Week 4/5 Power Rankings

1. FC Dallas (3-1-1) - Mauro Díaz is the engine that drives this team so to get a draw without him on the field is still a positive. Now they just have to figure out a way to keep him on the field. Last Week: 2
2. Sporting Kansas City (3-1-0) - Suffered their first loss of 2016, but at least they got Benny Feilhaber back. Last Week: 1
3. Orlando City SC (2-0-2) - If Orlando City gets performances like last night's from Kaká all season long, this will be a very tough team to beat. That Brek Shea guy is pretty good too. Last Week: 13
4. LA Galaxy (2-1-1) - Vancouver lost three starters in the first half and played most of the match a man down, but the injury-plagued Galaxy still couldn't score. With Robbie Keane and Gio dos Santos out, someone else is going to have to step up on offense. Last Week: 4
5. Real Salt Lake (2-0-2) - Played the league's last perfect team on Saturday night without Javier Morales, Kyle Beckerman, Nick Rimando, Juan Manuel Martinez or Jámison Olave AND WON thanks to contributions from 19 year old Justen Glad and 20 year old Jordan Allen. Joao Plata has scored or assisted in every game this season (3 goals, 3 assists). Last Week: 14
6. Montreal Impact (2-2-0) - Looked flat against Seattle on Saturday night. Drogba time? Last Week: 3
7. San Jose Earthquakes (2-1-1) - Needed some late game magic from Adam Jahn to salvage a draw with DC United, but that's the kind of thing good teams do, right? Last Week: 7
8. Toronto FC (1-2-1) - At least Jozy Altidore survived the week without any hamstring relapses. Still, a 1-0 result against the Rapids isn't good. Last Week: 5
9. Vancouver Whitecaps (2-2-1) - Great result against the Galaxy after losing Pedro Morales and Kekuta Manneh to injuries and Matías Laba to an early red card. Now let's see if their depth can sustain them moving forward. Last Week: 10
10. Philadelphia Union (2-2-0) - Tough break against the lowly Fire with Creavalle getting sent off. That was certainly a missed opportunity for easy points. Last Week: 9

Week 4 Rookie Watch

Draftees

33. Timo Pitter (FC Dallas) - Sub vs DC United, 9 mins, 1 shot
51. Femi Hollinger-Janzen (New England) - Sub vs NYCFC, 10 mins

Homegrowns

Aaron Guillen (Chicago) - Started vs DC United, 90 mins

With only three games on the MLS slate, there wasn't a lot of action on the rookie front, but FC Dallas rookies Aaron Guillen and Timo Pitter each made their MLS debuts in Dallas's 3-0 thrashing of DC United. Guillen started at right back in place of Maynor Figueroa who was away on international duty with Honduras while Pitter spelled Mauro Díaz late in the match.

Who's Adding Who - FC Dallas

In:
 

F Maximiliano Urruti (12/11/15 - Re-Entry Draft) - One of a number of Timbers postseason heroes, it was Urruti's extra time equalizer in the wildcard round that sent the Timbers to a shootout against Sporting Kansas City and propelling their postseason run. Despite just 28 career starts in MLS, the 24 year-old Urruti already has 15 goals including a career-high 10 in just 12 starts in 2014.
D Aaron Guillen (1/5/16 - Homegrown) - The 2014 Atlantic Sun Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and a three-time member of the All Conference First Team, Guillen joins FC Dallas after a solid college career where he was a four-year starter at Florida Gulf Coast University.
M Juan Esteban Ortiz (1/20/16 - free) - A defensive midfielder by trade, the 28 year-old veteran has upwards of 240 appearances in the Colombian First Division. Ortiz, whose most recent club was Atlético Huila, becomes the third Colombian player on the FC Dallas roster joining Michael Barrios and Fabián Castillo.
M Carlos Gruezo (1/23/16 - transfer from Stuttgart) - Despite being a few months shy of his 21st birthday, Gruezo already has double-digit CAPs for the Ecuadorian National Team. The first Ecuadorian to ever score in the Bundesliga when he did so in 2014 with VfB Stuttgart, Gruezo was also the second youngest player to start a match during the 2014 FIFA World Cup (behind only England's Luke Shaw).
D Maynor Figueroa (1/26/16 - trade from Colorado) - Only two players have appeared in more matches for Honduras then the 32 year-old veteran, Figueroa. A serviceable left back or central defender, Figueroa made his MLS debut with the Rapids in 2015 making 10 starts and scoring a goal against Sporting Kansas City.

