Major League Soccer, Week 3: Colorado Rapids Face D.C. United In Freezing Conditions

Three matches, nine points. Things are going about as well as the defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids could hope as they dominated DC United in a 4-1 victory to pick up their third win in as many matches this season. Caleb Folan scored his first MLS goal and then added another one later in for a brace, Jamie Smith scored one and Omar Cummings added one late for good measure to cancel out Santino Quaranta's goal for DC as the Rapids continued their run of impressive play.

Colorado dominated the first half and had 59% of the possession, but almost didn't see that rewarded on the scoreboard. Six minutes from halftime though, Jeff Larentowicz spotted Folan making a run and chipped the ball into his path. Folan gathered in the box and eventually went to his left foot, curling in the match's opening tally.

Quaranta equalized early on in the second half for DC, putting United on level terms despite the Rapid's having the better of the play. Chris Korb's long cross all the way to the far side found an unmarked Quaranta whose excelltn first touch volley beat Matt Pickens to level the match.

Not even two minutes later, Smith ran into the box as unmarked as Quaranta and got on the end of an Anthony Wallace cross to head the ball in, restoring Colorado's one goal lead. Crosses and headers became the norm for the Rapids the rest of the way. Folan added his second on a Sanna Nyassi cross that he just had to nod home and Pablo Mastroeni's deflected cross found a wide open Cummings just a few yards from goal, allowing him to easily head home a goal.

While the match may have been on level terms in the second half, Colorado was undoubtedly the better side. Larentowicz and Mastroeni were dominant in the center of the pitch and didn't allow United to build anything through the middle. Without any way of building through the center, DC was pretty much anemic all match. it didn't help that United, normally weak at striker, was running short on strikers thanks to Charlie Davies' groin injury so they lacked a true finisher in the team. As it finished, Colorado showed the class of an upper-echelon team and walked away with a deserved three points over an overmatched United team.

The match wasn't really in doubt anymore. The Colorado Rapids had a 3-1 lead in their back pocket and were the better side just knocking the ball around in the 90th minute. Just because the match was no longer in doubt and they could knock the ball around though doesn't mean they were content to wait out the waning minutes. No, the Rapids decided to put the screws to DC United and added one more goal, this one by Omar Cummings, to give them a deserved 4-1 lead.

Quincy Amerikwa was at the center of the Rapids' move, playing a beautiful little flick on to keep the team going forward instead of the back pass that would have only served the purpose of running on the clock. With Amerikwa's flick though, Colorado was off and Pablo Mastroeni got the ball wide, searching for a cross. Mastroeni played that cross in, but it took a deflection. That deflection turned out to be a blessing though because it deflected right onto the head of Cummings who was only a few yards from goal with no one around him. The simple finish was all it took and Colorado had their 4-1 advantage.

If one is good, two is better. Caleb Folan had the opening goal of the match between the Colorado Rapids and DC United, but decided to add a second. Folan's opening mark was the first goal of his MLS career, but he wasn't content and made it a brace that all but seals the match for Colorado. With a 3-1 lead now, possession and having been the undoubtedly better side, the Rapids are on the verge of making it nine points from their first three matches.

When Colorado regained the lead on Jamie Smith's goal, it was a good cross with a simple headed finish that did the job and they decided to follow that script with Folan's second goal as well. It was Sanna Nyassi who played the cross in this time, whipping one in right onto Folan's forehead and the Irishman just nodded it past Pat Onstad for the goal that should put this one out of reach for United.

Not even two minutes after surrendering an equalizer, the Colorado Rapids grabbed their lead back thanks to a simple finish by Jamie Smith, who got on the end of an Anthony Wallace cross. Colorado had been the better side all match, but in the 70th minute they allowed Santino Quaranta to get an equalizer thanks to some poor marking. In the 71st minute though, the Rapids took advantage of some poor DC United marking to snatch their lead back.

Wallace found room on the left and delivered a beautiful cross to the top of the six yard box. Pat Onstad hesitated for half of a second and that is all that mattered. The hesitation left him no chance to come off his line and punch the ball so when Kurt Morsink completely lost track of Smith, the Colorado midfielder was able to come right on in and finish for the go-ahead goal.

