Blog Entries

1. Pablo Campos (Real Salt Lake)
Many were thinking - especially after their recent trades - that Chivas USA would snap out of their funk and move on back up the Western Conference standings. Not the case early on in the week and certainily not the case to close it out. Pablo Campos was the man behind the continuation of the Goats' nasty trend. His goal right before halftime helped open up the floodgates. It was - surprisingly - his first in an RSL uniform. He didn't let that settle, putting up the game...

1. Darrius Barnes (New England)

Forget his own goal given as simply a consolation goal in the last five minutes of a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake. The Revs have been on a tear since the All-Star break and you have to point out the fact that two rookies and a newcomer are the ones manning an impressive backline (kind of like the Galaxy with Gonzalez, DeLaGarza, and Berhalter). New England should have had two shutouts in week 23 - a 1-0 squeeze by Seattle and the dominant win over Salt Lake and Barnes...

The Galaxy prevailed yesterday and Seattle/New England is going on right now but neither have anything to do with Week 22. Zakuani was the star of the week as Seattle dismantled the tough Galaxy defense and regained some momentum.


1. Steve Zakuani (Seattle)

He has tied it up with Chris Pontius as top Rookie of the Year candidate and his play vs. the Galaxy warrants that jump. Although he calmed down a bit in the second half, Zakuani's pace and acceleration...

1. Peter Lowry (Chicago)
It's four days later but still fresh in everybody's mind. Lowry's flying volley in his first MLS start Lowry and his work ethic, however, couldn't crack the resolve of the Houston Dynamo as the Fire lost 3-2. His goal was part of a three-minute double salvo that put the Fire right back into the match at 2-2 before falling to late Stuart Holden penalty conversion.


2. Jamie Smith (Colorado)

The new Rapids winger from Aberdeen could...

1. David Ferreira (FC Dallas)

The pint-sized midfielder packed some serious punch versus Kansas City acting as the architect in a 6-0 shellacking of the Wizards. He was also - along with Cunningham - the provider of unemployment for the Wizards Curt Onalfo. We'll see if the new, retooled attack will work well against a stingy Houston defense.


2. Kevin Alston (New England)

He helps shut out...

1. A.J. DeLaGarza (Los Angeles)

Omar Gonzalez might deserve to be up here but the two handballs in five minutes thing irked me. DeLaGarza, along with Gonzalez, has been real consistent as of late and shut down Jorge Rojas throughout the majority of the Galaxy's road win. I'm starting to get to a point where I feel less guilty about putting Galaxy newcomers on this list, could it be that they're playoff and maybe even gasp! - MLS Cup - material?

2. Donovan Ricketts (Los Angeles)...

Lots of new faces trickling in from all over the place as the transfer window opens with a vengeance. The list is long below as each team make moves for that second-half of the season push. Rookies, however, lead the bunch in Week 17 as Gold Cup absences continue to open up opportunities for the first-years to show their stuff. Many are really coming into their own - Frei, Gonzalez, DeLaGarza - and others are just getting their first taste - Husidic, McKenzie. Week 18 officially begins tonight as Marc Birchall should make his debut for the Galaxy along with the feuding couple, Donovan and Beckham...

Wow, things are pretty quiet on the MLS Newcomer front when Seattle isn't playing. No Alonso, no Montero, no Keller..what to do? The Galaxy provided an honorable enough performance with three newcomers (two rookies) weathering the New England attack to grab another win while DC United's XI dare I say dominated the Crew backline (sans Chad Marshall) but couldn't put the nail in the coffin (tying 1-1). Gregg Berhalter at the top of the list is a bit of a surprise but it was a subpar week of performances all around the league (regarding newcomers that is)...

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With a busy past three weeks of international competition and now the US Open Cup, there has been a little less action within Major League Soccer. Most of the newcomers this year found themselves in international set-ups or Superliga play so the list might be a bit 'watered down' or lop-sided. All the way at the bottom is a Best XI made up of the "highest scoring" players positionally across the board. A familiar face is on the top of this week's top 10, third time this season. Can he keep it up?

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1. Fredy Montero (Seattle)

Two goals and an assist in a winless week for the Sounders is probably not what Montero had in mind. The scoring was, the tying wasn't. The Sounders were booed off the pitch after an ugly Tyrone Marshall own goal led to a 3-3 tie at home. Bring in the struggling Red Bulls - especially on the road - and you...