Juan Pablo Angel is heading west to be with the LA Galaxy. (Getty Images)

Much like last week’s stage one, if you blinked you missed something. Stage 2 of the MLS Re-Entry Draft went by in a flurry over Twitter earlier today. With every club and nearly every other fan following along to the draft the tweets made it nearly impossible to keep up. But the dust has settled and the draft is over.

There were only a couple real shockers in this draft. A total of 11 picks in two rounds (I had no idea there would be two round) saw some big names move across the MLS landscape.

Round 1

• D.C. United: Josh Wolff
• Chivas USA: Jimmy Conrad
• New England Revolution: Ryan Cochrane
• LA Galaxy: Juan Pablo Angel
• Chicago Fire: Cory Gibbs
• Sporting KC: Frankie Hejduk
• Seattle Sounders: Chris Seitz
• Columbus Crew: Jeff Cunningham
• LA Galaxy: Luke Sassano
• Colorado Rapids: Tyrone Marshall

Round 2

• New England Revolution: Fred

Philadelphia, Portland, Vancouver, Dallas, Houston, New York, RSL, San Jose and Toronto all passed on picks.

Pick-by-pick Thoughts:

DC takes Wolff - First thought was why Wolff? Getting two decent strikers in the Re-Entry draft (they took Joseph Ngwenya in Stage 1) shows they got a lot of work still to do here. Wolff has a connection to manager Ben Olsen which is fine but its funny that DC continues to take former Curt Onalfo guys from KC.

Chivas takes Conrad – As long as Conrad signs this deal is great for Chivas. He’s a proven leader and someone that can instantly improve their chances in 2011.

New England takes Cochrane and Fred – A defensive pick, not bad but at the same time not great. He’s what they are looking for in cheap, experienced defenders though.

As for the Fred pick, I had no idea there was a second round to this as the Revs were the only club to pick in that round. I guess this is a decent pickup for them as they do need some upgrades in the midfield. I’m just not so sure this is the right fit.

LA takes Angel and Sassano – LA trades away a 4th rounder in 2014 (haha 2014!) to Houston and takes JPA. Their search for a second striker is over with that pick. If he does sign it will easily put LA in the discussion for MLS Cup contenders again in 2011. Getting him signed under the cap won’t be easy though as I’d imagine he’ll have to be a third DP.

As for the Sassano pick, don’t sleep on it. Its a very solid pick by Bruce Arena. He gets some fairly cheap, experienced defensive cover to help build up their depth in the back.

Chicago takes Gibbs – With Wilman Conde out of the way now this pick made perfect sense for the Fire. Gibbs is signed and ready to go to the Fire according to the club. Now if he can only stay healthy it will be a very solid steal for the club.

Sporting KC take Hejduk – A pick I love as long as they are able to agree on terms. Hejduk adds some veteran leadership to their backline now that Conrad is gone and you know the fans there will love him.

Seattle takes Seitz – There was some pre-draft speculation that he’d be going to Dallas today. That made little sense to me as does him going to Seattle. I feel this is more trade bait than anything else though if he signs he will be a decent backup in waiting behind Kasey Keller.

Columbus takes Cunningham – I told a couple people around here today that if Cunningham didn’t get picked in the draft he’d stay in Dallas however if he did get picked it would be by the Crew. Cunningham heads back to the place where it all began for him. Got a feeling the locals there will be fairly happy with this pick too.

Colorado take Marshall – Could be one of the most underrated picks of the draft. Marshall adds to their defensive depth and adds even more veteran leadership to the club.

Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff will be called to lead in 2010 for KC. (WVH Photo Correspondent Brian Stevens)

We’re continuing on today with our look at each Major League Soccer club’s pre-season outlook of what players they have on board and where they need to go next before the new season kicks off. So far we’ve covered nearly half of the league with Chicago, Colorado, Chivas, Columbus, DC, Dallas, Houston and Philadelphia all already looked at here.

Today we go to the middle of the country to take a look at the Kansas City Wizards and what coach/technical director Peter Vermes is doing with his club.

The Wizards had a shaky season in 2009 but they hope a few changes around their roster will be enough to stay with the top of the pack in an already tough eastern conference.

So let’s see what the Wizards have done with their winter and where they need to go from here.

Keepers:

Who they have: Jimmy Nielsen, Eric Kronberg, and Boris Pardo.

Notes: Gone are the days of Kevin Hartman and now come the time for Nielsen. A lot of folks in KC probably aren’t too happy to see Hartman be let go so easily here but as I mentioned last week it was a change I think the club needed to make this winter. Look I’ve always had a great deal of respect for Hartman but sometimes change is necessary and this was just a move I think they needed to make. I’m also not saying Nielsen will be any better but Hartman wasn’t exactly putting KC over the top.

I know the club currently has a couple other trialist in camp right now so it will be interesting to see who pushes to be Nielsen’s backup this year.

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Defense:

Who they have: Jimmy Conrad, Chance Myers, Michael Harrington, Matt Besler, Lance Watson, Aaron Hohlbein, Jonathan Leathers, Pablo Escobar, Olukorede Aiyegbusi, and Nick Cardenas.