Out:
 

D Bakary Soumare (11/30/15 - retired)
D Otis Earle (12/3/15 - option declined)
M Danny Garcia (12/3/15 - option declined)
F David Texeira (12/3/15 - option declined) - Sivasspor (Turkey)
M Michel (12/3/15 - option declined) - Rayo OKC (NASL)
D Walker Zimmerman (12/3/15 - option declined)
F Blas Pérez (12/3/15 - out of contract)
D Stephen Keel (12/3/15 - out of contract)
GK Dan Kennedy (12/15/15 - traded to LA Galaxy) - LA Galaxy
M Rolando Escobar (1/22/16 - waived) -
M Ezequiel Cirigliano (1/22/16 - waived) - River Plate (Argentina)

USA vs Iceland Thoughts

1. First and foremost, it was good to see the U.S. start 2016 with a win. After what can only be classified as a disappointing finish to 2015, it's important for the U.S. to turn the page and start fresh. The 3-2 win, during which we twice came from behind, was far from perfect, but a win just the same.

 

2. The U.S. certainly outplayed their European opponents dominating in virtually every statistical category (Corners 8-2, Shots 16-6, Possession 62-38), but despite not having the bulk of the chances, Iceland was still very dangerous. If not for some poor finishing, Iceland could have easily walked away with a 5-3 win. I'd like to point fingers at the defense for sloppy play, but I'll temper that noting that the defense also scored the tying and winning goals. Still, the first Iceland goal - while a result of a lucky deflection - was also a result of ball-watching. And the second goal came as a result of a heady play by Iceland in generating a quick re-start, but also showed a lack of communication and organization along the U.S. backline (it also involved a brilliant finish by Aron Sigurdson). Granted, this was a group that hasn't played together before and it's the January camp when not everyone's at their fittest, but I still didn't think it was great performance from a defensive standpoint.

Haiti and Panama Earn Final Copa América Berths

Haiti and Panama each won their respective play-in games on Friday to clinch the final spots in the 16-team field for the 2016 Copa América Centenario. Haiti defeated Trinidad and Tobago 1-0 while Panama upended Cuba 4-0. MLSers Kevan George (Columbus, Trinidad & Tobago), Joevin Jones (Chicago, Trinidad & Tobago) and Anibal Godoy (San Jose, Panama) all appeared for their respective teams while former FC Dallas Striker Blas Pérez scored his 38th international goal for Panama and former LA Galaxy keeper Jaime Penedo started in net for Panama and earned the shutout. Here's a look at all 16 teams that will be participating in this summer's tournament along with their rankings in the latest FIFA poll:

2. Argentina
5. Chile
6. Brazil
8. Colombia
11. Uruguay
13. Ecuador
23. Mexico
32. United States
37. Costa Rica
46. Paraguay
47. Peru
55. Jamaica
65. Panama
70. Bolivia
79. Haiti
83. Venezuela

Odds and Ends

Ridgwell to Debut this Weekend?

Portland Timbers center back Liam Ridgewell is on loan until February with English Football League Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion, and may get his first action this weekend as Brighton takes on Hull City on Saturday morning. If he does, he'll have a chance to match up against former Chicago Fire striker Shaun Maloney who joined Hull City in August after spending just eight months in Chicago. Maloney has scored one goal since returning to England.

Copa América Centenario Playoffs

Today Panama City will play host to the final two play-in games for the Copa América Centenario. In the first match, Panama will take on Cuba, and in the second Trinidad and Tobago will play Haiti. Current MLSers Aníbal Godoy (Panama, San Jose), Joevin Jones (Trinidad and Tobago, Chicago), Kevan George (Trinidad and Tobago, Columbus), and Cordell Cato (Trinidad and Tobago, San Jose) will all be suiting up for the matches as well as a number of former/unsigned MLSers including Soni Mustivar (Haiti), Blas Pérez (Panama), Gabriel Torres (Panama) and Daneil Cyrus (Trinidad and Tobago). The actual tournament, which will be held in the United States, will begin in early June.

