match the way we're playing," Hamlett said.

Cuba hosts U.S. in World Cup match

HAVANA -- With nearly five decades of political tensions between the governments of two countries as the backdrop for an historic match, the U.S. national team players and coaches say that their World Cup qualifier against Cuba Saturday will be business as usual.

Much is at stake for both sides.

The Cubans, who were beaten at home 3-1 by Trinidad & Tobago in their first qualifier, desperately need a victory in the CONCACAF semifinal round encounter to keep their already flagging hopes alive.

"It is difficult, but not impossible," Cuba's German coach Reinhold Fanz said.

A second consecutive road win would boost the U.S., 1-0 winners in Guatemala Aug. 20, into the drivers' seat in their quest to reach the final round and eventually their sixth consecutive World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

"First and foremost, it's a World Cup qualifier," U.S. coach Bob Bradley said. "The way we go about preparing for these games doesn't change."

But it is a rare opportunity for a U.S. sports team to play in a country that hasn't hasn't formal relations with the states in almost 50 years. The only time the full U.S. national team played here was in 1947.

"I understand the significance of the fact here we are Americans coming into Cuba to play a game," defender Danny Califf said. "More than anything we are concentrating on the game. It is a little difficult to remove yourself a little for all of the other reasons why we're here."

Not many players were about to shake the status quo when they spoke to the media after practice at Estadio Pedro Marrero Friday evening.

"It's as same as any game," defender Frankie Hejduk said. "I try to take every game the same. Everyone is a professional. Everyone has to take the game as serious as possible. It doesn't matter who it is against. At the end of the day it's about qualifying for the World Cup, not the individual teams we have to beat for the World Cup."

Some U.S.-based journalists have written that the U.S. team will receive a hostile reception from the crowd. But a number of local sports fans and Cuban Soccer Association president Luis Hernandez said that would not be the case.

A capacity crowd of 17,000 is expected for the match. A number of people and government officials have been invited to attend the match for free while the general public will be charged one peso to enter the stadium -- which is the equivalent to 10 cents. An association official said the peso was a symbolic form of payment.

"You can see that you have been very well welcomed in the country," Hernandez told U.S. journalists Friday morning. "Your best players will be cheered by the spectators. Our spectators identify with this discipline. You have a very warm welcome not only following that discipline, but by our spectators."

The match is a big deal for the Cubans to foster goodwill and public relations with the United States and the rest of the world. Stadium officials certainly were sprucing up the grounds, giving the outside of the stadium another coat of blue paint. While workers inside replaced parts of the roof near one of the goals (one of the pieces of the slate roof fell late afternoon, but no one was injured). On one side of the stadium, workers were building scaffolding for the ESPN crew -- announcers, cameramen and other cable network officials.

On the field, two men with hand-held gas lawnmowers cut the grass.

Beyond the track that surrounded the field was the scoreboard that will need to be updated by hand. It already had some important information: abbreviations of the names of the participating teams -- CUB and USA.

Hernandez said it was not known whether Cuban president Raul Castro, the brother of former president Fidel, would attend the match.

But he did praise the progress of U.S. soccer. "It has been an amazing development," he said. "It can be appreciated with all the work you have carried out with your players at different times. We respect what you have been able to do with your discipline in your country. ... For us, the best way to respect you is to defeat you on the pitch."

While baseball is king here, Cuba has been involved in soccer for some time. Its only World Cup appearance was in 1938, when it did not have to qualify for the World Cup; the country entered the competition and was accepted to play. In those days, the world's greatest sporting spectacle were in its infancy and hardly given the respect it gets now.

The Cubans acquitted themselves quite well. They played Romania to a 3-3 draw in the first-round knockout competition. In the replay, Cuba prevailed 2-1 against the European side, only to lose 8-0 in the quarterfinals to Sweden, the team's worst defeat in history.

As it turns out, Bradley has a family connection to Cuba. As a Marine, his father Gerry served in Guantanamo Bay around 1950. Bradley has black-and-white pictures of his father taken at the U.S. naval base.

"It's a very beautiful place," he said. "I'm sure it's different now, but it will be really interesting to see [Cuba] in person."

When he first heard the U.S. was playing in Cuba, Califf was hoping he would be selected for the team.

"I was excited," he said. "I was hoping to be part of the game to be here and be apart of it and to see a place that is mythical."

U.S. forward Landon Donovan wasn't surprised on the little he had seen in his first two days. "I didn't have many preconceived notions," he said. "I think it's mostly what you expect from a Caribbean island country. The people have been fantastic. Everybody is very friendly and it seems they are very excited for us to be here."

Due to the U.S. embargo and the lack of communication between the two countries, many U.S. citizens don't know about this Caribbean island.

"You know, I really didn't know what the expect, to tell you the truth," Califf said. "It's kind of a mysterious land for Americans and for me. But I heard that the've got old cars and stuff like that. But that's about it. I really felt like I stepped out of a time machine. It's just surreal. The buildings and the cars and just how everything is."

Califf bought some Cuban shirts for his son and daughter.