Notes: Collectively on paper they should be a better group then what we’ve seen over the last couple years. I may be putting too much of a premium on Conrad here, he’s a great leader out there but maybe he just isn’t able to get the rest of these guys up to his level and the group suffers for it. I honestly don’t know because again on paper they look like they should be good with guys like Besler (very underrated player) and Harrington (another solid player) but last year they were up there in goals against with 42.

I think though with Vermes coaching this bunch full time we’ll see some improvement in this bunch this year. I honestly have no idea what Escobar will bring to the table but if we base anything off past moves from South America from this club the expectations shouldn’t be placed too high for him (remember Carlos Marinelli or Eloy Colombano?). Hopefully he turns out better for them.

Big question for me though is will Myers finally become the number one pick that KC had hoped for two years ago? I still don’t know who got the better end of that deal between San Jose and the Wizards. Right now its starting to be a push more than anything as neither have seen a big impact from the players involved. Nick Garcia was traded last year to Toronto and Myers really never grew as a player in year two.

Still this group is fairly young so hopefully things are going to be looking up for them as some of these young guys finally hit their stride here.

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Midfield:

Who they have: Santiago Hirsig, Roger Espinoza, Jack Jewsbery, Kurt Morsink, Davy Arnaud, Kevin Souter, Graham Zusi, Stéphane Auvray, and Marco Fuzetti.

Notes: I like Espinoza, Jewsbery and Arnaud but the rest I’m a bit torn with as I think they have potential with guys like Zusi and newcomer Auvray. Still my worry is where will the offense be generated from this within this bunch? They honestly cannot expect Arnaud to carry the load this season. I know to a lesser extent Claudio Lopez is more of an offensive midfielder than a striker these days but that won’t cut it.

Another area I worry about is wing play for this bunch. One area they got burned in a lot of games last year was on the wings, especially on their short home field. If I’m Vermes I’d be finding talent to go on the wings as well as a true playmaker in the middle.

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Forwards:

Who they have: Claudio Lopez, Josh Wolff, Teal Bunbury, Zoltan, Kei Kamara, and Michael Kraus.

Notes: This was an area that Vermes had to concentrate over the winter months on and I think with drafting Bunbury and the new contract to Kamara he has done a pretty good job with here. The big thing will be whether or not Bunbury makes an impact in year one or not. Some reports from the training camps suggest he isn’t done all that well so far with KC but I think given the right amount of time he’ll be fine.

Kamara is said to be doing very well in KC right now and honestly I think he likes being there which is a good thing for both sides. He’s got a chance this year to really step things up and be a solid scorer for the Wizards.

The big thing will be getting Wolff involved a lot more this year. We saw last year that when used properly up top Wolff can be a very productive goal scorer for the Wizards. I think Vermes knows how to use Wolff right and with Lopez too. That’s a good thing because they need another 10+ goal year from Wolff and eight to 10 assists from Lopez to be in contention in the east. As long as those two hit those numbers and Kamara and Bunbury combine for another 10 or 14 goals they will be much better offensively than from a year ago.

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Overall:

Going into a new year Kansas City is a club I like but honestly don’t love just yet. Defensively I worry about them on the wings and in the center part of the midfield. I’m also still concerned about who will be generating the offense in the midfield this year. Offensively I do believe they’ll be much better than from a year ago as long as the guys up top are given the right space to be productive.

Conrad has to step up a bit more in the back to lead this young group and if he does I think the club will improve in the standings. They’re schedule won’t be as tight in the summer with SuperLiga and we shouldn’t expect to see many international call-ups for players on their roster except for maybe Conrad and Espinoza. I actually see Espinoza getting more international time than Conrad this year anyways.

I think Vermes needs another move or two in the midfield and they’ll be fine. I’ll be curious to see how they perform early on as they typically start well but fade in the summer.

In a way its a make or break year for Vermes. He’s built this club as a TD and now must lead them as the full-time coach. I don’t know if he’ll be under any sort of hot seat yet if they don’t do well this year but you gotta believe fans won’t be happy if they are near the bottom again in the standings in 2010.

Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff lead the way in 2009 for Kansas City. (WVH Photo Correspondent Brian Stevens)

The bandwagon was getting bigger for this club going into 2009. Many folks had hoped this was the year the Kansas City Wizards would get over the hump and make a big splash in the eastern conference.

But 2009 didn’t go as planned like some in Kansas City had hoped. The team stumbled out of the gate losing their first two games and some already had questions on the offense that was lacking. Then a funny thing happened in April things looked like they were headed in the right direction when former coach Curt Onalfo started using Josh Wolff at striker instead of on the wings. The club won three games out of the five in the month and looked good.

Then May and June rolled around and the Wizards won only two of their next seven league games while losing one and drawing two in SuperLiga play. From there on things turned sour for good on the season. The Wizards went through July and August winless and saw Onalfo get canned after a 6-0 beating in Dallas. Peter Vermes stepped in after that but he never was able to get the team back over the hump as the club failed to reach the post season.

What Went Right In 2009?
The club did have some success in tough stadiums like in Seattle and in Salt Lake. When guys like Josh Wolff and Claudio Lopez were healthy and playing in the right spots on the field things would click offensively. Defensively things went well when Jimmy Conrad was leading the way in the back. It seemed that when they won games it was by a shutout too. There are a few decent pieces in defense with this club that they can build on for sure.