Making Moves

Here's a look at three more moves in what has already been a busy MLS offseason:

1) Marco Pappa traded to Colorado. Pappa's two year stint with the Sounders has drawn to a close as the Guatemalan midfielder was shipped to Colorado for cash earlier this month. It comes as a bit of a surprise that Seattle would cut ties with the useful midfielder, but in addition to Pappa, the Sounders will also be heading into 2016 without Lamar Neagle (DC United), Michael Azira (Colorado) and Andy Rose (Coventry City) in addition to having Chad Barrett, Leonardo Gonzalez, Troy Perkins, Gonzalo Pineda and Zach Scott all not under contract. Pappa should provide an immediate boost to the Rapids' league-worst attack and adds a veteran presence to their midfield. The MVP of the 2014 Copa Centroamericana has 35 goals and 27 assists in 161 regular season matches for Seattle and Chicago, and has also notched three assists in ten postseason appearances. He also scored this gem against the U.S. during World Cup Qualifying in 2012.

Making Moves

Lots of moves in the early stages of the MLS offseason, but here's my thoughts on three:

1) Drew Moor Signs with Toronto - Moor leaves the Colorado Rapids where he won an MLS Cup in 2010 and made it to his first All Star game in 2015, a season after suffering an ACL injury. A veteran of 11 MLS seasons, Moor has appeared in over 300 regular season matches, as well as appearing for the U.S. Men's National Team in 2007 and 2008. What Moor will give Toronto is a veteran presence on a back line that allowed a league-worst 58 goals during the 2015 regular season. For all of Colorado's struggles during the 2015 season, the defense conceded just 43 goals, ranking behind only FC Dallas, Vancouver, Portland, Seattle and San Jose. Toronto had no trouble scoring goals this past season with the likes of Jozy Altidore, Sebastian Giovinco and Michael Bradley running the offense, but with the addition of Moor and Steven Beitashour, the defense becomes less of a liability moving forward.

2) Tyler Miller Signs with Seattle - So last winter Miller made headlines by opting not to sign with the Sounders in favor of a fourth division opportunity in Germany, a topic of conversation that we covered in our Superman & SoccerSmith Q&A last January. Now, a little under a year later, Miller has signed a deal with the Sounders for the 2016 season. Funny how things work out. Stefan Frei is still the number one guy in Seattle, but with Troy Perkins' option declined, Miller has a chance to serve as his back-up.

3) Dan Kennedy Traded to LA Galaxy - I was excited last year when Kennedy joined FC Dallas, and I'm equally excited about him getting picked up by the Galaxy this year. While he won't have defensive stalwart Omar Gonzalez in front of him in 2016, the Galaxy will still likely be one of league's top teams, and Kennedy will be an upgrade over the declining Donovan Ricketts in net. Kennedy allowed just 19 goals in 16 starts for FC Dallas last season before getting replaced by 20 year old phenom Jesse Gonzalez down the stretch. Dallas, in return for Kennedy, will receive a pair of draft picks in 2017.

MLS Cup Conference Finals Diary, Leg 1

11/22/15

All right, time to watch the first leg of the Conference Finals. We'll start off with the Red Bulls taking on the Columbus Crew and then we'll follow that up with FC Dallas against the Portland Timbers. Hopefully we can get through both games, but that will really depend on whether or not my poor laptop can hold it together and if my wife can hold off on going into labor (due date is tomorrow). Let's start with Columbus vs New York...

The big story for Columbus is the fact that they're without their starting center back, Gastón Sauro, who's on a yellow card suspension. Sauro has been a tremendous addition to a defense that had issues all year, but tonight it'll be on Tyson Wahl teaming up with Michael Parkhurst in the heart of the Crew defense. Here we go!

0' - WOW. So the game has been going for all of 10 seconds and Justin Meram already has the Crew up 1-0. Taylor Twellman made the comment before the game started that this game would have some fireworks, and so far it has not disappointed. Ethan Finlay got absolutely trucked my Matt Miazga on that play too, but funny how those plays don't seem to hurt as much when you score.

Final Thoughts on the Conference Semifinals

Wow, what a Sunday! All four games were highly contested and just made for some really exciting soccer. In no particular order, here's a bunch of my observations from an action-packed day:

1) Of the four conference semifinal winners, the Red Bulls are the only ones who won both legs of their respective match-up.