"It was a huge market," he said. "People were hawking things everywhere. There was some amazing art there and a lot of cool things that I wish we could bring back."

According to U.S. regulations, citizens can bring back education material, books and art. Cigars, of course, are forbidden. Each citizen is allowed to spend about $180 a day.

The U.S. team's hotel is just off the water. But there there wasn't enough time to check out the waves for Hejduk, an avid surfer, to take advantage of it in his short time here.

"It's very beautiful," he said of Cuba. "The water's beautiful. No, I haven't seen a wave. I don't think Bob [Bradley would] want to hear of [that] ... I was hoping there would be some leftover waves from the hurricane. It's pretty flat."

If the U.S. winds up qualifying for the Cup, Hejduk could be rewarded if the Americans wind up playing in Cape Town near the Cape of Good Hope, where the surf is up all the time.

But as the U.S. team said, first things first: they need to beat Cuba.

Lack of focus hurts Hoops again

FRISCO, Texas -- Throughout the 2008 season, FC Dallas have shown a tendency to lose focus at times. On a few occasions, the lapses in concentration have sent the Hoops on to defeat, while in other matches, they have resulted in points left on the table in the form of a draw.

Thursday night against Colorado, the issue reared its ugly head yet again for FCD. In the 60th minute, Rapids defender Mike Petke was left completely unmarked on a corner kick and all the 32-year-old MLS veteran had to do was head Terry Cooke's service inside the far post from about six yards out for the only goal of the game.

"I think it was a letdown on defending a corner kick," FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman said. "The player that scores a goal has nobody around him for five yards. You look at the video and how the goal was scored, a guy ran away from one of our players and he didn't follow him. Now he's standing there by himself and the game is over.

"It always takes 90 minutes to win and one second to lose. That's the disappointing part. This was a game that we needed to win. It was a desperation game for both teams and I think we let ourselves down and I think we let our fans down."

Before the win on MLS Primetime Thursday, the Rapids had not won a regular season game in Dallas since May 5, 2001, a span of 13 games. With the loss, FCD has now dropped three of their last four and their home record fell to 4-4-4. Most importantly, the Hoops dropped from third place to fifth in the Western Conference standings.

For the vital contest, Hyndman made two surprising changes to his lineup in the wide midfield roles. On the right, third-year midfielder Michael Dello-Russo got just his second MLS start. On the other flank, Hyndman went with Anthony Wallace, who was seeing his first action with the first team since May 24.

"I don't think we got what we had hoped to get out of them," Hyndman said. "I thought it got better when Eric (Avila) came on and we were able to change (Wallace). I think it got better when they scored. They were sitting back and we were able to launch quite a few attacks."

Dax McCarty, who had started the last two games at left midfield, entered the match in the 65th and almost from the moment he hit the field, the third-year midfielder added considerable spark to the FCD attack. He was especially deadly on corner kicks and other set pieces.

"I think Dax did deliver a lot of good balls," Hyndman said. "I think he was dangerous and a player that was very much involved in our attack. At the same time, we're down 1-0 and they're sitting back in a 4-5-1 with the opportunity to serve and get involved. We had some great chances tonight, some short corners, some head balls and some redirection balls. If we're not going to get lucky, then we at least need to stop them from scoring."

Hyndman's players clearly shared in his disappointment.

"Obviously it's not the result we wanted," FCD forward Kenny Cooper said. "We've got to stay positive because this is a really important part of the season and especially considering the race we're in. It's important that we start to get points. We've got a big game away at D.C. Hopefully we can bounce back and I believe we can."

Pablo Ricchetti, normally the Hoops' holding midfielder who started at center back against Colorado, concurred with his teammate.

"We're very disappointed," he said. "We didn't play a good game and didn't play good soccer. We didn't do good work today. They had some corner kicks and scored because we lost somebody. I don't know what happened there. One got free and they scored. We got some great saves from Dario (Sala) but we can't wait for him to save us every time."

The loss was even more distressing because all week, Hyndman stated how the match was a must-win. But when it came time to deliver, his team fell flat once again.

"I think this team has given up soft goals all year and I think we're still continuing to give up soft goals," Hyndman said. "When you don't cover somebody and they have a free header, it's like, when does that happen for us? I think this is accountability and this is discipline. I think it's something that has been going on all year. All I can say is that we work on it in training but when it gets into a game, it looks like it doesn't happen."

Despite his team falling to fifth in the West table, Hyndman reiterated that the ultimate goal remains for FCD to reach the postseason, an end result that looks to be tougher and tougher to attain with each passing week.

"The bigger picture is still trying to get into the playoffs," he said. "We've bumped our toe the last two games because those are both games I think we could have won. If we can stop giving up the silly goals, I think we'll find ways to win."

Crew pad MLS lead with win over Revs

COLUMBUS -- Behind the play of MVP candidate Guillermo Barros Schelotto, the Columbus Crew downed the New England Revolution 4-0 at Crew Stadium on Saturday night, their fourth consecutive win while increasing their lead in the Eastern Conference to five points ahead of the Revolution.

Schelotto, the MLS Player of the Month for August, continued his string of contributing to Crew goals with a goal and two assists on the first three scores. It gave him two goals and eight assists on 10 consecutive Crew goals over the past four games.