What Went Wrong In 2009?
A lot went wrong as the writing was on the wall for Onalfo’s head for a long while. Most people didn’t want to admit to it in KC but it certainly was there for all to see. Secondly they had one of the worst home records in the league which usually means you don’t go very far. Lastly I just never felt Vermes and the owners put enough into this team this season. Their lack of movement with their roster was rather pathetic. Now I know the economy could have had something to do with that but they were one of the few teams that rarely made a move this year. Things were broke and they just failed to fix it.

What’s Next?
First of all they have to figure out their coaching issue, is Vermes going to stay or is he going to move back into the technical director/general manager role. Finding a coach that can get the most out of this group will be key. I think next in line for this bunch is really fixing a midfield that is so damaged. I know injuries played a part in their issues but for the most part it was a lack of consistency with this group that caused a lot of things in 2009. Secondly they need a go-to scorer with Wolff. I know Claudio Lopez is a good setup man but even he needs more help. Lastly it may be time to move on from Kevin Hartman in goal. This club has a good fan base and they definitely deserve some attention to their roster by this ownership.

Order: George John, Maykel Galindo, Brandon McDonald, Justin Braun, Josh Wolff, Nate Jaqua, Luciano Emilio, Jim Brennen, and Fabian Espindola.

There are plenty of goals this week, especially since we had a 6-3 game and a 3-2 game.

Order of video: Frankie Hejduk, Maicon Santos, Dave van den Burgh, Jeff Cunningham, A.J. DeLaGarza, Dax McCarty, David Ferriera, Jeff Cunningham, Edson Buddle, Chris Rolfe, Jamison Olave, Josh Wolff,  Steve Zakuani, Fredy Montero, Dwayne De Rosario, Conor Casey, and Nana Attakora

Claudio Lopez and Kansas City hope to change their luck this weekend. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Sometimes the number 13 can mean unlucky and sometimes people use that number to try and make it into luck. What does that mean for our MLS clubs this week? Well week 13 could mean staying in playoff contention or falling out.

So far we’ve already had one game under our belts this week with the game in Houston on Wednesday. I didn’t talk too much about that game but after looking back on some of the tape and highlights Houston deserved to win the game. For the most part the play was very even and I believe I read a quote out there from a few Dynamo players saying Chivas was the best squad they’ve faced this season. Let’s hope that these two meet again in the western conference finals this season. Home field advantage will go a long way between those clubs I can tell you that much.

Chivas does return to the pitch this weekend, as do most fo the clubs except for Colorado who has another week off here. Mostly we have conference battles this weekend with one exception in Columbus when Chivas squares off against the Crew.

As always feel free to leave your game predictions below.

Saturday:

Chicago Fire – at – DC United:

Some how Chicago is the best road side in the league and DC is actually one of the better homesides in the league. So something will have to give right? Honestly the Fire haven’t been playing that great these last couple of weeks, most of that can be due to international call ups hurting their starting XI. Some of the heat in this game is already out though with Luciano Emilio and Bakery Soumare out on suspension. Even without Blanco in the middle for the Fire I still believe they have enough to get on the board at least once. But their defense will let DC back in late. United is always good for a goal in the final 15 minutes of the game.

WVH Prediction: DC 1, Chicago 1

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New York Red Bulls – at – Toronto FC:

One has to wonder if this could be the last game for Juan Carlos Osorio if his club is to lose another game on the road. Not to mention this is game number 15 on the year and if you are this much out of it halfway through, who is to say that your second half of the season performance will get better enough to reach the post season. This isn’t the MLS of old where you can stumble your way into the playoffs.

Thankfully for the Red Bulls the club they face isn’t doing too well these days either. Though Mo Johnston is trying to make sure there is a turnaround here with bringing in Nick Garcia to help the defense out. With the way New York plays on the road (0-6-1, 0 goals for and 12 against) I think Toronto should win this one. Look for Chad Barrett or Danny Dichio to be there to score for the Reds in this one.

WVH Prediction: Toronto 2, New York 1

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Houston Dynamo – at – FC Dallas:

Another I hope to be at but even so it should be a good game considering the rivalry built here between these two sides. Houston is on a crazy run of nine straight unbeaten games, with four wins in a row here. I just don’t see that trend ending after the way I saw Dallas play this past Sunday against San Jose. Sure the Red Stripes got a late draw but Houston has a quality defense that just pressures the heck out of you. Dallas doesn’t have the midfield to keep up with Houston’s and defensively FCD is just not on the same level. I think Stuart Holden is on impressive form and that will continue tomorrow in Frisco. Dallas just doesn’t have an answer for him.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, Dallas 0

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New England Revolution – at – Kansas City Wizards:

The Wizards are one of those clubs that needs a break right now and not an unlucky kind of week. One could say they have already caught that break with Taylor Twellman missing the game and trip for the Revs. It is easy to say that the Revs are a completely different club with him in the lineup. Without him they will have to go back to just making it work with guys like Shalrie Joseph up top. Kansas City will need to rely a lot on Josh Wolff and Claudio Lopez here for their offense. I think the Wizards will catch a break this week in the end and get some much needed points. However it will only be a single point as New England will sneak out with a draw.