D.C. United don't deserve to be level. The Colorado Rapids have been the better side and it's tough to argue otherwise so when United found an equalizer, it was shocking. Well, Santino Quaranta did the shocking as he found the back of the net thanks to some poor Rapids defending to level the match at 1-1. Now, Colorado will have to gather themselves and turn simple knocking the ball around and possession into a goal if they want to pick up all three points at home.

Chris Korb found space out on the right side for United and instead of closing him down, Colorado chose to drop deeper and take away the space close to goal. It would have worked out just fine if they would have marked up in doing so too. Instead, two defenders on the far side of the field in the box both decided to mark Dax McCarty, leaving Quaranta completely unmarked. To Quaranta's credit, he finished well with a first touch volleyed finish to equalize this match in the 70th minute.

The Colorado Rapids made their run to a MLS Cup last season largely on the backs of their excellent striker pair, Conor Casey and Omar Cummings. On a chilly Sunday night at Dicks Sporting Goods Park, the few fans actually in attendance won't get the chance to see them together. That's because Cummings started the match on the bench, resting after international duty with Jamaica, and only made his entrance because of an injury to Casey.

Casey came up lame in the 50th minute, although there was no apparent instance in which he suffered the injury. One minute Casey was running, the next he was limping and grabbing his hamstring. The striker called over to the bench for a substitution, quickly aware that he would not be able to carry on and Colorado manager sent Cummings on in his place.

Striker isn't the most pressing of positions for Colorado right now though thanks to a first half strike by Caleb Folan that put them ahead 1-0 against a D.C. United side that has shown nothing resembling an attack. All Colorado has to do now is see out the final 40 minutes.

The Colorado Rapids and D.C. United have made it through 45 minutes of cold and still have 45 minutes to go, but it is the home side that is feeling warm and fuzzy at halftime thanks to Caleb Folan's first MLS goal. The Irishman tallied six minutes before the break to give the defending MLS Cup champions a 1-0 edge in their quest to start the season with nine points from three matches. Now the Rapids will be charged with seeing out the rest of the match, something that shouldn't be much of a problem if the first 45 minutes were any indicator.

It was 30 degrees at kick off at Dicks Sporting Goods Park in Commerce, CO and the rounds crew spent the afternoon clearing snow from the field, but aside from the long sleeves, speckles of snow and empty seats, there isn't much of an indicator of the cold and snow. The field has help up remarkably well and both teams have had the opportunity to play well, although the opportunity to play well doesn't mean they are playing well.

Colorado had the better of the play for most of the half and their 59% possession indicates their superiority. It took until the 39th minute to make it count though when Jeff Larentowicz spotted Folan making a run past the D.C. defense. Larentowicz floated the ball into Folan's path and the big striker gather the ball in the box with one recovering defender near him. There wasn't much defending to be seen though as Folan made a couple step overs before putting the ball on his left foot and striking it past a diving Pat Onstad to put Colorado ahead 1-0.

Meanwhile, D.C. now has to chase the match without any strikers to speak of as Chris Pontius is out of position up top, rookie Blake Brettschneider is making his first career start and Charlie Davies isn't an option off the bench as he's back in D.C. with a groin injury. United was struggling in the first half to maintain possession and create chances, something that will only get harder against a Colorado team sure to maintain their shape with a destroying pair of Larentowicz and Pablo Mastroeni in the center of the midfield.

D.C. United's trip to Dicks Sporting Goods Park may be remembered by some for the cold and snow, but for the Colorado Rapids' Caleb Forlan, it will aways be remembered for his first MLS goal. The Rapids signed the Irish striker prior to the season and with Omar Cummings out, Folan got his chance. The Irishman took advantage of that opportunity and gave his side a jolt with a well taken goal. The home side now hold a 1-0 lead over D.C. and look poised to grab their ninth point from three matches.

Jeff Larentowicz initiated the move with a lovely chip over the top of the United back line into the path of Folan. Folan chased the ball down inside the D.C. box with a defender tightly marking him. The defender didn't mean much to Folan though as he faced goal and made a couple step overs to create space before putting the ball on his left foot and curling it around Pat Onstad for the game's opening tally.

The final MLS match of the weekend is about ready to get underway and the story is cold...or snow. They're kind of the same thing. Well, anyone who wants to see MLS go to an international calendar and play through the winer might change their mind after tonight's match between DC United and the Colorado Rapids. Temperatures in Denver are below freezing and they spent the afternoon clearing the snow off of the pitch. Perfect soccer weather, no?

