Versatile Noonan key to Crew success

COLUMBUS -- The insurance policy named Pat Noonan has paid off for the Columbus Crew.

When Noonan expressed interest in returning to MLS after a short and unsuccessful venture to Norway, Columbus was anxious to add his depth and versatility. A deal with New England, his previous club for five seasons, was reached and the former Indiana University standout was traded to the Crew Aug. 6.

Since his debut on Aug. 16, he helped fill the gap when right midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo was winning an Olympic silver medal for Nigeria and most recently, he replaced Guillermo Barros Schelotto when the crafty playmaking forward went to the sideline with a strained hamstring that will cause him to miss a third consecutive game Saturday when the Crew face the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium.

Noonan has stepped in nicely. He scored the lone goal to rally Columbus to a 1-1 tie at Toronto on Sept. 13 and had the second assist on the Crew's final goal during 3-1 victory against New York Sept. 18 to run his point streak to three games. He also had an assist against his former club on Sept. 6 in Columbus.

Taking over the spot of a league MVP candidate in Schelotto is not easy but coach Sigi Schmid is thankful the Crew were able to obtain a talented veteran in Noonan.

"That's the reason we got Pat because we knew he play could that position. We knew he's give us depth," Schmid said. "It's exactly the reason we brought him in because he would be a very good option there, he might be the best option at that position and we're happy we did it."

The feeling is mutual. Noonan left the Revolution in January after deeming a new contract unacceptable. He landed in the Norwegian Tippeligaen with Aalesunds FK but a lack of playing time and injuries sent him to the conclusion that he was better off in MLS.

Shaking off a period of inactivity, Noonan went 58 minutes in his first Crew game then came off the bench for a total of 59 minutes in the next three matches. With Schelotto out, he started and played 78 minutes vs. Toronto and went 86 in the next match.

"I felt really good the last game against New York. It was good to get 80-some odd minutes out there. I felt good at the end, too, which was good," Noonan said. "The more you get 80-plus minutes, that's when you're game-fit and I'm getting there."

Schmid sees the improvement incrementally. "He's getting there. He'll be the first to admit to you he's probably 85-90 percent right now. It's always that last 10 percent that takes time, takes games. It's the sharpness and timing off your cuts, the timing of your passes. The more fine tuned stuff."

Noonan had to nurse a sore ankle this week but that won't prevent him from his first trip back to New England. He developed many friendships over the years while helping the Revolution to three consecutive MLS Cup Finals.

"It will be nice to catch up again. I obviously caught up with them from the first time we faced them here in Columbus," he said. "There's some old friends I'll say hello to and catch up to but for two hours you try to forget about it and try to win a game."

His first encounter produced a 4-0 Crew win and some on-field give-and-take with his former mates. He expects more of the same.

"I'm sure we'll have little conversations out there, pleasant or unpleasant. It will be forgotten about once the game is over but I'm looking forward to it,' he said.

How the fans will react is another story. Noonan made 110 starts and had 37 goals and 29 assists for the Revolution.

"I imagine there'll be some boos. That's how it always works," he said. "Hopefully, more cheers than boos."

Having spent so much time with New England leaves little doubt in Noonan's mind that Saturday's match will be physical.

"There's a lot of good players on that team. I liked to battle with (Jay) Heaps in training because we were pretty competitive. You go against Shalrie (Joseph). He likes to get in and get his hands in the mix. Those are the type of altercations you enjoy going against," he said. "They have good squad and they're talented all around. I'm sure I'll enjoy any of the battles and hopefully come away on top."

The Crew are atop the Eastern Conference by five points ahead of the Revolution and a win would go a long way toward sealing the title and the Supporters' Shield for the most points in the league. Columbus is the only team to have clinched a playoff spot, its first since 2004.

"It's an important chance to really push away with only a few games left and if we can go in and come away with three points that would be a big step for us," said Noonan. "It's going to be a big challenge for us, we know that. We've got to be ready from the opening whistle."

He and his teammates know the most recent meeting was less indicative of the Revolution than New England's 1-0 win in Columbus on My 24. The former came after a slew of league and international competitions that left the Revolution with no gas in their engine.

The real Revolution have a history of turning the play up a notch as the regular season winds down, much like the Crew are doing now on their 5-0-1 stretch.

"When you put a winning streak together and you're beating good teams home and away you get confidence and then you build on that confidence," Noonan said. "You expect to go in and win every game, which is what you need. Especially down that stretch run going into the playoffs you want to be winning games not losing games."

He noticed that the teams show some of the same traits.

"The similarities are the locker rooms. Both are great locker rooms where guys get along and enjoy playing with each other as well as the coaching staff. You've got a coaching staff that knows what they're doing," he said. "They have different approaches -- that might be one of the differences in how we prepare for games -- but they both know what they're doing. They both know how to win. It's a little more laid back here (in Columbus). Guys are very relaxed and enjoy being around the whole training atmosphere and hanging out in the locker room.

"There's plenty of similarities. That's why both teams are successful."

Davis: Evaluating the playoff race

In England, they might call this "squeaky-bum time."

Famously coined by none other than Sir Alex Ferguson himself, that's a witty way of saying that things are getting tight and tense, that nerves might be frayed and that courageous lions are likely to prevail over nervous Nellies.

Major League Soccer was once fairly forgiving where the playoffs were concerned. For a while, eight of 10 clubs made the "second season." Then it was eight of 12.

This year, the percentage of sides afforded playoff grace has shrank further, as just eight of 14 clubs advance into bonus soccer. In a league where accessing the playoffs has traditionally been seen as the absolute minimum performance standard, six clubs will share big slices of the disappointment pie.

Hence, "squeaky-bum time." So, let's take a look at where things stand.

For this week, to develop a bit of clarity in the race, let's make some assumptions: Let's go ahead and assume that New England and Houston will join Columbus in the playoffs. Only Sigi Schmid's Crew have essentially clinched, but it would take the least likely confluence of calamity too see those other two frontrunners lapped.

On the other end, well, sorry all you wonderful Toronto FC fans. Black armbands are the order of the day where your playoff hopes are concerned. It will probably take 36-38 points in the East to gain postseason grace. That means that John Carver's team, currently on 27 points with five matches remaining, needs an implausible burst of success, and probably some help, too.

Strange things do happen, of course. But for now, we'll make the assumption that 10 teams are chasing five spots. Here's a look at each of the teams that could fall either way (listed in order of current points):

Chicago (38 points): The time is "now" for Denis Hamlett's men, with four losses in their last six and leaking goals lately at an alarming rate. Los Angeles visits Toyota Park on Thursday, presenting a national TV stage on which to right the ship and spruce up those playoff ambitions. A win against Bruce Arena's team would all but mathematically secure a berth for the Fire -- assuming they can stabilize things in the back just a bit.

New York Red Bulls (35 points): Likewise, it's time for Juan Carlos Osorio's club to make a stand. Times two, in fact.

The men of the Bull simply can't win on the road; they have collected eight of a possible 39 points away from Giants Stadium this year. So home matches over the next two weekends represent the best shot at securing a spot. Colorado comes calling at Giants Stadium this week, followed by Toronto next week. Four points from the set should be considered the absolute acceptable minimum, because the schedule gets much tougher over the final three dates.

D.C. United (33 points): Tom Soehn's team has struggled since outlasting the Charleston Battery for the U.S. Open Cup crown in early September. United are winless in their last four (going into Wednesday's CONCACAF Champions League match in Honduras), including three MLS matches and a loss at home in Champions League play.

The MLS setbacks have suddenly left United's playoff chances on an uncomfortable dangle. And the RFK woes are complicated big-time by fixture congestion. Whereas most MLS clubs have five competitive matches remaining, United has 10 thanks to the Champions League calendar.

Soehn's travelers were in Los Angeles last weekend, are in Honduras on Wednesday and will be in Dallas on Sunday. That's good on the frequent flier budget, but bad for playoff aspirations.

Chivas USA (33 points): Jesse Marsch returned to the field last week, looking a little thinner but no less determined after the jaw injury that sidelined for a month. That's a great boost for Preki's determined men, who have remained relevant in the playoff chase despite the league's worst rash of injury misfortune.

The key for Chivas, currently second in the West, is in claiming six or so points off the next four contests -- two at home, two on the road. Kansas City visits The Home Depot Center this weekend, with Colorado visiting Carson three Saturdays later.

What Chivas needs is to avoid a final-day must-win scenario. Houston comes calling in the Chivas USA regular season finale, and even if Dominic Kinnear's Dynamo have a playoff place secure (and the South Texans almost certainly will), facing the reserves of the league's deepest team is no picnic.

Kansas City (32 points): Two weeks ago the Wizards were virtually written off for dead.

This week? Well, don't let anybody book up CommunityAmerica Ballpark for those few weeks in November, a.k.a. MLS playoff time.

Two consecutive wins by Curt Onalfo's team have the Wizards positioned just a single point behind D.C. United and just two points behind the Red Bulls. If the Wizards can somehow scratch up a point this weekend at Chivas USA, they'll be in a great position.

Even if the Wizards come and go in sunny SoCal without a point, things might still look promising in Wizard-land. That's because the next three matches will be in the Midwest at the patriotically named CommunityAmerica. Chicago, New England and San Jose wouldn't be anyone's first choice of visitors for three at home. But, heck, for a team written off for dead heading into September, Onalfo's men surely appreciate the opportunity afforded by all that home cooking.

