There were only two Wednesday MLS games this week and they seemingly had little in common.  The results, however, were all about streaks that were on the line in the games.  Both streaks are amazing in their own way and both are continuing at least through the weekend.

The early game saw the Montreal Impact earn their first MLS road point as they held DC United to a 1-1 draw at RFK.  While the point was a cause of celebration for Montreal, it was a source of discomfort for the home team.  DC United has now gone 87 games without back-to-back wins and in the past three years are 0-10-11 in the next game after a win.  After beating the Revolution on Saturday, many DCU faithful saw a visiting expansion team with a 1-5-1 record as their best chance at breaking the streak, but a strong defensive effort by Montreal and poor play by DCU prevented this.

The first half at RFK was an even match, as neither team registered a shot on goal. DC had the best chances of the half (all of them in the later minutes) and looked ready to break the scoreless tie in the 35th minute. Dwayne De Rosario showed off his footwork by dribbling through a few defenders outside the box to line up a shot that missed the net.  Both teams came out in the second half firing, and Donovan Ricketts had to keep his team in the match early as he denied De Rosario twice within a few minutes on one-on-one chances.  Bernardo Corradi broke through in the 69th minute as he beat Brandon McDonald to the DC back post and headed a cross from Lamar Neagle into the goal.  Four minutes later, Maicon Santos equalized with a low line drive from 30 yards out that beat Ricketts and the rest of the Montreal defense.  The Brazilian almost had the game winner as he seemingly converted a pass from De Rosario in the 90th minute for a goal, but he was correctly ruled offside.  As the final whistle blew, the home team still had their streak while the visitors could celebrate their MLS milestone.

“More than anything right now, it is good to get a point on the road,” said Montreal head coach Jesse Marsch after the match.  He also added, “maybe it could have been three tonight, but one’s ok.”

The other streak that was continued on Wednesday was the Kansas City winning streak.  Sporting Kansas City was coming off an impressive win over the weekend against Real Salt Lake and looked to be walking into a tricky road trip with Vancouver followed by a down Portland team. Vancouver had the previous week off to recover from its 3-1 loss to San Jose, a game that the ‘Caps felt could have been theirs, especially after Sebastien LeToux broke a scoreless tie early in the second half.  The visitors came out firing though and took control early with a goal from Aurelien Collin in the 24th minute.  Collin was the final header in a series of KC passes in front of goal and he earned a goal in a second straight game.  Vancouver hurt themselves early in the second half when Martin Bonjour, while under pressure from Collin, tried a backpass to Joe Cannon that was hit a little too hard and settled in the back of the ‘Caps net.

And while Kei Kamara finished off the KC scoring in the 65th minute, the home team battled in the second half.  Le Toux ended Kansas City’s no-goals allowed streak in the 79th minute and, if not for some good play by Jimmy Nielsen, the score could have been a lot closer.  Vancouver finished with seven shots on goal, which is not only the most allowed by KC this season but only two fewer than they had allowed all season!  Kansas City continues their road trip to Portland with their win streak intact, but Vancouver fans should feel confident that their team is improving and can hang with the best teams in MLS.

Did you feel that?  That little shiver down your spine as you clicked on this story to read it.  Was it too much caffeine this morning?  Or was it the sense that the beginning of spring and the MLS season are just around the corner.  That’s right, we are less than a month away from First Kick 2012, as well as:

• The “new look” LA Galaxy defending their title
• Montreal Impact making their MLS debut
• Numerous new players taking the pitch for the first time
• New head coaches for Colorado, New England, and Vancouver

The Vancouver Whitecaps’ first season in MLS ended as so many other “expansion” teams’ season have ended in U.S. leagues throughout the years: basement and struggling to build for the future.*  After the near immediate success of recent MLS additions like Seattle and Philly, as well as the late playoff run by Cascadia rivals Portland, this season had to have been somewhat of a disappointment.  Now, on their third coach in less than two years, the team is looking to build on a solid nucleus to begin their climb up the tough Western Conference standings and contend for an MLS playoff spot.

The Whitecaps kick off our “3 Questions” series for this offseason, where I will take a look at every MLS team (in draft order) and see what three questions will dominate their offseason.  These questions and how they are answered over the next three months will go a long way to determining how or if they can contend for MLS Cup 2012, or whatever relevant goals they may have.