The defending MLS Cup champion Rapids have picked up six points from their first two matches and while they have not been dominating, they have done enough to win. Nobody will complain about the results thus far and they've looked very solid. With Jeff Larentowicz and Pablo Mastroeni controlling the center of the pitch they're always going to be tough to break down and tonight should be no different.

For United, the headline is the MLS debut of rookie Blake Brettschneider. With Charlie Davies back in DC because of a slight groin problem, Brettschneider might even have to go the full 90 minutes against a Colorado defense that is anything but kind. United will have to rely heavily, as they always do, on Chris Pontius and Santino Quaranta, but once again, what is creativity and passing without someone to finish? DC faces the same problems they usually do again here tonight.

Colorado Rapids: Pickens, Wallace, Moor, Wynne, Kimura, Smith, Larentowicz, Mastroeni, Mullan, Folan, Casey

DC United: Onstad; Korb, Woolard, Brasesco, Burch; Quaranta, Morsink, McCarty, Boskovic; Pontius, Brettschneider

You know how your brain felt as you read that headline? That's how my brain felt for the entirety of the match between the Los Angeles Galaxy and the Philadelphia Union. I can feel my brain melting inside of my skull as I type this. This post is basically a race against the clock. Hopefully, I can finish it before I run out of time. Basically, the game between the Galaxy and Union was hardly a game at all. The only time it resembled what we know as football (or soccer) was the goal, when David Beckham hit a great free kick into the penalty area that was headed in by Leonardo in the 35th minute. Before that point, the game was just kind of boring. The last 10 minutes were boring too. No big, right? Games are boring all the time.

Then, the proverbial s--- hit the fan. Referee Paul Ward showed Chris Birchall a red card for...well...nobody knows. The incident wasn't caught on camera, and no one that was at the game has explained it to the public yet. Birchall was certainly in an argument with Carlos Ruiz, but no one knows what he did.

At that point, the Union proceeded to pretend that they were the team that had 10 men for a while as they did literally nothing. Paul Ward showed a bunch of yellow cards for nothing. Then he sent off little Jack Mac for talking smack. Oh, and during this 45 minute period, just like the previous one, basically no football happened.

This game made my brain hurt a lot, and I can feel the pain getting worse. I'mlsotgin functin fast.Isee the light.   Goodbsggggggggggggggaffds !??#!

No shots on goal, no corner kicks, 41% possession. Those are the key early statistics for the Philadelphia Union, who have looked absolutely anemic in the first half of their game against the Los Angeles Galaxy. Leonardo has the game's only goal, heading in a David Beckham dead ball, but the game has been seriously lacking in action outside of that. While Philadelphia have done very little going forward, LA haven't done a whole lot more. Hopefully the second half is much different.

Philadelphia have a good forward group up top in Sebastian Le Toux, Carlos Ruiz, and Danny Mwanga, but they've done next to nothing in the first half. Honestly, most of this is because they don't have anyone to get them the ball. The Union's midfield has simply not been very good, and it's not like they look any better on paper than they do in practice. Peter Nowak will probably have to make some serious changes to get his team playing well.

The Los Angeles Galaxy and the Philadelphia Union have played an even game to this point, but the teams have been separated by the quality of a David Beckham free kick. In the 34th minute, from about 35 yards out, Beckham swung one of his trademark balls into the box, which the Galaxy had loaded up with all of their big boys. Philly's marking was poor, and central defender Leonardo was able to get onto the ball without a whole lot of opposition. Leonardo hit a powerful, but easy header into the back of the net, and the Galaxy took a 1-0 lead.

Los Angeles have been boosted quite a bit by the returns of Donovan Ricketts, Omar Gonzalez, and Landon Donovan, but they still haven't been fantastic. The Galaxy still need some time to gel as a team, and they probably aren't an elite team with the personnel that they have anyway. Still, this early lead will be encouraging, and it will be interesting to see how Philly pick themselves up.