WVH Prediction: Kansas City 1, New England 1

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San Jose Earthquakes – at – Seattle Sounders FC:

Seattle is another club that needs to catch a break here and with San Jose coming into town that may just been good enough. The Quakes traded one of their better defenders this week to Toronto so one has to wonder what exactly they will do to fix their defense that is still letting in a bunch of goals each week. Sure Seattle won’t have Nate Jaqua or Jhon Kennedy Hurtado to suspensions but I think a weak defense and a struggling midfield may just be what Fredy Montero and company need to get back on track here. Look for Sigi Schmid’s group to control this game from the start.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, San Jose 1

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Real Salt Lake – at – LA Galaxy:

Hard to believe the Galaxy are unbeaten in ten games but they are. And after last week’s game in Toronto one has to think this club may actually be ok without Landon Donovan for a few weeks. It surely doesn’t hurt when you get one of the worst road clubs to come visit you either. RSL really needs a break here but I just don’t see it happening with their recent play and with the loss of Robbie Russell (suspension) in the back and the potential of no Robbie Findley (ankle). Donovan Ricketts should come up big when needed tomorrow night and somehow the Gals will squeeze out another three points.

WVH Prediction: LA 2, RSL 1

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Sunday:

Chivas USA – at – Columbus Crew:

The league leading Goats may not be leading the league for that much longer if they don’t break out of a slight funk here. It’s a typical midseason funk for those who race out quickly like Chivas did this season. Just ask the Crew, they did the same last season and hit the wall a bit in June as well. Aside from the breif history lesson these clubs square off in Columbus on Sunday. They may have a bit of a break with the Crew missing Chad Marshall to suspension and Brian Carroll to injury. Those two losses for the Crew are big time down the middle of the defense. Chivas is good enough to figure out how to pressure the Crew. Thing is I am worried they are running out of steam here right now. Guillermo Barros Schelotto will probably make sure the Crew stay in this one with another goal. A draw sounds likely here with the players missing for each side.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 1, Chivas 1

Luciano Emilio and DC travel to New England to face Shalrie Joseph and the Revs. (Getty Images)

I won’t lie, last night’s game between Chicago and Chivas put a sour taste in my mouth for this weekend. The game itself was entertaining but the officiating was lacking in quality as we’ve all seen by now. Hopefully this weekend won’t be filled with yellow and red cards or lots of questionable PK calls.

Sorry for the rant but that’s just how I feel going into this weekend.

As for the weekend ahead here, we have a full slate of games with everyone in action except for Chivas (who played last night). I do hope we get seven quality games like last night’s contest though. Aside from the horrible officiating in the middle it was a good game. I’m gonna start switching things up here for the weekend previews. While I like doing longer previews for each game, time just doesn’t allow me to do so anymore for the weekend games. Instead I will stick with a quick preview and a player to look out for along with the score prediction.

DC United – at – New England Revolution:

DC has been playing well as of late but how much will DC be missing guys like Ben Olsen and Christian Gomez in the midfield? Throw in the fact that New England should be getting Taylor Twellman back for at least some part of this game and it could be an interesting meeting between these conference rivals. I think this one will be tighter than some expect it to be. The Revs may send Shalrie Joseph up top again to get some physical play against a young United back four. That could throw off the visitors if he switches between his midfield role and his temporary striker position that Steve Nicol has been putting him at lately. Honestly this one could go either way so I am taking the draw.

Player to keep an eye out for: DC’s Rodney Wallace has been very tough to cover lately from his defensive position. His runs from the back could be a big x-factor for DC.

WVH Prediction: New England 1, DC 1

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Colorado Rapids – at – New York Red Bulls:

We keep saying that New York needs this game each week and they continue to give up chances and points. Colorado should be a team that could allow New York to be successful against at home (Rapids are 1-2-2 away from home this season) but I actually like the Rapid’s chances here. New York will also be without Jorge Rojas who is suspended for this contest. I think the loss of Rojas will put more pressure on Albert Cedades to create chances and keep possession in the middle for the Red Bulls. While I think he can do it he won’t be able to do it alone. Colorado has been far more consistent in their scoring this season behind Conor Casey and company and I think they continue to make the standings a little tighter with a road win tomorrow.

Player to keep an eye out for: Colin Clark for Colorado has really started to get more involved here in the offense lately.

WVH Prediction: Colorado 2, New York 1

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Toronto FC – at – Houston Dynamo:

The big story here is Dwayne De Rosario returning to Houston where he won a pair of titles with the Dynamo. He’s looked good lately along with Amado Guevara in helping TFC stay near the top of the standings. They’ll need a big performance out of those two and guys like Pablo Vitti or Chad Barrett up top. Houston has played great lately (unbeaten in six) and have been tough to score on in that time. While I think Toronto will keep it close I just don’t see them beating Houston at home here yet. The Dynamo are too clever in the midfield and are so dangerous on set pieces with Brad Davis, Brad Mullan and Brian Ching.

Player to keep an eye out for: Brad Davis has been creating a lot of chances lately for Houston. Last week he tallied two assists in the Dynamo win over San Jose.

WVH Prediction: Houston 2, Toronto 0

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Real Salt Lake – at – San Jose Earthquakes:

This could be a real stinker of a game. San Jose is winless in eight games and we all know RSL’s track record on the road. First and foremost for Jason Kreis and company, they have to get on the board here in this one. No goals in five road matches this season. One would think against San Jose they would get on the board in this one right? I think so since the Quakes lack the creative punch in the middle ot slow down RSL. However I just think San Jose is due a result here after the way they played on Wednesday in Columbus. I’m calling a draw here but not by much.

