Angel, Cepero embolden Red Bulls

E. RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The day before a massive game with playoff implications, Juan Carlos Osorio called the timing of the suspensions of starters Jeff Parke and Jon Conway for testing positive for performance enhancing substances "the worst possible scenario."

On Saturday, the Red Bulls coach had the best possible one, getting a pair of goals from Juan Pablo Angel and a remarkable long distance strike from Danny Cepero, who capped a memorable debut with the first goal by a goalkeeper in MLS history in a 3-0 victory against the Columbus Crew at Giants Stadium.

Cepero received all the attention in the locker room for his 81-yard free kick that bounced at the top of the 18-yard box and over the head of Columbus Crew goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum for a much-needed insurance goal seven minutes from full time. But the Red Bulls are still talking about the playoffs because of yet another brilliant performance by Angel.

"I think sometimes we sacrifice him because we play him by himself," Osorio said of Angel. "I think with the right service he is the top striker in this league."

After a scoreless first half, Angel stuck for the game's first goal three minutes after halftime, getting on the end of a Mac Kandji through ball and tapping it past the onrushing Gruenebaum.

The Crew equalized in the 62nd minute on a goal by Steven Lenhart and the Red Bulls entered the final 20 minutes needing another goal to keep their playoff hopes alive. Once again, the Red Bulls captain delivered, this time hitting a side volley after taking Seth Stammler's header off his chest for his 13th goal of the year.

"It was a matter of getting the job done. We're very pleased. (This) is the night to enjoy, but we have a big match on Thursday," Angel said, referring to the regular-season finale at Chicago. "It is far from over, we still have a job to do. We have to enjoy today after a very difficult week. I think the team stood up and we played really well today. We deserved to win."

Despite Angel carrying his team on his back, the Red Bulls still needed a historic goal by Cepero for some breathing room. After referee Michael Kennedy booked Dave van den Bergh and Pat Noonan for unsporting behavior, Cepero pushed his team up the field and prepared to take a kick from about 10 yards outside the New York penalty area.

The 23-year-old from Baldwin, N.Y., launched his kick 60 yards in the air before the ball bounced at the top of the 18-yard box and over the head of Gruenebaum. So when did Cepero know it was a goal?

"I had no idea. I just put it in the general area with no intention of scoring and kind of hit it somewhere where my teammates could do something with it," he said. "I didn't even know it went in until I had to ask Kevin (Goldthwaite) and be like, 'Uh, did that go in?' and he said, 'Yeah.' I go, 'Do I get credit for that?' and he says, 'Absolutely.' It wasn't until right then."

While Cepero gains notoriety for being the first goalkeeper in MLS history to score a goal, the rookie came up huge filling in for Conway, who along with Parke, have been banned 10 games.

"In a massive game and a must-win for us, he came up massively when we needed him to and showed maturity beyond his years," Andrew Boyens said.

Osorio went with a 4-3-3 formation and used the same backline (Goldthwaite, Diego Jimenez, Boyens and Chris Leitch) that recorded shutouts against Houston and D.C. this year to protect Cepero and provide a little extra cover.

Cepero had to wait until the final moments of the first half to make his first MLS save, but what a save it was, as he pushed Ezra Hendrickson's point-blank header of a Guillermo Barros Schelotto corner kick over the crossbar.

"I don't know if it was on camera, but I took a huge sigh of relief when I saw that I can get this one, I can finally make a save and get it out," Cepero said. "There's nothing like getting that first save and breathing that sigh of relief and being like I've been here before."

Cepero didn't get to finish his statement because Boyens snuck around the horde of media surrounding Cepero's locker and pushed a shaving cream pie into the rookie's face.

It was one of the only things Cepero couldn't stop on his dream debut.

As if it wasn't eventual enough of a night, before the match Parke issued a statement through the team apologizing to "family, teammates, coaches, friends and fans ... for the events that have taken place that have led to this decision by Major League Soccer."

While he has yet to speak publicly about his suspension, Parke said he accepts full responsibility for purchasing the over-the-counter supplement that contained androstatriendione (ATD), the central defender said the banned substance wasn't on the list of ingredients of the supplement he purchased at a "nationally recognized retail chain."