1. Third time’s a charm: how will the team fare under new coach and CEO?

To say there have been some changes in the team’s management is an understatement.  As mentioned, Martin Rennie is the team’s third coach is a little over a calendar year, and his style has won acclaim in the lower levels of U.S. soccer.  How he is able to implement his more cerebral coaching style on a team that has been at times a little mental (see Eric Hassli’s early run of red cards) will be a key to determining the improvement this club can make.  In addition, the recent resignation of CEO Paul Barber casts some shadows over the club.  While he will be replaced by in-house personnel, the absence of the man who helped move the team to MLS and into BC Place (as well as ultimately hired Rennie) adds a little uncertainty in the front office.  How all of these new faces deal with this team remain to be seen.  What we do know is that Rennie has been given the authority for personnel moves, so authority rests with him for the roster.

2. Can they stop allowing so many goals?

The ‘Caps offense was fine last season and at times even quite impressive, but their defense undid all of that good.  Not surprisingly that is one area where Rennie and the front office have been focusing their player purge.  While starting keeper Joe Cannon was re-signed after taking a pay cut, back-up Jay Nolly was shipped off to Chicago and North Carolina RailHawks keeper Brad Knighton was brought on as competition for the starting gig.  Their biggest defensive acquisition, however, is probably Young-Pyo Lee from South Korea.  The fullback is a World Cup veteran and played for clubs PSV Eindhoven and Tottenham Hotspur.  The team hopes his veteran presence will stabilize the backline, and with his pedigree there’s no doubt it won’t help.  The question is, will the players around him be good enough as well?  And will John Thorrington be healthy enough to be a defensive force in the midfield?

3. Will Omar Salgado continue his rapid rise to stardom?  

Reports from the Generation Adidas tour suggest that Omar Salgado is playing well and making a name for himself for the national team.  The GA tour plus his training in England and time in the U.S. youth camp have given the young forward valuable playing experience against some top-flight competition.  Now the question is can he take this experience back with him to Vancouver and translate it onto the MLS pitch?  The ‘Caps have scoring options around him, so he is not going to be relied upon to make all of the plays.  But a dynamic young scoring threat can make a difference for a team; look at how much better Kansas City was when Teal Bunbury was playing well or even Juan Agudelo for New York.  Salgado taking the next step could be a huge factor for this team’s improvement in the new year.

*Note: I know Vancouver is technically not an expansion team in the traditional sense, but the principles apply.

Yesterday, Vancouver extended Real Salt Lake’s losing streak to four games with a 3-0 win at BC Place.  However, the talk of the match were two penalties called on RSL, one of which led to a red card for Collen Warner, both for handball.  The first led to Real Salt Lake going down to ten men and falling behind 1-0, the second added a second goal for the ‘Caps.

The videos of both calls are below.  So what do you think?  Red card on the first goal? Penalty for either? Your be the judge (h/t to Steven Goff for posting videos)

First penalty

Second penalty

As promised, here is the second half of this weekend’s preview, where we review the late games Saturday night and the one Sunday game.

Colorado Rapids v. San Jose Earthquakes (Saturday, 9 PM ET)

This game may be the hardest to predict this weekend.  It is no longer unthinkable that Colorado could fall out of the playoffs: not likely but not impossible.  After their poor CCL performance mid-week, the Rapids are reeling.  Their MLS losing streak has reached four and their goal in last week’s loss to Toronto was their first MLS goal in 270 minutes.  San Jose meanwhile remains mathematically alive after their midweek draw at Portland.  A key for both teams is how they can contain the other team’s offensive weapon.  Obviously, Wondolowski has to be contained by the Rapids defense to stifle the Quakes but the Quakes have to be able to contain the speed of the Rapids forwards, one of which likely will be Omar Cummings.

Prediction: Colorado 1, San Jose 1.

Vancouver Whitecaps v. Seattle Sounders (Saturday, 10:30 PM)

Seattle is flying high right now, minus CCL action.  The Sounders have a chance to clinch a playoff berth and keep their Supporters Shield hopes alive.  But also on the line is the Cascadia Cup: a Seattle victory means they win the annual three-way rivalry between the Pacific Northwest clubs.  The key for Seattle short term is to do what they did against DC – pressure the midfield and convert their chances.  The long term goal is to keep healthy.  The Whitecaps are certainly the underdogs but playing at home against a rival should inspire them.  Using the crowd’s energy could propel them to an important three points and deny Seattle the Cascadia Cup for now.

