MLS Week 6: Landon Donovan Leads Galaxy To 3-0 Win

Landon Donovan broke his scoring slump in a big way, registering two goals in the Los Angeles Galaxy's 3-0 win over the Portland Timbers. Donovan's second goal came off a feed from fellow Designated Player Juan Pablo Angel, who sent a cross to the far post that Donovan headed into the back of the net.

Coincidentally enough, the last time Donovan scored he did it twice in a game. That was back on Sept. 18, 2010 when he scored twice against DC United. Donovan has played in eight MLS games since then. Donovan also assisted on the game's other goal, setting up Chad Barrett.

The Timbers had entered the match on a two-game winning streak, but suffered their worst loss of the season. They have now allowed two or more goals for the fourth time this season, as they've yielded a league-worst 13 in total. The Galaxy have now gone unbeaten in their last three matches and have a league-leading 15 points.

It didn't take the Los Angeles Galaxy long to get their offense going tonight against the Portland Timbers. It was evident from the start of the game that the Galaxy were going to pressure the Timbers and their shaky backline.

In the forth minute Chad Barrett hit what could end up being the goal of the week for week six. Barrett took a pass outside the 18-yard box from Landon Donovan, did a nifty little flick to put some space between him and his defender and then sent an impressive volley past Portland keeper Troy Perkins.

Minutes later the Galaxy would strike again as Donovan was brought down in the penalty box by Rodney Wallace. The ref immediately pointed to the penalty spot and Donovan cooly hammered home the game's second goal. 

The game has since settled down a bit with both teams trading shots. Portland has been pressing forward more with Jack Jewsbury and Kalif Alhassan. Neither have been able to get past LA keeper Donovan Ricketts yet though.

A season that started with a fair amount of promise continued to spiral on Saturday as the Chicago Fire yielded a late equalizer and were forced to settle for a 1-1 tie with the Houston Dynamo. Since winning their first match of the season, the Fire have now gone winless in their last five. If there was a bright spot, the tie did end a three-match losing streak for the Fire.

Diego Chaves got the Fire off to a strong start when he scored his fourth goal of the young season on a solid blast from about 15 yards out in the 18th minute. The goal was a result of two give-aways by the Dynamo.

Although the Dynamo had the better of the play from that point on, they didn't get the equalizer until the 83rd minute. That's when Brad Davis placed a corner kick inside the penalty area, which Bobby Boswell was able to place inside the far post. The tie runs the Dynamo's unbeaten streak to five matches.

After two straight wins at home the Portland Timbers take their show to the road to face one of the top clubs in Major League Soccer in the Los Angles Galaxy. It won't be easy consider the Galaxy will have all three of their Designated players out on the pitch for this one as Landon Donovan returns from injury. Donovan is making his first start after sitting out the last couple games.

Portland will have a new face in goal tonight as Troy Perkins replaces Jake Gleeson in net. Perkins was brought over before the start of the season and had been battling some injury issues of his own up until this week. 

Both teams appear to be sending out a 4-4-2, so the midfield will be where this game will be won and lost. 

Portland Timbers Starting XI: Troy Perkins; Steve Purdy, Eric Brunner, Mamadou Danso, Rodney Wallace; Jeremy Hall, James Marcelin, Jack Jewsbury, Kalif Alhassan; Kenny Cooper, Jorge Perlaza

LA Galaxy Starting XI: Donovan Ricketts; Todd Dunivent, Omar Gonzalez, AJ DeLeGarza, Sean Franklin; Landon Donovan, David Beckham, Juninho, Mike Magee; Juan Pablo Angel, Miguel Lopez

The Houston Dynamo have been living a bit of a charmed existence during the early going of this season, something that has continued in their match against the Chicago Fire on Saturday. Bobby Boswell found the equalizer in the 85th minute, bringing the match to 1-1.

On the tying goal, Brad Davis sent a corner kick into the middle of the penalty area and Boswell was able to head it just inside the far post. Boswell now has two goals this season, the most he's had in a year since 2005 when he scored three as a rookie with DC United.