Omar Gonzalez and Donovan Ricketts will finally make their season debuts for the Los Angeles Galaxy. Gonzalez will start alongside Leonardo against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. Todd Dunivant and Sean Franklin will fill out the rest of the backline in front of Ricketts, who had been spelled by Josh Saunders for the first two games. Miguel Lopez will also make his Galaxy starting debut at forward, alongside Juan Pablo Angel.

The Union will field a lineup that looks a lot like it did in the first two games. In fact, the lineup is exactly the same as it was last week against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Union are 2-0-0 and coach Peter Nowak is obviously feeling like he has found a winning combination with Sebastian Le Toux remaining in the midfield and Danny Mwanga and Carlos Ruiz playing forward.

Galaxy lineup (4-4-2): Ricketts; Franklin, Gonzalez, Leonardo, Dunivant; Beckham, Birchall, Juninho, Donovan; Angel, Lopez

Union lineup (4-4-2): Mondragón; Williams, Califf, Valdés, Harvey; Nakazawa, Miglioranzi, Carroll, Le Toux; Mwanga, Ruiz

Check out the Brotherly Game for live gamethread.

Dwayne De Rosario made his New York Red Bulls debut, picking up an assist about a minute after entering the game in the second half, but could not do enough to get his new team over the hump as the Houston Dynamo scored the equalizing goal a couple minutes later and held on for a 1-1 tie. De Rosario had a chance to put the Red Bulls ahead, but after being left open, his header went wide of the goal.

The Red Bulls had by far the better of the play, especially down the stretch, but Tally Hall once again came up big to salvage the tie. Hall's best save came off a Thierry Henry header in stoppage time. Juan Agudelo sent a cross to Henry, who got a clean look and sent a ball toward the top near corner, but Hall made a diving stab to parry the ball away.

The Red Bulls outshot the Dynamo 20-8 and forced Hall into seven saves. The only ball he couldn't stop was off the foot of Dane Richards, who was sent free on a nice from from De Rosario. Richards beat his man as he cut in from the sideline and then beat Hall far post to score his first goal of the season.

Camilo scored two stoppage time goals, 90 seconds apart to bring the Vancouver Whitecaps level 3-3 after they had trailed 3-0 late in the second half. Camilo's equalizing goal came off an assist from Nizar Khalfan, who found the Brazilian near the far post. Camilo's first goal came off an assist from Davide Chiumiento.

The goals salvaged what otherwise was going to be a hugely disappointing loss for the home team. Not only were they on the verge of being embarrassed by a team that was playing their third straight road game, but two of those goals had come off the feet of Teal Bunbury, who spurned Canada to play for the United States National Team.

Making the three goals even more impressive for the Whitecaps was the fact that they were missing Designated Player Eric Hassli, who was sitting out the game after getting a pair of yellow cards last week. SKC was also missing their DP, Omar Bravo, who got a red card last week.

Just as it seemed the game had gotten away from the Vancouver Whitecaps, Atiba Harris got them back into the game with a goal in the 73rd minute to make the score 3-1. The goal came off an assist from Nizar Khalfan, who found Harris streaking toward the near post.

That goal seems to have breathed some life back into the Whitecaps, who were looking pretty down after falling behind 3-0. Since Harris' goal, though, the Whitecaps have dominated possession and have created several more quality chances.

It was likely too little, too late, though. The Whitecaps still trail 3-1 in the 88th minute. They did get a small piece of consolation when Teal Bunbury, who spurned Canada to play for the United States, was given a yellow card for time wasting. Bunbury had earlier scored a pair of goals to get Sporting Kansas City out to an early 2-0 lead. 

Dwayne De Rosario's time with the New York Red Bulls has started in impressive fashion. About a minute after entering as a halftime substitute for Mehdi Ballouchy, De Rosario sent a perfect throughball to Dane Richards, who was able to beat Tally Hall far post to give the Red Bulls a 1-0 lead over the Houston Dynamo.

De Rosario got the ball just beyond the center line. He took one touch, looked up and spotted Richards who was streaking behind the defense. The pass hit Richards in stride and he raced in from the sideline, pulling away from Hunter Freeman.

The Dynamo, though, responded with a goal of their own just three minutes later. Cam Weaver beat Bouna Condoul on a breakaway after being sprung on a pass from Will Bruin. Weaver was able to collect the pass and one-touched it over the head of Condoul, who was forced to come off his line to try to make a play on the ball.