Colorado (31 points): Here's yet another club that stubbornly clawed its way back into the race. The Rapids have collected seven of a possible nine points in their last three under interim manager Gary Smith, whose heavy English accent has apparently resonated inside the Dick's Sporting Goods Park changing room.

There are, however, still miles to go before they can dream of playoff plums; the schedule ahead is probably the toughest among all postseason pursuers. If the Rapids can somehow hang in there, things will set up nicely for a smash-bang closer Oct. 25, as Colorado finishes against bitter rival Real Salt Lake.

Real Salt Lake (31 points): Dropping those points at home last week in a stinging loss to Chivas USA could wind up being calamitous for Jason Kreis' club. The men from Utah have been around since 2005, but have yet to feast on the playoff beast.

Now RSL plays three of its final five on the road, where the men from Utah have managed just one win all year. They have two home matches, including the highly anticipated Oct. 9 debut of the club's beautiful new home in Sandy. While new stadiums do amazing things for clubs in the long run, they don't tend to help the win-loss mark in the short term.

None of the last three teams that opened a stadium in midseason recently -- presumably distracted by all the attached hullabaloo -- could manage a win in the debut contest. That's a fact that can't make the good Utah soccer supporters fell all warm and fuzzy.

FC Dallas (30 points): Oddly enough, the best success so far for manager Schellas Hyndman has come on the road. It is last week's 4-1 confidence-boosting win at Chicago and a previous win in Toronto, not anything that's happened at Pizza Hut Park, which has FC Dallas still thinking "postseason."

But whatever has kept FC Dallas from scooping up more points at home under Hyndman (they have just five of a possible 15 points at Pizza Hut Park under the league's newest full-time boss), they'll have to identify and fix it fast. The North Texans play their next three in Frisco, starting with Sunday's afternoon contest against travel-weary D.C. United.

Los Angeles (29 points): A team that didn't record a victory over 12 matches (until snapping the winless streak Saturday) is suddenly just two points shy of third place in the West. That's a testament to a conference that, excepting Houston, hasn't had a bully to boldly push pass the mediocrity. That has kept Landon Donovan, David Beckham, et al, in the thick of things despite a summer of discontent.

If Bruce Arena can get this side into the postseason, the Galaxy certainly would have earned it. Matches loom at Chicago, Columbus and Houston. With a 2-6-4 road record and a minus-9 goal difference away from home, they'll need something extraordinary to make their first playoff appearance since 2006.

San Jose (29 points): The Earthquakes' ace in the hole is a game in hand. Houston has the same thing, but the Dynamo probably won't need the extra chance to gather up points. (Both teams have played one fewer due to last week's Hurricane Ike-related postponement.)

Frank Yallop's side also has the most favorable schedule ahead of all 10 teams still scrapping for their playoff lives, with matches at Buck Shaw against Real Salt Lake (this weekend), Chivas USA and Toronto FC. If the Earthquakes can keep any semblance of the current form, they should be OK in this thing. That's quite an achievement considering that the Bay Area bunch sat at the bottom of the entire league table two months ago.

Cunningham, Hoops shock Chicago

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Led by a pair of goals from Jeff Cunningham, FC Dallas scored three first-half goals against the stingiest defense in the league on the way to a convincing 4-1 road win against the Chicago Fire Sunday afternoon at Toyota Park.

FC Dallas became the first team to score three goals against the Fire this season. The Fire had given up just 20 goals in their first 24 games.

The victory ended a five-game winless streak for FC Dallas, which jumped out of the cellar in the Western Conference into fifth place with 30 points. The Fire remain in third place in the Eastern Conference with 38 points, nine points behind the New England Revolution.

Each of the Hoops' first three goals was significant beyond adding to the total on the scoreboard.

Cunningham scored in the game's second minute when a free kick by Andre Rocha squirted through a crowd in the box and Cunningham poked it past diving Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch. Cunningham celebrated the goal by miming rocking a baby in his arms, to signify the birth of his first child last week.

The goal was Cunningham's 17th against the Fire in his long MLS career. It was the sixth of the season overall for Cunningham, obtained a few weeks from Toronto FC.

Another free kick by Rocha led to the second goal, when his kick from 25 yards out far right lofted over the crowd in the box and landed at the right foot of Aaron Pitchkolan, who one-timed the ball to the far right corner while Busch was heading to his right toward Pitchkolan. It was Pitchkolan's first goal of the season.

The third goal was the real shocker, as Cunningham dribbled the ball off a FC Dallas counterattack down the left side, then sent it from 25 yards out to the far right side, where midfielder Bruno Guarda one-timed it out of the air to the upper right side of the goal for a 3-0 Hoops lead.

The victory was the third in the last 12 games for Dallas under coach Schellas Hyndman, who took over in June for fired coach Steve Morrow. Earlier this week, FCD general manager Michael Hitchcock reiterated his intention to retain Hyndman for next season.

The game had some decidedly chippy moments. In the first half, Guarda and Fire defender Gonzalo Segares mixed it up, with Segares putting Guarda down with a retaliatory shove. In the 55th minute, Marcelo Saragosa of FC Dallas received a yellow card for a tackle from behind on Fire second-half substitute Justin Mapp.

In the 53rd minute, FC Dallas came close to going ahead 4-0 when forward Kenny Cooper blasted a shot from 25 yards out that went over Busch's head and hit the upper right corner of the post and bounced away.

In the 61st minute, Cunningham got his second goal of the game, and his second chance to celebrate the birth of his child. Rocha sent a long clearance forward putting Cunningham in a foot race with Fire defender Lider Marmol to the ball. Cunningham had a step on Marmol, who shouted at Busch to come out. But Cunningham got to the ball first and had an easy shot past Busch for his seventh goal of the season.

In the 70th minute, Cooper missed a shot at a wide-open net. A goal kick by Dallas keeper Dario Sala was headed downfield by defender Adrian Serioux past the Fire defense to Cooper on the right side. Busch came out to cut off Cooper's shot, but the veteran Dallas forward dribbled past Busch. But his right-footed shot went wide right.

Seconds away from a shutout, the Fire finally got on the scorebaoard in stoppage time on a goal by Brian McBride, who headed home a cross from Justin Mapp.

The Fire remain home for an MLS Primetime Thursday match against the Los Angeles Galaxy, while FC Dallas also heads home for a match next Sunday against D.C. United.

Rapids lament lost points in draw

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- The Colorado Rapids' strong showing against defending Eastern Conference champion New England Revolution Saturday night kept the Rapids in the thick of the playoff hunt, maintaining a tie for third place in the tight Western Conference race.

The Rapids, however, can't be faulted for leaving the match with a bad aftertaste.

For the third game in a row, Colorado boasted a near bulletproof backline, following up their back-to-back shutouts of Chicago and Dallas by holding the Revolution to five shots and one goal, a chip over the head of goalkeeper Preston Burpo following a deflected header from center fullback Cory Gibbs.

"He got a good bounce," Burpo said of the equalizer from halftime substitute Kenny Mansally in the 50th minute. "It was deflected off Cory towards the back. My initial move was to go forward, but the way the ball popped up, I was in trouble at that point, and I decided to sit and hope he was just going to shoot it. But he decided to chip it. I was in trouble, and he did well with it."

The goal slammed the breaks on the momentum Colorado had built with a late goal in the waning moments of the first half, putting a new slant on a second half the Rapids had hoped to dictate with a hard-won lead.

"That was a bit of a kick in the teeth for us five minutes into the second half," said interim coach Gary Smith of New England's comeback goal. "But you see the way the team responded from that point. I couldn't give anything but praise for the players. We created a number of opportunities, and I thought their goalkeeper made some really good saves. I thought there were some terrific passages of play that found us in good areas. Some great delivery from both sides. Terry [Cooke] and Colin [Clark] were instrumental in a lot of things we created."

Cooke and Clark had proven a formidable pair of wingers for Colorado, combining for seven shots between them and teaming up for a first-half goal on an attack that began with Pablo Mastroeni and Tom McManus possessing the ball at midfield before finding Cooke on the wing.

"Tom drifted deep in the midfield, got turned and played the ball wide to Cookie," Clark said. "I was more central than I usually am and drifted into the box. With Cookie, he'll put a ball in there and you don't have to do much with it. You pretty much just have to let it hit your head and it'll go in with him serving the ball. I was fortunate to be right there, and there it was. There it goes in the goal."

Colorado maintained pressure throughout the second half, fending off New England as the visiting side was rejuvenated by leveling the score. The Rapids pressed their attack, adding fresh legs with Conor Casey and Mehdi Ballouchy in the 62nd and 71st minutes, respectively, and threatening Revolution 'keeper Matt Reis up until the final seconds, when referee Michael Kennedy whistled the end of the game just as Casey launched a long cross to a wide-open Clark on the left wing.

The unusual end to the game as an attack was developing induced an immediate melee at midfield as the Rapids argued their case to Kennedy, but the referee held his ground and the game ended in deadlock.

"The referee said that he played five minutes on his watch," Smith said about the intrusive whistle, coming after an announced stoppage time of at least four minutes. "I think we all know that to play that out would have taken another three seconds, maximum. Because you're getting the defender completely stranded, [Clark] has one touch, and he has to finish. So we're talking about three seconds. It's very disappointing.

"All I said was if you felt that time was over, why stop it at that point? Why not stop it down in the channel when Conor secures the ball? Once he gets to that point, you've got to play it out, surely. But there we have it."