"It is important for me to share with you that I was unaware of the fact that the supplement I took had any ingredients that would put me in the place that I am today," Parke said.

As well, New York Yankees outfielder Bobby Abreu participated in a ceremonial pre-game kick. The native of Venezuela has gotten to know Red Bulls midfielder Jorge Rojas since "El Zurdo" arrived in New York in July.

"We shared shirts and right now we keep in touch and just starting a friendly relationship," Abreu said. "He's good. He's one of those guys that put our team in Venezuela in a good way; he knows how to make things happen. He's one of the guys for us."

Loss could be devastating for New York

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The New York Red Bulls had their playoff destiny on the line Thursday in Chicago, needing a win to clinch a spot and a tie to improve their chances of advancing.

Instead, they put together perhaps as poor of a performance as they did against Chicago earlier this year, when they lost 5-1 to the Fire back on May 25 at Giants Stadium.

This time, the final score was 5-2, thanks to three goals and two assists by Chris Rolfe, but the effect of this game was even more devastating.

The Red Bulls could have clinched a wild card playoff spot with a win. Instead, they have to wait to see what happens with the D.C. United-Columbus Crew game on Sunday to find out their playoff fate.

"After a performance like that, I have a very big question mark as to if we deserve to be in the playoffs," Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio said. "I think it is unacceptable. We let everybody down, mainly ourselves."

Rolfe scored his goals all in the first half, and became the first Fire player ever to get a hat trick in one half. Juan Pablo Angel had a first-half goal for the Red Bulls, but they played very poorly on defense in the first half and staged no sort of comeback in the second.

"In any league in the world, against any team, it is very hard to come back when you are down like that," Angel said.

Rolfe headed the Fire into the lead after just 11 minutes, after Stephen King pulled Danny Cepero out of the goal and sent a cross into the open goalmouth. The Red Bulls tied the score in the 32nd minute when Angel headed home a Dave van den Bergh cross.

But Rolfe chested down a half-clearance from a corner kick and volleyed home his second in the 38th minute, then just before halftime, a Cuauhtemoc Blanco backheel sent Rolfe in alone on Cepero and he calmly passed the ball into the lower left corner.

"I could criticize every single goal," Osorio said. "From the first goal, I thought we were not doing what we were supposed to do. We were making (grade) school errors. We played very bad today."

It might not have seemed possible for things to get worse in the second half, but they did. Both of Chicago's second half goals were easy scores.

Rolfe started the Fire's fourth goal in the 53rd minute when he sent a through ball from midfield to Fire defender Diego Gutierrez streaking down the left side. Gutierrez sent another long through ball past two Red Bulls to Brian McBride streaking in from the far right side for an tap-in.

The Fire scored their fifth goal in the 75th minute and Rolfe earned his second assist of the game, when Daniel Woolard dove to head home a Rolfe cross from the right, after the ball was knocked away by a Red Bulls defender -- but right to the Fire forward.

"In my opinion, they are the best team in the league, and if you concede plays like that, they have a couple of players who can really kill you," Osorio said.

Now the Red Bulls must wait until late Sunday afternoon to know if they have any more games to play. If D.C. United ties or loses in their season finale with Columbus, then the Red Bulls will earn a meeting with the Western Conference top seed, the Houston Dynamo, in the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

"It was the most important game of the season," Angel said. "I thought our confidence was high enough for us to play well here, but we didn't do it."

Hoops find meaning in finale vs. LA

FRISCO, Texas -- On Sunday afternoon at The Home Depot Center, FC Dallas will face the Los Angeles Galaxy in a matchup featuring two teams that will not advance to the MLS Cup Playoffs. Many might call it a meaningless affair but don't say that to the Hoops, who are treating their final installment of the 2008 season as another big game.

"I think it's good for a couple of reasons," FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman said. "One, it's to finish the season on a good note, on a win because playing with pride shows character. Another reason is this is another opportunity for us to evaluate players. I still have to evaluate Victor (Sikora). He's been injured and has only has an opportunity to play a couple of games. I've got to decide if Victor is going to be part of this for next year."

