MLS Wrap-Up for 5/21-5/22

1-0. It’s the bare minimum you need to collect full points. Fans may not enjoy it, but any coach would take it, no questions asked. Play strong defense, grab a goal, close up shop, job done. Philadelphia came into their home match against the Chicago Fire having earned four 1-0 victories so far this season. They also hadn’t scored more than 1 goal in any 2011 MLS match. But that was until Carlos Ruiz struck what instantly became a contender for goal of the season.

Both the Philadelphia Union and Chicago Fire were looking to get back on track with a win. The Union had only collected one point from their previous three matches, while the Fire had drawn their last four. Chicago showed signs of life early, with defender Yamith Cuesta flashing a header into the side netting in the 11th minute. The Union soon settled down and had the better of the chances for the first half, with Midfielder Michael Farfan shooting just wide off a quick throw-in and Carlos Ruiz drawing an easy save from Chicago keeper Jon Conway.

The second half opened with a consistent spell of Philadelphia pressure, culminating with Sebastien Le Toux bringing down a looping header on the end line and hitting the post in the 57th minute. Seven minutes later, Philadelphia would finally take a well-deserved lead. Kyle Nakazawa, who had come on as a substitute when Amobi Okugo was injured early in the game, took a free kick a few yards in from the corner flag. Instead of looping in a cross or attempting a shot from this difficult angle, he merely laid a pass off toward the center which Michael Farfan duly blasted through the crowded box and into the goal, with a hint of a deflection.

Chicago would answer back quickly, however. Fire forward Dominic Oduro brought down a cross on the right, just outside of the box and broke toward the goal, easily beating Farfan, and snuck a near-post shot past Union keeper Faryd Mondragon. The Fire nearly added a second in the 71st minute, substitute Gastón Puerari having his shot cleared off the line. A few minutes later Carlos Ruiz would finally score a second goal for the Union.

Ruiz initially lined up to take the free kick, around 25 yards out and to the right. He served a weak pass in with his right which was easily cleared by the Fire. But Ruiz followed Chicago’s bouncing clearance, and, from over 30 yards out with his left, launched an inch perfect shot that arced over the outstretched fingers of the Chicago keeper, off the underside of the crossbar, and into the back of the net. An amazing strike by the Guatemalan, his third goal of the season and 85th in his MLS career.

The loss extends Chicago’s misery, they haven’t collected full points since March 26. While the Union moved up to first in the Eastern Conference with 17 points, overtaking both Houston and New York, who fought to a 2-2 draw down in Houston.

The New York Red Bulls opened the scoring with their quickest goal in MLS history, Dane Richards scoring after a mere 39 seconds. But it would be current Red Bull and former Barcelona star Rafa Marquez who would let Houston back in the match. He brought down Houston rookie Will Bruin in the box, with Houston midfielder Brad Davis converting the penalty kick in the 12th minute. The rest of the match was cagey and physical, with three yellow cards being handed out in a 15 minute span in the second half. Houston substitute Koke thought he had the match winner when he poked in from close range after the keeper dropped the initial header on goal in the 82nd minute. But it was Red Bulls substitute Mehdi Ballouchy who powered in a quality header from a corner in the 91st minute to earn the Red Bulls a draw.

Los Angeles maintained their dominance over the Western Conference and local rivals Chivas USA with a 1-0 win Saturday night. Chivas started out well, with forward Justin Braun pushing a header wide early and Alejandro Moreno drawing a quick save from Galaxy keeper Donovan Ricketts a little later. But it was David Beckham’s inch-perfect delivery from a free kick in the 26th minute that found Galaxy forward Chad Barrett unmarked in the box to head in the only goal of the night. Barrett and Juan Pablo Angel combined well throughout the night, releasing each other numerous times with clever through balls that neither could convert. Los Angeles spent most of the second half absorbing plenty of pressure and breaking when they could, but Chivas could only manage to hit the post in the 65th minute. In the end, despite some nervous play from the Galaxy keeper Ricketts, one goal was enough. It was Los Angeles’ 9th victory in a row over their derby rivals, and extended their lead in the West to 6 points over Seattle.

Seattle Sounders managed an injury time winner to heap more misery on Sporting Kansas City. It was Kansas City’s fifth loss in a row as they continue to wait for their new stadium to be ready. Two more road matches stand between them and a date with Chicago to open their new park.

San Jose won their second straight home game of the season, beating New England 2-1. Bobby Convey’s beautiful free kick in the 83rd minute ended up being the winner. He placed a left-footed curler over the outstretched hand of Revolution keeper Matt Reis and into the top left corner of the top left corner. Unstoppable.

The Portland Timbers tied the record for the best home start in MLS history with their fifth victory at JELD-WEN Field over the Columbus Crew. Portland took advantage of a mental lapse by Columbus to score the only goal of the game. A quickly-taken free kick by Portland’s Jack Jewsbury found midfielder Kalif Alhassan in the box. His lofted cross was then headed home by defender Eric Brunner. 

Both of Sunday's matches, Colorado versus Toronto and Dallas against Real Salt Lake, ended in scoreless draws.

author's note: A slightly different version of this blog post originally appeared on the sports blog page for Scottish TV. It can be found here.