With Schelotto resting on the bench for the final seven minutes, his streak ended when ex-Revolution midfielder Pat Noonan set up substitute forward Jason Garey for his second goal of the match in the 90th minute.

The Crew took a 2-0 lead into the break thanks to Schelotto. He put Columbus ahead in the 39th minute with his sixth tally of the season and added his league-best 17th assist in the 45th minute when his free kick was headed in by rookie defender Andy Iro for his first goal.

Wizards miss chance to gain ground

HOUSTON -- With the Houston Dynamo without four starters because of international duty - including leading scorers Brian Ching and Dwayne De Rosario - Sunday's match could have been a prime opportunity for the struggling Kansas City Wizards to steal a result against the Western Conference leaders.

However, the Wizards gave up a first-half goal to Brad Davis that started them chasing the game, then on the strength of two goals from Nate Jaqua, Houston put the game away early in the second half, handing the Wizards their fourth defeat in six games.

After the Wizards struggled to mount a coherent attack in the first half, Wizards coach Curt Onalfo made some aggressive substitutions at halftime, bringing in midfielder Carlos Marinelli and forward Abe Thompson for midfielder Kerry Zavagnin and injured defender Aaron Hohlbein. The move paid off initially - the Wizards got off three shots in the first six minutes of the second half, as many as they had in the entire first half.

"Aaron Hohlbein had an issue with his quad," Onalfo said. "I didn't want to put another defender in, because I knew I was going to need the subs at the end, so I decided to switch to a 3-4-3 so we could kind of take the game to them. I thought it worked - I thought we started getting momentum."

But the move left Kansas City vulnerable to counterattacks, and Houston took advantage twice in a 15-minute span, with Jaqua beating a defenseless Kevin Hartman twice from close range.

"For us, it was a basically a day of having to improvise - we go in with a game plan and a certain group of players. Then during warmup we have an issue with one of our players, so we have to make a change, and at halftime we have another issue, so all of a sudden we're forced to change some things," Onalfo said. "I thought it was a hard-fought game - the only thing I was pleased about with my team was that they didn't give up. And at the end of the day, I thought the better team won."

Onalfo was proud of his team's effort, as Texas native Davy Arnaud salvaged a goal for the Wizards, with his persistence in the penalty area allowing him to score in the 87th minute. Midfielder Claudio Lopez almost narrowed the deficit to 3-2 two minutes later, when he fired from close range off the near post.

"Our guys showed enormous grit to never give up, and we end up sneaking a goal at the end," Onalfo said. "And we could have had another one when Claudio hit the ball off the post."

With their defense already shorthanded after Matt Marquess cramped up in pregame warmups, the Wizards had an early scare when captain Jimmy Conrad had to leave the game briefly in the third minute after being shaken up on a hard challenge. Kansas City's best scoring chance in the first half came a few minutes later, when a professional foul against a streaking Josh Wolff gave the Wizards a free kick about 40 yards from goal.

The resulting service resulted in a good look at net for Lopez, about 10 yards out on the left side, but goalkeeper Tony Caig made a good save on the near-post shot, and the Wizards could not convert on the resulting corner. Lopez said the Dynamo did a good job of playing within themselves.

"They did everything they could to put us at a disadvantage, and they made it so they could have an easy game," Lopez said.

The result left the Wizards still tied for sixth place in the Eastern Conference with Toronto FC, both teams with 26 points. But with all the teams they are battling for the final spots in the MLS Cup Playoffs race also losing, the Wizards feel they can still reach the top eight.

"I'm disappointed but I can't worry about this," Onalfo said. "We have to worry about the next games - we have five of our last seven games at home and we have to make the most of that."

Weary Revs refuse to lose heart

COLUMBUS -- The New England Revolution might have felt like they were running in quicksand instead of the plush green grass of Crew Stadium, except even that would have been too much for the heavy-legged club.

Dogged by a schedule of international and domestic competitions and injuries that have sapped the team's strength, the Revolution were outpaced by the Columbus Crew in a 4-0 defeat and fell five points behind the Eastern Conference leaders.

"One thing we have to do is understand where we are. When you can't run, you can't compete and at the present time, we can't run," New England coach Steve Nicol said. "We can't close the ball and when we do get it, we can't go past people. When you go to make challenges, you're a half-yard short. It's an impossible task. They played well, give them the jury -- they closed us down real quick, made some chances -- but as I said, if you can't run, you can't compete, and we can't compete at the present time."

Columbus got a goal and two assists from forward Guillermo Barros Schelotto, two goals from reserve Jason Garey and a header off a free kick by defender Andy Iro. His score gave the Crew a 2-0 halftime lead.

"4-0 is unacceptable, we know better than that," Revs defender Chris Tierney said. "We just have to get back to practice, battle and get after it. Day in and day out we've had a rough couple weeks, but that's not really an excuse anymore. I think we've just got to get back to what we've been doing to that's made us so successful in the early part of the season."