2) Substitutes on Sunday accounted for 2 goals (Tesho Akindele, Walker Zimmerman) and 4 assists (Marco Pappa, Blas Pérez, Gonzalo Verón, Cedrick).

3) Every player to come off the bench for FC Dallas on Sunday (Tesho Akindele, Walker Zimmerman, Blas Pérez) notched either a goal or an assist. Akindele and Zimmerman also both scored PKs during the shootout. During the regular season, Akindele (goal) scored just once in fourteen appearances as a substitute, Zimmerman (goal) did not log a goal or an assist during the entire regular season, and Pérez (assist) did not log a goal or an assist in nine appearances as a substitute.

Playoff Match-Ups: Conference Finals

EAST

New York Red Bulls (1) vs Columbus Crew (2)

2015 Meetings

3/28/15 - New York Red Bulls 2 Columbus Crew 1
NYRB: B. Wright-Phillips, Grella; CLB: Tchani

7/4/15 - Columbus Crew 2 New York Red Bulls 1
NYRB: Abang; CLB: Finlay 2

10/3/15 - New York Red Bulls 2 Columbus Crew 1
NYRB: Sam, B. Wright-Phillips; CLB: Meram

New York In Brief

Record: 18-10-6, 62 Goals For, 43 Goals Against (+19)
Goals: Bradley Wright-Phillips - 17 goals
Assists: Sacha Kljestan - 14 assists
Goalkeeping: Luis Robles - 9 shutouts, 1.26 GAA, 18-10-6

Defeated DC United, 1-0 - McCarty (1)
Defeated DC United, 1-0 - B. Wright-Phillips (1)

Columbus In Brief

Record: 15-11-4, 58 Goals For, 53 Goals Against (+5)
Goals: Kei Kamara - 22 goals
Assists: Ethan Finlay - 13 assists
Goalkeeping: Steve Clark - 6 shutouts, 1.56 GAA, 15-11-8

Lost to Montreal, 2-1 - Higuaín (1)
Defeated Montreal, 3-1 (a.e.t) - Kamara 2 (2), Finlay (1)

Playoff Match-Ups (Conference Semifinals)

EAST

Columbus Crew (2) vs Montreal Impact (3)

2015 Meetings

6/6/16 - Montreal Impact 2 Columbus Crew 1
7/11/15 - Montreal Impact 3 Columbus Crew 0

Weekly Top Tens and Power Rankings

THE SOCCERSMITH'S MLS POWER RANKINGS

1 - FC Dallas (11-5-5) - Five wins in a row for Dallas with only an own goal and a penalty kick against them. These guys are good. Last Week: 3
2 - Sporting Kansas City (9-4-6) - Easily the most complete team in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals after their win against Houston. What does Benny Feilhaber have to do to get a call from Klinsmann?Last Week: 1
3 - Toronto FC (8-7-4) - Not sure what falling behind Columbus 3-0 was about, but Toronto once again showed off their explosive offense as they rallied for a big draw. Sebastian Giovinco remains my MVP. Last Week: 5
4 - LA Galaxy (9-7-7) - I'll give the short-handed Galaxy a pass for their poor showing against Houston. They're going to need to bounce back this week though to prove Gerrard's debut wasn't a fluke. Last Week: 2
5 - DC United (11-7-5) - Álvaro Saborío scored in his first game with United and helped them rally from a 2-0 deficit to pick up three points against Philadelphia. If the tandem of Saborío and Espíndola can get the DC United offense going, that could offset the loss of Bill Hamid. Last Week: 7
6 - New York Red Bulls (8-6-5) - A disappointing end to the Red Bulls' Open Cup run as they fell in a shootout to their nemesis, the Philadelphia Union. At least now they can concentrate on league play. Last Week: 4
7 - Vancouver Whitecaps (11-8-3) - Pedro Morales is back, and the Caps are back to their winning ways. Last Week: 8
8 - Columbus Crew (8-7-7) - Showed off their explosive offense by jumping out to a 3-0 lead over Toronto. Then showed off their porous defense by letting that lead slip away. Story of their season. Oh, and how did Ethan Finlay not make the All Star Game? Last Week: 10
9 - Real Salt Lake (7-7-8) - Real Salt Lake just keeps hanging around, and now they're in the Open Cup semifinals AND back to .500 in league play. More importantly, they're about to get back to full strength following the Gold Cup. Last Week: 11
10 - Portland Timbers (9-8-5) - No match for red hot Dallas. This team isn't the same when Will Johnson is out of the mix. Last Week: 6

