Clint Dempsey headlines the early roster for the US. (Getty Images)

U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Jurgen Klinsmann has named an initial squad of 16 players that will begin reporting today to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.

The group is mostly built up with players that are foreign-based players who have completed their seasons.

As many as 13 additions will be announced May 20 and will be a mixture of domestic and foreign-based players to round out the training camp. The team will train in Orlando until May 25, when Klinsmann will select a final 23-man roster for the upcoming five matches.

INITIAL U.S. ROSTER BY POSITION 
GOALKEEPERS (3): Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)
DEFENDERS (4): Carlos Bocanegra (Rangers), Edgar Castillo (Club Tijuana), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover), Alfredo Morales (Hertha Berlin)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Chievo Verona), Joe Corona (Club Tijuana), Maurice Edu (Rangers), Fabian Johnson (Hoffenheim), Jermaine Jones (Schalke 04), Jose Torres (Pachuca), Danny Williams (Hoffenheim)
FORWARDS (1): Clint Dempsey (Fulham)

Another amazing stadium opens this weekend. (Wilf Thorne / Houston Dynamo)

All eyes this weekend will be on Houston. Major League Soccer get to open up yet another soccer specific stadium and BBVA Compass Stadium will certainly be a proud one to display to the world. The bright orange seats and the oven-like feeling inside will almost certainly give the Dynamo a tough home environment to deal with.

Aside from that Week 10 in MLS also has some other good games of note including a huge showcase game in Seattle between Real Salt Lake and the Seattle Sounders. That clash will open up the Western Conference race a bit and show who really is the top dog in the league.

There are plenty of talking points for the weekend so here are some items I will be keeping a close watch on.

1. BBVA Goodness. I said yesterday in my predictions of New York and Houston that the Dynamo would likely not come out on top. The club would have their mind’s elsewhere and mostly they would be on Saturday’s home debut at their new stadium. Houston comes into this match with a respectable road record of 2-3-2 after seven games. Good but not great and certainly better than previous clubs who’ve started out the season with long road stretches while a stadium is being finished.

The Dynamo need a spark though. They’ve been marginal in seven games and really were just playing like a road team throughout. Hopefully the home game, in front of their fans, in a new environment that they can call their own will be enough of a spark to see just how good this team really is.

2. Can the Impact stay hot? I said it earlier in the week in my weekly recap, Montreal is the hottest Eastern Conference team going right now. Yeah, going 3-1-1 in their last five tells you that Jesse Marsch is finally hitting some of the right buttons. The midfield is coming around nicely and the defense isn’t giving up a ton of ugly mistakes.

They host the struggling Galaxy in one of the final games at the Big O this season for them. Naturally this will be another big draw for the expansion city. David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Robbie Keane and company all come to town hoping to finally get going for good here this season.

Honestly, after nine games you have to think the Galaxy may be as good as they’re going to be here this season. They obviously have the talent to do some serious damage still in this league but something hasn’t clicked for them this season and I don’t see it happening on the road in a game like this. Montreal plays a physical brand of soccer, not one that LA will do well against unless someone sees an early red for the Impact.

3. Sporting to get back on track. Two straight surprise losses to Portland and Montreal have everyone really wondering about Sporting Kansas City. The club started out strong winning seven in a row before falling in their last two. Either clubs have figured out how to contain Sporting or maybe Peter Vermes’ side just hit a bit of a wall here. No matter which way you look at it if they go three in a row without a win, some serious questions will be raised about them.

They head to Chicago this weekend to face the Fire, a club that is still searching for an identity. The Windy City bunch are coming off a solid home draw to Real Salt Lake last night. Marco Pappa is looking dangerous by the minute for the Fire and defensively Frank Klopas’ side is getting better as well – last night’s shutout proved that.

4. Pioneer Cup weekend. This isn’t a major rivalry in MLS but FC Dallas and Columbus do play for a shiny trophy. The two Hunt Sports Group franchises are struggling big time though at the moment. Each side is dealing with a ton of injuries to key players and both come into this game searching just for points.