Prediction: Seattle 2, Vancouver 1.  

Chivas USA v. Toronto FC (Saturday, 10:30 PM)

The Goats kept their faint playoff hopes alive with their midweek draw at DC, and but to continue a playoff run they absolutely need three points today.  They have been successful when their midfield can hold possession and get the ball to Juan Pablo Angel, as he gives their offense a new dimension.  However, the key to this game is Danny Koevermans.  Three goals in the past two games means he is the man to watch in this one.  When he scores, Toronto gets results.

Prediction: Chivas 2, Toronto 2.  There will be goals in this one but I don’t see Chivas coming out of this match with three points.

Chicago v. New England (Sunday, 4:00 PM)

These two teams are the type that benefit most from a ten team playoff: loser sees their playoff hopes dashed while winner lives to play another day.  The Fire lose Corey Gibbs to a red card suspension, so that is a concern for the Fire defense.  Offensively, Dominic Oduru has quietly snuck into the Golden Boot race as he has 10 goals.  The key for Chicago is to not hurt themselves: when they miss open goals or commit dumb fouls they lose games, as they don’t have the talent to overcome those mistakes.  New England is coming off a beat down by Portland and are without Rajko Lekic.  A win would only be their second on the road, so they need to find a way to get ahead early and put the pressure on Chicago.

Prediction: Chicago 3, New England 1.

Empire Field during a better evening. Photo by Mufae

Forfeits are usually a term for CYO soccer when a team doesn’t have the requisite ten players or there aren’t enough oranges for halftime.  Rarely does the terminology enter a debate in professional sports, where the money and resources are available to shift matches around based on inclement weather.  But after the postponement of the Vancouver Whitecaps match against Real Salt Lake, Jason Kreis raised the “f” word and raised even more interesting questions about whether such an option should exist in MLS.

Saturday’s regular season match between the two clubs was postponed after torrential rainfall essentially flooded Empire Field’s temporary grass pitch.  The temporary pitch had been installed in anticipation of the ‘Caps match against Manchester City today as part of their North American tour, but that temporary pitch could not drain the massive amounts of rain received in Vancouver by Saturday.  The pitch, however, will be ready for tonight’s game.

Setting aside the fact for now that an MLS club jeopardized a league match for a friendly, the decision to not play was the right one and no one disagrees with that.  But RSL coach Jason Kreis had an interesting quote following the postponement in the Salt Lake Tribune. When asked about the situation, he said “there is a leg to stand on for saying that it could be a forfeit because [Vancouver] is responsible for providing a playing surface that we can play on. With decisions to play international friendlies could come some accountability for what that is going to mean for your league games.”

The sentiment behind the quote is that RSL’s Saturdays are filled until October, right before the MLS playoffs.  The free date, October 8, is also a FIFA reserved date so RSL players could be missing for a make-up.  The other option is a midweek match, which will likely be the result and add to RSL’s schedule congestion.  Remember, they still have five games in hand over Seattle since they are still making up for the CONCACAF Champions League run.

Does Kreis has a valid complaint?  Yes.  Vancouver essentially gambled that redoing its for a meaningless friendly would hold up for the MLS game as well, and they lost the gamble.  As a result, they are culpable for the fact that the game could not be played and should be punished for it.  However, I don’t think the punishment should be a forfeit.  To allow a game to be forfeited due to field conditions would set a bad precedent for the league.  At what point are the Whitecaps responsible for the weather?  It is almost like saying FC Dallas is responsible for the 100 degree heat at kickoff for their match against DC this weekend.  Teams can only do so much to make games playable, but it is ultimately out of their hands on the weather behaving.  As such, the league should punish Vancouver but not with a forfeiture.

But what do you think?

MLS fans were treated to four games last night instead of the usual one or two, as the schedule makers begin to crowd in a few more league games in anticipation of international friendlies and late-season CONCACAF Champions League matches.  In a cool twist, all four had some playoff implications as the results had a definite impact on positioning for the playoffs and may prove critical down the stretch (although with ten teams making the playoffs that is an easy statement to make).