The Dynamo have not lost since Week 1, but have not always looked good in doing so. They needed a stoppage time goal to win last week's game against the New England Revolution and were outplayed significantly in ties against the Seattle Sounders and New York Red Bulls. In this one, though, they have had the better of the play despite being on the road.

Diego Chaves emerged from a scrum with the ball and space at the edge of the box and hammered home an emphatic finish to put the Chicago fire on top of the Houston Dynamo in the 18th minute. Chicago's # 99 scored the 99th Fire goal at Toyota Park, set up well after some tricky dribbling by Marco Pappa put the ball into a dangerous area and Chaves finished emphatically past Tally Hall.

It's been an open and largely even affair in Chicago, each side creating chances and having their share of the play. Chicago's attacking intent has set the tone with the majority of Houston's more dangerous attacking play coming via the counter, but the Fire's pressing has left ample opportunity for the Dynamo to make Jon Conway nervous.

There was a scary moment just before the hour mark when Houston forward Cam Weaver knocked heads with Chicago defender Yamith Cuesta, resulting in both players receiving nasty cuts and being temporarily removed from the game. Luckily there did not appear to be any serious injury and both players are now back on the pitch.

Two of the New England Revolution's newest players and one of their longest tenured helped lead them to a 3-2 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. Benny Feilhaber assisted on the Revs' first goal, team captain Shalrie Joseph scored the eventual equalizer and Rajko Lekic scored the game winner. The three goals were a season high for the Revolution, who had entered the match with just five goals in their first six matches.

Feilhaber helped give the Revolution an early lead, combining with Marko Perovic in the 12th minute. But Sporting came back on a Kei Kamara goal and eventually took the lead on Kamara's second goal, which came on a penalty.

Kamara's second goal seemed to awaken the Revolution, who had been pretty thoroughly outplayed up to that point. Joseph was able to find the equalizer just three minutes later and the Revs were given a further boost when Aurelien Collin was shown a red -- for reasons still not entirely clear. Lekic was able to take advantage, scoring the go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute, taking off his jersey and displaying what appears to be a tattoo of his own name on his lower back in the process.

SKC has now lost three straight games and has not won in four straight, ever since their season-opening win against Chivas USA. They still have five more road games to play before playing their first game in Livestrong Sporting Park.

FC Dallas scored two second-half goals to overcome a 1-0 halftime deficit and claim their second victory of the season, but the win came at a cost; reigning MLS MVP David Ferreira was stretchered off after injuring his ankle and taken to the hospital for x-rays. Dallas rebounded well after losing their most threatening attacking presence, but given the team's slow start to the season they could be in serious trouble if forced to go without the attacking midfielder for any extended period of time.

Alain Rochet opened the scoring with a headed goal from Davide Chiumiento's cross just over 24 minutes in. FC Dallas were awarded a penalty for a hand ball from Rochet just three minutes later, but Ferreira's spot kick was well wide left and the teams went to the half with Vancouver ahead 1-0. Dallas equalized in the 53rd minute, the goal coming on a George John header from a Marvin Chavez corner. The corner was awarded after Jonathan Leathers dispossessed Ferreira and put the ball out for a corner with a clean tackle, but Ferreira was injured at some point during the play and Eric Avila was brought on to replace him.

Avila would be the man to grab the winner for FC Dallas, gathering a loose ball at the edge of the box and firing a low shot past Jay Nolly and into the bottom left. Sloppy defensive organization was a consistent theme throughout the day for Vancouver and Avila made the Whitecaps back line pay. Despite some promising late attacks from the home side Dallas were able to hang on for the much-needed win to give them seven points on the year. It loss was the first for Vancouver at Empire Field.

There was some controversy late on when Eric Hassli was booked by referee Juan Guzman in the 80th minute while fighting with George John for a loose ball at the edge of the penalty area. Whether Hassli offense merited a foul is debatable and in no way did it appear to merit a booking, but the striker was shown yellow in any case and will now be forced to miss the Whitecaps' next game due to accumulation. Hassli was given a stern warning by Guzman earlier in the game after John went down in the box attempting a clearance, but replays showed that John's got his foot caught in the turf and that Hassli made no contact (or was within arm's reach) of the Dallas defender. Upon the card being shown, Whitecaps coach Teitur Thordarson immediately rushed over to Fourth Official Baldomero Toledo and seemed to insinuate that Toledo (who sent off Hassli earlier in the season) had spoken with Guzman about Hassli prior to the match.