FCD will be without their top two holding midfielders after both saw red cards in last week's 3-1 loss to Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. Marcelo Saragosa, who had the Hoops' only goal in the loss, was sent off in the first half after getting a second yellow card, and Pablo Ricchetti was ejected in the second half with a straight red.

In Ricchetti's place, Hyndman will likely use Adrian Serioux, who normally plays in the back four but did man the holding midfield spot for Houston during their run to the 2006 MLS Cup.

"I think he has a lot of great qualities for that position," Hyndman said of Serioux. "He's a defensive-minded player. He's got great size on him, good athletic ability and can win 50-50 balls. In the attacking phase, he's a good distributor of the ball and has good vision."

The Canadian international and national team mainstay is clearly ready to return to his old spot.

"That's the thing, it's obviously a position that I love to play," Serioux said. "I'll be able to see how quickly I will be able to adapt to it once I get into it. It takes a while for some players to get into the transition of playing a new role. Even though it is a new position that I have played previously, it will still be difficult to get back in the middle there and be as quick as I used to be. We'll see. I'll keep my fingers crossed and hope that everything goes well."

Serioux moving up the field will allow Hyndman to plug Aaron Pitchkolan, who performed well while captain Duilio Davino was out for seven games late in the year, into the other center back spot.

"He (Serioux) really brings the qualities that we need there with Pablo (Ricchetti) not being here," Hyndman said. "It also gives us a chance to get (Pitchkolan) back on the field. So, it's a one-for-one change, put Pitch on the field and move Adrian. I think it's the right move for us at this point and time."

Sunday's affair will be the last game in MLS for Bobby Rhine, who has been with the club since 1999 and announced his retirement earlier this week. The longest-tenured player for the Hoops will be involved in the game but it remains to be seen whether it will be as a starter or a substitute.p> Another interesting sidebar is that this game could determine who wins the 2008 Budweiser Golden Boot, which is given to the league's top scorer. LA's Landon Donovan is the current leader with 19 goals but FCD striker Kenny Cooper is hot on his heels with 18.

Cooper would need to score twice with Donovan being scoreless but the Dallas native has already had four two-goal games this year. Donovan, on the other hand, has three two-goal games and a pair of hat tricks for the Galaxy in 2008.

But the scoring title isn't even on Cooper's radar.

"I'm sure they want to finish off the year strong just like we do," he said. "It's going to be a tough game even though we're not playing for the playoffs. We're playing for pride and it's the last game of the season, so we want to finish it strong. I'm really looking forward to it. They obviously have a lot of good players, a lot of dangerous players going forward. It's just a good opportunity for us to finish the year on a positive note."

His teammates agree there is much more to play for than a scoring title.

"There's still three points to play for and positioning in the table for the end of the season," FCD defender Drew Moor said. "Obviously, we're not where we want to be at this point in the season having not qualified for the playoffs. But I think that's the little bit of motivation that we need to go into the game on Sunday in a tough place. We haven't played the Galaxy at their place yet this year, so it will be a good experience. We're going in to try and get the three points to finish the season on a win."

Serioux agreed.

"It's just a game to end the season on a positive note," he said. "For us right now, obviously being out of the playoffs is a tough one to swallow. But we're just going to go in there and do what we should've been doing all season long, is getting wins. Some of the pressure has been taken off, which will kind of be fun for a change. We can just go in there and kind of just be free, do what we want to do and what we're capable of doing. We'll see what happens. Hopefully we get the result that we deserve."

Dynamo play Chivas to physical draw

CARSON, Calif. -- The Houston Dynamo and Chivas USA exchanged second-half goals before the teams settled for a regular season-ending 1-1 draw Saturday at The Home Depot Center.

Houston's Dwayne De Rosario scored on a penalty kick in the 52nd minute, just after Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy was sent off, while Chivas USA's Jim Curtin knocked in a rebound in the 90th minute to help a 10-man Chivas USA squad salvage a point.

Although three points were on the line, not much else was. Houston entered the game having already clinched the Western Conference regular season title while Chivas USA was locked in second place well before the start of the match as well.