New England has played 32 matches in all competitions, five more than the Crew, and was coming off a 4-0 loss to Trinidad and Tobago's Joe Public on Tuesday that eliminated it from the CONCACAF Champions League.

The weariness showed. The Crew jumped on the Revolution from the start and had three chances hit the goalpost in the first 20 minutes. The Revs were outshot 27-4 for the match and their lone shot on goal was from 18 yards by Taylor Twellman in the 28th minute. The Crew had 14 shots on goal but didn't get on the board until Schelotto scored in the 39th.

"Obviously, it wasn't the result I would have liked," Tierney said. "It was a tough game; No. 1 vs. No. 2, and it was a battle out there."

The Crew know the Revolution will present a different look when the teams play again Sept. 27 in Gillette Stadium.

"They're a team right now, more so than physically, they're mentally tired," Columbus coach Sigi Schmid said. "Passes are off, combinations are off and as a result it made it easier for us. But again, we did what we needed to do. I don't want to take anything away from them. They're a great team but they're a tired team.

"They're a great team. You don't stay on top in this league; you don't have the tradition they have without being a great team."

New England midfielder Shalrie Joseph does not see the recent bad results as having long-term consequences.

"Our confidence is still sky high, we just have to look at ourselves in the mirror and take a gut-check," he said. "I think we're only five points out of it and we know there are seven or eight games left. We can still make a run. As I said, we're not far away from the top, we just have to put this one behind us and look forward to the next one."

While Nicol knows the veterans on his three-time defending Eastern champs will remain positive through this rough patch, he realizes others may need some guidance along the way.

"The only problem with (confidence) is with the young guys, the old heads will understand the situation, but it's tough on the young guys," he said. "You always have a tough time at some stage of the season and we're getting it now. They have to realize what it's all about. This is when they really learn to keep their confidence and myself, the staff and the older guys have to help them as well."

Fire pleased with defensive effort

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- When Chicago Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch entered the locker room after Saturday's game, he had a message for his teammates.

"He said 'Next week, we go for No. 11,'" Fire defender Bakary Soumare related to reporters after the Fire recorded their league-best 10th shutout of the season with a 1-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls at Toyota Park.

Busch faced only two shots on goal Saturday as the defensive unit of Brandon Prideaux, Wilman Conde, Soumare and Diego Gutierrez held the Red Bulls to only four shots in all. Juan Pablo Angel and Sinisa Ubiparipovic were each credited with one shot on goal.

Busch entered the game with nine shutouts, one better than San Jose's Joe Cannon and Nick Rimando of Real Salt Lake. On Saturday, the total reached double digits and the margin increased.

"The guys love that even more than I do," said Busch, whose career was restarted in Chicago this season after Matt Pickens moved to Europe at the end of last season. "A lot of my plays tonight were picking off long balls. But it was a great defensive effort by the whole team. We didn't turn off one single time tonight."

The victory pushed the Fire into a second-place tie with New England in the Eastern Conference. The Revolution fell to 11-7-5 with their 4-0 loss to Columbus, while the Fire raised their record to the same 11-7-5 with their win.

The game was significant for both teams. New York entered the game with a six-game unbeaten streak and was just three points behind the Fire for third place going into the contest.

The Fire got their goal in the 36th minute on a shot by rookie midfielder Stephen King, who was in the lineup only because of the absence of three starters due to national team commitments. The Fire were without starters Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Mexico), Gonzalo Segares (Costa Rica) and Marco Pappa (Guatemala).

The Fire got the game's only goal in the 36th minute when Chris Rolfe dribbled in on Jimenez on the left side. Jimenez tackled the ball away, but his clearance squirted out to the center of the box, where King was alone in front of Conway to easily slot the ball into the right side of the goal.

"I made a run into the box, no one really followed me, it happened to come out to the right spot and I put it away," King said. "The ball just came my way."

King said shots that wide open are almost more difficult to make than more complicated ones.

"You almost are surprised to get the ball in that instance, but you try just to compose yourself and put it away," King said.

In sharp contrast to what Busch had to deal with, Conway faced seven shots on goal and 14 shots total from the Fire.

To fill in for his missing starters, Fire coach Denis Hamlett used second-year midfielder Mike Banner along with King, and he put Gutierrez on the back line to fill in for Segares.

For the second time in the last three games, Hamlett had veteran midfielder Justin Mapp as a reserve. Mapp, a six-year veteran with U.S. national team experience, signed a four-year contract extension with the Fire Saturday.

In the 18th minute, the Red Bulls had their best chance to score, but Juan Pablo Angel's long blast bounced off the crossbar. While the Red Bulls were more aggressive in the second half, they could not get any clear shots on goal.

"We played with a playoff mentality tonight. I think our guys did well as far as keeping their concentration for the full 90 minutes," Hamlett said. "It was 1-0 but I think the second half we had some good looks. Our group feels we can definitely win games with a single goal in a match the way we're playing."

United relish Open Cup victory

WASHINGTON -- D.C. United's quarters at RFK Stadium sounded every bit like a championship locker room in the wake of their U.S. Open Cup Final win on Wednesday night. A drumbeat of salsa and reggaeton thumped from the stereo as goalkeeper Louis Crayton's screams for champagne occasionally punctuated the happy chatter of a victorious team and its technical staff.