Rajko Lekic was brought into the New England Revolution to score goals. In his second game with his new team, that's just what he did. The Danish forward took a pass on the right wing near the edge of the penalty box and fired a ball past Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Jimmy Nielson to give his team a 3-2 lead in the 86th minute.

The goal came shortly after the Revolution were given an advantage following Aurelien Collin being shown a red card. The Revolution had not been looking particularly good as they have been significantly out shot and out possessed despite playing against a team that has played all five of their games on the road.

The three goals are a season-high for the Revolution, who entered the match with just five goals in their first six matches. The addition of Benny Feilhaber seems to have played a role, but so has playing against one of the worst defense in MLS.

Just as it appeared that the New England Revolution's struggles were really starting to catch with them, Shalrie Joseph scored the equalizing goal in the 72nd minute. Joseph's goal, which came off a perfect delivery from Kenny Mansally, was his third of the season and followed a Kei Kamara penalty that temporarily gave Sporting Kansas City a 2-1 lead.

Now, the Revs have been put in an even better situation as Aurelien Collin has been sent off with a red card in his debut. It was not entirely clear if Collin was shown a straight red or if he was shown red because he was sitting on a yellow, but either way it seemed questionable. Collin had gone up for a corner and collided with Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis, but it seemed like a fair challenge. Reports from the field now indicate that Collin was believed to have thrown a punch at Benny Feilhaber, but replays caught no such aggression.

FC Dallas midfielder Eric Avila pounced on a loose ball at the edge of the box and hit a low shot past a diving Jay Nolly to give the visitors a 2-1 lead with less than ten minutes of regular time remaining. FC Dallas had been hitting the Whitecaps with a steady stream of dangerous counters all half long and Vancouver's disorganization at the back caught up to them in a big way as Avila was completely unmarked and allowed to take several touches before shooting.

Moments before the goal, Vancouver striker Eric Hassli was booked for a foul while fighting for a ball with George John, and it must be said that there is legitimate reason to think that no foul was committed, let alone a bookable offense. Hassli was pulled aside and given a talking to by Juan Guzman after George John went down in the box attempting a clearance. Replays appeared to show that John simply got caught in the turf and tripped, as Hassli was nowhere near John and at the moment the Dallas defender went down appeared to have his back turned.

FC Dallas has been by far the better side since the second half began and their efforts were rewarded when George John headed past Jay Nolly from a corner to bring the visitors level.

John's equalizer came seconds after Dallas playmaker David Ferreira was stretchered off the pitch after a tackle by Whitecaps defender Jonathan Leathers. Replays showed that the challenge was clean, Leathers putting the ball behind for a corner and contact with Ferreira minimal, suggesting that the Dallas attacking midfielder might have gotten his foot caught in the turf. The injury appeared to be to Ferreira's ankle. Eric Avila came on to replace the reigning MLS MVP.

Dallas have continued to show a great deal of attacking intent despite the loss of such an important player, but Vancouver have been equal to the challenge so far in what continues to be an open free-flowing (albeit somewhat sloppy) contest in Vancouver.

Benny Feilhaber may have paid immediate dividends for the New England Revolution on the scoreboard, picking up the assist on their lone first-half score, but he doesn't seem capable of single-handedly turning around their struggles in the possession and passing departments. The Revolution are tied with Sporting Kansas City 1-1 at halftime, but they are a bit lucky to be in that position, as they've been out shot 11-4, out possessed 56-44 and have completed just 65 percent of their passes.

Making this a big more disconcerting is that they are playing at home against a team that has played all five of their matches to this point in the season on the road. The Revolution have struggled all year in these departments, but have managed to claim six points in six matches and have lost just twice.

That said, Feilhaber has played well. He set up Marko Perovic's first-half goal and nearly had another assist to Shalrie Joseph, but the midfielder took too long to take his shot, allowing a defender to recover.