If anything this could be a game that comes down to the wire. Dallas looked strong last night against Seattle for the first 60 minutes or so but just failed to convert any chances. Columbus on the other hand has an offense that you really can’t write home about here so far this season. Six goals on the season puts them near the bottom of the league in that department. Dallas isn’t a ton better with 10 goals scored but something tells me after last night that they’ll have a better shot at things with Blas Perez back on the field.

5. Battle for the top spot. While San Jose may have something to say about things on Sunday with their game against Chivas USA, both RSL and Seattle will be dogging it out Saturday night to try and take hold of first place in the Western Conference and MLS. Each side are playing very well these days and the Sounders are certainly the hottest club in the league right now.

Sigi Schmid was wise and lucky enough to rest some key players last night in Dallas for Saturday’s game. He mentioned afterwards that getting Fredy Montero and Mauro Rosales some rest will certainly go a long way for this weekend’s result.

Defensively though should be a fun clash. Seattle is on a nice shutout run while Salt Lake proved in Chicago that they can win without Nick Rimando in goal.

6. New York looking for more. I have to give it up to the Red Bulls. Without Thierry Henry they continue to grind away at the 1-0 results (now three in a row). Dax McCarty has stepped up nicely as a leader in the clubhouse while the young defense in front of rookie keeper Ryan Meara continues to shine.

Hans Backe has finally gotten his side into position to succeed in my mind. At 19 points after 10 games, the credit goes to the unlikely sources like Meara and McCarty.

The Red Bulls have to deal with a Philly club that is still struggling to find a footing into this season. The Union have one of the worst attacks in MLS right now and defensively have struggled to stay in games. I’d imagine this one will be a physical affair, possibly one that sees a few cards. But given the style of play out of these two sides right now I really wouldn’t expect anything more than a 1-0 or 2-0 game here.

Kyle Beckerman and RSL have a tough road ahead in 2010. (Getty Images)

We only have a few more clubs to go in our preseason look-ins. Now we’re getting in the home stretch with RSL today and hopefully closing out the rest of the week San Jose, Seattle and Toronto.

Today we take a look in to see how the defending Major League Soccer champs are doing this winter. Jason Kreis and company have started to really get into building up a core group of players to work around. That was key to their late run and success last year in the playoffs.

Now it becomes a question of do they have the depth to deal with a bigger and tougher schedule in 2010? They lost a few key players this winter like Clint Mathis to LA, Yura Movsisyan to Europe and Chris Seitz to the expansion club in Philadelphia. They did however pick a couple guys off waivers, which has been their bread and butter these last couple years along with drafting pretty well in January’s SuperDraft.

Lets see how well RSL is doing this winter and what pieces of the puzzle that they have left to build on. (Note: I’d like to thank Randy Davis from Keepin It Real for helping me out with this preview)Keepers:

Who they have:  Nick Rimando, Kyle Reynish.

Notes: We thought for years that the movement to Chris Seitz would finally happen in Salt Lake City, turns out that won’t take place now that he is gone to Philadelphia to show off his stuff. Thankfully though RSL still has trusty ol’ Nick Rimando. As long as he is healthy this club has little to worry about in this department.

They are trying to figure out what to do in terms of a backup here. Reynish is an alright choice but not one RSL fans are use to seeing. They’ll probably look to sign a developmental guy for their 3rd keeper as well. Davis tells me they’ve had a couple keepers in camp but so far none appear to be signed by the club.

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Defense:

Who they have: Tony Beltran, Robbie Russell, Jamison Olave, Nat Borchers, Chris Wingert, Rauwshan McKenzie, David Horst, Chris Schuler.

Notes: A solid group but at time last year could be really shaky due to lack of discipline. I think depth wise they could use a little more with the amount of games they will be taking on late in the year. I do like the fact that they are a seasoned bunch, not too young and not too old to handle this upcoming busy schedule.

Now I do wonder if they need more help on the outside of their backline. I think in the middle they’re set for now but something tells me they could wear down easy on the wings. I do expect Horst to stick around and get a roster spot but as for Schuler and McKenzie it may not happen at this point unless the rosters are some how expanded with a new CBA.