The final whistle stood, and the two teams satisfied themselves with each taking a well-earned point out of the match, but Colorado -- with its sites firmly set on moving up in the Western Conference standings -- couldn't find cause to celebrate.

"It feels like a defeat in many ways," Smith said. "I thought the team conducted themselves in an extremely professional manner. The game was tight for a good period in the first half, and the one goal that separated it I felt was a very decent goal."

With Los Angeles defeating D.C. later Saturday night, the Rapids were left in a tie for third place with 31 points, squarely in the middle of a pack of five teams trailing conference leader Houston, each within four points of each other.

"On another day, we win the game I think," Smith said. "We have enough chances to win the game. Sadly today we come away with a point against a rejuvenated New England team who we all know have tremendous quality, and I think we've restricted them to few opportunities and scraps, to be honest."

Letting a solid New England side scrape together a tie on Colorado's home field would have to be enough for the Rapids this week. The team continues to click when it matters most, and with their season on the line, the Rapids are giving nothing away.

RSL, Morales agree to extension

SALT LAKE CITY -- In many ways, Javier Morales has developed into a key ingredient in the formula for success Real Salt Lake have worked hard to create this season. So it comes as no surprise that RSL has done everything it can to assure that Morales will remain in Utah for next several years.

RSL officials announced on Tuesday afternoon that they had come to terms with Morales on a contract extension that will keep him with the club through the end of the 2012 MLS season. Terms of the deal were not disclosed by RSL.

Since joining Real in 2007, the 28-year-old Argentinean midfielder has scored five goals and handed out 12 assists in 31 games.

"It's definitely a good sign when the staff signs on a good player like that," fellow midfielder Kyle Beckerman said. "We can really believe we're building something here."

In 2008, Morales has enjoyed perhaps the best season of any midfielder to don an RSL uniform.

He has racked up 10 assists so far, tying him for the second place among MLS assist leaders. His ability to score has shown through at times as well, with Morales tallying four goals -- putting him only one behind team leaders Robbie Findley and Fabian Espindola.

Morales' assist tally this season also puts him within one of tying Jeff Cunningham's single-season club record of 11, set in 2006. With 12 career assists for Salt Lake, he is also threatening the career club mark of 14 assists held by current teammate Andy Williams.

Locking up Morales for the immediate future became a front office priority after seeing his emergence in the midfield this season. Morales has been vital to the club's success thus far and Real were determined to include him in their future plans.

"It was a concerning factor for us going into next year that we could possibly lose him," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "To have that deal all signed, sealed and delivered is a very good thing for Real Salt Lake."

As part of the new deal with Morales, team officials announced they have purchased his contract rights from UD Vesindario, a team in the Spanish second division. Morales originally joined RSL on loan from Vesindario last summer.

Teammates and coaches hailed the news at Tuesday's practice in the new RSL stadium as a great development for the fans and for the club itself. Morales, they believe will become even more effective now that he is in a RSL uniform for more than a short-term basis.

"We're very happy with Javier," Kreis said. "We're happy with the work he put in (over) the offseason. We're happy with how dedicated he's shown himself to be to our club."

With a key contract situation out of the way, Morales can pour his focus into the remainder of this season. He and his teammates want to make sure this is the year they finally end the rebuilding cycle for RSL.

"Javier would say it himself: he's focused on this year and the next couple of games coming up," goalkeeper Nick Rimando said. "If we don't make the playoffs this year, it's just another year that went down the tubes."

Rolfe, Fire break out, stall Galaxy

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- After last Sunday's 4-1 loss to FC Dallas, the Chicago Fire came out with a gameplan Thursday night against the Los Angeles Galaxy. They looked to score early and defend, defend, defend. The plan worked to their advantage as the Fire topped the Galaxy 3-1 in front of a sellout crowd at Toyota Park.

Chris Rolfe scored a pair of goals, one in each half, and Cuauhtemoc Blanco added a third as the Fire snapped a quick two-game losing streak. Eddie Lewis scored the Galaxy's lone goal to send the teams into the locker room tied at 1-1.

The Fire nearly broke through after just 10 minutes, but Ante Jazic was perfectly placed at the right-hand post to head Bakary Soumare's header from Justin Mapp corner kick off the line.

But it didn't take long for the home side to gain the advantage.In the 13th minute, Rolfe intercepted the ball at midfield and knocked it forward. John Thorrington held it up for Rolfe to regain possession, and ran upfield. Rolfe broke through defenders, bounced off one and almost fell to the ground, then spun around and blasted the ball into the lower left corner of the net for a 1-0 Fire lead.

The Galaxy's Ante Jazic sent a long shot toward goal in the 26th minute for the first Los Angeles shot of the match. On its way toward goal, it took a deflection off defender Wilman Conde, but Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch managed to tip it over to keep his net clean. David Beckham took resulting corner kick, which Conde again cleared to keep the lead at 1-0.

But the Galaxy were gradually coming back into the game, and tied the score in the 35th minute. Greg Vanney laid the ball off to Landon Donovan, who looped a pass to Chris Klein on the right side of the field. Klein crossed it into the box where Eddie Lewis got in front of his defender and flicked it inside the far post with his left boot, tying the game at 1-1.

LA almost jumped ahead in the 40th minute on a counterattack. At a full run, David Beckham passed a short ball to Edson Buddle on the right side of the field. Buddle ran a few steps and sent a long angled shot toward the far post, but it rolled just outside the goal.

Blanco went down in the 45th minute after colliding with LA goalkeeper Josh Wicks. Blanco lay motionless for a couple of minutes, before being attended to and walking off the field with assistance. Blanco then re-entered the game for the remaining two minutes of stoppage time.

The Fire put the game away with two goals in three minutes early in the second half. Chasing a 50-50 through ball outside the box in the 57th minute, Blanco collided with defender Troy Roberts while goalkeeper Wicks ran up to make a play at the same time. Blanco managed to touch the ball past the two Galaxy players, hopped over Roberts and had an easy shot into an empty goal.

Two minutes later, another long through ball from midfield, this from Gonzalo Segares, sent Rolfe racing in alone on goal. Rolfe fired a long shot from just outside the area. Wicks got a hand on it, then turned and watched as the ball bounced into the back of the net for a 3-1 Chicago lead.

The Galaxy had a couple of late chances to pull a goal back. Donovan sent a volley, on a cross from the left, over the net in the 71st minute. Then in the 86th minute, defender Sean Franklin had a clear header off a corner kick, but sent the ball wide left.

The Fire held out the rest of the way and now have 41 points, remaining in third place in the East, now six points ahead of the New York Red Bulls. The Galaxy are still tied for sixth place in the Western Conference with San Jose, both teams with 29 points (though the Earthquakes have two games in hand).

J.League delegation visits MLS clubs

NEW YORK -- Major League Soccer and its Japanese counterpart, the J.League, continued to develop their relationship this month, as a J.League delegation toured several MLS markets during the month of September. The 33-person delegation included representatives from 28 of the J.League's 33 teams, as well as documentary film staff.

The tour, which explored the operations of the Columbus Crew, FC Dallas, Chivas USA, and the Los Angeles Galaxy, was launched as part of the J.League's 11 Million Project, an initiative that aims to increase aggregate annual attendance at official matches to 11 million spectators by 2010 (and the intermediate goal of 9.5 million for 2008). The goal of the visit was to support the 11 Million Project by learning about MLS's best practices in ticket sales, community relations, and database marketing.

Researching MLS was a component of the J.League's broader look at the industry, which consisted of similar visits to clubs Arsenal (England), Villareal and Osasuna (Spain), Ajax (Netherlands), and the U.S. leagues MLB, the NFL, the NBA, and the NHL. At the tour's conclusion, many of the J.League's delegates said they were impressed by the hospitable disposition of MLS personnel and were eager to adapt their customer-friendly practices to Japanese culture so that something similar could be implemented in the J.League. Many of the J.League representatives also noted the rapid growth and increasing relevance of soccer in the United States.

The J.League's analysis of MLS practices was informed by stadium tours and presentations followed by question-and-answer sessions with team general managers and executives in each market. The J. League delegation attended two MLS regular season games. In their final analysis, Shoji Fujimura and Hitoshi Sato, who have been charged with heading up the J.League's new ticket sales initiative, identified the need for teams to have stadium ownership as the most important discovery of their recent MLS tour, especially because most teams in the J.League do not own the stadiums where they play.

The participating MLS teams have opened the door for future collaborations and are considering the feasibility of conducting a similar information-gathering visits to Japan.

D.C. United disappointed with draw

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Year after year for more than a decade, D.C. United teams have been built for aggressive, attacking soccer. This season's squad is no different, ranking third in Major League Soccer with 39 goals scored in 24 matches.

With twenty minutes left in Saturday night's see-saw clash with FC Dallas, United found themselves in possession of a 2-1 lead thanks to Santino Quarantas volley and a first-half header from Jaime Moreno. As RFK Stadium quaked with the joyful noise of 19,890 fans, a precious three points was in sight.

All D.C. had to do was close up shop and see out the games final stages.

But as the old adage goes, a tiger can't change its stripes, and on this occasion, the Black-and-Red just couldn't resist the urge to maintain the breakneck pace set by Dallas and their speedy second-half substitutes. Both sides stayed true to the match's end-to-end tempo, and ten minutes after Quaranta's strike Hoops' midfielder Andre Rocha equalized on a counterattack, providing an entertaining spectacle for Fox Soccer Channel's television audience but leaving United tired and fuming.