The game stood in stark contrast to last year's season finale when Chivas USA held Houston to a scoreless draw to clinch the 2007 Western Conference regular season title.

Still, despite the playoff positioning having been set, neither side fielded a reserve-laden squad. Houston coach Dominic Kinnear sent out Dwayne De Rosario, Brian Ching and Nate Jaqua while counterpart Preki started Ante Razov, Jesse Marsch and Sacha Kljestan.

And the players didn't exactly take it easy on each other either. Ching picked up a yellow card in the 14th minute after a rough challenge on Razov while Brian Mullan drew Marsch's ire after Mullan appeared to have clipped Atiba Harris after fouling him.

Alecko Eskandarian nearly put the hosts ahead in the 19th minute when Razov sent a through ball to Eskandarian, who ran onto it some 30 yards out and carried the ball inside the penalty area. However, Pat Onstad did well to dive and stop Eskandarian's attempt.

Chivas USA continued putting pressure on Houston's backline and nearly broke through in the 23rd minute. After a great bit of buildup, Kljestan found Talley inside the penalty area. Talley fired a shot on goal that might have given Onstad a tough time had Houston's Wade Barrett not blocked Talley's attempt with his own sliding effort.

Kennedy took his turn turning away a forward on a clear breakaway. In the 41st minute, Ching beat Chivas USA's offside trap and walked toward the penalty area alone. He tried his luck from the top of the penalty spot but Kennedy was in good position and kicked the ball clear.

The ball eventually went out for a Dynamo corner kick and Ricardo Clark knocked a header on goal that Kennedy turned away as well.

Still, Chivas USA was dealt a blow in the 50th minute. Jaqua broke into the penalty area alone. Kennedy charged off his line in an attempt to stop Jaqua. The two players made contact and Jaqua nearly fell but collected himself before hitting the ground.

Defender Jim Curtin cleared the ball away but referee Terry Vaughn pointed to the spot and awarded Houston a penalty kick. Then, he gave the hosts a double whammy as he sent Kennedy off. Kennedy will now miss Chivas USA's road playoff match at Real Salt Lake as he must serve an automatic one-match ban.

De Rosario stepped up and slammed the ball past Zach Thornton, who replaced Eskandarian after Kennedy's red card. The goal was De Rosario's seventh of the season.

With a man advantage, Houston quickly settled into a rhythm. Whereas Chivas USA were the aggressors in the first half, Houston regained their swagger with the hosts reduced to 10 men.

But Thornton did well to quell any fears of Kennedy's playoff absence. Thornton made several solid plays as Houston peppered Chivas USA's goal with an array of shots. Thornton turned away Jaqua in the 76th minute as he tested Chivas USA's goal from point-blank range.

It wasnt until stoppage time that Chivas USA struck. Onstad made a reaction save in the 90th minute but the ball fell to the goal line and Curtin raced onto it and bundled it over the line into the back of the net.

Lopez, Gomez join list of K.C. heroes

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- There has been no shortage of heroes for the Kansas City Wizards in their rebound from last place in the Eastern Conference to the verge of clinching a playoff berth. The maturing defense, led by veterans Jimmy Conrad and goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, the fortitude and pure heart put in by midfielders Davy Arnaud and Jack Jewsbury, and the various contributions by numerous other players.

Now add Saturday night's performances by Claudio Lopez and Herculez Gomez in K.C.'s wild and woolly 3-2 win against the visiting San Jose Earthquakes.

Lopez had a foot in all goals with a goal and two assists while Gomez scored the match-winner three minutes deep into stoppage time after San Jose had tied the game in the 71st minute.

"I felt good," said Lopez through an interpreter. "My teammates did a good job of supporting me and played a good game. I'm happy we're a step closer to the playoffs."

With one week remaining in the season, the Wizards stand at 39 points after the win, on top of the wildcard race, holding one of the two places with the New York Red Bulls. D.C. United is two points behind, while the Colorado Rapids are at 34 points, still yet to play this weekend.

Lopez started for the first time since Sept. 7, in place of an ailing Josh Wolff.