Player to keep an eye out for: San Jose’s Ryan Johnson has scored five of the club’s ten goals this season, I would expect him to keep that up this weekend.

WVH Prediction: San Jose 1, RSL 1

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Columbus Crew – at – Seattle Sounders FC:

I’d really love to see these two sides go at it with everyone healthy. But the thing is Seattle is a bit banged up and Columbus just lost another key player (Brian Carroll) for some more time. Seattle will have some key members of their midfield back in this one with Freddie Ljungberg and Brad Evans ready to go this week. I see the Sounders controlling the midfield and the pace of this game from the start thanks to those two and the loss of Carroll for Columbus. I just don’t think people will realize how big of a loss Carroll is for the Crew.

Player to keep an eye out for: Look for Seattle’s Fredy Montero to have another solid game here. His pace will be tough for Columbus to handle.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 3, Columbus 1

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Kansas City Wizards – at – LA Galaxy:

I’m a little worried for the Wizards on the road tomorrow. They will be missing two key offensive players in Josh Wolff and Santiago Hirsig. With this being one of the last games for Landon Donovan for a while with the Galaxy (national team duties this summer) I would imagine the Galaxy will push the tempo a bit more and actually look for the three points. The loss of Sean Franklin in the back worries me for them but not seeing Wolff on the field makes me think it will be balanced out a bit here. Even though the Galaxy are the draw queens of the league I am going with them for a change here.

Player to keep an eye out for: Either off the bench or starting, I think Edson Buddle could be a big factor for the Galaxy in this one. He needs to start scoring for the club here and this could be a good time to start.

WVH Prediction: LA 2, KC 1

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FC Dallas – at – Chicago Fire:

The Fire have a chance to move into a tie with Chivas for first overall. I just don’t see FC Dallas making this much of a game here with the way the Fire have been as of late. Chicago may not be as rested as Dallas but they will control the pace of the game from the start.

Player to keep an eye out for: If Dallas has any hope of scoring it could be from youngster Brek Shea who has really shown a lot of growth in recent weeks for the Red Stripes.

WVH Prediction: Chicago 3, Dallas 1

Order of video: Eddie Lewis (LA), Josh Wolff (KC), Andre Rocha (Dallas), Maykel Galindo (Chivas), Luciano Emilio (DC), Santino Quaranta (DC),Conor Casey (Colorado), Chris Wondalowski (Houston), John Wolyniec (NY).

Chris Rolfe and Chicago got back to winning on Saturday. (Getty Images)

For a few clubs we are at that one-thirds mark of the season, others do however still have a few games to catch up here. Still we are flying through this season it seems like as another week goes into the books. Week nine in Major League Soccer was an interesting one to say the least. We had a great comeback in LA, a shocker in Salt Lake, a statement in Toronto, and a load of 1-1 draws.

Five of the seven matches ended in a draw with a couple late game-tying goals to mention later today. Not a lot of change however here as the league progresses this season. We keep having a lot of draws each week, which leads me to believe that that bottom level amount of points to reach the playoffs will be in the high 30s to low 40s this season. Wins are a premium this season that only a few are getting a lot of here. But more on that later on as well.

Chicago Remains Unbeaten

One of the shocker results to some of the weekend was the Fire’s 2-0 win over Toronto at BMO Field. I viewed this as a statement result for the Fire who needed a good swift kick to the gut to get going here again this season. The club remains the lone unbeaten team in the league after nine weeks. Sure six of their results are draws but that is still a fairly impressive mark. This win was greatly needed though as the club was in more of a funk, even though they weren’t losing. They weren’t holding on to leads like they should and defensively they just looked a bit overrated.

A big reason for the win was the play of guys like Chris Rolfe and Brian McBride. Rolfe continues to be the best man off the bench for any club this season. His spark in the second half closed the game out for the visitors just moments after a Wilman Conde handball in the penalty box wasn’t called for a PK. It was a tough call that really could have gone either way. It turned out though to really shift momemtum from Toronto to Chicago.

This was just one of those contests for Toronto that they looked a bit tired as they weren’t connecting on any shots around the penalty area. But even down a goal early I thought they showed some grit in getting back into the match with the Fire. The no-PK call on the handball really changed the game for both sides though.

Also on the night, McBride now has six goals on the season. He is currently tied with Josh Wolff of Kansas City for the lead in MLS.

A Rio Stinker In Salt Lake

Saturday night it was all Kansas City in Rio Tinto Stadium. The Wizards set out and did what they needed to do as Josh Wolff sparked the attack with two goals on the night to lead the boys in blue to victory over Salt Lake. Finally KC manager Curt Onalfo did the right thing and moved Wolff back to the striker position where he is more effective for this club. It paid off not once but twice.

RSL sinks a little deeper however with another loss here. This club hasn’t looked nearly the same since the 6-0 beating they put on New England a few weeks back. Mainly the offense isn’t producing and Jason Kreis’ defense is giving up more than it should. It also hasn’t helped that he has lost his veteran keeper Nick Rimando for some time and now his back up Chris Seitz is going on the shelf. One thing is certain in this league, if you don’t have a good keeper in goal you will lose lots of games.