"I felt like the longer it went on, the more we ended up having to do, because it got so stretched out there, both ways almost like a basketball game, going back and forth at some points in the game," said D.C. holding midfielder Clyde Simms, who covered as much ground as anyone on the field over 90 minutes. "It's unfortunate to put as much work as we did in the game and give up a goal late to lose two points. We're very disappointed about that."

But in a match featuring 10 saves and a whopping 32 shots all told, the final result could have swung either way. The United back line struggled to contain Dallas' attacking tandem of Kenny Cooper and Jeff Cunningham, and later had to contend with the fresh legs of Dominic Oduro and Eric Avila as the Hoops chased the game.

"Those guys are quick," said Marc Burch, tasked with a center back role on Saturday. "They've got some fast guys up top and they did well when they came in, created some scoring opportunities. But I think we should've come away with a win there, no matter what."

D.C. netminder Louis Crayton was busy all evening and his team might have left empty-handed were it not for critical saves on shots from Jeff Cunningham and Bruno Guarda, among others. Yet Crayton's share of his postgame comments inevitably centered on Rocha's finish, which found him out of position after he was unable to cut out Avila's centering pass at the near post.

"I would term it as pure luck, because I came out of the goal knowing the fact that [Avila] was going to play the ball exactly where the ball went," said a rueful Crayton. "Unfortunately my hand could not get to it, and it went out to [Rocha] and he placed it in a very good corner."

Quaranta had even more reason to be irate. Contributing an MVP-worthy performance in the playmaking role left vacant by Marcelo Gallardo scratched from the gameday roster due to a case of the flu and a sore ankle, the Baltimore native thought his goal had snatched a vital victory for his playoff-chasing side and he pulled no punches in his post-match assessment.

"We have to start learning our lesson," he said. "If not, we're not going to be playing in late October and November. If that's what it takes, then that's what it takes, because it's just not good enough. Again, it's ten minutes to go and you have to do what you have to do to get a result at this point in the season, and we didn't do that. And it's upsetting. We have to start holding ourselves accountable, all eleven of us."

United now have less than three days to prepare for their CONCACAF Champions League opener against Costa Rican powerhouse Deportivo Saprissa on Tuesday night, and the Black-and-Red recognize that holding serve at their RFK home will be central to any hopes of qualification out of a stacked Group A.

"We don't have a long time to prepare," said Crayton. "But I think everyone is aware what is ahead of us. I think we are preparing mentally, physically, morally to go into this game after tonight's match as professionals, to be able to come out with a win to advance to the next stage of the Champions League."

D.C. begins transcontinental road trip in LA

WASHINGTON -- D.C. United set off on an epic transcontinental road trip on Friday, leaving home behind for nearly a week as Tom Soehn and his undermanned side hunt for two crucial results despite grim shortages in key areas of the squad.

Heading to Los Angeles for a Saturday night showdown with the Galaxy, United can be forgiven for looking back fondly at their last meeting with David Beckham and company. The 4-1 win under the midday sun at RFK Stadium on June 29 marked the last time United won consecutive league matches, as well as the last time the Black-and-Red attack notched more than two goals in MLS play.

But most notably of all, it was essentially the last time Soehn was able to call on his first-choice lineup. Designated player Marcelo Gallardo would soon be sidelined by sports hernia troubles and he has not played a full 90 minutes since. Last week, United's No. 10 flew home to Argentina for a new rehabilitation regimen due to lingering complications from the injury, and will miss at least two more weeks of action.

His countryman Gonzalo Peralta has been similarly debilitated by health problems of his own (hamstring) and remains well short of match fitness. Ivan Guerrero (deep muscle bruise), Fred (hamstring) and Luciano Emilio (groin) are traveling at less than full speed, and captain Jaime Moreno has been left at home with a swollen knee, hoping to rejoin the team in Honduras for Wednesday's CONCACAF Champions League match against CD Marathon.

"You have to try to play though it," said Emilio, who gutted out the first 45 minutes of Tuesday's 2-0 CCL loss to Deportivo Saprissa despite being less than 100 percent fit. "We have to try to play well, hope everyone gets healthy soon and keep moving forward."

So youngsters and new arrivals will have to carry a far greater share of the responsibilities. Rookies Ryan Cordeiro and Craig Thompson started against Saprissa and are likely to see more action in the coming week, while Quavas Kirk, who earned his first start of the year against FC Dallas, and recent signing Boyzzz Khumalo are also expected to contribute.

"The next was me -- so who else you got?" said Soehn with a chuckle, discussing his young lineup on Tuesday. "No, they did well. They came in and competed. The soccer part is going to take a little dive, but we have to make sure that the competitive side is there and I thought those guys did a great job."

Khumalo has played a significant role in both matches played since his official signing last week, a pleasant surprise for someone who only expected to help out the reserve squad when he originally arrived in D.C.

"I was just supposed to play one [reserve] game and go home," said the South African, on loan from USL-2 side Pittsburgh Riverhounds. "But when I got here, they said 'OK, we like you, if you want to stay it's up to you.' So I decided to stay. I thought I could help the team, to be honest, because I saw some of the guys and I figured I could fit into this system easily."

Soehn admits that his coaching duties are largely dominated by a sort of triage at the moment, patching together a lineup as best he can, and that situation also creates new challenges for his players. Khumalo had barely been introduced to Moreno -- who'd just returned from international duty -- before the two were partnered together in his first match, last Saturday's 2-2 draw with FC Dallas. Then the South African was handed a different role on Tuesday, roaming United's right flank.

"I'd been playing with the reserves. I know most of the reserve guys but I don't know the first team," Khumalo said. "That was the first time for me to play with Moreno up top, so it's kind of hard. We didn't have that chemistry because he'd been gone and he just came back a couple days ago, and I had to adjust on how to play with him."

Cordeiro finds himself in a similar situation, having played on the left wing most of the season but more recently used as a striker. His hard work up top was one of the bright spots against Saprissa and he hopes to notch his first professional goal in the games ahead.

Meanwhile, Kirk might be particularly motivated to play a role against his former club on Saturday night. The pacy winger started 15 matches for the Galaxy over the past two seasons, only to find his opportunities more limited in D.C. He recognizes that United presently needs all the help he can offer, though, and in the days ahead the team will have to rely on the eagerness and endeavor of young legs like his.

"I never expected in LA to actually contribute as much as I did, which was a blessing, definitely," said the Generation adidas product. "To come out here, whenever they need me, wherever they need me, I'm going to play. It doesn't matter, I just love the game and whenever they want me on the field I'm going to be ready to play."

Kandji impresses new teammates

MONTCLAIR, N.J. -- Mac Kandji came to New York with nothing but the clothes on his back.

After scoring a goal for the Atlanta Silverbacks in a 1-1 draw at Seattle last Saturday, Kandji arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport with his teammates. Kandji's cell phone rang and his agent told him to stay put.

Moments later, Kandji's phone rang again. His agent was on the line again, telling him to board a flight for Newark Liberty International Airport.

"I came to New York with my Atlanta travel gear," Kandji said. "It was a very tiring road trip to get here, but it was very exciting."

After going through an extensive physical Monday, the 23-year-old Senegalese forward officially joined the Red Bulls as the club's prized signing just before the MLS roster freeze deadline.

On Wednesday, Kandji joined his teammates at training for the first time, impressing Dave van den Bergh for one.

"He looked good, to be honest with you," he said. "I only saw him on the ball twice, but when he was on the ball he just deked three guys. He looks good, he looks very strong. My understanding, from what I heard, he's fast so hopefully he can help us."

Kandji spent two years with the Silverbacks, scoring 11 goals and adding five assists in 21 matches this year. He was named to the USL-1 Best XI five times and was twice named the USL-1 Player of the Week. His ability on the ball and flashy moves made him a fan favorite in Atlanta. That part of his game, he said, will remain the same despite moving up to MLS.

"I will never change the kind of player I am," Kandji said. "I think even higher levels from here I can still use that anywhere. I'm very confident with my skills and speed. You're going to see a lot of that in the MLS from me."

Red Bulls fans hoping to get a glimpse of Kandji in an MLS game, though, will have to wait at least another week. The team is letting Kandji's sprained right ankle heel and the lanky 6-foot-4 striker is targeting the Red Bulls' next home game -- Sept. 27 against Colorado.

"I will follow (Red Bulls head trainer Rick Guter's) advice," Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. "He's thinking in two weeks time he will be 100 percent. In the meantime we are trying to get him back into fitness and doing individualized training as much as we can.

"I don't know if he will be available for (the Colorado game) fully fit, but he will have definitely improved substantially," Osorio added.

Van den Bergh is also out for the Red Bulls for Thursday's match against league-leading Columbus. The veteran left-sided midfielder flew to Germany Wednesday and will undergo surgery Friday in Munich to repair a sports hernia. Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck will perform a "minimal repair technique." Chris Leitch and Carlos Mendes were among several New York players to get the same operation done.

Van den Bergh is expected to be out for 2-3 weeks.

"I've had it for a while, but I didn't want anyone to know because as soon as your opponents know that's not good," van den Bergh said. "We just kept it to ourselves."

With the Red Bulls in the thick of the playoff hunt, the timing isn't great. But if van den Bergh waited, the next possible time to get the surgery would have been Oct. 10.