Facing as hostile a crowd as he's likely to see all year, Teal Bunbury is having himself quite a day in his first start for Sporting Kansas City. First, he scored a goal completely against the run of play in stoppage time of the first half. Then, he followed that up with a definitely Goal of the Week candidate in the 58th minute. SKC now leads 3-0 after Kei Kamara's goal in the 62nd minute.

On Bunbury's second goal, he was sent through on a pass from Milos Stojcev. With a defender in front of him, Bunbury took one touch toward the goal, then dribbled the ball behind his back and beat Whitecaps goalkeeper Jay Nolly near post. Bunbury has now scored three goals this season.

That goal gave SKC a 2-0 lead, which grew to 3-0 just a few minutes later. On that one, CJ Sapong tracked down a ball near the touchline and found Kei Kamara all alone about 10 yards out. Kamara easily beat the goalkeeper far post.

Jack Jewsbury scored from about 16 yards out in the 38th minute to bring the Portland Timbers level, 1-1, with the New England Revolution. The equalizing goal was the first time that the Timbers have come back to a tie a match after falling behind.

The Timbers have so far played relatively even with the Revolution, who started the season undefeated through two matches for just the fourth time in franchise history. They have done it mostly with defense, but have played far more wide open during the first half of Saturday's game than they have in their previous contests.

Shalrie Joseph, Stephen McCarthy and Sainey Nyassi, all listed as midfielders, have joined the attack regularly, creating more of a 4-3-3 than the listed 4-5-1. In previous games, Joseph and McCarthy, especially, have been more reluctant to join the attack.

The flip side, though, creates chances for plays like the one where Jewsbury scored. The Timbers had numbers during the attack and Jewsbury was left unmarked at the edge of the penalty area. His shot easily beat Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis.

Sporting Kansas City put out a lineup on the field that made little to no sense. Despite the absence of Stephane Auvray, Peter Vermes opted to stay with the same formation he's gone with for over a year. He didn't put in a reserve central midfielder, though. Instead, he chose Birahim Diop to play a defensive midfield role. He has the physical profile of a player who can play that position, but Diop is obviously a forward who can play as a wide player if he has to. He was downright terrible in the first half, and it's hard to tell what Vermes and his assistants are thinking. Despite this unbelievably poor selection, KC are somehow up 1-0 on the Vancouver Whitecaps at halftime, thanks to a wonder strike by Teal Bunbury. It's a funny old game, isn't it?

Not to take anything away from Bunbury, because his curling shot from the outside of the penalty area was amazing, but as a neutral I feel like some serious injustice has happened. I'm happy for Bunbury and the KC fans, but Peter Vermes and his staff do not deserve to lead this game. Birahim Diop does not deserve to be leading this game. He's so lost in the center of midfield that, despite KC having a numbers advantage in midfield AND the two best passers on the field, they're playing long ball. How can anyone who isn't a Sporting KC fan want them to win this game?

I mean, Boon-Boo-Ree didn't even do The Dougie when he scored.

New England Revolution rookie Stephen McCarthy scored his first career MLS goal to give his team a 1-0 lead over the Portland Timbers in the 23rd minute on Saturday. The goal came after Zak Boggs sent a ball into the penalty area that was knocked out, but right to McCarthy, who volleyed it from about 18 yards out. McCarthy, who started in the midfield of the Revs 4-5-1, is not really known as a goal scorer and is much more of a defensive-minded player, but looked very comfortable on the strike. 

The Revolution have now scored first in all three matches they have played. They held on for a tie against the Los Angeles Galaxy and beat DC United in Week 2. 

The Timbers, on the other hand, have now allowed the first goal in all three of their MLS matches. That led to a 3-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids in Week 1 and a 2-0 loss to Toronto FC in Week 2.

After injuries to their top two goalkeepers, rookie Jake Gleeson will get his first MLS start for the Portland Timbers. Gleeson played for the Timbers U-23 team last year and has played for the New Zealand youth teams. Gleeson also started in this week's U.S. Open Cup qualifying victory, a shut out of Chivas USA.

In front of him will be four players with a total of 47 MLS appearances between them. Only Rodney Wallace has appeared in as many as 10 MLS games. Midfielder James Marcelin will also receive his first MLS start.