Relying on the quality of their South American contingent -- with the help of an unexpected bit of invention from a heretofore marginalized youngster -- United had held off a spirited Charleston Battery side to secure another piece of hardware for their dedicated fans and give themselves a timely dose of inspiration during a draining phase in their long campaign.

"This is a great boost of confidence for the group, because it was a difficult tournament," said defender Gonzalo Martinez. "At the beginning we struggled a little bit and it was very difficult for us. But this lets us know that we were able to overcome that, and obviously it's a very special moment right now. It gives us the security and confidence to keep working hard because we know that we can achieve great things when we work hard together."

The scoresheet will show that United's Brazilians did most of the damage, with Luciano Emilio and Fred finding the net on either side of Ian Fuller's well-taken equalizer. But Fred's gamewinner was made possible by one of the team's most mercurial talents, Rod Dyachenko -- and ironically enough he did so without even touching the ball.

Entering the game just seven minutes in when Emilio re-aggravated a groin strain, Dyachenko struggled to unlock the Battery back line in the first half. But his dummy of Clyde Simms' 50th-minute pass opened up the space that Fred used to craft United's all-important second goal.

"We talked about it at halftime," said Dyachenko afterwards. "I was looking more for balls over the top because they were sitting in so much in the first half. We talked about secondary runners like Fred and Santino [Quaranta] and Ivan [Guerrero] coming in behind like that. It's one of those plays where Clyde played a ball in and I realized that Fred was coming in diagonally to the middle and it was just going right into his path, so I just let it go. Fortunately it worked out for us."

United have long been enamored of Dyachenko's touch and vision, even giving up a first-round SuperDraft pick to reacquire him from Toronto FC last year, and he's been an understudy to smooth playmakers like Christian Gomez, Jaime Moreno and now Marcelo Gallardo in the hopes that he'll someday step into the role. But his stock dropped as this season unfolded and even he admitted some surprise at being head coach Tom Soehn's first option off the bench.

"It feels good. I didn't know I was going to step in but I felt good, helping my team win," he said. "Hopefully this is our first step in our quest for the [MLS] Cup, you know?"

Indeed, the larger tone of the evening was set by a few worn-looking veterans who sat quietly and absorbed the moment, savoring the club's first trophy in four years but also fully cognizant of its fleeting nature.

"It's a great feeling," said Simms. "It's my first championship as a professional. So it's great. We're going to enjoy it for a couple of days but then we've got to concentrate on the season."

Thursday afternoon brings a transcontinental road trip for another crucial league match in San Jose on Saturday, and soon this Open Cup triumph will be a memory. United's next task is to ensure that it becomes the springboard for a late-season push, and not a consolation prize for a season of underachievement.

"Getting a chance to run around with a trophy in front of our fans, who deserve it more than anybody, is a great feeling," said Soehn. "You remember that stuff. There are a lot of things you forget but situations and moments like that you remember. You want to taste that again. I hope they all got a great taste of it because there are other things that we still have to accomplish."

But for a club that resides at a facility steeped in U.S. soccer history and consistently nurtures some of the loftiest ambitions in MLS, Wednesday evening offered a welcome reward for months of toil.

"It's another one that goes in the case," said captain Jaime Moreno of United's 12th major honor, every one of which he has been of. "They keep adding [up] and that's what we want, that's what we work for. It's a tradition. The team always tries to be in the big picture of big tournaments of MLS. ... Right now we're glad that this is over and we've got a championship."

Kamara shines in rare set-up role

HOUSTON -- Houston Dynamo striker Kei Kamara was well aware of one glaring statistic that was arguably one of the most surprising on his personal tally sheet.

Entering Sunday's match against the Kansas City Wizards, Kamara, an MLS veteran of 54 matches, had never recorded a single assist in his career. Before the match he told a few friends of his that he wanted to get rid of that donut that, to some, makes him look like a selfish player.

But that zero is now gone, and gone for good. On a hot and sunny Sunday afternoon at Robertson Stadium, Kamara set up the Dynamo's first two goals of the game en route to a dominating 3-1 win.

"I promised myself that I needed to get one," Kamara said. "I was out there today to get one for sure and I was trying to do it and it all turned out perfectly."

In the 28th minute, Kamara had only Wizards 'keeper Kevin Hartman to beat, but he was at a bad angle, making a goal next to impossible.

That is when Kamara heard Brad Davis calling for the ball. Kamara slowed down and sent a perfect pass back to a trailing Davis, whose rising shot hit the back of the net just under the crossbar for a 1-0 lead.

"I did hear him calling for it and I couldn't be selfish," said Kamara, who now has two goals and two assists in six games since joining the team in a trade from San Jose in late July. "I knew Brad was going to have a better look there and with the way he has been going lately, it was an easy decision."

Davis has two goals and six assists in his last seven MLS games and is quickly moving up the Houston stat sheet. Davis now has three goals and seven assists overall.