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Midfield:

Who they have: Andy Williams, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Alex Nimo, Jean Alexandre, Will Johnson, Ned Grabavoy, Collen Warner, Nelson González, Luis Gil, Raphael Cox.

Notes: The success and failures of this team rest on this group. Beckerman is a beast that I’d take on any team but say he gets a callup somehow this summer to South Africa (long shot at best for him at this point), you will see an immediate dip in this club’s performance. He’s the work horse on the field. Same goes for Williams who is just a class act all together.

Keep an eye on Warner, he has real potential to be a quality player in this league, possibly even a ROY candidate if he gets the proper playing time.

I wouldn’t be shocked to see Cox be released once the roster compliance date is set. With the additions of Luis Gil in the last couple weeks it will put pressure on RSL to figure out what to do with Cox.

I think this group has some quality to it but again a lot of pressure is on them. Morales needs to return to his quality form of 2008 and not go in and out like in 2009. If he has another down year so will this group. Johnson also needs a good season as well, he wasn’t as impressive to me in 2009 as he was when he first came to the club in 2008.

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Forwards:

Who they have: Robbie Findley, Abe Thompson, Fabián Espíndola, Tino Nunez, Pablo Campos.

Notes: Findley is the X-Factor for them. When he is on he is damn good but sometimes he goes a bit too cold for my liking. He came on strong when it counted late last year so we do know he has some fire in him which may also lead him to South Africa. He has to know he needs a strong start to the season to be in South Africa.

If he does make it onto Bob Bradley’s team in June it will hit this club hard offensively. With the loss of Movsisyan I just don’t think they’ve done enough this winter to balance things out. I know they believe a lot more in Campos and Espindola than I do. I like those two but I’m not totally in love with the idea that they will be enough to carry this bunch offensively if Findley is gone for a while this summer.

They did make an effort by trying to get some guys from South America, particularly a couple young strikers from Quilmes: Quique and Olivares. Bad luck would have it that neither are coming to RSL anytime soon.

I think down the road they’ll need to add another part here to handle the heavier slate towards the end of the season.

(Update: RSL released Thompson earlier today.)

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Overall:

A lot is going to need to take place for RSL to repeat as MLS Champions in 2010. This team is good but let’s not forget for a minute that they were a sub-.500 team last year that got hot when it mattered. There are still plenty of holes to fill not to mention they have the added pressure of being the defending champions now.

Another thing they must improve on quickly is their road performance. With only two wins during the regular season on the road last year it is still a mystery to some how they even did so well late.

This team has talent and can win we know that but the inconsistent play has to stop if they want to repeat. The schedule won’t be too kind on them either, especially late in the year. But if Kreis can pull off another magical run this year it could be fun to watch.

Real Salt Lake took home their first hardware. (Getty Images)

I decided not to write a recap last night after the game finished up. Mainly I was exhausted from watching the game that went into penalties. MLS Cup 2009 wasn’t the very best game of the year but it definitely provided plenty of drama. From key injuries to key goals the game was compelling and exciting.

The PKs were kind of expected of this game after things were tied up going into overtime. Both teams were totally gassed on the field and just looked like they’d rather get it to the penalties rather than make something happen in the extra frames.

Injuries played a huge part in this game. Javier Morales’s knee injury really hurt RSL’s momentum in the first half, which the Galaxy did an excellent job of taking advantage of. The Galaxy found great space with Landon Donovan and David Beckham which lead to Mike Magee’s goal late in the half. The first half really was controlled by Bruce Arena’s squad.

But some halftime switches by Jason Kreis really turned things in RSL’s favor. Either it was the right halftime speech or the move to get the sick Will Johnson out that paid off but whatever was said or done by Kreis fueled his club. RSL came out with more energy than before and really caught the Galaxy off guard with Yura Movsisyan and Robbie Findley. Once the attack got going for RSL it was only a matter of time before Findley put away a goal.

The game from there was a bit back and forth. The Galaxy controlled the ball late while RSL took things into their own hands to start the first extra frame. The second overtime was a bit back and forth as well but both teams were clearly exhausted.