There weren't many who doubted Benny Feilhaber's ability to contribute in MLS -- except maybe Peter Nowak -- but no one expected him to contribute quite this early. The New England Revolution's newest player needed just 12 minutes to pick up his first assist, helping Marko Perovic score his first goal of the season. On the goal, Feilhaber tapped the ball back to Perovic, who blasted it from the edge of the penalty area.

Perovic's score gave the Revs the lead, but it was short-lived as Sporting Kansas City was able to tie it just two minutes later. Kei Kamara was able to beat Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis near post on a left-footed shot from about 16 yards out.

Feilhaber ended up with the Revolution after Chivas USA and the Philadelphia Union passed on the United States National Team midfielder. While Chivas USA made it clear that their decision was mostly about salary considerations, Union coach Nowak implied that he did not think particularly highly of Feilhaber.

Alain Rochet's header from Davide Chiemiento's cross in the 25th minute put the Vancouver Whitecaps ahead 1-0 and David Ferreira was unable to convert a penalty just three minutes later, missing a golden opportunity to draw FC Dallas level heading into half time. It was an open first half with a lot of opportunities for both sides (and not a whole lot of defending from either) but Rochet was the only player able to convert.

FC Dallas were awarded the penalty after Rochet left his arm at his side and got in the way of Andrew Jacobson's shot after Jay Nolly dropped an easy ball in to hand the Dallas midfielder the opportunity. Reigning MLS MVP Ferreiera stepped up to the spot but his driven effort was well wide of the post, preserving the lead for the home side. Dallas stepped up the pressure after the missed chance, but despite some serious disorganization at times from the Whitecaps back line they were unable to capitalize.

It had been coming for a while, and Vancouver defender Alain Rochet grabbed the goal that the Whitecaps so richly deserved in the 25th minute. Rochet found the end of a beautiful ball into the box from Davide Chiumiento and Kevin Hartman was hopeless to stop the emphatic finish. The goal capped a period of sustained pressure from the home side and was the result of Dallas being unable to clear their lines after a corner that was initially punched away by Hartman.

Vancouver's lead looked destined to be short-lived when Rochet was called for a hand ball in the box; there were (not altogether unreasonable) complaints that the incident was ball-to-hand, but the Whitecaps goal-scorer left his arm in far too low a position and FC Dallas were rightly awarded a penalty. Vancouver keeper Jay Nolly guessed wrong, but David Ferreira's chipped effort sailed wide and the score remained 1-0.

FC Dallas currently sit at the bottom of the Western Conference, tied for last in all of MLS with four points. With that in mind it's not much of a surprise to see Schellas Hyndman mix things up a bit, as it would appear that Brek Shea will be starting in the midfield for the first time this season and that David Ferreira will be all alone up top.

The Whitecaps make one change from the lineup that drew 0-0 with Chivas USA, with Terry Dunfield starting in place of Kevin Harmse in the midfield. The Whitecaps are still without Jay DeMerit, Atiba Harris and Shea Salinas in the 18. Vancouver's Eric Hassli will try to make it two consecutive games without being sent off but he will face suspension should he receive a booking which-let's face it-he almost certainly will.

Dallas starters: Hartman; Benitez, Ihemelu, John, Goncalves; Chavez, Shea, Hernandez, Castillo, Jacobson; Ferreira Subs: Seitz, Loyd, Avila, Rodriguez, Luna, Alexander, Galindo

Vancouver starters: Nolly; .Leathers, Boxall, Rochat, Wagner; Knight, Dunfield, Brovsky, Chiumiento; .Camilo, Hassli Subs: Cannon, Khalfan, Salgado, Tan, Teibert, Harmse, Akloul

After just a couple days of practicing with his new team, Benny Feilhaber has been inserted into the starting lineup for the New England Revolution as they prepare to host Sporting Kansas City on Saturday. Rajko Lekic, another relatively new addition to the Revs, is also in the starting lineup. Both players will be counted on to help a Revs offense that has scored just five goals in six matches.

Peter Vermes is also debuting one of his newest players as Aurelien Collin will get his first start. Collin, a center back, will start alongside Matt Besler for a SKC defense that has been among the worst in MLS this season. Only the Chicago Fire have allowed more goals per game than SKC's 2.25.