Kamara helped make it 2-0 early in the second half when he made a nice play to keep the ball in bounds on the right flank after taking a long pass from Richard Mulrooney. Kamara fed the ball to a sprinting Stuart Holden, who tapped the ball over to Nate Jaqua for the team's second goal in the 54th minute.

"The way this team is going right now, we just have really good chemistry," Kamara said. "The way we are all moving the ball, I don't think it really matters who is in or who is out ... and those of us who have to spend some of the time on the bench, when it is our time to play, we are ready."

The next seven weeks are going to be difficult. With group play in the CONCACAF Champions League starting in 10 days, the Dynamo will be playing twice a week through Oct. 12. Houston is used to being shorthanded, though. They made Sunday's win look easy even without the services of Brian Ching (USA), Dwayne De Rosario and Pat Onstad (both Canada), who were all out of action while helping their respective national teams in World Cup qualifying matches. Jaqua, who now has four goals and three assists in seven matches since his return to Houston, was happy with his two-goal performance and said the team was never worried about having to play without three of its biggest stars.

"Sure we are missing those guys, who wouldn't," said Jaqua. "We just have a real deep team and half of our bench could be starters elsewhere in the league. It is nice having that luxury, but at the same time we all know what we have to do to go out there and get wins."

Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear was all smiles after his team's fourth consecutive home win. Sunday's start time had him concerned up the week before, but less than a half-hour after a dominating win in 90-degree heat, he was calm and more than happy to talk about the tough stretch that lies ahead for his team.

"The guys were really excellent today," Kinnear said. "We had a number of chances early in the first half. We deserved to be up 1-0 at the half and I told them at the break just to keep attacking, keep attacking.

"Today, I thought with the heat down there, that possession would be real important. With the upcoming schedule, it is important for us to get successful at home and we are. We have played some great attacking soccer in this stadium, and we have done it both with our best and while missing some key players."

At 8-1-3, the Dynamo have one of the best home records in the league. They will practice Monday in advance of next Saturday's match at San Jose, a team that has vaulted out of the Western Conference basement.

"We are having a lot of fun right now," Kamara said. "We are good at home, the team is as deep as I have ever seen, and everyone is feeding off each other."

And with two assists Sunday, Kamara is right in the middle of it for a team looking to become the first back-to-back-to-back MLS champion.

Wizards acquire Gomez for playoff push

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- The Kansas City Wizards will have to go full bore in their final eight games to win a spot in the MLS Cup Playoffs, currently sitting seven points short of the final spot. On Wednesday, the club added what they hope will be a catalyst in that drive, obtaining forward Herculez Gomez from the Colorado Rapids.

"He's good one-on-one; he's very aggressive going forward," said Wizards technical director Peter Vermes. "Some guys just wind up being in the right spot at the right time, and there are other guys that make things happen with the way they go at players because they're aggressive."

To obtain the 26-year-old Gomez, the Wizards sent a fourth-round draft pick in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, a first-round pick in the 2009 Supplemental Draft and allocation money to the Rapids. Vermes said the deal was a long time in the making.

"We've been talking back and forth with Colorado since last season about a couple of different players between them and us. We have a pretty good relationship," said Vermes, who dealt defender Jose Burciaga Jr. to Colorado in January. "Over the weekend they contacted us back and said they'd be interested in making a move on a couple guys. We [then] had more discussions regarding Herculez."

Vermes also emphasized Gomez's aggressiveness defensively, lauding his ability to funnel the ball into predictable channels for midfielders and backs and to force mistakes with the ball. The ability recalled Mo Johnston and Miklos Molnar's work in 2000 for Vermes when the three teammates led the Wizards to the MLS Cup title.

"I'm feisty -- [my biggest strength] is my will," said the five-year MLS veteran. "Since I was younger I've never been one of the best players, but I still keep moving up the ranks. ... I've done enough to keep on learning and keep on getting better."

Gomez is familiar with Wizards goalkeeper Kevin Hartman and midfielder Sasha Victorine from their days as teammates with the Los Angeles Galaxy, and with team captain Jimmy Conrad, with whom he teamed at the 2007 Copa America on the U.S. national team. His excitement was clear as he talked about his admiration for head coach Curt Onalfo and his new organization.

"It's a surprise, but a pleasant surprise. I'm excited and hoping a change of scenery will do me good," said the Las Vegas resident. "It's a clean slate. I know what I can do; I've done it in this league before. I'm going to a team that has had success in both MLS Cup and Open Cup -- they know what it's like to win championships. I've heard great things about the organization, and I'm really looking forward to this challenge."

Gomez's best season was in 2005 when he scored 11 league goals and 18 in all competitions as he helped lead the Galaxy to the MLS and Open Cup titles. Overall, he has put away 22 goals and added eight assists in 90 MLS matches, 56 of them starts. And he feels his fitness is high even though he has played only 644 minutes with the Rapids this season, coming off a right ACL tear suffered about this time last season.

"Fitness is great. It's always been one of those things that I use to my benefit. Mentally, I'm getting stronger every day. Ask any player and one of the biggest things is confidence. I feel like I'm getting back there," said Gomez.