The PKs were what we expected, loads of drama. Key guys like Kyle Beckerman and Donovan missed their chances. MLS Cup MVP Nick Rimando continued to be the king of PKs as he stopped a couple big shots.

RSL is now the champions of Major League Soccer. Some called it in the pre-season but not many really expected this outside of Utah. Congrats to RSL and Jason Kreis on a job well done.

Extra Notes:

- With the win RSL becomes the first American sports team in 60 years to win a title with a losing regular season record. No doubt many will put them down as the worst team to win a MLS title ever here. Least deserving based on their record yes but based on the late run they certainly deserved the hardware with the big wins on the road.

- Saying that I still do wish the league would reconsider their playoff format here for the higher seeds. Either do away with the first round being a home-and-away series and make it a single game knockout like the rest of the playoffs. Or give us a 1 v. 8, 2 v. 7, etc. format instead of this east and west thing. Keep the conferences for league play but not the playoffs.

- Back up keeper Josh Saunders came on late for the Galaxy when Donovan Ricketts injured his hand. Saunders proved to be a solid backup and had the Galaxy won you gotta bet there would be a couple clubs around the league calling his name for a starting gig next year. Judging on the brief play last night I wouldn’t be shocked if some teams offer the Galaxy a trade for the young keeper.

- Fun thought on RSL too. Think back to that trade that brought Kyle Beckerman there from Colorado. The two clubs have pretty much gone in opposite directions since that trade.

- Donovan pulled a Roberto Baggio in his PK. Should we be shocked? Yes because he typically hammers these home. Hopefully this won’t affect him too long because we need him to be clutch next summer if a game comes down to PKs in the World Cup.

Qwest Field was an excellent host for MLS Cup. (Getty Images)

- 46k+ saw the game last night at Qwest Field. Great venue but apparently it won’t host the big game for a few years according to the league. Apparently many clubs want to host it now and from the sound of things other cities really have their work cut out for them now after the way Seattle hosted this thing.

- The Field turf really did a number out there last night on the players. No doubt it will be a topic of conversation going into next year.

Will David Beckham and Landon Donovan be celebrating on Sunday? (Getty Images)

This is a game I’ve gone back and forth with all week. Two western conference squads meeting in the league final is going to be interesting. Not many had picked both the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake to make it this far back at the start of the season. I know some had RSL going far in the playoffs but not the Galaxy. Then again I knew some who had an idea that LA could be good this year as well.

But a RSL-LA matchup was not expected yet I do think the league is welcoming it a bit. It’s not quite a David vs. Goliath type of match but its close to some degree. But these two squads weren’t separated by much in the points column this season. Just eight points was the difference between the top seed in the west from the bottom seed in the east (or eighth seed in this year’s case).

I do see this game going either way though here. In one regard LA looks like they should easily win it but you can’t count out Jason Kreis’ club right now with the way they’ve been playing lately. Both are hot going into this game which should yield a good match.

I have a few points in my preview to go over then I will give you all my score prediction for the final time this season. Hard to believe that this season has blown by so quickly here.

Ignore All Previous Matches: Just ignore the two results between these squads from earlier. I know ESPN will probably shove it down our throats to start the broadcast on Sunday night but let’s say a lot has changed since they last met in June when RSL beat LA 2-0 at the Home Depot Center. And things are certainly different since that 2-2 draw back in May at Rio Tinto Stadium.

How to beat LA: The few clubs that have seen success against the Galaxy this year either got lucky that Landon Donovan was not on the roster due to an international callup or because they had the speed to get by LA’s defense. Believe me Robbie Findley, Yura Movsisyan and Fabian Espindola present a big challenge to Gregg Berhalter and Omar Gonzalez. I’d say they will do their best to keep Findley in check as he presents the most problems but don’t sleep on the big man Movsisyan to sneak in and score a goal if they let up on him. Remember when Conor Casey torched the Galaxy for a hat trick earlier in the year, it was because they somehow overlooked him and his speed. Movsisyan could do the same damage if given the right space and time.

