MLS 2012, Week 17: Houston Demolish 10-Man DC

Major League Soccer 2012, Week 17: What We Learned

After a week that saw a few scoreless draws, many goals were found in a busy Week 17 in Major League Soccer. San Jose expended their lead in the Western Conference while Sporting Kansas City found their way back to the top in the East.

Houston Dynamo Vs. D.C. United, 2012 MLS: 10-Man D.C. No Match For Houston

D.C. United hoped to pick up three points on Sunday to keep pace with Kansas City atop the Eastern Conference, but once Bill Hamid was sent off those hopes were dashed. The D.C. goalkeeper was shown red in the 17th minute and Houston cruised from then on in a 4-0 demolition at BBVA Compass Stadium.

Hamid was sent off when he wiped out Macoumba Kandji. The Senegalese was in all alone on goal and when he touched the ball past Hamid, who had come off of his line to cut down the angle, the goalkeeper took out Kandji's legs. The referee had an easy call and he made it, pointing to the spot and showing Hamid a red card.

Up a man, Houston took complete control. Brad David knocked home the penalty awarded for Hamid's foul and Houston was a goal up. Will Bruin then had an easy tap in to make it 2-0 after some pretty play by Luiz Camargo and Oscar Boniek Garcia. Garcia then got a goal of his own on the other side of halftime before Brian Ching capped things with an 89th minute tally.

D.C. obviously did not keep pace with Kansas City atop the East and sit in second place, while Houston has gotten some breathing room in fifth place, the final playoff spot. They are six points clear of sixth place New England.

New York Red Bulls Vs. Seattle Sounders, 2012 MLS: Fredy Montero Earns Sounders A 2-2 Draw

After going ahead early, the Seattle Sounders probably thought that they would be on their way to another win. They have been nearly unbeatable when scoring first, but this one wouldn't be easy at all. The New York Red Bulls stormed back to take a 2-1 lead and it looked like the Sounders would go down in the New Jersey heat, but Fredy Montero found a late goal that earned the visitors a 2-2 draw.

The opening goal came through Alvaro Fernandez, but as much, if not more credit belongs to Adam Johansson. The Swede was given space on the right and he took advantage with an inch-perfect ball to Fernandez at the back post. The Uruguayan finished well, using just one touch to find the back of the net and the Sounders were a goal up.

But New York wouldn't be down for long. Not 10 minutes after falling behind, their newest player got them even. Kenny Cooper hit a hard shot from more than 20 yards than Bryan Meredith parried right in front of goal. That allowed Sebastien Le Toux, who was just acquired by the Red Bulls this week, to jump on the rebound and get the home side even.

Just before halftime it looked like the Red Bulls would go in front, but an unfriendly referee and crossbar kept them from taking the lead. A clear handball by Osvaldo Alonso was ignored by the man with the whistle, then a minute later on a corner kick a header hit the crossbar and New York would have to go into halftime with just a tie.

The Red Bulls did get that lead in the second half and it came thanks to Joel Lindpere. The midfielder got the ball 20 yards from goal and cut in before rifling a shot inside the near post that put the Red Bulls a goal up.

New York wasn't just ahead, they were also in control of the match. They had possession and were putting far more pressure on the Sounders than the Sounders were putting on them, but Montero changed that with the help of Brad Evans. A good run by Evans put him in space down the right and he spotted Montero in front. A low cross found the Colombian, but Montero still had some work to do. He did it beautifully, turning the cross onto goal with a good bit of skill and handing the Sounders a good road point.

Portland Timbers Vs. LA Galaxy, 2012 MLS: Galaxy's Stars Lead Them To Fun 5-3 Win

At JELD-WEN Field on Saturday night defense was optional, but fun was guaranteed. The Portland Timbers and LA Galaxy played an absolutely thrilling match and combined for eight goals, sometimes with the help of poor defense, in front of a vocal and enthusiastic Timbers crowd. That crowd didn't leave happy, though. That is due in large part to the Designated Player trio of David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane, who played exceptionally and led the Galaxy to a 5-3 win in hostile territory.

The Timbers were actually the ones who got off to a dream start. Kalif Alhassan was given far too much time on the right to cross and he found Kris Boyd at the near post. The Scot finished coolly and just three minutes into the match the home team was in front.

But LA stormed back in a big way with four goals in nine minutes. First, Beckham lined up a shot from 30 yards and hit an absolute rocket into the upper corner for a stunning equalizer. He followed that up with a brilliant free kick from 20 yards that got over the wall and just squeezed inside the post for his second great goal and the Galaxy lead.