For those watching So You Think You Can Dance or enjoying an evening free of television, here is a recap of the action from last night.

Vancouver Whitecaps 0, Columbus Crew 1: The ‘Caps continued their miserable inaugural season with a case of what could have been, while Columbus continues to solidify a top three spot based on Jeff Cunningham’s milestone goal.  The striker scored his 133rd MLS goal in the 90th minute to not only give his team the victory, but to tie him with Jamie Moreno for the all-time lead in MLS goals.  The home team had plenty of chances in the first half, dominating possession but failing to convert, and had a great chance in the second half when Alain Rochat was dragged down in the box in the 72nd minute.  However, Terry Dunfield’s penalty was easily saved and, when Shea Salinas was sent off with a red five minutes later, it was a matter of time before the Crew would score the game winner.

New York Red Bulls 5, Toronto FC 0: On their most recent road trip, New York had a record of 0 wins, 1 loss, and 3 draws.  They took out their frustration at home against a hapless Toronto side.  Thierry Henry scored his ninth goal of the season in the 33rd minute and it was all New York from that point forward.  More coming soon from Daniel on this one.

Chivas USA 2, San Jose Earthquakes 0: This match could come back to haunt San Jose as the two teams will be battling for a wild card slot at the end of the season.  It was Robin Fraser’s decision to insert Ben Zemanski in the 58th minute that turned the tide and gave the Rojiblancos an energy boost in midfield.  His goal (seen above) in the 64th minute broke a scoreless tie and Nick LaBrocca’s strike in the 84th minute put this one out of reach for San Jose.  Speaking of the ‘Quakes, they will have to face Philadelphia this weekend without Steven Lenhart, who will miss the game due to yellow card accumulation.

Sporting Kansas City 1, Colorado Rapids 1: Colorado is quickly approaching the Chicago Fire’s tie record and Kansas City extended their unbeaten streak to 9 as these two teams battled to a draw at Livestrong Park.  Conor Casey did what he does best in scoring his goal in the 32nd minute: he used his strength to corral a long free kick and placed a shot just out of Jimmy Nielsen’s reach.  Again, it was a good substitution by a manager that made the difference, as Peter Vermes brought on C.J. Sapong in the second half for Teal Bunbury and it was the rookie Sapong who scored the equalizer.

About three weeks ago MLS had unquestionably its goal of the year, as Vancouver’s enigmatic DP Eric Hassli scored an amazing goal to even his team’s score with Seattle at 2.  At the time, pundits and media alike proclaimed it the favorite for goal of the year (or possibly even the best goal ever), unless of course a keeper scored or something equally ridiculous occurred.

Fast forward to Sunday, and the ridiculous may have occurred.

Rookie Darlington Nagbe helped his Portland Timbers get on the board against visiting Kansas City with an incredible goal.  A shot is punched wide by SKC keeper Jimmy Nielsen but right to Nagbe, who collects it, bounces it twice, and unleashes a bullet past his teammate’s head as well as past Nielsen for the goal.  It was an incredible shot, considering the ball never touched the ground.  So it begs the question: who had a better goal this season, Nagbe or Hassli?  Vote and leave comments below.

And, to help with the voting, here is Hassli’s goal:

Photo by LA Galaxy

For American soccer fans, we are entering a frantic month of soccer.  In addition to our normal MLS action, we will have the chance to see the Gold Cup and an impressive friendly against Spain.  With the action spread out across the U.S., this may be the most soccer saturated this country has been since the 1994 World Cup – cities across the country even without MLS teams will get to see the beautiful game at a high level.

This has been a busy week in U.S. soccer, and below are some of the stories and topics we have yet to touch on this week.

• Of course the big news is the firing of two coaches, Carlos de los Cobos of the Fire and Teitur Thordarson of the Whitecaps.  Chicago Fire Confidential does a great job summarizing the takeover by Frank Klopas in Chicago, as well as details on how it went down, while Vancouver Whitecaps FC blog give a fans perspective on the Thordarson era.  Soccer America has a profile of new Whitecaps head coach Tom Soehn.
• Some good news for Colorado fans potentially – Omar Cummings has requested and received a dismissal from the Jamaican national team to continue healing from his injuries, while Tyrone Marshall has also asked for a dismissal during the group stage to help Colorado’s depth.  Great news for the Rapids, as both players are now under the watchful eyes of the team.
• Hans Backe was named head coach of the MLS All Stars, who will take on Manchester United on July 27 at Red Bulls Arena.
• A U.S. national has been released by his British club and is looking for work.  Will we see Marcus Hahnemann in an MLS shirt this summer, or will he wait for his beloved Seattle to have a spot for him?
• Is Pachuca America’s team?  After trading away Herculez Gomes, the team is allegedly in talks with DaMarcus Beasely.
• If you know me you know my love of Freddy Adu, and this is a great interview about his career to this point.
• And finally, who says the U.S. doesn’t love soccer?  These TV numbers prove otherwise.