Trade Tracker

Following this week's trade between Philadelphia and Houston, we've now seen six trades over the past month that have moved players around (I'm going to assume you're not interested in trades that only deal with money). In case you haven't been following, here's a quick trade recap:

6/26/15

San Jose trades Ty Harden to Chicago for Quincy Amarikwa. Amarikwa gives the Quakes another goal scoring threat to go alongside Chris Wondolowski and we already saw the impact he can have when he scored twice against the Galaxy on July 17th. Harden had only made one start for the Quakes this year, ironically against the Fire, and scored his first career MLS goal and added his first career MLS assist in a 2-1 win.

7/14/15

Houston trades Corey Ashe to Orlando City for allocation money and a 2017 2nd round draft pick. Ashe gives Orlando City some much needed depth in the back after getting squeezed out of the rotation in Houston. After making 20 starts for the Dynamo in 2014, Ashe had yet to appear in an MLS match this season. Ashe had been with Houston since his MLS debut in 2007.

7/16/15

Montreal trades Bakary Soumaré to FC Dallas in exchange for Kyle Bekker. The Canadian-born Bekker returns to Canada where he spent the 2013 and 2014 seasons with Toronto FC. He saw only limited playing time in Dallas appearing in 8 matches and making a pair of starts during the regular season. Soumaré was the driver in this deal as he'd become unhappy with his role in Montreal after factoring in their Champions League run this spring.

DC United trades Luis Silva to Real Salt Lake in exchange for Álvaro Saborío. In easily the biggest trade so far this season, United sends Silva, who tied for the team lead in scoring last season, to Real Salt Lake for RSL's all-time leading scorer. Silva had not returned to form for DC after suffering an injury at the end of last season scoring just once and making just four starts this year. Sabo, meanwhile, was having a down year by his standards scoring just three times in 14 appearances. He leaves RSL with 63 goals over parts of six seasons, and should be fresh after not seeing much action for Costa Rica during the Gold Cup.

7/20/15

Sporting Kansas City trades Servando Carrasco to Orlando City for Amobi Okugo. Carrasco, who is perhaps most famous for being married to USWNT star Alex Morgan, had seen his playing time diminish in Sporting's 4-3-3 where Benny Feilhaber, Haitian newcomer Soni Mustivar and Honduran Roger Espinoza had absorbed most of the minutes. He gives Orlando much needed depth as in more than a few occasions this season, City has struggled to put an 18-man squad together. In Okugo, Sporting gets some more experience on their back line where they had been starting a pair of rookies, Saad Abdul-Salaam and Amadou Dia.

7/23/15

Philadelphia Union trades Sheanon Williams and an international roster spot to Houston for allocation money. Williams, who had been with Philadelphia since 2010, saw his playing time diminish with the emergence of Raymon Gaddis and became expendable. Jermaine Taylor's injury in the Gold Cup leaves a gap at the back for the Dynamo that Williams should be able to help fill.

Gold Cup Goal Scorers by League - Group Play

As we get ready to kick off the Gold Cup Quarterfinals, here's a list of all the players who have scored (for their own teams) so far in this year's tournament broken down by league. MLS currently leads the way with nine goals scored by seven players representing five different countries. Here's the complete list:

MLS (9)

Clint Dempsey (USA) - Seattle Sounders - 3
Roy Miller (Costa Rica) - New York Red Bulls - 1
Cordell Cato (Trinidad and Tobago) - San Jose Earthquakes - 1
Joevin Jones (Trinidad and Tobago) - Chicago Fire - 1
Michael Bradley (USA) - Toronto FC - 1
Blas Pérez (Panama) - FC Dallas - 1
Giovani dos Santos (Mexico) - LA Galaxy - 1***

Gold Cup Day 7

Haiti got an early goal against Honduras and clinched a spot in the Gold Cup quarterfinals following a 1-0 win. The win itself wasn't enough to put Haiti through, but they got some help from the U.S., who battled back for a 1-1 draw with Panama. Blas Pérez (FC Dallas) and Michael Bradley (Toronto FC) traded goals, bur while the U.S. threatened, they couldn't find a game winner. Panama must now wait to see if they can advance as one of the tourney's top two third place teams.