In the third year of a four-year contract, Gomez will look to raise the Wizards' intensity as they head to Houston to take on the Dynamo this Sunday, the latest critical match in their playoff fight. Gomez is just looking to find a way to contribute.

"I'll put [the ball in the net] with my knee if I have to," he said.

Undermanned Galaxy plan on victory

CARSON, Calif. -- Real Salt Lake have picked up just one win and one draw on the road all season in 2008. The Los Angeles Galaxy are in the midst of the longest winless streak in club history. When the two clubs meet at The Home Depot Center on Saturday, something will have to give.

Los Angeles plays host to the surprise team of the Western Conference in what is undoubtedly a must-win game. LA is currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in, and a win against a conference foe would vault the Galaxy right back into the postseason picture.

"We certainly need a win, I wouldn't argue with that," said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena. "We're in the lab right now experimenting and mixing things up. We're stepping on the field Saturday with the expectation of winning."

Beating Real will be no easy task, however. RSL is currently second in the Western Conference, and have been playing some great soccer, thanks in large part to the performances of Fabian Espindola, Javier Morales and Kyle Beckerman. The trio have all been brought into the club under head coach Jason Kreis, as the former U.S. international and MLS sniper has turned the Utah-based club around.

Chris Klein was a former teammate of Kreis' at Salt Lake before being traded to the Galaxy, and he is one individual who isn't surprised with where RSL sits in the table.

"It's a completely different team. Jason (Kreis) has overhauled them and has done a good job of getting them to play well together," said Klein. "They've got good players at every position and they're very organized when they come out to play. They've struggled on the road a little bit, but I don't thing that's any indication of the team we're going to play on Saturday night."

While Kreis will have all of his major weapons available to him, the Galaxy are going to have to make due without several key players. Eddie Lewis and Landon Donovan (U.S.), David Beckham (England), and Ante Jazic (Canada) are all away with their respective national teams for World Cup qualifying. It leaves the Galaxy very shorthanded and looking for an offensive spark.

"If you look at our team this weekend, we lose four players in our first 11," said Arena. "That's a factor, and it is for other teams. Obviously there needs to be a reexamination of the schedule."

The absence of some key contributors on offense means that the defense is going to have to step up its game and not let Saturday's game turn into a shootout in which they are seriously outgunned.

"I think the real engine of their team is Morales in the middle," said Arena. "He's the guy that provides their service and creativity. Obviously they're very sound defensively, and going forward you have Morales and Espindola. Those are two of the guys we can key on for Saturday night, but they seem to get production from all the guys on their team."

Josh Wicks, who will be making his first MLS start in goal, is taking a much more comprehensive approach.

"I'll be keeping my eye on all ten of them. I don't want to fixate on just one person," said Wicks. "I'd rather fixate on my backline and make sure that they don't get any chances. If they get an opportunity, I hope I'm there to shut them down."

The term "must-win" gets thrown around a lot in sports, but there can be no denying that at this point in the season, the Galaxy need to turn things around immediately if they want to avoid missing the playoffs for a third consecutive season. A win against Real Salt Lake on Saturday would be a step in the right direction.

Galaxy, Real battle to draw in LA

CARSON, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Galaxy managed to come from behind in the second half, but still saw their winless streak reach a club-record 11 games in a 2-2 draw with Real Salt Lake on Saturday night at The Home Depot Center.

Bryan Jordan and Edson Buddle picked up a goal and an assist each as the Galaxy took an early lead, only for Real to go ahead on goals from Yura Movsisyan and Will Johnson on either side of halftime.

From the start, the visitors looked to take advantage of a Galaxy team missing the linchpins of its attack in Landon Donovan and David Beckham. Just five minutes into the game, RSL's talismanic striker, Fabian Espindola, made a nice run down the right side before cutting inside and unleashing a good shot on target. The shot however lacked the placement required to beat Josh Wicks, making his first career MLS start.

Less than a minute later, RSL were back on the attack and looked to have drawn first blood. A poor clearance floated to Kyle Beckerman at the top of the Galaxy penalty area, and Beckerman hit a full volley that Espindola flicked on past Wicks.

But Espindola was in a offside position, and although referee Michael Kennedy originally allowed the goal, the Galaxy immediately protested and some 40 seconds later the goal was ruled out.

In celebrating his apparent goal, Espindola did a backflip and injured himself on the landing. He had to be replaced, and left the field on crutches at halftime.

With Espindola still on the sidelines, the Galaxy took advantage very shortly thereafter. In the ninth minute, Buddle collected the ball in midfield and ran at defender Jamison Olave, beating him with a number of stepover moves. Buddle shot to the back post, just under Nick Rimando's hand, where Bryan Jordan ran onto the ball and tapped it home.

After the goal, it was Salt Lake putting on most of the pressure again. In the 17th minute, Javier Morales received a long ball over the top of the Galaxy back line. Morales rounded a charging Wicks, but pushed his shot wide of the open net.

Two minutes later, Morales sent a free kick in from the right flank that found a wide open Nat Borchers inside the area. The center back put a powerful header on goal, but right at Wicks, who made the save.