"If it's not right I wont force the issue because otherwise I might be out for the rest of the year," he said. "I'm going to see how it feels and do the right thing for my body because otherwise I'm just going to aggravate it again. I just want to have it healed completely before I step on the field."

Jorge Rojas, who has played in an attacking midfielder role for the Red Bulls, will likely slide over to fill in for van den Bergh, while Mike Magee might play behind Juan Pablo Angel, who will likely be the lone forward in a 4-5-1 formation.

"I think it's the best team (I've been on) in terms of depth, the way we've been playing," Magee said. "The only thing that we've kind of struggled with has been road games. The last two games playing D.C. and Chicago were really tough games and I think we learned a lot."

The Red Bulls meet the Crew for the second time this season after opening the season with a 2-0 victory at Giants Stadium on April 5. Since then, though, the Red Bulls have added eight players.

If the playoffs were to start this week, the Red Bulls and Crew would be meeting in the Eastern Conference Semifinal Series. But right now the club's focus is on the excitement of playing against the best team in the league.

"I think this is the biggest game of our season," Osorio said. "I think playing against the top team in the league is, as I told the players, there is no extra motivation. It's the best possible game we can ask for."

Rested Revs shoot for clean sheet

Forget about scoring four goals. The important number last week for the New England Revolution was zero.

As in zero goals allowed against Chivas USA.

As the fixtures piled up, teams found the Revolution more pliant. Conceding eight goals in a week isn't par for the course for a Steve Nicol-coached side with veteran defenders who pride themselves on getting stuck in week after week.

"It was really important," Revs defender Chris Albright said. "We were taking pride in our defensive performances earlier in the season. When we won SuperLiga, that's how we did that. We want to get back to that."

Defensive partner Jay Heaps said the shutout was important to return to the side's defensive principles.

"We needed to do that," Heaps said. "Defensively, we've had a couple of games we don't ever want to talk about again. We've played together for a long time. We know what we need to do."

When the Revolution head to Dick's Sporting Goods Park to face the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, putting another zero up on the board will be important. The Revs haven't had much success in the Mile High City over the years -- 3-11-3 all-time and without a point there since 2004 -- and Albright thinks that renewed defensive spirit will bolster the side.

"It's about being solid at the back and getting that early goal," Albright said.

This is the first time in a long time that the Revolution will approach a game with the proper amount of rest after a whirlwind two months of constant soccer.

"It was great to get a break," Albright said.

The extra rest bolstered the Revolution's weary legs. So too did a look at the dwindling injury list. Doug Warren didn't make the trip after injuring his elbow while Kheli Dube has been upgraded to probable as he continues his recovery from an adductor injury.

"We know we can get through when we play a game a week," Heaps said. "We're trying to go in and get something out of every game. All the rest won't get us back on the winning track. We need to get the job done."

Colorado will present a difficult task for the Revolution. The Rapids have improved since interim head coach Gary Smith took over and reconfigured the lineup. Coming off a 2-0 home victory against Chicago and sporting a 7-4-1 record at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, the Rapids will have confidence.

"They had a great game last weekend to beat Chicago," Heaps said. "It's interesting to see that they've done without Christian Gomez and some of those guys."

With the Rapids tied for the third and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, Albright thinks the Rapids will set aside the inconsistency that has plagued them all season.

"They've been up and down all year," Albright said. "We've been up and down for six weeks. They've been moving up in the standings over the past few weeks. We'll get their best effort."

Revs earn point, moral victory in Colorado

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. -- By making something from nothing, the New England Revolution moved a point closer to their goals. Against an opponent who they had not beaten on the road since 2002, a second-half goal from substitute Kenny Mansally allowed them to escape with a 1-1 tie Saturday against the Colorado Rapids.

"It's a bit of a moral victory for us to get out of here with a point," said goalkeeper Matt Reis.

The Revolution had lost their last four matches in Colorado, dating back to 2004.

"This place is so tough to play in," said defender Jay Heaps. "Coming here was a good test for the playoffs. It was a good atmosphere and for us we just have to get our system set and out lineup set and get guys back from injury to deepen our team and go forward."

The Revolution started with an explicitly defensive posture and it showed in the statistics. All of their five shots were taken in the second half. The Rapids had a more balanced attack, with seven shots in the first half and six in the second, but they only forced Reis to make three saves.

"When we've previously come in here we've gotten nothing," said New England coach Steve Nicol. "So we wanted to come in and be tight and then loosen up. Obviously we'd like to win, but a draw is enough."

Keeping the game close in the first half allowed New England to make halftime changes that stymied the Rapids attack.

"In the first half they took some good advantage and had some good opportunities," said Heaps. "But in the second half we made some good adjustments and matchups and forced them out wide."

Those adjustments mainly focused on keeping their defensive shape and not giving up counterattacks and crosses to Colorado's dangerous flank players.

"[Terry] Cooke and [Colin] Clark are really good and dangerous wide," said Reis. "That's what they try to do, get balls into the box. We knew that going in, and we tried to play a little more defensively."

The opportunistic goal from Mansally five minutes into the second half allowed New England to keep their backline strong and not expose themselves to counterattacks.

"The ball was bouncing in front of me to my left foot," said Mansally. "I saw the goalie was coming out so I placed it over him."

The tie keeps New England in second place in the Eastern Conference with 42 points, five back of the Columbus Crew ahead of their meeting next Sunday at Gillette Stadium.

"In the end, to get a point on the road in this league is good," said Reis. "At the end of the year if you looked back and you got a point on the road every time you would be happy. And it's good to come back. I don't think we've had too many comebacks where we've gotten something out of it, so that's good."

As the Revolution look toward their last five games and the MLS Cup Playoffs that follow, they hope that their rare Colorado point will be a springboard to late season success.

"We're trying to get max points here on out," said defender Michael Parkhurst. "We know this was the last trip where we would settle for a tie since this a tough place to play. But from here on out we're going to be going for three points from every game and we're going after the Supporters' Shield. We've never won it and we want to finish the season strong."

Ball bouncing New York's way

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. - They've won when missing key starters and they've won despite playing a man down for nearly the entire second half. And on Saturday night, the New York Red Bulls did something they've not done all year - captured three points despite a halftime deficit, rallying to beat Real Salt Lake, 2-1, to extend their home unbeaten streak to seven games.

Heading into Saturday's game, the Red Bulls were 0-6-1 after trailing at the half, but thanks to goals by Juan Pablo Angel and Dave van den Bergh, the Red Bulls beat RSL to move into sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference. It was just the eighth time this year an MLS team had come from behind after a halftime deficit.

"I think it shows the team has character," van den Bergh said. "We can be a very offensive team, but I think we also proved we can defend the lead now and that's very comforting going into the final stretch of the season and the postseason."

For the second time this year, the Red Bulls came back from a 1-0 deficit to win a game and on Saturday they made the most out of a pair of Real Salt Lake mistakes in the second half.

"I think the team is believing in what we do," Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. "We said at halftime we would get our chances. We need to be patient, we need to pass the ball better and I think all the guy showed that we really are becoming a better team."

Angel ran after a long ball by Kevin Goldthwaite, grabbed Jamison Olave on the shoulder and the Colombian defender went down. Referee Kevin Stott didn't call a foul and Angel raced in on Nick Rimando, scoring his ninth goal of the year.

"I went to one side and he lost me and I went to the other one," Angel said. "I got a touch on the ball and he was pretty much out of the play and the goalkeeper was on his way out so it was an easy finish for me."

After the Red Bulls peppered Rimando, van den Bergh scored what proved to be the winner in the 64th minute on what appeared to be a broken play. It started with a complete whiff of an attempted shot by Gabriel Cichero and then a mishit by Dane Richards.

"It makes me very happy because I knew when the ball was coming in the air my intent was just to kick the ball, but my right is just for walking," Cichero said. "I just wanted to kick the ball out of the stadium, but I just told the guys it was on purpose. It was a play. The luck is on our side and it's important for our team."

The ball bounced to van den Bergh on the right and he beat Rimando inside the far post for his sixth goal of the year.

"I thought I was offside, to be honest with you," van den Bergh said. "I haven't seen the replay, but I don't know whether I was or not. I doubt it because they weren't protesting it at all. I controlled the ball with my right and I was surprised with how much time I had - that's why I thought I was offside."

That's the way things are going for the Red Bulls these days.

"I think the last six, seven games have been great for us," Angel said. "We've been looking more compact and more organized, more dangerous and it's right when we need it. This is the time that we needed to pick up points."

Davis: West takes stand on who's best

Reports of Western demise have been a bit exaggerated, it would seem.

Western Conference clubs haven't fared well this year in meetings with Eastern Conference opponents. The result has been an Atlantic-leaning tilting of the playoff field -- or so it seemed. That summer-long assumption that five playoff teams would emerge from the East, leaving a measly little three spots for the West, suddenly looks a lot less stable.

That's partially because East met West in three weekend encounters. The West won two of those and split two points in a draw in the other.

Los Angeles did its part to rescue Western honor by thumping suddenly troubled D.C. United 5-2. Dallas shocked Chicago 4-1 in a Midwest ambush at Toyota Park. No team had put more than two past league-leading goalkeeper Jon Busch this year, but the Hoops came crashing into Bridgeview and left Denis Hamlett's men looking for answers.

Chicago is 2-4 in MLS matches since early August, and their failure to collect points lately is but one of the reasons the Eastern stranglehold on all those playoff spots suddenly looks tenuous.