Sean Franklin and the Galaxy defense will need to slow down Robbie Findley. (Getty Images)

How to beat RSL: For getting by RSL’s defense a lot of it has to do with going directly at Jamison Olave and Nat Borchers. Both find themselves in foul trouble more than they should and we saw against Columbus that when you really go at Olave you can force him into some bad turnovers that could cost. No doubt Landon Donovan will need to go after Olave around the Galaxy’s offensive third of the field.

Things LA need to do: They obviously need to funnel things through David Beckham and Donovan. Getting both of them involved early and as often as possible will really help go a long way in winning this one. Also getting the pressure up early and out of the gate will certainly help. If they can catch RSL off guard early in the match it could get RSL in an early hole.

Things RSL need to do: Use the entire field and pressure the hell out of the Galaxy defense. Going after Beckham wouldn’t be a bad idea either as he has a hurt right foot. RSL cannot afford to come out slow either though as the Galaxy are an excellent counter attacking team. Using the width of the field and smart passes through the midfield with Kyle Beckerman and Javier Morales to control the game will be key.

RSL will look for the first MLS Cup title. (Getty Images)

Why RSL could win: They have the underdog effect on them and most in Seattle will probably be riding along with them I would imagine. You gotta like Findley and the way he attacks the goal with his speed plus on set pieces I may take Olave and Borchers over the Galaxy defense. Then you have Nick Rimando in goal if things do come down to penalties. He has a big advantage not just on experience but on momentum as well going into this game.

Why LA could win: Its hard to count out a team with the league MVP. Donovan is looking for yet another title to go along with the few he has already won in his career. Throw in the Beckham factor and his desire to get a MLS title while he is here could help as well. Bruce Arena knows how to coach in these big games while we are still figuring out is Kreis can do the same.

RSL X-Factor: Will Johnson. He needs a big game along with Beckerman to slow down Beckham for the Galaxy. If Johnson can get space on the wings like he is known to do it could go a long way for RSL.

LA X-Factor: Edson Buddle. Not many are talking of Buddle in this game but while RSL will be gunning to slow down Beckham and Donovan they may forget about another guy that is known to score a goal or two in Buddle.

Final thought: This one will be tight throughout but I think it will go the Galaxy’s way in the end. Some thing it will go to extra time, some thing RSL will win it in regular time or in PKs but I just see the Galaxy thanks to Donovan and company getting the job done. No doubt RSL will make this a solid match and they could very well shock the Galaxy. I just think experience pays off more in these kinds of games and the Galaxy just have more of it in key places.

WVH Prediction: LA 2, RSL 1

The Cauldron will be loud tonight with DC in town. (Brian Stevens, WVH Photo Correspondent)

Two midweek games for week eight. A big night in general if you count Toronto FC’s game in the Canadian Champion tonight against future MLS side Vancouver. But I’ll just stick with the MLS games for the evening to preview.

RSL returns home to host the Galaxy who just scored their first win of the year. And in Kansas City, DC comes to the CAB for a big time clash of two up and coming eastern clubs.

DC United – at – Kansas City Wizards:

1. First place on the line, who steps up for DC on the road?

No Ben Olsen, Marc Burch, or Fred tonight for the boys in black. Guess the need to lead will come on Jamie Moreno who easily stepped into that role last week against Dallas. As long as the offense is rolling fine for DC they could be fine on the road here. Just remember DC only has a single loss on the season here so far and it was at Salt Lake (a place DC and no one else wins at). Also KC is a play DC typically sees success in as well. As long as guys like Moreno step up on the road they should be fine.

2. What does Kansas City need to do to pull this one off?

Remember KC had last week off so they should be nice and rested up for this one. With only a couple guys on the injury list we should see the same roster that Curt Onalfo has been using for the last few weeks on the field tonight. KC needs to get more from guys like Josh Wolff and Davy Arnuad in this one. Defensively they should have their hands full tonight with the likes of Emilio and rookie Chris Ponitus.