"Five weeks ago, he hit a point where he was just tired," said Wizards head coach Curt Onalfo. "It's normal of a player of his age, with the amount of minutes he had played all year, to hit that. He was able to get less minutes in games, which gave him a little bit more of freshness. He hurt himself, which gave him some more time off."

Lopez showed all night that he was ready to lift his side in the pivotal match. He had five shots on goal as he time and time again penetrated the San Jose penalty area. "El Piojo" ("The Louse") was back.

"I told our people in the booth on TV that he was going to have a great week. He was unbelievable in training -- scored two goals in our intersquad game in 35 minutes," Onalfo said. "He looks fresh again. He looks just like he did when we first brought him here."

In the 18th minute, Lopez took a pass from Abe Thompson and touched a first time left-footer past San Jose goalkeeper Joe Cannon for the lead. The goal was equaled in the 27th minute by his backheel flick to Davy Arnaud through two Earthquakes defenders. Arnaud put on the finishing touch to pull the Wizards ahead again after a 20th-minute San Jose leveler.

"He was great. He's been chomping at the bit to play," said Conrad. "We've been playing well, so he has to wait his turn. He's been a good professional the whole time. He came in and made a goal and an assist, probably could have had a few more. Just buzzing tonight."

The Wizards created plenty of chances on the night (13 shots on goal), but failed to give San Jose the knockout punch.

"We created a lot of chances, and I thought we were very good," said Onalfo. "But, as I turned to my assistant coach after we missed a whole bunch of those chances in the second half, I said, 'I don't feel good about this.'"

San Jose hung on, and in the 71st minute won a scramble in the box after Hartman failed to control a cross. Rookie Shea Salinas drove a loose ball into the net for the tie. But the Wizards switched to a 3-4-3 formation from their 4-4-2, kept on plugging, and made room for Lopez and Gomez's final heroics.

"The guys' heads were down, and we were yelling and screaming to try and get them to believe. And we found a way. Fantastic," said Onalfo.

After a few strong chances as full time approached and passed, the Wizards won a corner on a hustle. As the near-sellout crowd urged them on, Lopez played in a curving and dipping ball just outside the six-yard box, and Gomez got there.

"You can't really describe something like that. I found myself in a good spot, made a hard run, and Claudio had a good ball in," said Gomez. "It was really his service. I got something on the ball, and the ball wound up in the back of the net. After that, it was utter chaos. Very blessed that it went our way."

It was a storybook celebration, receiving an encore when the whistle blew after the ensuing kickoff.

"We haven't had one of those games in a while," said Conrad, who drew comparison's to last season's 3-2 win against the Columbus Crew on Sept. 15. "We had the same kind of game. That victory propelled us into the playoffs, and you need that little bit of good fortune. We were disappointed to give up the second goal, but we feel great right now."

"They didn't give up ever, and our will to win ended up being the difference," Onalfo said. "We've put so much time and effort into this. You work so hard for a few moments of that kind of feeling. ... We're a team that, in crunch time over the last six games, that has compiled a 4-1-1 record. That's a tribute to the guys in the locker room and how hard they are working and that they believe in what we're doing."

The 2008 Kansas City Wizards are becoming a team of heroes. Lopez and Gomez are just the latest stars.

"Curt made a point that we're not really getting a lot of respect from the league, so we need to come out here and work hard for ourselves. And that's what we've been doing," Gomez said. "Everybody on the field is fighting for each other. When you put out that mentality and put out that work, good things happen."

Fire look to clinch home-field with win over NY

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- The Chicago Fire, a team already in the Major League Soccer playoffs, play their last regular season game Thursday against the New York Red Bulls, a team that is desperate for a win in order to make the postseason.

The Fire, with 43 points, would secure home-field advantage for the first round of the playoffs with a win against the Red Bulls. They are tied with New England, which plays against Kansas City on Saturday, and the Fire hold the tiebreaker, so they really only need to match what the Revolution do to gain the advantage of having the second playoff game at home.

But it would be better for the Fire not to have to wait to see what happens Saturday to know where the games with the Revolution will be played.