MLSers In Action

Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake/USA) - Started, 90 mins, 1 shot
Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/USA) - Started, 90 mins, 2 shots, 1 goal
Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes/USA) - Started, 45 mins
Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy/USA) - Started, 90 mins
Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders/USA) - Sub, 45 mins, 2 shots, 1 assist
Blas Pérez (FC Dallas/Panama) - Started, 90 mins, 4 shots, 1 goal
Jaime Penedo (LA Galaxy/Panama) - Started, 90 mins, 2 saves, 1 goal allowed

MLS Weekly Recap, Week 19

Here's this week's recap:

Ricardo Clark and Will Bruin both scored as the Dynamo defeated the Wondo-less Quakes 2-0. Nigerian midfielder Rasheed Olabiyi made his MLS debut when he came on as a second half substitute... Bradley Wright-Phillips bagged two goals and an assist in the game's opening 12 minutes as the Red Bulls routed the Revolution 4-1. For the Revs it was their fifth straight loss and they've won just once since May 2nd... Vincent Nogueira scored a pair of goals and midfielder Cristian Maidana added three assists as the Union throttled the Timbers 3-0. Brian Sylvestre earned the shutout in net for the Union who dealt the Timbers their first loss with Will Johnson in the starting lineup. They had been 5-0 in his five previous starts... Playing without Cyle Larin (Gold Cup) or Kaká (red card suspension), Orlando City struggled to generate any offense as they fell to Dan Kennedy and FC Dallas 2-0. The win was Dallas's third straight and they haven't conceded a goal in three straight matches... Dominic Oduro scored twice and Marco Donadel tallied his first MLS goal as Montreal pulled off a 3-0 upset over the Columbus Crew. Kei Kamara, the league's leading scorer, attempted five shots, but failed to put any on frame... Jason Johnson scored the only goal of the match in stoppage time as the Fire surprised the Seattle Sounders 1-0. Homegrown player Patrick Doody made his MLS debut and went a full 90 minutes at left back in the win while Mike Magee made his first start of the season... Colorado scored three times after the 80th minute including twice in stoppage time to shock Real Salt Lake 3-1. Sebastián Jaime scored for the third straight match for RSL, but was also ejected in the 84th minute setting up the Rapids' win... Sebastian Giovinco and David Villa put on quite a show combing for 5 goals and an assist in a wild 4-4 tie between New York City FC and Toronto FC... Defender Kevin Ellis scored the only goal of the match as Sporting Kansas City, despite starting a pair of rookies in defense, shutout Vancouver 1-0.

MLS Weekly Recap, Week 18

Here's this week's recap:

First, the US Open Cup's 5th Round: The Union lost CJ Sapong less than 30 minutes into the match to a red card, but still managed to score twice while a man down and stun DC United to advance to the quarterfinals... Carlos Rivas scored for the fourth time in the tournament as Columbus was shutout 2-0, but more importantly, the Crew's Will Trapp returned after a 3-month absence following a concussion. Trapp had not played in a match since April 8th against Vancouver... Mike Magee scored his first two goals of 2015 as Chicago rallied from a 1-0 deficit and knocked the USL's last representative out of this year's tournament... Joe Willis picked up his second shutout in a row and 19 year-old Colombian Mauro Manotas supplied all of the offense as Houston knocked off the Rapids 1-0... The Red Bulls rocked another crosstown rival as they defeated the Cosmos 4-1, but lost right back Chris Duvall in the process to a broken leg. 18 year-old Anatole Abang (Cameroon) continued his hot streak as he added another goal in the win... Dom Dwyer scored FOUR times, Krisztián Németh scored twice, and Benny Feilhaber tallied three assists as Sporting KC destroyed FC Dallas 6-2. Dwyer needed less than a half to achieve his hat trick... The Portland Timbers couldn't solve Real Salt Lake and despite knocking out their nemesis, the Seattle Sounders, they will not advance to the quarterfinals... Jose Villarreal scored early and the Wondo-less (read punchless) Quakes had no answer as they came up short against their intrastate rivals.