Revolution lineup: Reis - Domi, Soares, Coria, Alston - Feilhaber, Joseph, McCarthy - Perovic, Lekic, Boggs

Sporting KC lineup: Nielsen; Espinoza, Besler, Collin, Harrington; Diop, Arnaud, Stojcev; Sapong, Bunbury, Kamara

Mariano Trujillo scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 85th minute as Chivas USA beat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 to earn their first victory of the season, the last MLS team to do so this year. The win extends Chivas USA's unbeaten streak to four matches. The Earthquakes continue to struggle at home, where they have yet to win in four matches.

Trujillo's goal was made possible mainly because of Justin Braun, who was able to get free along the sideline, warded off a tough challenge from Ramiro Corrales and got off a solid shot that Earthquakes goalkeeper Jon Busch could not control. The deflection went right to the feet of Trujillo, who basically allowed the ball the deflect off his leg.

This was easily Chivas USA's best played match of the season as they outshot the home team 17-13 and were essentially even on possession. Both Trujillo and Braun were second-half substitutes. Braun, in particular, had a strong game after getting off to a rough start this season.

Toronto FC still cannot buy a win against their Trillium Cup rivals, the Columbus Crew. Going up a goal in the 41st minute thanks to a nice shot by Toni Tchani made things look like the Reds were well on their way to getting their first victory over the Crew. 

But luck wouldn't be on Toronto's side today as shortly after the game's first goal, the game's first red card was shown to Tchani. Earlier in the match Tchani picked up a yellow card in defending a teammate in a scuffle. He and Crew midfielder Kevin Burns got into an argument and both saw yellow for it. Well, when Tchani scored his first goal as a member of the Reds, he jumped over the ad boards to celebrate with the fans. It turns out that is a cautionable offense in the eyes of the official and he sent Tchani off for "leaving the field of play without his consent."

No surprise that playing a man-down for an entire half would be rough on the homeside, the Crew made Toronto pay for it early in the second half with Emilio Renteria scoring off a header. Renteria took a brilliant cross from Sebastien Miranda and beat Stefan Frei at the near post to tie the game.

After things were level the two teams traded possession and plenty of other fouls. Given that it was a rivalry game both saw their fair share of cards and fouls. Toronto pressed late for a goal while the Crew also took their chances but neither were able to find the back of the net again. 

Toronto is still winless in the all-time series with the Crew. But a bright spot on the day had to be breaking the Crew's scoreless streak of 413 minutes. 

It didn't take the Columbus Crew long to make the most of their man advantage. Emilio Renteria scored in the 49th minute off a header. The cross came into the box from Crew defender Sebastien Miranda, which found Renteria wide open. Toronto FC keeper Stefan Frei had no chance to make the save on the goal.

Both clubs made subs going into the second half. Toronto made a defensive sub in light of the red card to Toni Tchani before the end of the first half. Mikeal Yourassowsky came on to start the half for striker Alan Gordan. The Crew on the other hand made an offensive sub by bringing on Tom Heinemann in place for Emmanuel Ekpo.

We're still seeing a pretty physical game here between these two rivals. Moments after the Crew goal there was another scuffle in front of Will Hesmer's goal. Hesmer made a save on a cross by Toronto but bumped into a Toronto player. Naturally the Crew defenders were trying to protect their keeper by shoving the Toronto player away. No cards were given on the play but you can tell things will continue to remain physical between these two.

Chris Wondolowski scored his third goal of the young MLS season and Alejandro Moreno found the equalizer just moments before the halftime whistle as Chivas USA and the San Jose Earthquakes are tired 1-1 on Saturday. Chivas USA had the better of play, out shooting the home team 8-3 and out possessing them 56-44. Still, they found themselves behind for much of the half.

Wondolowski opened the scoring in the 16th minute, on a play that started with a corner kick. Ramiro Corales was able to collect the ball at the far side and sent a cross into the box where Khari Stephenson headed toward the goal. While falling away from the goal, Wondolowski was able to head it over oncoming goalkeeper Dan Kennedy.

But the Earthquakes' inability to control possession finally caught up with them in the second minute of first-half stoppage time. Heath Pearce sent a free kick into the box and Moreno got just enough of his head on it to get the ball past Jon Busch.