New England and Colorado drew 1-1 outside Denver. That was the only semi-bummer on the Western weekend romp. It might look like a relative win for the Rapids, a team that was facing the three-time MLS runner-ups, and a team that had been desperate to rejoin the playoff chase just two weeks ago.

But a closer inspection would reveal that New England's house of horror has been in and around Denver, where Revs success has been hard to find. New England owned a 3-11-1 mark all-time in Colorado before Saturday's visit. So a 1-1 draw at Dick's Sporting Goods Park was probably a result that brought a certain amount of relief for Steve Nicol's team.

But it also gave the Rapids another point in the playoff chase. Now, interim manager Gary Smith and his Rapids have propelled themselves squarely back into the hunt, and that's not good news for the East.

As of today, D.C. United is in fifth place in the East. And as of now, that would be the final playoff berth. The way it works this year, the top three teams in each conference qualify for Major League Soccer's 13th playoff "season." The final two berths fall to the highest point earner, regardless of conference.

Six teams get left behind -- which is two more than ever in MLS, so the pressure to collect points is greater than ever.

That's why United can't feel too comfortable in its current spot. And that is only partially because of key injuries and the busy schedule ahead for Tom Soehn's men, one laden with five matches in the coming weeks in CONCACAF Champions League play.

It has more to do with the fact that five teams in the West -- Colorado, Real Salt Lake, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Jose -- are within four points of United. Houston and Chivas USA currently sit at the top of the West.

All that means that if a couple of Western Conference teams chasing Houston and Chivas USA collect a few quick points, the fifth-place team from the East could be passed and pushed aside in the playoff chase. Even the fourth-place Eastern team (New York Red Bulls at the moment) can't afford much slippage.

East meets West in five of seven matches coming up this week, Round 27 of MLS play. Eastern teams host three of those -- so maybe they can reclaim a bit of ground lost over the past weekend.

TACTICAL CORNER

• Jorge Rojas started on the left for the Red Bulls as manager Juan Carlos Osorio attempted to plug the big hole left vacant by Dave van den Bergh's injury-related absence. Van den Bergh is one of those players you might notice a bit (like teammates Seth Stammler and Mike Magee this year), but whose value becomes more obvious when they aren't in the lineup.

Rojas, a more natural central, attacking midfielder, was a non-factor for 60 minutes last week against Sigi Schmid's confident Crew. Osorio made a couple of changes and got the Venezuelan international back into middle, which significantly improved the Red Bulls attack, although they still didn't have enough to make up the ground on Columbus. The Crew prevailed 3-1.

Eddie Gaven had a big night for Columbus. Good for him for stepping up in Guillermo Barros Schelotto's absence. But you have to wonder if Gaven would have been more contained had van den Bergh been at his usual spot in the Red Bulls lineup.

• FC Dallas manager Schellas Hyndman has been trying to figure out all year what to do with his bookcase full of central midfielders. He imported one flank player, Dutchman Victor Sikora, who played well in two matches but moved quickly to the injury shelf.

So, Hyndman has been plugging in midfielders more comfortable in the middle along the outside. He might finally have hit upon the winning combo in Sunday's surprising win in Chicago, where the team from Texas sat in a fairly defensive posture and relied on Jeff Cunningham's speed and Kenny Cooper's dribbling to steer the counter attack.

So, Andre Rocha was on the right and Marcelo Saragosa on the left in the 4-4-2. Neither have games oriented to a wide midfield role. In fact, you could make the case that Rocha is Dallas' best passer. Pablo Ricchetti was situated in the holding role, with rookie Bruno Guarda in the attacking role.

• Nick Rimando has had a good year in Salt Lake, regardless of the bad moment between he and Nat Borchers that led to Saturday's vital Chivas USA goal (in the 1-0 win for the Red-and-White in the Rice-Eccles closer, a victory with significant impact in the playoff chase.)

It's hard to say what caused the communications breakdown here, but this much is clear: Rimando has had similar problems before, failing to communicate in critical moments. Making big saves is just one part of a goalkeeper's job, like distribution. Rimando does a great job on those aspects. But communication with defenders is vital, too, and the rap sheet is growing on RSL's No. 1 in goal.

• Interesting thing about RSL: Javier Morales had a good first half, and RSL created countless chances. But for more of the sloppy finishing that has plagued RSL all year, Jason Kreis' team could have been up by a goal or two. Then Morales shrank after the break, and the men from Utah rarely threatened, often bypassing the midfield in a rush forward. More than perhaps any other club, as the RSL playmaker goes, so goes the team.

• Speaking of playmakers, D.C. United clearly missed theirs, as Marcelo Gallardo continues to miss time due to injury and Jaime Moreno fights knee inflammation. So neither played against Los Angeles.

The result is less possession for Tom Soehn's team. Gallardo and, especially, Moreno are the best of the RFK bunch at keeping the ball and patiently moving it about until the defensive cracks appear.

• A couple of home wins, spurred by an improved attack, has Kansas City back in the playoff hunt. One reason is Davy Arnaud, who had a three-game scoring streaked snapped over the weekend, but still had a hand in pressing Toronto in what could have been a three- or four-goal win. (K.C. prevailed 2-0 against a TFC team that managed not a shot on goal all night.)

Here's what some people may not realize about Arnaud's contributions of late: he's gotten the job done while making quick adjustments to several roles. Arnaud has been deployed as right-sided midfielder, as a withdrawn forward and as a central midfielder. Arnaud's value, especially considering a relatively small hit on the salary cap, his ultra-competitive nature and his clear versatility, cannot be undervalued on Curt Onalfo's team.

Onalfo likes new-look Wizards lineup

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- After Saturday afternoon's 2-0 victory against the Los Angeles Galaxy, Kansas City Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo revealed some stubbornness.

"Regardless of the result today, my intention was to try and play the same exact way next week. I saw a lot of good things in training that I liked," he said. "We're going to build on it."

The "it" is the newfangled lineup that showed sparks of promising possibilities and produced two memorable goals in the victory. Four new faces who were not in the lineup for the 3-1 loss to Houston the previous week dotted the starting 11. Furthermore, two players had a different role on the field.

Davy Arnaud teamed with Jack Jewsbury in the center of the park for the first time and the newly acquired Herculez Gomez was at right midfield where he has played sparingly.

"With all the changes we made, it took us a little time to adjust to each other," Onalfo said. "Once we did that, I thought we were pretty darn good."

One reason Arnaud and Jewsbury were in the middle, said Onalfo, was to take advantage of their ability to test goalkeepers from long range. So far so good, as Jewsbury forced a dangerous rebound in first-half added time with a rising 28-yard drive. Forward Abe Thompson nearly cashed in on the follow but was denied by an alert Troy Roberts defending for L.A.

Arnaud grabbed the limelight though with his 69th minute golazo, a 33-yard strike into the upper right corner of the goal that inspired an "are you kidding me?" out of television analyst Zoran Savic. The goal came after Arnaud earned the second assist on Josh Wolff's opener just two minutes earlier.

But Jewsbury and Arnaud were not the only ones spraying head-ducking drives around the Arrowhead field. Gomez took free kicks and corners for the Wizards in his first start since joining the team Sept. 3.

In the 64th minute, Gomez previewed the Wizards' two-goal explosion with a pacy 41-yard free kick that dipped and bounced as Wicks scrambled left to knock it down.

Three minutes later it was a low, steaming cross from Gomez that Wolff deftly spun for at the near post in the six-yard box and tucked inside the far post. Clearly the speed of the ball was critical.

"He whips in an unbelievable ball. The problem is our guys aren't used to how fast it's coming in," Onalfo said before joking that the Wizards could need some Jamaican sprinters to get on the end of Gomez's feeds. "[The crosses] are certainly dangerous."

Gomez gave a bit of credit to the Galaxy's David Beckham for inspiring his free kicks and crosses saying he had "a bit of competition in that area today." The former Colorado and Los Angeles man is ready to better learn his new position.

"I didn't get as forward as I'd like to, but we got the 'W'. I was just a small part of the big picture today," he said. "I'll play anywhere on the field. ... I know my strengths and weaknesses, and I'm just trying to just get in there and help the team any way I can."

And he is going to get that chance.

"[Herculez] is very, very good in front of the goal, so we have to work on getting him close to the goal," said Onalfo. "He has good pace and needs to get a feel for playing that position. He's more of an underneath forward, but he has a good work ethic."

Onalfo was happy with the team's wide play, his center midfielders and his forwards in the win, but he wants more.

"We can do a better job of when we win the ball having [the wide midfielders] continually causing havoc, but that's part of the progression," he said. "We can continually have better wide play, which is going to open us stuff for our forwards. The combination of Thompson and Josh was very, very good. Abe is extremely physical, very good in the air -- better than I thought he was, and Josh makes smart runs."

Fire vent following disappointing loss

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire have prided themselves on their defense all season long. They hadn't allowed more than two goals in a game for 24 games with Jon Busch in goal. The team had outscored opponents 30-20. Busch's 10 shutouts were top in the league.

And then reality sunk in.

Sunday afternoon, the Fire dropped a 4-1 decision to FC Dallas on their home turf. It was a rude awakening for a team that was sitting pretty in the standings. Chicago still has 38 points, which puts it in third place in the East and fourth place overall. But the Fire isn't expecting their last five games to be a walk in the park.

"The last two opponents we've played have shown they're playing with their backs against the wall, fighting to get into the playoffs," Fire head coach Denis Hamlett said. "We've sort of taken our foot off of the gas. We're not in the playoffs yet. If we continue to play like this, we won't be in the playoffs."