Now, onto league play: Alex came off the bench to score against the team that traded him, but Houston couldn't hold a late lead against Chicago. Patrick Nyarko entered the match at halftime for Chicago making his 2015 debut and scored the equalizer... DC United's Fabián Espíndola was sent off in the opening 30 minutes and the Sounders eventually took advantage behind Tyrone Mears' first MLS goal... Normally on the distributing end, Ethan Finlay scored twice in Columbus's 2-1 come-from-behind win over the Red Bulls. Kei Kamara assisted on both goals while youngster Anatole Abang continued his hot streak by adding another goal for New York. Will Trapp appeared in his first MLS match since April when he came off the bench in the 88th minute... David Villa scored twice as New York City FC knocked off Montreal 2-1. The Spaniard has 5 goals in his last four matches including a pair of braces... New England's struggles continue as they got buried 3-0 by FC Dallas. New England has lost four straight and won just once since May 2nd... Irish international Kevin Doyle opened his MLS account with a game winner against Vancouver. It was just Colorado's third win of the season and their first since May 23rd, ironically also against the Whitecaps... Kaká scored and then earned his first red card EVER as Orlando City was forced to settle for a draw with Real Salt Lake... Robbie Keane scored three times and the Galaxy routed Toronto 4-0 in Stefan Ishizaki's last game as a member of the Galaxy before he heads back to Sweden. Toronto played without Michael Bradley and Jozy Altidore who are both with the U.S. for the Gold Cup... Jack Jewsbury scored in stoppage time as the Timbers snuck by the Earthquakes 1-0. Portland has won six of seven and is 5-0-0 in games started by Will Johnson.

MLS Weekly Recap, Week 17

Here's this week's recap:

With Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins both out, the Union took advantage and shocked the Seattle Sounders 1-0... Real Salt Lake sustained a pair of red cards and were outshot by the Red Bulls 24-4, but managed to keep the damage to a minimum losing just 1-0. Nick Rimando made seven saves... Kei Kamara scored two more goals and Ethan Finlay picked up his ninth assist of the season as the Crew survived giving up a first minute goal and defeated the Revs 2-1... Orlando City got goals from Cyle Larin and Kaká as they spoiled Joseph Greenspan's MLS debut and knocked off the Rapids 2-0. Larin's goal was his sixth of the year, easily leading all rookies.. Toronto FC got goals from all three of their stars (Altidore, Bradley, Giovinco) as they rallied to knock off their nemesis, the Montreal Impact, 3-1... DC United became the first team to ten wins thanks to Conor Doyle's second half goal as they defeated the Chicago Fire, 1-0. Mike Magee made his second appearance for the Fire logging 16 minutes as a second half substitute... The LA Galaxy scored five for the second straight MLS match and routed the Timbers snapping their four-game winning streak. Robbie Keane had a goal and two assists to lead the Galaxy attack... FC Dallas got a pair of first half goals and won for the first time in a month and a half, 2-0 over their rivals, the Houston Dynamo. Houston rookie Rob Lovejoy left the match in the first half with a hamstring injury... Bill Hamid made it two shutouts in a week when he also shut out the triple threat of Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco in their 0-0 draw with Toronto... Octavio Rivero scored for the first time since May 9th and Vancouver took advantage of an Andrew Farrell red card in their 2-1 win over the Revolution... Krisztián Németh scored his 7th goal, Benny Feilhaber tied Ethan Finlay for the league lead in assists with nine, and Chance Myers played his first MLS match since May 23, 2014 (and picked up an assist no less) as Sporting defeated Colorado 2-0... No sooner than did Feilhaber tie Ethan Finlay for the assist lead that the Columbus Crew winger picked up assist number ten and added a goal as the Crew twice fought back from one goal deficits to force a draw with Real Salt Lake... Chris Wondolowski and company snapped the LA Galaxy's hot streak bouncing back from an early 1-0 deficit to defeat their rivals, 3-1. Matías Pérez García stayed red hot for the Quakes notching a pair of assists to give him a goal and three helpers in his last two matches... The Red Bulls won another showdown with their crosstown rivals thanks to a pair of assists from Sacha Kljestan and a goal from Bradley Wright-Phillips... The Portland Timbers turned in a dominant performance against the short-handed Sounders thanks to a breakout performance from Darlington Nagbe and two more goals from Fanendo Adi.