The Galaxy still weren't done. Kosuke Kimura got caught napping and ended up behind Michael Stephens. Kimura then ran through Stephens, giving away the penalty that Donovan would convert to make it 3-1. Keane then ended the Galaxy's furious rally after Donovan raced down the right and delivered a perfect cross that the Irishman just had to tap in for the three-goal lead.

Amazingly, all of that craziness came before 30 minutes had even passed. Kimura did his best to make up for giving away the penalty when he was able to knock home a rebound given away by Josh Saunders, who couldn't hold a Boyd free kick. The Timbers were still down 4-2, but that didn't look insurmountable at halftime.

The Timbers' hopes of getting back in the match were wiped out just after the break, though, and Beckham and Keane were involved yet again. Beckham started the play with a gorgeous one-touch ball over the top right into the path of Sean Franklin, who had a great match. Franklin ran free down the right before spotting Keane in the middle. A simple low cross found Keane, who knocked it home with one touch and with a 5-2 lead it was over.

One more by Boyd made the scoreline look better, but Portland was simply outgunned by LA's big guns on Saturday night. Not even a raucous big crowd could bring them back, as the Galaxy put four points between them and the Rapids for the final playoff spot in one heck of an entertaining match.

San Jose Earthquakes Vs. Real Salt Lake: Final Score 5-0, Quakes Demolish RSL

The San Jose Earthquakes pulled off an impressive victory against Real Salt Lake, cruising past their closest competitors for the Western Conference summit with a 5-0 home win. Chris Wondolowski made it happen, opening the scoring with a close-range 18th minute header after a game of head pinball in Nick Rimando's penalty area. RSL were relatively toothless throughout the match, and San Jose's strong defending was clearly frustrating the visitors.

That frustration came to a head in the second half, when Kyle Beckerman took offence to Sam Cronin's tackle on Javier Morales, coming in late on the Earthquakes midfielder before stupidly picking a fight with the referee. Allen Chapman had no choice but to show a red card to the RSL captain, and from then on we all knew what would happen.

Alan Gordon doubled the hosts' lead in the 63rd minute, getting a fortunate rebound as Victor Bernardez's header hit the post, then his knee and finally the back of the net. The rout was on. Wondolowski would score two more goals (with Simon Dawkins also netting -- from a Wondolowski cross), grabbing his third career hat trick, before being pulled off in what I'm assuming is some sort of mercy rule-mandated substitution.

San Jose ended up finishing with five goals, although they could easily have had more if they wanted to. This certainly wasn't what Jason Kreis was expecting when he took his team to California, but it's fantastic news for the Earthquakes as they bring their lead at the top of the table to four points.

VIDEO: David Beckham, Still Shooter Extraordinaire

Colorado Rapids Vs. FC Dallas, 2012 MLS: Hoops Finally Win A Match

One match, no wins for Dallas. Two matches, no wins for Dallas. Three matches, no wins for Dallas. That trend continued on and on for FC Dallas until they had gone 13 straight without a win, but they finally broke that streak on Saturday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Goals by Carlos Rodriguez and Fabian Castillo brought Dallas from a goal down to defeat the Colorado Rapids, 2-1, and get the win that began to feel impossible.

Both teams had their chances in the first half, but neither team could break through. The opening part of the half belonged to the Rapids, who took it to the Hoops, but couldn't get a goal. Then Dallas had their chances, but they couldn't score either. It was an entertaining first 45 minutes, but a scoreless 45 minutes.

Five minutes into the second half, Omar Cummings finally made one of the many chances count. The striker took a pass from Conor Casey and beat Kevin Hartman at the near post to give the home side a 1-0 lead.

Considering Dallas' struggles, a 1-0 lead seemed safe for Colorado, but it wasn't. 10 minutes after going in front, Castillo got free and crossed for Rodriguez, who finished to level the match at 1-1. Then with nine minutes to go, Castillo got one of his own after Drew Moor cleared a ball off of the line and he knocked it into the empty goal. The comeback was complete and somehow, some way, Dallas' drought was over.

Chicago Fire Vs. Vancouver Whitecaps, 2012 MLS: Fire Finally Score, Win

You would be excused if you thought that the Chicago Fire didn't know where the goal was anymore. Consecutive scoreless matches made it look like they didn't even know what direction they were supposed to go, but a free kick goal by Pavel Pardo on Saturday night finally got them on the scoreboard and they got a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps because of it.

The lone goal of the match came just 10 minutes in when Pardo hit a great free kick from 20 yards. He hit it over the wall then dipped it under the bar to leave Joe Cannon without a chance.

Holding on for the next 80 minutes wasn't easy for the Fire, though. That was especially true after the 69th minute when Arne Friedrich was sent off for his second yellow card in three minutes and the home side had to play the last 21 minutes down a man.

