MLS Midweek 14: Hooray For A Euro-Less Wednesday Of Matches

Did Chris Wondolowski Misquote 'Goonies'?

Vancouver Whitecaps Vs. New York Red Bulls, 2012 MLS: Split Points At BC Place

Who needs strikers anyways? The Vancouver Whitecaps and New York Red Bulls didn't on Wednesday night, getting goals from center backs in a 1-1 draw at BC Place.

Martin Bonjour scored the opener and it wasn't the big center back with a header on a set piece goal you imagine when you hear about a center back scoring. No, he scored when David Chiumiento's low cross made it through some players before finding him. He took a touch and found the upper corner with a nice bit of skill to put the scoreboard to work.

Late on, Heath Pearce equalized in very much a typical center back goal. He was unmarked, able to get on the end of a cross from Joel Lindpere and nodded home to equalize. Nobody was particularly wowed by the goal or even impressed by the Red Bulls' play at all. They were shaky and outplayed, but a road point is a good one, especially on the other side of the country. The Red Bulls will take it.

Chivas USA Vs. Montreal Impact, 2012 MLS: Juan Pablo Angel Scores Late Winner

Juan Pablo Angel spent much of the match sitting on the bench watching and waiting. Then when the Colombian finally did get in he made it count, scoring late to deliver Chivas USA a 2-1 win over the Montreal Impact.

Chivas came out as the far superior team, pressuring Montreal and creating chances. When Alejandro Moreno finally did score in the 15th minute it was justice. A corner kick found Juan Agudelo, who knocked the ball towards goal, where it hit Moreno's thigh and bounced over the line to give the home side a deserved 1-0 lead.

The pressure kept coming and if not for a fine Donovan Ricketts save on a Ben Zemanski shot in the 29th minute, the Goats would have been 2-0 up. But Ricketts did make the save and from then on things were much more even.

Just before halftime, Montreal got even thanks to Felipe. Davy Arnaud creating the goal with a run down the right, which put the Chivas defense in trouble. Arnaud then crossed for Felipe, whose nifty flick leveled the match.

After some chances early in the second half, things calmed and it looked like the match would have to settle for a draw, but then Angel got involved. He came on in the 77th minute and just five minutes later he got on the end of a Jorge Villafana cross, nodded it home and handing the Goats all three points.

Seattle Sounders Vs. Sporting Kansas City, 2012 MLS: They Beat Each Other Up, Then Draw

Nearly 30 fouls, four yellow cards and a red card. Those were the numbers that defined Sporting Kansas City's visit to the Seattle Sounders. Oh and there were two goals, one of which was incredible, that resulted in a 1-1 draw. That too.

Jacob Peterson opened the scoring in the eighth minute when the Sounders failed to clear a corner kick. That allowed Sporting to get it back and to Peterson, whose shot took a deflection before beating Andrew Weber for the opening tally.

Just seven minutes later, Patrick Ianni equalized in spectacular fashion. Mauro Rosales' cross found Ianni, who hit a flying scissor kick volley as clean as could be. It left Jimmy Nielsen no chance and Ianni as a possible Goal of the Year winner.

From that point on, Seattle and Kansas City fought. Really, it was more of a wrestling match than a soccer match. The two teams spent the 90 minutes hacking away at each other and, while four yellow cards and a red card tend to be a lot, it could have been worse. Alvaro Fernandez got sent off in stoppage time for a tackle from behind and both teams had chances to win, but really, this was about how incredibly physical the match was.

The draw means Kansas City has now gone four straight unbeaten. That's the polar opposite of Seattle, who now have a franchise-record six-match winless streak.

Houston Dynamo Vs. Toronto FC, 2012 MLS: TFC Goes Up Two, Settles For Draw

Toronto FC almost won! That was really cool. They were up 3-1 and it looked like they would actually win a match! They didn't, but it was close. And they still got a draw! And it was away! Go TFC!

Set piece goals opened up the match, with Jeremy Hall netting for TFC and Bobby Boswell scoring for the Houston Dynamo to level things up at 1-1 after 20 minutes. But right after the Dynamo got their goal Danny Koevermans made a smart run to get free and just had a simple tap in of an Eric Avila pass to put them in front. Koevermans then got his second, nodding home a Julian de Guzman cross to double the Toronto lead.

It looked like TFC was cruising and sure to win. Well, the Dynamo were looking really bad. One of the two. Point is, Toronto was going to win.

Only they weren't. First Geoff Cameron hit a great ball to spring the Dynamo attack. His ball found Brad Davis, who crossed for Will Bruin and it was 3-2. Then in the 90th minute Bruin got goal No. 2, heading home for the brace and the draw that snatched the win from Toronto. Poor Toronto.