The New England Revolution will have considerably more experience in their starting lineup, which has helped the Revs get off to an undefeated start to their season. Rookies A.J. Soares and Stephen McCarthy will start for the Revolution.

Revolution lineup: GK Reis, D Domi, D Soares, D Cochrane, D Alston, M Myassi, M Boggs, M Joseph, M Phelan, F Schilawski, F McCarthy

Timbers lineup: GK Gleeson, D Purdy, D Brunner, D Horst, D Wallace, M Hall, M Marcelin, M Jewsbury, M Alhassan, F Cooper, F Perlaza.

Follow live gamethreads at The Bent Musket and Stumptown Footy.

For the third straight week, the New York Red Bulls have changed their goalkeeper. This week, Bouna Condoul, who was the starter a year ago, will reclaim his position, at least for the week. Condoul's newest teammate, Dwayne De Rosario is not in the starting lineup as the Red Bulls will stick with their 4-4-2 formation.

Mehdi Ballouchy will play the attacking central midfielder and will be flanked by Joel Lindpere and Dane Richards with Teemu Tainio in a more defensive central midfield position. Jan Gunnar Solli gets another start at right back.

The Dynamo, who are looking for their first win, counter with their third different lineup in three matches. Brian Ching and Will Bruin will be the starters are forward. Jermaine Taylor, who missed last week's game against the Seattle Sounders, will not start. Instead, Bobby Boswell and Andre Hainault will start a second straight game together. Corey Ashe gets his first start at left back.

Red Bulls lineup: Coundoul, Solli, Marquez, Ream, Miller, Richards, Tainio, Ballouchy, Lindpere, Agudelo, Henry. 

Dynamo lineup: Hall, Freeman, Boswell, Hainault, Ashe, Cruz, Palmer, Cameron, Davis, Ching, Bruin.

Check out Dynamo Theory and Once a Metro for live gamethreads.

Both Vancouver Whitecaps and Sporting Kansas City have thrown out some weird looking lineups, thanks to injuries and suspensions. MLSSoccer.com lists Vancouver's lineup as a 5-3-2 and KC's as 4-2-4, both of which seem highly unlikely. Vancouver is missing Eric Hassli due to suspension and Davide Chiumiento due to injury, among other players, while Stephane Auvray is the most glaring omission from the Sporting Kansas City lineup. We'll update if the lineups look unorthodox, but for now, let's call both of the 4-4-2.

Vancovuer Whitecaps lineup (projected 4-4-2): Nolly; Rochat, Janicki, Boxall, Weathers; Wagner, Dunfield, Knight, Koffie; Harris, Sanvezzo

Sporting Kansas City lineup (projected 4-4-2): Nielsen; Espinoza, Besler, Santos Correa, Harrington; Kamara, Stojcev, Arnaud, Diop; Sapong, Bunbury

Who knows what these lineups will actually look like. Based on the fact that Vancouver have been playing 4-4-2, it seems likely that Blake Wagner will be playing left midfield, not in defense as the league website lists him. KC is more of a crap shoot, since they're playing four forwards, none of whom are accomplished in the center of midfield, but they usually play 4-3-3. So, 4-4-2 is the best guess based on the personnel.

The game can be seen on MLS Matchday Live, MLS Direct Kick, and on Rodgers Sportsnet in Canada.

Alejandro Moreno scored a 2nd minute goal, but Chivas USA was unable to build on that lead, eventually ceded the equalizer and were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie with Toronto FC on Saturday. The tie marked the first point of the season for the Goats, who opened with a pair of losses at home.

Toronto FC was playing their first match without former captain Dwayne De Rosario, who was traded to the New York Red Bulls on Friday in exchange for Danleigh Borman, Toni Tchani and a first-round pick. Both Borman and Tchani started on Saturday and, perhaps unsurprisingly, TFC looked disjointed in the early going.

But after weathering an early assault, TFC settled down and actually created the better chances from about the 30th minute on. The got the equalizer in the 39th minute on a goal by Alan Gordon and probably should have gotten the go-ahead goal a few minutes later, but Maicon Santos was ruled off-sides.

Santos had another chance to help give TFC the lead when Gordon sent him through on a nice pass that left him 1v1 with Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. Santos was able to beat Kennedy and had Alen Stevanovic at the far post, but elected to keep the ball. That gave Andrew Boyens time to catch up to the play and was able to slide the ball away.