That's it: every possible implication from Thursday's result at Toyota Park. Of course, Fire coach Denis Hamlett is going to tell you the victory is the thing.

"The most important thing is for us to get three points," Hamlett said. "(Home-field advantage) was a goal, after we made the playoffs, that we were trying to get."

Arguing the value of home field advantage in a two-game series is a great way to kill time. Some say it's better to play the first one at home to build an advantage that you can protect in the second game, but that assumes that the home team will automatically "win" that first game.

Hamlett has said for weeks he would rather be at home in the second game, hoping the game would be on the line one way or another and the home crowd would motivate his team to better performance.

But of far greater concern for Hamlett is the play of the Fire's defense, which is now tied with Houston for best defense in the league after giving up three goals in a 3-2 loss to Toronto FC on Sunday.

Although he had his best back four out there (Brandon Prideaux, Wilman Conde, Gonzalo Segares and Bakery Soumare) in front of Jon Busch, the Fire fell behind 3-1 by halftime and could not recover in front of TFC's rabid fans.

The Fire will not have Segares against New York due to yellow card accumulation. Diego Gutierrez and Daniel Woolard could serve as his replacement, although Gutierrez is dealing with a heel contusion. Marco Pappa could also start and the Fire could go with three in the back.

The Fire also have to be ready for New York, which will have perhaps more motivation to win than the Fire. With 39 points, tied with Kansas City and two points ahead of D.C. United in the wild card race, the Red Bulls would clinch a wild card spot with a victory.

"To begin, the game is going to be tight, but as the game progresses, obviously they are going to take some more chances," Hamlett said.

Arnaud, Jewsbury steady Wizards' center

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- Six matches ago, the Kansas City Wizards coaching staff made significant changes to the team's lineup. New acquisitions Herculez Gomez and Abe Thompson took up at right midfield and forward respectively, and each has made significant contributions ever since.

But it was the related adjustment made by two longtime Wizards that has given the team a backbone that is both a strong foundation and a dangerous weapon.

Good friends Jack Jewsbury and Davy Arnaud joined forces in the center of midfield after previously spending time in various spots on the field. It has been such a good combination that many could be wondering why the move wasn't made before. But what's important is that they will be together on Saturday as the Wizards travel to New England to take on the Revolution in the regular season finale, having secured a playoff spot.

It was their individual qualities that inspired head coach Curt Onalfo to make the switch.

"Jack naturally has a lot of the instincts to be a very, very good holding midfielder just because he's extremely strong, he wins a lot of balls, and he's also a good passer of the ball and also has a good shot from distance," Onalfo said.

"Davy's a box-to-box player. He puts in the dirty work and has a really good understanding of Jack. He's able to do all the defensive work that he did when he played wide, but now he's in the middle of the field so he has more of an influence on the game."

Since the switch, the Wizards have earned four wins and a draw in those six games, with the duo combining for three goals and three assists.

"For us, the main thing is knowing that we're going to work hard for each other," said Jewsbury. " ... If we're tough to play against defensively, we're going to get our chances offensively and make the most of it."

That sharing of duties and their capabilities on both sides of the ball makes them an unpredictable pair.

"We share the workload defensively, maybe offensively I'm a little more advanced than he is, but we do a pretty decent job of sharing the role because Jack likes to get forward as well and he does that well at times too," said Arnaud.

The two are still learning how to best work together, though, as they head into a battle with Shalrie Joseph and, most likely, the Revolution's usual five-man midfield.

"If we stay organized and give an honest effort like we have been, it makes it a lot easier on everybody," said Arnaud.

"We know what [the Revolution] do, and it's just a matter of disrupting that a little bit and continuing to be hard to play against and continue to create the chances we've created," said Onalfo. "We have to execute the game plan properly and give ourselves a chance to win it."

Even though the Wizards gained a playoff spot as one of the wild cards with the New York Red Bulls 5-2 loss at Chicago Thursday night, the club's attitude towards Saturday's encounter will not change.

"You want to be on a good run when you are going into the playoffs. You don't want to be going into the playoffs on a not so good performance," said Arnaud. "We feel like we've built some good momentum in the past six games, and we want to keep that going."