US Open Cup Recap - Round 4, Day 1

New York Red Bulls 3 Atlanta Silverbacks 0

The Red Bulls were eliminated in this round of last year's tournament by the New York Cosmos 3-0. They didn't mess around this year against Atlanta starting regulars Bradley Wright-Phillips, Sacha Kljestan, Lloyd Sam, Luis Robles and others and cruised to a 3-0 win of their own. Sam and Ronald Zubar each scored in the opening 15 minutes, but Sam left the match just over 20 minutes in with both groin and ankle injuries. Sean Davis added an insurance goal in the second half.

Philadelphia Union 0 Rochester Rhinos 0, Philadelphia Wins 3-1 in Shootout

After 120 minutes of scoreless action, the Union edged out the Rochester Rhinos 3-1 in a penalty kick shootout. Maurice Edu, Vincent Nogueira and Cristian Maidana each converted for the Union. John McCarthy played the full match in net for Philadelphia and was scored on just once in four tries during the shootout.

Sporting Kansas City 1 Saint Louis FC 0

Benny Feilhaber connected with Graham Zusi for the match's lone goal as Sporting knocked off Saint Louis FC 1-0. Tim Melia remains unbeaten in net for Sporting in seven starts across all competitions since taking over for Luis Marín. Perhaps more importantly though for Sporting, Chance Myers made his return to the field for the first time after tearing his achilles tendon a year ago. Myers went 55 minuets before coming off in favor of rookie Saad-Abdul Salaam.

FC Dallas 4 Oklahoma City Energy 1

David Texeira and Michael Barrios both netted a pair of goals as FC Dallas jumped out to a 3-0 first half lead and cruised to a 4-1 win over the Energy. Dallas reached the semifinals of last year's tournament before falling on penalties to the Philadelphia Union.

Chicago Fire 1 Louisville City FC 0 (a.e.t.)

Quincy Amarikwa broke a 0-0 tie in the 115th minute as the Fire snuck by Louisville City. Sean Johnson picked up the shutout in net for Chicago. Scottish international Shaun Maloney came off the bench for the Fire, but left in extra time after taking a knock.

Colorado Rapids 4 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 1

Rookies Dominique Badji and Joseph Greenspan each scored goals while Dillon Serna had two and an assist as the Rapids routed the Switchbacks 4-1. Greenspan was making his first appearance for Colorado while Badji had lost his starting spot and had been seeing only limited minutes in recent matches.

Real Salt Lake 2 Seattle Sounders FC 2 1

Real Salt Lake rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit thanks to goals by Joao Plata and Javier Morales. Playing without regulars Kyle Beckerman, Nick Rimando, Jámison Olave or Tony Beltran and only getting five minutes from Álvaro Saborío, RSL got strong performances from its reserves and advanced to the 5th Round for the first time since 2013.

Portland Timbers 3 Seattle Sounders 1 (a.e.t.) 

In last year's quarterfinals, Seattle knocked off Portland 3-1 in extra time behind goals from Kenny Cooper and Marco Pappa. The Timbers returned the favor this year though as Rodney Wallace and Maximiliano Urruti scored after regulation guaranteeing a new U.S. Open Cup Champion in 2015. Seattle fought valiantly despite going a man down in the 69th minute when Brad Evans picked up a second yellow card, eventually drawing even behind a goal from Obafemi Martins, but they couldn't conjure up enough magic to knock off their rivals. Matters were made that much more difficult when they were reduced to seven men in extra time following subsequent ejections of Michael Azira and Clint Dempsey, AND an injury to Martins who left the match on a stretcher. Diego Valeri also scored for the Timbers as he made his return from injury.

San Jose Earthquakes 2 Sacramento Republic 2, San Jose Wins 6-5 in Shootout

In a rematch of last year's 4th Round match-up won by the Quakes, Sacramento looked to be on their way to a revengeful upset only to surrender a pair of goals to Chris Wondolowski in a six-minute span to force overtime. Still, Sacramento had their chances in extra time, AND had a chance to win in PKs, but Bryan Meredith made a huge save at 3-3, the Quakes made their final 3 kicks to win the 8-round shootout, 6-5.