Most of what KC needs to do is control the midfield play from the start. On their homefield they’ve done a good job of taking care of the ball so far this season. Doing that and maybe catching a break on offense from time to time could help the Wizards move back into the lead in the eastern conference.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

With no Olsen or Fred in the midfield tonight for DC, I’m going to be watching Santino Quaranta in the midfield. If he can have a nice controlled game like what I’ve see out of him recently DC could be looking at another three points when the night is over. He’s a guy that can really sneak up on people and put home a game winner.

Quick Thoughts:

This game should really be competitive. Both clubs are really starting to come into their own this season and right now I see both contending in the eastern conference. So this game is big for the three points and for some bragging rights as well. Not having Olsen and Fred worry me a bit in the midfield for DC but the loss of Burch is also big to consider. KC has shown they can come back from a couple goals ot grab some points this season so even if they go down early in this one you cannot count KC out of it.

I think in the end these two are pretty evenly matched at this point so I am going with a draw for the night. It should be a tightly contested game in the midfield with a couple breaks for each club that lead to a goal for each. Pontius for DC grabs one and KC gets a goal from Jimmy Conrad off a corner kick to tie it up.

WVH Prediction: KC 1, DC 1

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LA Galaxy – at – Real Salt Lake

1. What can LA do to keep the wins coming here?

First of all they have to figure out a way to get points at Rio Tinto Stadium. A tast that has not been done so far this season. Secondly they still have a lot to prove to the rest of the league here that last week’s win wasn’t a fluke or a lucky win.

It could be a good time for LA to get points at Rio Tinto. RSL will be without midfield leader Javier Morales (suspension) and defensive beast Jamison Olave (suspended) and veteran keeper Nick Rimando (broken finger). Losing those three could be a break for LA to get points as long as Landon Donovan controls the offense and guys like Chris Klien and Eddie Lewis step up.

2. Without Morales in the middle, who leads RSL in this one?

Jason Kries needs a big game out of guys like Kyle Beckerman, Will Johnson and maybe an even bigger game out of veteran Clint Mathis. RSL has plenty of talent in the midfield that should match up well against the Galaxy who are a bit shaky to say the least in the middle of the park. Also it wouldn’t hurt to see a guy like Robbie Findley put it to his old club either for RSL.

3. Player to keep an eye on.

Even though you hate to see Rimando out it does come at a good time for Chris Seitz. We’ve been wondering for a couple years now when he would get his chance in goal and the time is now for the youth national team keeper. A big game from him could go a very long way for this club if Rimando is going to miss any more time this season.

Quick Thoughts:

If RSL had been fully set to go with no injuries or suspension I would have easily thought they’d win this one with little trouble at home. They’ve been so good at home this season so it is hard to even think of picking against them here. However losing Olave and Rimando in the back is pretty big when you have a guy like Donovan coming into town. I think LA will get their chances in this one but RSL will have to battle a little more than they normally would at home for the three points. Donovan gets a goal for the visitors but Mathis and Yura Movsisyan put the game away for RSL.

WVH Prediction: RSL 2, LA 1

Jesse Marsch and Chivas USA continue to roll. (Getty Images)

Another week down in Major League Soccer and a lot of things remain the same around the league. Week seven is in the books here Chivas USA still remains the league’s top club. Other things that are still constant in the league include:

- New York still struggling
- Columbus still struggling to win
- Chicago still drawing games, yet still undefeated
- Dallas still losing games
- Salt Lake still losing on the road
- Attendance still so-so across the league

And a little sidebar that a couple of you pointed out to me, I picked every game correctly this past week. Some of the scores weren’t right on but I did have all the winners correct and all the draws be 1-1. Yeah, sorry to toot my own horn but sometimes it is nice to be right.

Chivas Still In Front

Some how, some way this club continues to lead the pack. Another gritty win without the help of Sasha Kljestan. But what they are getting is loads of good defense (they lead the league in goals-against). Only three goals against in eight league matches. Not bad at all my friends, not bad at all. And you know what they say, defense wins championships.

Anyways, I’d say a big reason is right now Preki is getting a lot out of his back four and even more so out of Zach “Turn the clock back” Thornton. The big guy between the pipes is making me think it is 1998 all over again.