Real Salt Lake finally leveled the score in the 21st minute. Will Johnson played an early cross to Kenny Deucher at the penalty arc, and the Scotsman flicked the ball onto the back post where Yura Movsisyan was running free. Movsisyan, who had come on for Espindola, collected the ball and tucked it past Wicks.

Even though RSL enjoyed the majority of the possession, it was the Galaxy who generated the last scoring chance of the first half. Just past the half-hour mark, Buddle found Greg Vanney pushing up from the midfield. Vanney shot from 20 yards out, but his effort skipped wide of the back post.

Seven minutes into the second half, Real took the lead. The attack came from a great 1-2 move between Johnson and Movsisyan. Johnson wound up with the ball in the box, and curled a right-footed shot past Wicks, off the inside of the right post and into the back of the net.

In the 57th minute, the Galaxy went looking for an answer. Chris Klein took a free kick from deep in the midfield and his cross made its way to Alan Gordon. But the Galaxy striker's header sailed over the crossbar and out for a goal kick.

The Galaxy finally found the answer in the 69th minute. Josh Tudela received a long ball on the left flank and played a cross to the back post where Jordan collected it, beat a defender to the end line, and crossed the ball along the edge of the six. Aimed for Gordon, the ball deflected to Buddle, who got a touch to the ball, got his body squared and fired home the equalizer from close range.

Following the Galaxy goal, the game turned into a defensive stalemate as neither team generated much in the way of offense. Neither side generated a shot on goal over the final 20 minutes of the game, leaving the Galaxy still searching for the full compliment of points with Bruce Arena at the helm.

The Galaxy's next chance will come next Saturday when they take on the Kansas City Wizards at Arrowhead Stadium, while Real Salt Lake remain on the road, traveling to take on the New York Red Bulls.

Defense key part of Quakes' streak

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- No MLS team has had a longer unbeaten streak this year than San Jose's current run of eight games, and while their offense, powered by newcomers Darren Huckerby, Francisco Lima, Scott Sealy and Arturo Alvarez, has been getting plenty of the credit, the Earthquakes strong play on the defensive side of the ball has been just as critical to their climb toward a playoff spot.

Going into Saturday night's 2-1 win over D.C. United, San Jose sported the second lowest goals-against total in the league (tied with Houston). In the 10 games since a 3-1 loss at D.C. on June 22, the Quakes have allowed just seven goals.

"We don't seem to give up many easy chances. That's the sign of a good back four and goalkeeper," Earthquakes coach Frank Yallop said. "But the team defends as a team. It starts with the guys up front, and then the guys in midfield have to work real hard to make it difficult for the opposition to play. Then obviously our back line is solid and strong and brave, and we have probably the best goalkeeper in the league right now. Things are good at that end."

From the day the Quakes were reformed in the expansion draft, the club's defense was expected to be its strong suit. That is now coming to fruition.

"I think Frank (Yallop) and (general manager) John (Doyle), from day one, wanted to put together a good defensive unit," defender Nick Garcia said. "Defense is what's going to lead us to a championship. I think we've had it all year, we've finetuned it, and we've done better and better. Tonight, we would've liked to have shutout, but a win's a win, as pretty or as ugly as it might be."

San Jose controlled the run of play for the first 75 minutes Saturday night, and enjoyed a 2-0 lead through goals by Alvarez and Huckerby before a late goal by Santino Quaranta got United back in the match.

"Darren could've scored five tonight," Yallop said. "We should've scored more before halftime to see the game out. We didn't, and then they get that one goal and it makes a difference. At 2-1 they were throwing everything forward and were a little unlucky not to squeak something. I thought D.C., to be fair to them, could've gotten a draw out of the game in the end."

With the win, San Jose now has 28 points and sits in fourth place in the Western Conference, just two points shy of a playoff spot.

"I'm probably the worst guy to talk to after a win like this because I'm a little disgruntled and upset we didn't get the shutout, and we made it so hard on ourselves," goalkeeper Joe Cannon said. "It's good that we got three points, but at the same time, I expect perfection out of this defense. These guys are all professional and I think we all understand that defense is first and foremost the strength of our team. I demand even better than what we've been seeing, not only from them, but from myself."

The Earthquakes next face the division leaders, two-time defending MLS Cup champions Houston, in a home-and-home series.

"Since the new guys have come, we've played great at home. And now we've got an absolute war with the best team in our league coming up," Cannon said. "It's good to test what we're about against the best and see what we can do at home against those guys. They're playing really well right now, and we're playing pretty well right now.

"But I'll tell you what, if we come out like we did tonight against a Houston team that's on all cylinders, it's not going to be pretty. So this week, we're going to have to get back to our blue-collar ways, spend a little more time at the office, and win some games."

At the start of August, the Quakes were firmly entrenched in last place, eight full points out of a playoff spot. Then came a 3-2 win against arch-rival Los Angeles at home, and the forward surge began.

"We control our destiny," Garcia said. "We have two important games coming up, Houston home and away, and for us, two big games. Our destiny is in our hands. We've got the guys to do it. We've got to keep on fine tuning things, and work hard. If we do that, we should be in the playoffs."