Something Crazy In LA

The 2-2 draw on Saturday night in Carson was something else. Chivas became yet another victim of the toughest lead in soccer, 2-0. They are certainly the worst and toughest leads to hold in soccer. You have to also look at the fact that Chivas is still looking pretty after 10 games here. To have 23 points at this stage in the season is not bad in the least, espeically when wins are tough to come by for any club this season.

If I were Chivas fans I wouldn’t go all crazy over the draw to DC. United is a quality side that knows how to score late in games. That is a tough thing to defend when you club is banged up, which to be honest Chivas still is here. Some could question the subs from Preki on Saturday but you also have to look at who Tom Soehn was putting on the pitch late for United. Adding two quality vertan players like Fred and Christian Gomez in the second half really made an impact for DC. Chivas just couldn’t keep up late.

Butts-in-Seats

Decent numbers across the board. The usual 20k in Toronto followed by a great 19k in Salt Lake. The two games at the HDC saw similar numbers for the Galaxy and Chivas. New York’s game against Houston drew a respectable 14k. New England followed with just north of 10k and as always Dallas brought up the rear with 8k. What they did with the extra Drew Carey glasses at Pizza Hut Park I will never know. They were cheap plastic glasses anyways. I saw some fans with a couple pairs each.

The Land of Draws

Houston and New York drew 1-1. Seattle and Dallas did as well. Throw in Columbus and LA along side Colorado and New England. Four games with the same result in each, 1-1. Two of them saw late game tying goals. The other two were nodded up before halftime.

What to take away from these results is simple. Of the 68 matches played this season, 27 have ended in draws (almost 40 percent). Last year, over a 210-games, 57 games (27 percent) were ties. And we thought at the time that it was a bit much.

Look a little deeper at just how big wins are this season. Los Angeles is 1-1-7, Chicago 3-0-6, DCU 3-1-6, Columbus 1-2-6. Look at DC and Chicago, they are at the top of the eastern standings with Columbus not far behind. Only Chivas and to a lesser extent Seattle are getting the job done this season. Then you have a club like Kansas City that also is getting results but they are also losing as many as they are winning.

Then you look at clubs like Dallas, New York and San Jose where nothing seems right. They looked to be clubs on paper that would be good this season but are anything but that.

Consistency is key in MLS. Right now the only than that seems constant is the draws.

Anyways, another load of games this weekend all mostly on Saturday with the usual lone Sunday game. San Jose gets the lovely task of having the week off, a good time for them too since they are in need of a break to find their form here this season.

Plenty of good games to talk about here this weekend. Chicago at Toronto is an interesting clash in the east but the game of the week has to be Chivas hosting DC, a meeting of the two conference leaders.

As always feel free to post your game predictions below.

Chicago Fire – at- Toronto FC:

1. What does Chicago need to do to start winning again?

All these draws have to mean something here for Dennis Hamlet’s group. They aren’t losing but they also aren’t winning. Going to Toronto won’t be easy either right now with the way TFC is playing right now. Thing Chicago has to get through their heads is that they are better than what they are playing right now. Closing out games is a big deal in any sport, especially soccer and right now the Fire just aren’t putting a full effort in 90 minutes.

I think if they rely on the fact that Toronto had a game in the midweek against Montreal in the Canadian Cup and hope that they are a little gassed from that. Chicago is deep enough to be able to run a few fresh legs onto the pitch late in the game and really mess with the other club. Defensively this club just needs to lock down the Reds and control the ball in the midfield with Blanco spraying balls all over the pitch for Chris Rolfe and Brian McBride.

2. How can TFC keep rolling here?

The Reds are now unbeaten in their last four league games and last six overall in all competitions. They’ve been playing a lot better due to the fact that they’ve finally figured out how to have both Amado Guevara and Dwayne De Rosario on the pitch working together. It hasn’t hurt that they’ve gotten some big plays out of guys like Danny Dichio and Chad Barrett too. If they are to beat Chicago and put an end to their unbeaten mark here on the season they have to continue to play their style of game. They weren’t satisfied with the win over Montreal the other night which means they are starting to get real hungry here. For TFC fans that is a good thing because this bunch is talented enough to keep rolling here.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

I know I’ve mentioned him a couple times before this season but watch out for Chad Barrett. He may miss a bunch of easy goals but if you saw the goal from the other night he really still has a lot of talent to offer. That goal against Montreal may have saved his season with the club in my opinion. He needed a goal like that more than his club did.

Quick Thoughts:

For some reason I like Toronto in this one. While I think Chicago is deep enough to have a little more energy in this one, I just think TFC will be high enough from the win the other night over Montreal to beat Chicago here. The Fire haven’t really played well lately and need some sort of kick to get going again and a loss may just be that. This will however be one of the better matches this weekend you can mark that down. Toronto finds some way to score in the first half and holds on to the lead for the rest of the game.

WVH Prediction: Toronto 1, Chicago 0

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Colorado Rapids – at – New England Revolution:

1. Can New England keep the momentum up from last week’s result and slow down the Rapids’ attack?

Thankfully for you Revs fans your club is slowly breaking out of it’s funk here. Getting guys like Steve Ralston and rookie Kevin Alston back in the line up totally helped last week and as you saw they are still good enough to get quality results without key players. The thing is I still have concerns for your defense doing against someone like Conor Casey, who has been a beast against weak defenses this season. He will be a big task for guys like Darrius Barnes and Jay Heaps. If they slow him down and also neaturalize the midfield attack from the Rapids they could see three points.