One of the strongest qualities of the Fire all season has been every individual contributing team defense. Against FC Dallas, the Fire couldn't seem to stop any plays. Busch has had nothing but positive things to say about his defense, but Sunday afternoon he was taken aback.

"Today, plain and simple, we got our butt kicked," Busch said. "We didn't play well. We had no desire or heart. They wanted it more."

In just the second minute, Jeff Cunningham found the net. And before the half was over, Aaron Pitchkolan and Bruno Guarda gave FC Dallas a 3-0 lead. Cunningham tallied his second of the day early in the second half to make it 4-0.

Fire forward Brian McBride said there is one thing especially the side needs to work on.

"The first half needs to be better," McBride said. "When you put yourself down early, it's hard to get back into the game. Today we might have become a bit impatient. If a team scores early, that shouldn't change things. If anything, that should wake us up."

McBride provided the majority of the Fire's attack Sunday afternoon. McBride had three shots, including the Fire's only goal, heading home a Justin Mapp cross in second-half stoppage time. Perhaps more telling, right back Brandon Prideaux had two shots, while seven others had one shot apiece.

With only five games left and literally the entire league with a mathematical chance of making the playoffs, the Fire could have a long road ahead of them. Thursday night, they play host to the Los Angeles Galaxy, another opponent in a must-win situation.

"It's time for the men to step up and the boys to sit on the porch," Busch said. "We're supposed to get results. That's our job. Now we're in a dogfight."

Veteran defender Diego Gutierrez said the loss to Dallas seemed somewhat surreal at times.

"This result is very unlike us," Diego Gutierrez said. "This outing is one we have to learn from. This one is hard to swallow. But now we need to get ready for Thursday."

Galaxy snap winless streak in emphatic fashion

CARSON, Calif. -- The Los Angeles Galaxy snapped their 12-game winless streak in emphatic fashion Saturday, beating D.C. United 5-2 in front of a sellout crowd at The Home Depot Center. Landon Donovan netted a hat trick, including a pair of goals in the first half, to carry the Galaxy to the win.

The game didn't start that great for Los Angeles though. Just more than a minute into the contest, D.C. United scored off a corner kick, and things looked bleak. Then, just after the quarter hour, Josh Wicks was forced to make a great save on Luciano Emilio to keep things close. It definitely wasn't the start the home side was looking for.

"I was ready to walk out of the stadium when they scored off the corner kick, to be honest with you," said Pete Vagenas, who added a late goal of his own. "I think Wicks made the save of the day on Emilio, on his breakaway. Had they gone up 2-0, it would have been extremely difficult to get back into the game."

That save allowed Donovan to take over the game, scoring the equalizer, then the go-ahead goal. The Galaxy would never relinquish the lead from that point on, and created a number of other scoring chances.

"I was disappointed in the way we started the game, but I was very pleased with the way we reacted," said Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena. "We took a pretty impressive lead into halftime. We had a chance to take a three-goal lead. I think the effort tonight wasn't perfect, but we played as a team."

While the entire team played with more energy than seen out of the Galaxy in quite some time, it was Donovan who was the engine. In addition to his three goals, Donovan also picked up an assist, and generally terrorized the D.C. defense all night long.

"I thought (his performance) was exceptional. But I've seen that a few times from Landon," said David Beckham following the game. "When he plays like that, no one can stop him. He's a goal scorer. He's a great finisher of the ball and we needed that."

Donovan's success came in large part because he was dropped into the midfield, rather than playing as a true striker. The move allowed Donovan more space between the backline and the midfield, and he exploited that space, torching the United defense on numerous runs that began deep in the midfield.

"In watching them play, Bruce realized that they play with two center backs in (Marc) Burch who's not a true centerback and (Bryan) Namoff who's not a true center back either. The way they play in the midfield, they don't play with two side by side guys," said Donovan. "No disrespect to Clyde (Simms), but given the chance I knew I was going to win that matchup."

Donovan's first goal was a perfect example of that. He began his run in the center circle and ran right past the midfield, receiving a pass between the two center backs, before tucking home a shot past Louis Crayton. From that point on, he was running in behind the defense all night long.

His running off the ball opened up the field, and allowed more space for teammates, and the scoreline reflected that.

The scoreline also put the Galaxy within two points of playoff position and also released a ton of pressure that had been building up on a club that had been desperate for a win.

"It was an important win just to get us going again more than anything. To go so many games without a win, I've never done that before, and I'm sure a lot of those players have never done that before," said Beckham. "For confidence more than anything, it was important we started well, which we didn't tonight. But we got ourselves back into it and stayed together to win the game. We needed the three points."

Life gets more difficult for LA as they try to climb their way back into the playoffs. Up next is a road trip to Chicago; last season, the Fire ended the Galaxy's playoff run on the last day of the season. Next Thursday's match won't mathematically eliminate the Galaxy from the playoff picture, but there is no room to sit back and enjoy the win against D.C.

"You get to the point where you don't even look at other scores or standings because it's just depressing. It's nice to finally move a little, but we're still a long ways away and we realize that," said Donovan.

Tireless effort gives Wizards key victory

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- It's not often a team holds their opponent to no shots on goal. But the Kansas City Wizards did it for only the second time in their history Saturday night in a 2-0 win against Toronto FC.

April 13, 1996 -- the Wizards' inaugural game as an original member of Major League Soccer -- is how far one has to go back for the last time their opponent was unable to get off a shot on goal. That fact alone reveals the work put in by the Wizards on the victory.

"Wow. That shows that we had a very good defensive effort," said Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo, a bit taken aback by the news.

Surely the team's defense was strong on the night, especially considering the varied weapons that Toronto brings. Onalfo singled out Jack Jewsbury for his "rock solid" play in the center of midfield as key, but the defensive effort tells only part of the story of a win that puts the Wizards in the thick of the wild card race.

The tireless work of Herculez Gomez on the right wing, the everywhere presence of forward Josh Wolff, and a productive cameo by Kevin Souter rounded out the plot.

After a slow start, the attack began to pour forward during the final 10 minutes of the first half, but many were wondering if Kansas City would pay for their missed opportunities. Most of those chances were created by Wolff who popped up in many advantageous spots throughout the match.

Wolff continued his work as the Wizards onslaught rolled into the second half. Wolff entered the Toronto box in the 61st minute and ran onto a Roger Espinoza pass on the right edge of the six-yard box where he went to the ground in colliding with defender Tyrone Marshall and goalkeeper Greg Sutton. Referee Baldomero Toledo blew the whistle for a penalty kick, and the Wizards had won their biggest chance of the night.

With an opportunity to erase any grief over missed chances, Jewsbury made no mistake as he rifled the ball past Sutton and into the right side of the net.

"He guessed the right way, but I knew once I picked my corner, I was going to bang it as hard as I could," said Jewsbury, who had seen Sutton go to his left in previous highlights.

"The guy came in from behind and got a piece of me. We got a penalty out of it," said Wolff. "Jack did well to finish it, and we were a little fortunate on the other one."P But it was more smart hard work that made the fortunate happen for a two-goal advantage.

Souter entered only his second match of the season after earning a contract with Kansas City from a February open tryout, and gave the Wizards a welcome cushion.

Once again Wolff played a part as his cross found Souter cutting his marker in the middle of the box. Just trying to make a difference, Souter's effort paid off as he struck the ball off the defender.

"I got a good toe on it. It hit his head and looped up and over [goalkeeper Sutton]. Regardless, I put the guy under pressure, and it was enough to get him to make a decision," he said.

"Fortunate bounce or not, Souter put himself in a good situation," said Jewsbury.

The well-earned win keeps the Wizards within one victory of snatching one of the two wildcard playoff berths.

"We seem to be moving in the right direction, we got a little roll going," said Souter. "So, hopefully, going on the road next week, we can carry on."

Chivas USA spoil Rice-Eccles finale

SALT LAKE CITY -- Real Salt Lake hoped to close out the only home field they have known since their inaugural season with a bang. But Chivas USA blasted those well-laid plans for a feel-good ending to pieces.

With the third-largest home crowd in RSL history on hand to witness the final match at Rice-Eccles Stadium, Chivas handed RSL a 1-0 loss on Saturday night, the club's first loss at home this season.

The result also had a huge impact on the MLS Cup Playoffs picture. Combined with Colorado's 1-1 draw with New England, Chivas USA is now in second place in the Western Conference, with the Rapids and Real Salt Lake tied for third place and the final automatic playoff spot.

Chivas scored the game's lone goal in the 72nd minute when Alecko Eskandarian had the simplest of goals gift-wrapped to him courtesy of a RSL defensive mistake.

Defender Nat Borchers chased after a long ball driven toward the RSL goal when he crashed into Nick Rimando as the Real 'keeper came out to snag the ball at the top of the penalty area.

The ball popped free and bounced to Eskandarian's feet. With nothing between him and an empty net, it was a simple matter of guiding it in.

A steady rain did not diminish the RSL attack in the early stages of the match. The club piled up scoring chances like they were raindrops striking the Rice-Eccles turf. Turning them into actual goals proved much harder to do.

Real nearly got on the board in the second minute when Yura Movsisyan put the ball to flight on a nice bicycle kick. He angled his shot at the far post, but the ball sailed wide over the upper corner.

Javier Morales created another nice chance on a free kick in the 10th minute. The Argentinean midfielder uncorked a powerful shot that easily cleared the defensive wall. It caught a little too much air, though, and cleared the crossbar as well.