Maicon Santos saw the open goal and apparently nothing else. The Toronto FC forward was sent through on a wonderful pass from Alan Gordon, beat Chivas USA goalkeeper Dan Kennedy and, rather than passing to wide open teammate Alen Stevanovic, he elected to keep the ball. That gave Andrew Boyens enough time to close ground and slide to the rescue, knocking the ball away and keeping the score tied 1-1 just after the hour mark.

Stevanovic was clearly miffed as he kicked the ball in frustration after being left totally unmarked at the far post. Santos either did not see him or wanted the goal for himself and continued to dribble toward the goal, instead of laying it off.

Toronto FC has looked much better in the second half, creating several chances in what has so far been a pretty even second half. The Goats have created several chances, but have yet to get a ball on frame in the second half.

The early returns are good on Chivas USA coach Robin Fraser willingness to adapt. After two straight weeks in which his team looked disjointed and direction-less, Fraser changed his formation and swapped out several starters. The results, so far, have Chivas USA outplaying Toronto FC, but tied 1-1 at halftime.

Among the changes Fraser made were going from a 4-1-2-3 to a more standard 4-4-2, and dropping Victor Estupinan and goalkeeper Zach Thornton from the starting XI. In their places, Jorge Flores and Dan Kennedy have played well. Alejandro Moreno and Justin Braun have also looked more comfortable than they had in the first two matches, with Moreno scoring his first goal and Braun coming close a couple of times.

After a slow start, Toronto FC did settle did. They got a goal from Alan Gordon in the 39th minute and had another goal waved off on an incorrect off-sides call.

Chivas USA has dominated their match against Toronto FC over the first 40 minutes, but they find themselves tied 1-1 after Alan Gordon found the equalizer in the 39th minute against his former team. Gordon was left wide open on a set piece and scored on a glancing header off a delivery from Jacob Peterson. Earlier in the match, Gordon hit a header off the post.

The goal came against the run of play as the Goats have had numerous chances since Alejandro Moreno gave them the lead with a 2nd minute goal. Justin Braun has had several chances, but has so far been unable to get anything on frame.

Chivas has looked much better in this 4-4-2 alignment than they had looked in previous weeks. Braun and Moreno have formed a solid partnership and the midfield has done a good job of maintaining possession and creating space for their forwards.

The post-Dwayne De Rosario era did not get off to a very good start on Saturday. Alejandro Moreno scored a goal in the 2nd minute off an assist from Jorge Flores to give Chivas USA their first lead of the 2011 season.

The goal was Moreno's first in a Chivas uniform, beating Toronto FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei to a ball at the edge of the penalty area. Five minutes into the game, TFC has yet to get any kind of possession in their offensive end and Chivas just missed a chance for a 2-0 lead when Justin Braun's header went over the crossbar.

It might make sense that TFC is struggling a little, as both Danleigh Borman and Toni Tchani are starting without a full day of training with their new team. Both players were acquired in the De Rosario trade, along with a first-round pick. Borman started at fullback, while Tchani started in the midfield.

The post-Dwayne De Rosario era starts today for Toronto FC and it looks like Alen Stevanovic will filling his role, at least for now. The 20-year-old looked good in his debut against the Portland Timbers and has made appearances with Inter Milan and Torino of Serie A. Stevanovic will be joined by Alan Gordon and Javier Martina to fill out TFC's three-forward spots.

Chivas USA counters with a standard 4-4-2 that will feature Justin Braun and Alejandro Moreno as the two forwards. Up until now, the Goats have been playing in more of a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-1-2-3, depending on who you ask. That formation has so far led to winless start through two games.

Toronto FC starters (4-3-3): Frei, Borman, Cann, Harden, Attakora, Tchani, Maicon (captain), Peterson, Stevanovic, Gordon, Martina

Chivas USA starters (4-4-2): Kennedy; Lahoud, Boyens, Pearce, Jazic; Zemanski (DM), LaBrocca (RM), Flores (LM), Mondaini (AM); Braun, Moreno. Subs: Thornton, Owusu, Trujillo, Mendoza, Mayen, Estupinan, Arias. Out with injury: Conrad, Bowen, Gavin, Elliott, Nagamura