Toni Tchani came to Toronto in a big trade earlier in the season that involved Dwayne De Rosario and may believe it would be a big turning point for his young career. Well today certainly was just that. Late in the first half Tchani took a nice ball into the box and hit a nice shot past Columbus Crew keeper William Hesmer for the game's first goal.

The goal ended the Crew's shutout streak at 413 minutes, a new club record.

But the goal didn't come without a little bit of fun afterwards. Earlier in the game Tchani had gotten into an altercation with Crew midfielder Kevin Burns and received a yellow card at the time. After Tchani scored, he leaped over the ad boards to celebrate with the Toronto fans. It turns out that doing so is a cautionable offense in the FIFA rule book. Tchani immediately saw his second yellow card, which resulted in a red card.

Toronto had been knocking on the Crew's door for the most part of the first half. Alan Gordon had helped create a couple decent chances while Julian de Guzman also was involved in the attack at some points.

Columbus did have a couple chances of their own that went to waste, the best being a Robbie Rogers shot that just missed the far post. Rogers was open in the box after Emilio Renteria pressured first time Toronto starter Decoy Williams into a turnover. 

With the Crew up a man going into the second half it will be interesting to see what chances Aron Winter and Robert Warzycha make. Winter's club will have to be more compact in defense and not allow the Crew to have too much free space in their offensive third. I wouldn't be shocked to see Warzycha bring on some offensive help in the form of Jeff Cunningham. You know he'd love to score another goal against Toronto, especially at BMO Field.

In their first match since passing on the opportunity to sign Benny Feilhaber, Chivas USA is featuring a lineup that really looks like it could use a few extra pieces. Justin Braun has been relegated to the bench in favor of Marcos Mondaini, and the midfield consists of Ben Zemanski, Simon Elliott, Nick LaBrocca and Jorge Flores. Dan Kennedy also appears to have cemented his place as the starting goalkeeper as he gets his fourth straight start.

The Earthquakes counter with what appears to be a new look, with Bobby Convey apparently starting at forward in a 4-3-3 formation. He'll play alongside Chris Wondolowski and Scot Sealy. The midfield once again consists of Khari Stephenson, Sam Cronin and Simon Dawkins. Steven Lenhart is also making his debut in the gameday 18.

Earthquakes starters: Busch, Leitch, Hernandez, McDonald, Corrales, Stephenson, Cronin, Dawkins, Wondolowski, Convey, Sealy. Bench: Weber, Ampaipitakwong, Burling, Johnson, Lenhart, Opara, Ring

Chivas USA starters: Kennedy, Valentin, Boyens, Pearce, Jazic, Zemanski, Elliott, LaBrocca, Flores, Mondaini, Moreno. Bench: Thornton, Braun, Estupinan, Mayen, Mendoza, Trujillo, Umana

The 2011 edition of the Trillium Cup kicks off in a little bit up in Toronto at BMO Field. Toronto has never won a game in the series against their rivals to the south from Columbus. 

Columbus comes into the game with one of the league's best defenses lead by Chad Marshall. The center pairing if Marshall and Julian James has turned out to be one of the better ones in the league this season. So far the Crew have only given up three goals on the season, all coming in their season opening loss at DC United 3-1. 

One has to wonder if this will be the day that Jeff Cunningham finally finds the back of the net to tie the league's all-time goal scoring mark. He starts today on the bench but he always seems to have a special ability to score against one of his old clubs. 

Toronto is hoping to finally get their offense back on track with newcomers Toni Tchani in the midfield. Aron Winter is putting out what looks to be a 4-3-3 today with hopes that Javier Martina and Alan Gordon can find some magic around the Crew's defense. 