Morales came up short on an even better opportunity a minute later. Forward Robbie Findley drove into the six-yard box and ripped a nice shot. Dan Kennedy came up with a nice save, but the ball bounced right into the path of Morales. It took only a split second for him to rocket it back on frame.

The ball nearly entered the goal, but it was stopped in midair on the line by Jonathan Bornstein and cleared away.

Chivas was nearly as active on the other end. The Red-and-White had a near-miss in the fourth minute when Eskandarian clamped onto a ball fed to him deep in the penalty area. Eskandarian one-touched it right at Rimando, who blanketed the ball for a save.

Another Chivas scoring chance materialized in the 24th minute. Atiba Harris tracked down the ball in the corner and sent it back to Francisco Mendoza just outside the top of the penalty area. Mendoza fired a bullet that was perfectly on target, but Rimando stood his ground and managed to knock it away with his fingertips.

RSL looked to finally have its first goal in the 31st minute when Movsisyan cut around a defender and curved the ball inside the near post. But his would-be score was waved off after Movsisyan was ruled offside.

Movsisyan's hard luck continued right up to halftime. He had a nice volley off a header in the 44th minute that was good enough to turn into a goal. But it went straight at Kennedy, who could not have moved out of the path of the ball even if he wanted to and deflected it to safety.

RSL continued to misfire in the second half. Will Johnson fed the ball to Andy Williams on a breakaway in the 54th minute. Williams had enough space to create something, but overran Johnson's pass. He recovered and corralled the ball before it bounced over the endline. But it left Williams with an awkward angle.

He tried to curve the ball up and bend it around the near post. Instead, the ball simply banged into the post and careened away.

After getting the opening goal, Chivas hung on through the final minutes. Real's last gasp came on a near-breakaway by Movsisyan in the 85th minute. He threaded the needle between a pair of defenders, but Kennedy covered up at the top of the goal area to make a timely save.

Chivas earn revenge vs. RSL

SALT LAKE CITY -- For months, it has simmered in the minds of every player on the Chivas USA roster. The Red-and-White had suffered a loss on their home field to Real Salt Lake, their first loss ever at The Home Depot Center to their expansion partner.

It was bad enough losing to RSL, a team they have typically dominated during since beginning MLS play in 2005. But being the only club to surrender three points to Real away from Rice-Eccles Stadium felt downright embarrassing.

The Red-and-White didn't just get mad and pout about it. They got even. Chivas repaid the favor on Saturday night, handing RSL a 1-0 loss in the finale at Rice-Eccles Stadium.

Not only did it mark the first home setback for Real in 2008, but it paid instant dividends to Chivas. The Red-and-White vaulted past RSL into second place in the Western Conference standings.

"We always knew that we had a good team," Chivas coach Preki said. "It was just a matter of getting everybody healthy and getting everybody playing."

Preki didn't feel like his club played its best Saturday. But it didn't matter. A simple defensive blunder by RSL made the jump in the standings possible.

Ex-RSL forward Alecko Eskandarian scored the game's only goal in the 72nd minute when he collected the ball after a collision between Nick Rimando and Nat Borchers.

Borchers chased down a long ball into the penalty area. At the same time, Rimando came out to clear it away. He tried to call his defender off, but they crashed into one another anyway.

The ball popped free and rolled to Eskandarian's feet. He collected it and guided it home for the simplest of goals.

"I saw Rimando coming off his line and Nat was chasing him down," Eskandarian said. "I remembered two months ago those same two had a play, I think against New England, where the ball squared out, so I figured I might as well keep going, maybe something will pop out, and sure enough it did."

That lone tally was essentially gift-wrapped to Chivas, but they aren't about to complain about such a lucky break.

"It ended how I wanted," midfielder Carey Talley said. "It was kind of like their game when they came to us. Two players collided there and the ball just rolled into the net, and we took advantage of it. So I thought we did a pretty good job."

Chivas put itself to capitalize on such a fortunate twist of fate by putting ample pressure on RSL's offense. Real struggled to play much of anything through the midfield with the Red-and-White shadowing them more than annoying puppies.

When they did get down into scoring position, RSL took itself out of the match by struggling to finish shots.

Chivas had its own finishing struggles in the first half too. The Red-and-White had a near-miss in the fourth minute when Eskandarian clamped onto a ball fed to him deep in the penalty area. He one-touched it right at Rimando, who blanketed the ball for a save.

Another Chivas scoring chance materialized in the 24th minute. Atiba Harris tracked down the ball in the corner and sent it back to Francisco Mendoza just outside the top of the penalty area. Mendoza fired a bullet perfectly on target, but Rimando stood his ground and knocked it away with his fingertips.

Finally getting on the scoreboard might have required a little luck, but Preki felt like it was exactly what Chivas needed.

"We got a fortunate goal," Preki said. "Sometimes, in this game, you have to be lucky and get one of those things. This year luck hasn't been on our side too often, so tonight we'll take it. It's that time of year that we'll take the points, it doesn't matter how they come."

Earning a victory in Utah in the final match at Rice-Eccles Stadium felt poetic justice for players like Talley and Eskandarian who once called that venue their home. They, like the current RSL roster, are happy to finally retire the artificial surface in favor of the grass field in the club's new stadium.

"This town deserves it," Talley said. "The fans are great, they supported the team through thick and thin the last four years. They're putting a better product on the field and it'll be perfect for that stadium."

United hoping to add regional glory

WASHINGTON -- For several years, D.C. United have been craving regional success to match their perennial status among Major League Soccer's elite. But a trying league campaign and a persistent injury epidemic have forced the Black-and-Red to ponder difficult decisions with the advent of the inaugural CONCACAF Champions League competition.

The capital club owns the most illustrious international record in U.S. soccer history, having tasted both regional and hemispheric success in 1998 at the zenith of its late-1990s glory years. But even though D.C. took part in three of the last four CONCACAF Champions Cup competitions, a string of high-profile letdowns has seen regional honors continue to elude the four-time MLS Cup winners, to the abiding frustration of fans, players and front office alike.

United has amassed a bevy of South American talent for the specific purpose of contending in tournaments like this one, only to see Brazilian attackers Luciano Emilio and Fred, along with Argentinean playmaker Marcelo Gallardo and his compatriot, tall center back Gonzalo Peralta, atop a catalog of injury concerns as group play begins with the visit of Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa to RFK Stadium on Tuesday night.

The impact of the long casualty list could clearly be seen on head coach Tom Soehn's lineup in United's last match, a 2-2 home draw against FC Dallas on Saturday. Striker Thabiso Khumalo was originally brought in from lower-division side Pittsburgh Riverhounds to bolster the D.C. reserve squad and had just completed his loan deal the day before, only to find himself starting alongside team captain and all-time league scoring leader Jaime Moreno.

The South African acquitted himself well, but his new coach's frustration was evident as he discussed his roster limitations afterwards.

"It's very difficult right now looking and knowing you have impact players sitting on the bench and having to wait to put them in," said Soehn, who gave Emilio 22 minutes in relief of Khumalo. "There are situations in a game when you want to be reactionary of the situation but you can't. So it's difficult right now and that's why I'm encouraged to get those guys in playing. Hopefully we can push the minutes next time."

Soehn's disappointment is understandable, given the level of talent at issue. Emilio won both MLS Most Valuable Player and Golden Boot honors as league-leading scorer a season ago and leads the squad with 10 goals this year. His participation would dramatically sharpen the Black-and-Red's cutting edge in the attacking end on Tuesday.

The same goes for Gallardo. The highest-paid player in United history, "El Muneco" has missed most of the last two months with sports hernia issues and full fitness remains elusive. Last week he was hit by a case of the flu as well as an ankle complaint, and the coaching staff elected to keep him out of uniform over the weekend with an eye towards having him closer to full speed against Saprissa. The smooth Argentinean is the archetypical South American No. 10 and his vision and composure in the center of the park would be a massive boost against the Costa Rican powerhouse.

Most of the region's other leagues are just working their way into the meat of the domestic schedule. However, MLS is entering the final month of its regular season and United have failed to haul themselves into the upper echelon of the cutthroat Eastern Conference, leaving their playoff hopes at risk and deflecting attention from the significant challenge of qualifying out of the Champions League's formidable Group A.

MLS teams traditionally struggled in the CONCACAF Champions Cup, a tourney which kicked off while the U.S. league was in its preseason stages. But the timing of Champions League offers a different sort of challenge and United, along with fellow MLS representatives Houston Dynamo, are entering uncharted territory as the league tries to balance its roster size and strict salary cap setup with the desire for better results in international play.

"The competition has been expanded and that has brought about a lot of questions. How do we manage this? How do we manage it as a league?" said D.C. general manager Dave Kasper last week. "So I think it's being discussed, ways the league can put teams in a position to succeed. That's being discussed right now and hopefully there will some sort of solution to that. Our immediate goal is to get guys healthy."

All told, D.C. must play 12 matches in the next six weeks and their CONCACAF adventure will have to be juggled with the ongoing demands of MLS play. But the club is open about its larger ambitions of regional ascendancy, and such aspirations require the squad to produce results regardless of the circumstances.

"That's how it's going to be this year," said defender Marc Burch. "We want to be in these tournaments and we're going to be faced with game after game. So the next two months are really, really busy and we're going to try to rest guys and get out of it what we can...We've got to just face the games as they come."