Scary part is this club is slowly getting healthier by the week. Justin Bruan is starting to get more involved with the attack and as San Jose found out that is not a good thing. Plus with more guys coming back like Sacha Victorine and Maykel Galindo it just shows how deep this club is going to be for the long run.

As for the Quakes, the winless streak is at six. May be time for Frank Yallop to redo some of his line up to make up for the defensive issues going on. But then again the offense isn’t looking any better right now either.

Salt Lake Falls In Colorado

Again, it was hard to get so hyped up about last week’s 6-0 win for Salt Lake when you knew they had to turn around this week and go on the road to rival Colorado.

RSL continues to show they are missing a piece or two when it comes to playing on the road. For a team that was suppose to contend this season, they sure don’t get me thinking they will with the way they play on the road right now. Teams who win championships and contend find ways to win on the road.

It didn’t help to be a man-down for the entire second half either. And that they lost keeper Nick Rimando early in the game too. But in all the offense never got going for RSL.

The Rapids controlled the pace of this one early and really never let the visitors in this one. It was good to see this club finally take a real ownership of their home field. Sometimes it takes a rivalry game to do that too. Plus this club really starting to get interesting. With the way the west is playing this year this club could very well contend for one of those two auto-bids into the playoffs.

Seattle Looks Strong In Draw

For an expansion club Seattle goes on the road in Chicago against the league’s last undefeated team and comes out looking very good despite playing a man-down for a good chunk of the game. Seattle showed some serious grit after going a man-down and trailing shortly after in the second half when Chicago’s Marco Pappa put the Fire on top.

Some how, some way the Sounders placed a call to Tyrone to get them level in this one. Tyrone Marshall’s game tying goal gave the Sounders their first draw of the season and at the same time giving Chicago it’s forth straight tie (fifth of the season too). Freddie Ljungberg’s corner kick to Marshall was just poor marking on the Fire’s part. To be a man up and leave a guy like Marshall that open was pretty bad to see.

I don’t know what it is about the Fire but at some point they are going to lose one here. While some clubs aren’t good enough to win the Fire are playing just good enough not to lose at the moment. Hey, whatever gets you by but at the same time they get starting to get passed in the standings. Draws look good for only so long.

As for Seattle goes, they lost Fredy Montero to the red card on a bad elbow to Gonzalo Segares, who had a pretty rough game overall. I really felt even though the Sounders played a man-down they really out-played the Fire late in the game. Chicago had the possession and shots early but just like most clubs this year they were unable to get anything by Kasey Keller.

DC Continues To Roll

Look at DC here. Hard to believe they are sitting atop the eastern standings now and only have a single loss on the year. Credit those veterans for stepping up and credit that defense for really putting a clamp down on guys like Kenny Cooper.

What can you say about the two goals by Jamie Moreno too? Too calm and cool goals got United the three points after dropping an early goal to Dallas’ Andre Rocha (nice corner by the way for Dallas).

Dallas really never got solid possession in this one and that was due to DC stepping up their midfield play. DC pressed early and often in this one behind Moreno, Luciano Emilio and rookie Chris Pontius.

Defensively for Dallas they are still struggling. Schellas Hyndman can’t seem to get a grip on who to put in the middle of his defense and until he does his club will continue to give up easy goals down the middle of the pitch like they did on Saturday.

DC is improving each week here folks. Rookies are stepping up due to quality play of veterans and Tom Soehn’s club may be one to contend with here this season.

LA Gets First Win

Someone told me the other day that the best thing to happen to Chicago in the past two years was not landing Blanco or McBride but it was losing Juan Carlos Osorio. For some reason his club is still a mess despite new players starting to get playing time on a regular basis.

This one was pretty boring for the most part anyways. LA had the better chances overall but there weren’t that many to begin with. Neither club was holding possession too long but neither was creating many scoring chances either. LA lead the way with six attemps (five on goal) but New York only mustered up three shots and only one of those was on frame.