Toronto FC Starting XI: Stefan Frei; Danleigh Borman, Dicoy Williams, Adrian Cann, Dan Gargan; Julian de Guzman, Toni Tchani, Maicon Santos; Jacob Peterson, Alan Gordon, Javier Martina

Columbus Crew Starting XI: William Hesmer; Sebastian Miranda, Chad Marshall, Julian James, Rich Balchan; Dilly Duka, Kevin Burns, Emmanuel Ekpo, Robbie Rogers; Eddie Gaven, Emilio Renteria

Friday's match between the Colorado Rapids and Seattle Sounders is going to be remembered for one thing, and one thing only: Steve Zakuani's horrific injury that probably ended his season and very well could impact his career. The speedy midfielder was taken down by a harsh, reckless and late tackle by Brian Mullan, who received a red card. Zakuani's tibia and fibula were broken and he's expected to undergo surgery on Saturday.

The Sounders ultimately won the match 1-0 on Fredy Montero's first goal of the season. Mauro Rosales picked up the assist as Montero beat Rapids goalkeeper Matt Pickens on a ball that didn't look particularly well struck.

From there, the Sounders looked like a team that was carrying considerable weight. Despite being a man up, they did not control possession and by the end of the match, were obviously fighting serious fatigue. The Rapids had several chances to equalize, but the Sounders did just enough to secure their first shutout of the season.

Steve Zakuani appears to have suffered what very well may be a season-ending injury when Colorado Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan made a reckless and late slide tackle. On replays, it looked like Zakuani’s leg may have been broken. He was taken off the field in a stretcher with his leg in an inflatable cast. Mullan was shown a straight red card for the incident in the 5th minute.

Replays showed what looked like a gruesome injury with Zakuani’s leg bending in an completely unnatural way. Players on the field looked distressed and Zakuani was in obvious pain.

Zakuani may very well be the player who the Sounders would miss most as they look to rebound from what has been a slow start to a season that began with considerable promise. Zakuani has been the team’s best player, leading the team with two goals and two assists as the Sounders have gone 1-2-3.

While there is no bright side to an injury like this, the Sounders have so far responded well. Fredy Montero scored his first goal of the season and they lead 1-0 at halftime.

Fredy Montero, Tyson Wahl and Patrick Ianni are all new additions to the Seattle Sounders' starting lineup, while the Colorado Rapids are getting back Pablo Mastroeni. Montero replaces Erik Friberg, Wahl is in for Leo Gonzalez and Ianni takes the place of Jeff Parke. Gonzalez is on the bench, as is Friberg.

Rapids starters: Pickens, Kimura, Marshall, Wynne, Moor, Mullan, Mastroeni, Larentowicz, Smith, Folan, Cummings. Bench: Ceus, Palguta, Wallace, Nane, Nyassi, Thompson, Akpan

Sounders starters: GK Keller, D Riley, D Ianni, D Hurtado, D Wahl, M Alonso, M Evans, M Rosales, M Zakuani, F Montero, F White. Bench: Boss, Parke, Gonzalez, Fernandez, Friberg, Jaqua, Fucito.

For full coverage, please check out the live stream at the Seattle regional site.

Just in case you were beginning to forget just how special Juan Agudelo was, he reminded everyone with what should be an instant Goal of the Year candidate. The New York Red Bulls teenager scored a stoppage time goal to put the exclamation point on a 4-0 victory over DC United.

On the goal, just Agudelo's second of his still young MLS career, the newly minted United States international received a pass about 10 yards out, flicked it up with the front of his foot and volleyed it past United goalkeeper Bill Hamid. It's the kind of creative and skillful play that is only seen being made by the world's greatest players.

But the real star of the match was Thierry Henry, the much maligned Designated Player who as of two weeks ago was starting to look like a bust. Henry scored a pair of goals, giving him three in the past two games after scoring just twice in his first 16 MLS matches. Both goals came off assists from right back Jan Gunnar Solli, the first off a header and the second off a pass through the box. Solli also picked up an assist on Agudelo's goal. Joel Lindpere also scored his first goal of the season.

United did not look like a team that is capable of challenging the Red Bulls for Eastern Conference supremacy. Charlie Davies, who leads the league with five goals, was nearly invisible for much of the match before being pulled in the 60th minute.

The best offensive player for United was probably Branko Boskovic, who entered as a second-half substitute for Dax McCarty. Boskovic nearly scored his first career MLS goal on three separate occasions, twice hitting the woodwork and having another attempt stopped by a spectacular Bouna Condoul save.