2. Did the week off do more harm than good for Colorado?

I am a bit concerned for Colorado who got a great win two weeks ago against rivals RSL and then had to sit last week out with the buy week. They had huge momemtum from that win but I am worried that they won’t have it to carry over to this game in New England. The thing they have to do is just start their attack from the start in this one. Finding ways to get Casey the ball in space and in the pentalty box will be key. New England has also given up a load of goals on set pieces this season so it will be interesting to see how Colorado attacks their defense around the offensive third of the field. If they can work Terry Cooke into the attack on set pieces they could steal three points here.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

I’m looking at Colorado’s Nick LaBrocca in this one. He was given the keys to the midfield by manager Gary Smith in the win over RSL and the offense from the Rapids saw a big improvement in the process.

Quick Thoughts:

This inter-conference clash should be an interesting one to watch. Both clubs need a momentum starter here (yes even the Rapids need it, I do believe the week off killed whatever momentum they had) and they also need the three points to stay in contention in their respective conferences. I figure this one will be fairly tight for a while but I do see each getting on the board. I kind of thing it will end in a draw though because defensively I do think New England can slow Colorado down enough to not give up a lot of goals at home but offensive they just lack the punch to put up a bunch of goals here.

WVH Prediction: New England 1, Colorado 1

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Houston Dynamo – at – New York Red Bulls:

1. Which Red Bulls club will we see tomorrow?

I was pretty quick to say that after the 4-1 win over San Jose that we should get too crazy here about the Red Bulls being back. They were never that great to begin with. I would imagine the offense does have a new life here after the four goal outburst. The thing is they played a weak defense last week and now face on of the better defenses in the league in Houston. While clubs have scored on this Dynamo club this season I wouldn’t think they’d give up four in the same manner as the Quakes did last week. Houston is however still looking for their first win at Giants Stadium.

The thing is consistentcy is key in this league and so far the Red Bulls have been anything but that. They need another huge game from Albert Cedades in the middle of the park. His expereience should be a big difference maker for the homeside.

2. What does Houston need to do to score in this one?

Houston needs to get their set pieces and attack from the wings. New York is still very suspect in the defense and I would imagine Houston could get a couple goals on counter-attacks or set pieces if the Red Bulls aren’t careful enough with the ball in the midfield. While the Dynamo attack isn’t scary it is still dangerous enough to win games.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

While Jorge Rojas and Cedades will get a lot of attention in the midfield for New York a guy like Seth Stammler becomes very tough to break. Some will agree that as Stammler goes the Red Bulls will too this season. He’s a steady player in the midfield for this bunch and can be a big part of this club’s winning too.

Quick Thoughts:

This may be the most underrated match of the weekend. If New York is on the verge of turning their season around then it will be the game of the weekend. Neither club got off to a good start this season but Houston has been playing extremely well lately and defensively have been the toughest team to score on in the past month. New York will pose a big challenge for that mark and will likely get one by Pat Onstad in this one. I do however like Houston to stay with the Red Bulls in this one. While New York has some quality experience in the midfield with guys like Cedades and Rojas I just feel that Houston is more experienced in actually playing well for 90 minutes. It will be a draw, a very close draw indeed. Houston battles from behind to get a road point.

WVH Prediction: New York 1, Houston 1

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Seattle Sounders FC – at – FC Dallas

1. Things looked better for Dallas late against Houston, will it carry over against Seattle?

Houston is as tough defensively as any club gets in this league. While Seattle isn’t nearly as tough as Houston they are probably just as good defensively as the Dynamo. Sigi Schmid’s bunch play in typical Sigi-fashion, tight and compact in the back which leads to less attempts on goal and few chances. Dallas is a club that has already struggled to get attempts on goal lately so this will be a big challege for the likes of Kenny Cooper and company.

Dallas can’t afford to come out flat from the start or Seattle will gobble up early chances against a defense that is the second worst in the league right now.

2. What do the Sounders need to do against Dallas’ midfield?

One thing is certain, if you beat Dallas in the middle of the field and control the possession you will beat them. Seattle already does a good enough job at controlling the pace of the game and not giving up a bunch of silly turnovers in the midfield. Dallas on the other hand does the exact opposite. Too many times the Red Stripes will get the ball in the midfield and immediately give it right back to the other club. Seattle is too good of a club right now to not take advantage of those mental breakdowns.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

This could be a big game for wing players for FC Dallas with Seattle not having James Riley in the back (suspension from last week’s red card). Dave van den Burgh and Andre Rocha could see a little more free space. If they can spray some balls into the box because of some open pitch it could be a good evening for the homeside.