LA got their first win but this club still doesn’t look like a winner to me. Once they lose Landon Donovan this summer to Gold Cup and other national team duties they will easily stay near the bottom of the standings.

New York on the other hand is more confusing by the week. Osorio-watch may be in full force since his high-speed offense couldn’t even get more than one shot on goal against a club like LA. It wasn’t like the Galaxy defense stepped up their game for once it was more like New York couldn’t get their game going. While the Galaxy may not be a big winning club this season New York is quickly playing themselves out of playoff contention here before summer hits.

Crew Still Winless

Watching this game I made the classic mistake of walking away for a few minutes and missed both goals (left the room to see the news on the Cowboys training facility collapse). Anyways, Columbus again handled the Reds but were unable to get the three points again.

The Crew dominated the first half and had plenty of good chances on goal. Stefan Frei came up big for the Reds time and time again but early in the second half Emmanuel Ekpo’s sweet finish gave the Crew the lead for a few minutes. Chad Barrett got the homeside on the board no more than 10 minutes late to level the game.

The second half really was owned by Toronto after the Barrett goal. Mostly I think it was due to the subbing out of Guillermo Barros Schelotto midway through the second half. Without GBS the Crew weren’t holding possession well and weren’t getting the best passes in the offensive third of the field.

Columbus near got the lead back with Pat Noonan late in the second half but once again Frei came up big for Toronto.

A win for Columbus is coming though. You can sense it as they continue to improve each week here. The toughness that wasn’t there early on this season is starting to come back and once they get fully healthy the wins should start coming. Thing is before long it could be too little too late with the way some clubs are playing so far this season.

Toronto on the other hand is playing well. Another solid draw keeps them in the thick of things in the eastern conference. Now they have to turn their attention to the Canadian Cup this weekend when they host Vancouver on Wednesday.

Houston Starts To Catch A Break

Once Stuart Holden realized he was the man to lead Houston this season things started to click. That was the case yesterday as Houston finally caught a break and got out of their regular season funk against the Revs.

New England again failed to generate any sort of offense this week with only three shots in the game. The Revs’ only shot on goal didn’t come until just after the hour mark when Jeff Larentowicz header failed to do anything more than to give Pat Onstad something to do for once. Houston really controlled this one from start to finish with Holden and Brian Ching.

Once again it came down to a young defensive line in front of Matt Reis that caused New England to fall in this one. They weren’t able to handle any sort of pressure that Houston put on them as the Dynamo registered 14 shots in the game.

Until New England can get healthy again here this season they will continue to play this way. A bright spot though was seeing Taylor Twellman on the bench for this one as a sub. Apparently he isn’t too far from coming back which is something New England really needs to have at this point.

Houston is starting to really look good here. They still have some catching up to do out west but as we’ve seen out of them before, sometimes slow and steady wins the race.

Anyways, let’s get down to business here. Lots of candidates for WVH Player of the Month. You have Guillermo Barros Schelotto from Columbus, Kenny Cooper from Dallas, Nat Borchers from RSL, Luciano Emilio from DC, and Brian Ching from Houston. You could make a case for those netminders like Nick Rimando and Jon Busch or go old school with Kevin Hartman.

To me I will go defensively here with a keeper. I agree with the league who just posted their player of the month, Nick Rimando.

Why the former DC United keeper? Because he (along with a nice defense) has lead RSL to the top of the western standings and more importantly to a winning record for the first time in club history. Rimando posted three shutouts in four matches, folks that is good enough in any month for me. RSL is undefeated in their last nine of their last ten.

So Rimando, congrats, you’ve earned it. Now go buy your defense a drink or three for their hard work as well!

As far as the best XI goes from July, it looks a little something like this:

Keeper: Nick Rimando, RSL

Defense: Nat Borchers, RSL; Bakary Soumare, Chicago Fire; Jimmy Conrad, Kansas City Wizards

Midfield: Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Columbus Crew; Dave van den Bergh, New York Red Bulls; Javier Morales, RSL; Terry Cooke, Colorado Rapids

Forwards: Kenny Cooper, FC Dallas; Luciano Emilio, DC United; Brian Ching, Houston Dynamo