Seattle Sounders in charge
Sigi Schmid’s team has to be Supporters Shield favorite now after a statement win over fellow Western Conference contender Real Salt Lake to begin the league’s 29th Round. The Sounders are out front in the West and have a game or two in hand on most pursuers for the award. (Supporters Shield goes to the MLS club with the most points.)
Chasing the Golden Boot
Montreal’s Marco Di Vaio retained his league scoring lead, now with 18 goals. But Mike Magee also scored for Chicago, so he remains two goals off the Italian striker’s league-leading pace. The Impact plays twice this week (although only once in league play), so Di Vaio may be a bit zonked as the weekend MLS match at home against Vancouver rolls around. (Assuming he plays in Tuesday’s Champion League match at San Jose, that is.)
The big upset
If Montreal wants to be a serious Supporters Shield contender, losing at home to teams that probably will not make the playoffs has to end. Now.
But good on the hard-trying Columbus Crew, as Federico Higuain and Dominic Oduro hooked up for a fine game-winner, two important touches that kept the men in yellow relevant in the playoff chase a little longer. Just barely, but still hanging in there just the same. Columbus upset the Impact at Stade Saputo, 2-1.
Jay DeMerit returns
Former U.S. international Jay DeMerit, injured on opening day of the Vancouver Whitecaps season, got back on the field in Saturday’s scoreless draw with San Jose. So not only did DeMerit assist as his team posted a shutout on the road, the veteran center back did so against last year’s MLS-leading goal scorer, Chris Wondolowski.
The controversial calls
Philadelphia was denied a goal that was probably perfectly legal. Worse yet, it could significantly impact the playoff positioning, as the controversial moment happened in the Union’s 1-0 loss at home to Houston; both teams are hovering right around the “red line,” the mark between Eastern team in and not in the MLS playoffs at the moment.
Across the land, Chivas USA was denied a penalty kick appeal in a 1-1 draw with Portland. Chivas isn’t going to the playoffs, but the road point collected by Portland will certainly help the Timbers playoff bid.
The weekend’s worst moment
That’s easy: it was Jonathan Osorio’s awful decision to kick a ball at fallen New York Red Bulls defender Kosuke Kimura. Osorio, a midfielder for Toronto, will surely be hearing from the league’s disciplinary committee about this one. Watch the incident here.
Goal of the Week
Watch the very crafty goal concocted by Federico Higuain’s sensational pass and Dominic Oduro’s highly technical touch into goal against Montreal. It wasn’t just a great goal from a craftsmanship standpoint, it was an important strike, the late game-winner as Columbus kept itself in the playoff race with an improbable 2-1 win at Montreal.
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