Quick Thoughts:

Sadly enough I doubt a lot of people here in Dallas will come out for this one. Though you can play Plinko at halftime which has to be a draw in itself if you ask me. But as for this game goes I think Seattle is just too good of a club right now to not win this game or at least get some points here. They need three points in a big way to stay on course with Chivas in the western standings and to hold off up and comers like Houston. Dallas defensively and in the midfield will dictate whether or not they will win this game. Turnovers are going to be key and Dallas just gives the ball up too much right now. Should be a fun game to watch though. Seattle goes up early with goals from Nate Jaqua and Fredy Montero and never looks back.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, Dallas 1

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Kansas City Wizards – at  – Real Salt Lake

1. Should we expect another turnaround at home for RSL?

So far as we all know RSL has been great at home and terrible on the road. However in their last home game they had a wild finish with the Galaxy in that crazy 2-2 draw a week ago. This club hasn’t really looked all that great in a couple games but they do have the likes of Javier Morales back in action. The thing they need to do in this one is not let Kansas City play their style of game. They allowed LA to do that briefly last week and they lost points for it in the process. Kansas City is dangerous enough behind Josh Wolff and Claudio Lopez to steal three points here.

2. Will Kansas City be able to come into Rio Tinto and do what only a couple have done? Win?

Both clubs are in a bit of a slide right now but Kansas City is still a very tough club to figure out. The Wizards are one of those few clubs that have gotten points at RSL over the past couple years. For them to do it again this season they need to get Josh Wolff back into the attack more and in the box to test a defense that has been a bit shaky as of late. If they can rattle RSL in the midfield and in defense you could see a couple easy goals for the visitors on Saturday.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

I am curious to see if Jason Kreis stays with Yura Movsisyan up top or if he makes the wise move to Fabian Espindola like some would like him to. Espindola is a tough cookie up top to stop and could pose a big problem to a young Kansas City defense.

Quick Thoughts:

I want to like the Wizards in this one but it is hard to go against a club that plays so well in their home stadium. RSL should bounce back from their three game slide in this one with a win behind the likes of Kyle Beckerman and Espindola. Offensively this club hasn’t looked the same since that 6-0 beating of New England a few weeks back. If they can even get half of that spark back they will be fine against the Wizards.

WVH Prediction: RSL 2, KC 1

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DC United – at – Chivas USA:

1. What can DC do to beat Chivas?

Chivas has been one tough club to beat this year. Only Toronto was able to slow them own enough to get three points away from them. Thing is the club hasn’t had to be too flashy or amazing to be where they are right now. DC on the other hand has had to fight their way to the top of the eastern standings and their lead is not nearly as nice as their counterparts on Saturday. For United for come into the Home Depot Center and get even a point they have to be very organized defensively and not allow any little mistakes to happen. Chivas is too good at taking advantage of little mistakes in the midfield and scoring off of them.

While DC is leading the league in goals right now they are also giving up a lot of goals. Something Chivas does not do right now. DC has to get their attack going early and catch Chivas off guard. One thing I do know about Chivas is they aren’t a club that comes from behind often.

2. How does Chivas hold off the DC attack?

Simple enough you frustrate their attack in the midfield. You don’t allow DC to create quality chances for guys like Chris Ponitus and Luciano Emilio. You also keep a tight defense to neutralize runs from players out of the back like Rodney Wallace. Tom Soehn’s bunch will bring a lot at you but Chivas is one of the best at slowing those kinds of runs down. We’ve seen them do it against Seattle and also against clubs like Columbus and Dallas.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

Maykel Galindo is starting to get more minutes by each game for Chivas USA. The more the better as he is starting to get loose in the attack and that is good for Chivas fans. Galindo is a speedy player that could come off the bench in this one. In a late game that is tight he may be a real difference maker for the homeside.

Quick Thoughts:

Obviously the game of the week right here. Two clubs that are playing extremely well face off in an early season clash. DC hasn’t lost in five straight now while Chivas is continuing to show their impressive form week after week with their eight-point gap on the rest of the standings. This one will probably be very physical from the start and I look for Chivas to try and control the tempo of the game as well. Chivas can’t let up for a second, espeically late since DC has scored five of their league-high 15 goals in the last 15 minutes of the game. A draw sounds likely here even though Chivas has an impressive home record right now.

WVH Prediction: Chivas 1, DC 1

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Columbus Crew – at – LA Galaxy:

1. Both clubs are starting to win, but who has the edge right now?

Both finally got off the mark here in the past couple weeks and got the first win of the season. Amazing that despite their records LA hasn’t lost in six games and Columbus hasn’t lost in five. I will however give the slight advantage to Columbus here since it was last week that they got their first win of the year. The monkey is finally off their back and they should start winning more games here.

2. What does the Crew need to do to pick up some points here?

One thing is certain, another win and the Crew are very much in the thick of things in the eastern conference. This is certainly a good time to start a winning streak as the Crew have been a very tough club for the Galaxy to beat in recent years (partly due to Sigi Schmid when he was there). I think the Crew just have to play their tough style of play and rattle the very yough Galaxy defense early and often in this one. As long as Gulliermo Barros Schelotto controls the pace of the game in the middle for the Crew they should be fine in this one.

3. Player to keep an eye out for.

One guy I am going to watch for is LA’s Edson Buddle. He is finally getting healthy here this season and that should mean more offense for this Galaxy club that desperately needs someone else to go to soon when Landon Donovan leaves this summer for national team duty.

Quick Thoughts:

At first glance I was thinking this would be yet another draw for these two sides but I think the Crew have to be hungry now that they have their first win of the season. It didn’t come easy but you know veterans like Frankie Hedjuk will rally this club together to get another win. I like the Crew to keep their momentum up from last week’s win over the Galaxy.

WVH Prediction: Columbus 2, LA 1