A DC United comeback from their 2-0 deficit to the New York Red Bulls always seemed like a longshot, but Joel Lindpere probably just put the match out of reach with a 78th minute goal to make it 3-0. Lindpere got free along the left sideline, went in 1-v-1 with United goalkeeper Bill Hamid, cut the ball back and scored his first goal of the season. In fact, it was Lindpere's first points of the 2011 season as he hadn't scored or assisted on a goal since the final game of the 2010 regular season.

A few minutes prior to Lindpere's goal, DCU nearly cut their deficit in half on a Branko Baskovic free kick from just outside the penalty area. But Boskovic's attempt hit off the top of the cross bar, denying the Designated Player his first career MLS goal. Boskovic had entered the match as a substitute for Dax McCarty.

Two weeks ago, there were lots of questions surrounding the New York Red Bulls and their star player, Thierry Henry. The Red Bulls were a team loaded with talent that couldn't seem to get untracked, much of which could also be said about Henry. Frustrations were quickly building on both fronts.

At halftime of Thursday's match against DC United, those concerns seem to be long forgotten. Henry has scored two goals, both off assists from Jan Gunnar Solli, and the Red Bulls lead their Atlantic Cup rivals 2-0. Over the team's last 135 minutes, the Red Bulls have outscored their opponents 5-0. Over the same period, Henry has scored three times, after scoring just twice in his previous 14 MLS regular-season matches.

The first half also continues what has so far been a roller-coaster season for United. At times, they look poised to become a legitimate Eastern Conference contender, only to fall back earth. DC United started the season with a 3-1 win over the Columbus Crew then lost two straight only to rebound with four points in their last two games, including a 3-0 drubbing of Toronto FC at BMO Field.

Thierry Henry has officially quieted anyone wondering if he can score in MLS. I'm not sure if such people really existed outside of autonomous internet message boards, but if they did they will probably remain quiet for at least a few more weeks. Henry, who just scored in the 38th minute to give the New York Red Bulls a 2-0 lead over DC United, has now pumped in three goals over his last 40-odd minutes of playing time.

Henry's second goal of the night once again came off a feed from Jan Gunnar Solli, who beat a defender at the edge of the penalty area, and sent a low cross through to the front of the goal. Henry was the first player to get to the ball, despite a DC United defender looking like he had a play on it, and easily punched it in from about five yards out. The assist was the third in six games for Solli.

After going seven matches without a goal, Thierry Henry has now scored in two straight. His goal in the 12th minute off an assist from Jan Gunnar Solli gave the New York Red Bulls a 1-0 lead over DC United on Thursday.

This one came in remarkably similar fashion as his previous goal. Once again, Henry struck the ball on a header that came off a cross from the far side. Henry's strike easily beat United goalkeeper Bill Hamid.

The goal gives Henry four goals in 15 MLS matches since joining the Red Bulls in July of last year. Prior to his recent goal-scoring "binge," Henry was starting to show some frustrations with his inability to convert quality chances into goals. He had missed several chances in his last match before finally converting toward the end of what was already looking like a blowout. From the look of things, maybe that was exactly what he needed to get going.

New York Red Bulls coach Hans Backe was apparently so impressed by Luke Rodgers' two-goal, one-assist performance on Saturday that he's giving him an encore performance. The diminutive striker will start his second straight game in place of Juan Agudelo as the Red Bulls get ready to face DC United on Thursday. Agudelo has scored just once this season and that came in Week 2.

United will also be sitting one of their prominent youngsters as midfielder Andy Najar is not in the starting XI. Najar has started just twice this season and has yet to register a point. Najar did not play in Saturday's game against Toronto FC and has not started since March 26.

United starters: Hamid, Korb, Jakovic, Kitchen, Burch, Fred, Simms, McCarty, Pontius, Wolff, Davies. Subs: Onstad, White, Barklage, Boskovic, Quaranta, Najar, Ngwenya

Red Bulls starters: Coundoul, Solli, Marquez, Ream, Miller, Richards, Tainio, De Rosario, Lindpere, Rodgers, Henry. Subs: Sutton, Keel, Kassel, Robinson, Rooney, Ballouchy, Agudelo.