Real Salt Lake Vs. LA Galaxy, 2012 MLS: RSL Gives Game Away

Real Salt Lake entered Wednesday as the undisputed top team in MLS and early on against the LA Galaxy they looked the part. They had the possession and a 2-0 lead thanks to early goals by Kyle Beckerman and Alvaro Saborio that had last year's Western Conference final rematch looking like a rout, but there were another 65 minutes to play. Thanks to some shoddy play by RSL, LA somehow managed to come from behind and pick up a crucial 3-2 road win for only their second two-game win streak of the season.

Beckerman scored in the ninth minute and Saborio doubled the Salt Lake lead in the 24th minute. It was classic play from Salt Lake, who were in complete control. They knocked the ball around and put a shaky Galaxy defense on its heels. Meanwhile, LA lacked anything resembling an attack.

Then RSL gave LA a gift and everything changed. A horrendous backpass by Tony Beltran allowed Landon Donovan to jump on the ball, easily round Nick Rimando and the Galaxy had cut the RSL lead in half.

That was just one goal. Surely Salt Lake wouldn't make another terrible error like that, right? Wrong. Jamison Olave got caught in possession, didn't know what to do with it and froze before Donovan took it from him. He got Mike Magee, whose shot just squeezed inside the post and LA was even.

At least LA had to actually earn their third goal. Magee found Donovan in behind the RSL defense and delivered a pinpoint ball, which Donovan just got to before Rimando before sliding into the open net. The comeback was complete and the Galaxy were 3-2 winners.

Colorado Rapids Vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Alan Gordon Has An In With The Illuminati

The San Jose Earthquakes entered Wednesday night's game with an 8-3-3 record, good for second place in the Western Conference. If you haven't watched them play, their record does not make sense, given the roster that they have on paper. And if you have watched them, it still doesn't make sense. In keeping with the theme of their season, the Earthquakes weren't very good against the Colorado Rapids on the road on Wednesday night, but Alan Gordon stole three points from the Rapids late in a 2-1 victory.

Colorado was very solid in the early going and was the better team for most of the game's first 80 minutes. The opening 15 minutes of the match were very even as both teams struggled to find their footing, but Brian Mullan changed the game with an 18th-minute header that put the Rapids on top. Hunter Freeman provided the assist, hitting a great cross to the back post following a corner kick, and Mullan was able to get onto the end of it, uncontested.

The Rapids absolutely dominated the remaining portion of the first half, then came out with a more conservative approach to start the second half and looked comfortably in control. San Jose's substitutions changed the game, though, and a pair of bench players would eventually get the better of Colorado.

Shea Salinas set up the equalizer in the 83rd minute with a low cross into the box from the right flank. Simon Dawkins whiffed on his shot attempt, leaving the ball for Steven Lenhart, who forced a save out of Matt Pickens. That save deflected right into the path of substitute striker Gordon, who finished off the chance to make it 1-1. It was his fifth goal of the season, and incredibly, his fourth after the 80th minute.

Gordon would play hero a second time in the 90th minute, winning a penalty with a great move around Pickens. The Colorado keeper dove in an attempt to grab the ball off Gordon's feet as the 'Quakes striker took the ball away from the goal, but missed entirely. He made minimal, if any, contact with Gordon's feet, but when Gordon went down without any theatrics, the referee was convinced that he was hacked down by Pickens.

Chris Wondolowski, tied with Kenny Cooper for the MLS lead in goals, stepped up to the spot and buried the penalty, putting the Earthquakes up 2-1 and stealing three points from a game in which, frankly, San Jose had no business getting any points.

Patrick Ianni Makes The Amazing Happen

Seattle Sounders Vs. Sporting Kansas City: Steve Zakuani Makes 18-Man Squad

It's lining up to be an interesting night in Seattle. Not only are the Seattle Sounders expecting a season-high crowd of close to 46,000, but they could bear witness to the return of Steve Zakuani. The midfielder is on the gameday 18 for the first time since suffering a horrific broken leg on April 22, 2011.

Zakuani has been making steady progress toward a return for at least several months, with his most significant step forward coming on June 1 when he started and played 45 minutes in a reserve league game as a forward. Zakuani has been essentially training at full speed ever since.

Prior to his injury, Zakuani was shaping up as one of the most explosive wide midfielders in MLS. He had already scored two goals and had two assists in the first six games of 2011 and was coming off a 10-goal, six-assist season in 2010.

The Sounders could certainly use the boost. They are currently mired in a five-match winless run in which they've collected just two points. They also are coming off a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of the Montreal Impact.

MLS 2012, Midweek 14 Preview And Fixtures: Hooray For A Euro-Less Wednesday Of MLS Matches

MLS has a slew of midweek matches and no Euro matches to compete with. Come to me, my MLS sweetheart.