Photo by Greg Hickman

On March 19, the Columbus Crew dejectedly walked out of RFK Stadium in Washington on the wrong side of a 3-1 game.  The team allowed two Charlie Davies goals (one a penalty kick) and looked outclassed, out played, and in for a long season.  The result came after they were shown the door from the CONCACAF Champions League by losing 4-1 to Real Salt Lake.  After an offseason where the team jettisoned many of its bigger named players to make room in the salary cap and committed to a rebuilding effort, the team looked destined for a long, long season.

A month later, Columbus sits in a playoff spot.  The team has not allowed a goal since the second Davies’ goal and this weekend held the highest-scoring team in MLS to no goals.  While not an offensive juggernaut, the team is scoring enough to get results.  So are the Crew back to their normal spot near the top of the Eastern Conference for good, or is this an illusion that will wilt away in the summer months?  The answer is, of course, not that simple.

At first glance the schedule up to this point for the Crew has been daunting, but upon closer examination looks to have been quite easy.  After the trip to DC, the Crew hosted the Red Bulls and Dallas, two 2010 playoff teams and teams expected to compete for an MLS Cup this season.  But the Crew played New York during an international break and essentially forced a draw with a “B” team, while Dallas has struggled mightily this season and is still sorting out personnel issues.  The trip to Chivas led to a scoreless draw, not surprising how bad Chivas is, and while Sporting Kansas City is promising, they have a horrendous defense to go with a great offense.  So the schedule has not been a good guidepost to the season so far, except to say the Crew don’t lose to bad teams.

One constant this season has been the defense, which should not be a surprise considering that was one area the team didn’t unload their star power.  MLS star Chad Marshall was retained and paired with a number of new players who have excelled to this point.  Julius James was picked up off the smoldering heap that was DC United’s 2010 backline and has seen a career resurgence.  Rookie Rich Balchan has started all five games and played extremely well.  In net, Will Hesmer has played very well after some uncertainty this offseason as to who would be the starter due to injuries.  The team has not allowed a goal in four matches, a team record and an incredibly accomplishment.  In their last match, Dilly Duka had as many shots on goal (2) as all of the Kansas City players combined.

Another reason for their positive play has been Robbie Rogers, their one consistent offensive threat.  The rift that existed between Rogers and head coach Robert Warzycha has seemingly been resolved; the Crew team on the pitch in DC looked lost and without a real offensive threat until Rogers stepped on the pitch.  So far this year Rogers has scored as many goals (2) as he has the past two seasons.

The upcoming schedule also should be a reason for optimism among Columbus fans.  This weekend, they visit a Toronto team in flux then host the expansion Whitecaps and struggling Sounders (although the Sounders may be finally turning their season around).  Things get tough with back-to-back trips to San Jose and Portland, but they end May by hosting Chivas.  Conceivably, the Crew should pick up at least 12 points through the end of May.

But the reason why Rogers has been so good for the Columbus offense is that the play of the Crew forwards and midfield have been terrible.  Consider that Portland scored as many goals in its home opener as the Crew have scored this season, and that two of those goals came from penalties.  Eddie Gaven has been ok but not really good up front, and while it is still early Andres Mendoza has been a disappointment.  Jeff Cunningham looks his age and fails to convert quality chances.

So can the Crew continue this run and qualify for the playoffs?  In an Eastern Conference with few clear favorites, it is not out of the realm of possibility for them to grab a top three spot if their defense continues to play well.  But for this team to challenge New York for first or even challenge a resurgent Philadelphia or DC, they need to find more consistent offense.  Without a goal scorer either emerging or being acquired this summer, Columbus could be on the outside looking in this September.