Despite being up a man, Vancouver only really threatened Chicago once. Eric Hassli got a good header off in the 87th minute, but Sean Johnson made a good save to deny him. That was all the Whitecaps could muster as the Fire made that elusive stand up for a good three points.

New England Revolution Vs. Toronto FC, 2012 MLS: Reds Get Three Away Points

Paul Mariner has Toronto FC rolling, confirming that it is actually possible for the Reds to get on a roll. The Reds got another win on Saturday and an away win at that, snagging three points from the New England Revolution in a 1-0 win.

Toronto got their goal just eight minutes into the match when Luis Silva and Danny Koevermans combined to unlock the New England defense. It was a great bit of play that left Silva in all alone on goal for the simple finish and the visitors were a goal up.

Despite falling behind goal the Revolution never went away. They put pressure on the Reds for the remainder of the match and on several occasions it looked like they would get a goal, but Milos Kocic was too good. The Toronto keeper had a tremendous match and was never better than when he made a diving stop of Jerry Bengtson's shot late on.

The Revs did beat Kocic on one occasion, but that was because of a naughty Shalrie Joseph. The midfielder knocked a Benny Feilhaber cross into the goal with his hand late in the match, but the referee was not fooled. He waved the goal off and showed Joseph a yellow card for his shenanigans before blowing the final whistle as the Reds snapped the Revs' five-match unbeaten steak.

Columbus Crew Vs. Sporting Kansas City, 2012 MLS: SKC All Alone Atop East After Win

The Eastern Conference was supposed to be all Sporting Kansas City and once again it is. Kansas City downed the Columbus Crew, 2-0, on Saturday evening at Crew Stadium to grab three points and move back into sole possession of first place in the East.

Jacob Peterson got the scoring started just six minutes into the match as they showed no ill effects from Wednesday's U.S. Open Cup semifinal. Peterson Joseph slipped a great ball through for Peterson, who finished smartly and the visitors had an early 1-0 lead.

It looked like the Crew would equalize just after the halftime break, but the crossbar denied Justin Meram. Emilio Renteria also had his chance in the 75th minute, but Jimmy Nielsen was there to turn him away. Those were hardly the only times that Columbus looked bright in the attack, but no matter what they did the Crew's pressure failed to pay off.

Teal Bunbury then put the match to bed in the 82nd minute with his ninth goal of the season and Sporting were on their way to the top of the East, which is exactly where everyone expects them to be.

Philadelphia Union Vs. Montreal Impact, 2012 MLS: John Hackworth Keeps It Going

Carlos Valdes scored a stoppage-time goal off a deflected Sheanon Williams throw-in to give the Philadelphia Union a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Montreal Impact on Saturday. The Union have now won three straight for the first time this season and have also won 4 of 6 games under new coach John Hackworth.

This one seemed to be headed for a 0-0 tie as all the highlights during the first 80 minutes belonged to goalkeepers Donovan Ricketts and Zac MacMath. MacMath came up big on two separate 1-on-1 situations with Impact Designated Player Marco Di Vaio, while Ricketts made a pair of back-to-back diving saves in the 79th minute on Gabriel Farfan and Lionard Pajoy.

Pajoy finally broke the deadlock in the in the 82nd minute. Antoine Hoppenot did most of the hard work, working the ball down to the endline and somehow finding Pajoy in front of the goal. The ball deflected off an Impact defender, but Pajoy was able to control it and pound it into the back of the net.

The Impact were able to tie the score in the 89th minute. Patrice Bernier sent in a corner kick that Keon Daniel headed in for an own-goal.

The tie was short-lived, though, as Valdes put the Union ahead to stay two minutes later.

Steven Lenhart Will Miss Game Vs. Real Salt Lake With 'Concussion Symptoms'

The top-of-the-table showdown between the San Jose Earthquakes and Real Salt Lake on Staurday will be missing at least one key player: Steven Lenhart. The Earthquakes' second-leading scorer is being held out with what the team is calling "concussion symptoms."

Lenhart, who is one of the more physical players in the league, did not play in last week's game against FC Dallas and this will mark the third straight game he has not started. There has been no timetable given on when he'll be able to return, but coach Frank Yallop told MLSsoccer.com that Lenhart's recovery seems to be progressing well.

The Earthquakes have gone 0-2-1 in the last three games that Lenhart has not started, as their lead over RSL is down to one point. Alan Gordon, who plays a very similar style, has been the biggest recipient of the increased playing time. The two big forwards have combined for 11 goals this season and have been a major reason the Earthquakes have gotten off to their best start since rejoining the league in 2008.

For more on Lenhart's injury, be sure to check out Quake, Rattle and Goal.

MLS 2012, Week 17 Preview And Fixtures: This Season Is Weird

It's impossible to judge any team this year. Toronto and Dallas are awful, but everyone else? Who knows.