2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 17

With a number of big names coming in for a series of club international friendlies this month, Major League Soccer continued its 2011 season with a wave of matches over the weekend.

A little move here, a little shake there, and what do you get? This week's MLS Power Rankings which see the Los Angeles Galaxy rise to the top once again.

Let's have a look.

18. Toronto FC

Aron Winter's Toronto FC had yet another rough week ahead of them. On Wednesday, they were blown out of the water by the New York Red Bulls to the tune of 5-0 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

It wasn't as bad in Houston against the Dynamo on Saturday. However, they still fell 2-0 at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas.

“We didn’t play well, which was a result of a lack of balance. We are just going through the motions, not passing the ball for 5-10 minutes. In the end, we tried to build to at least get a point, but I just think we didn’t give enough," said Winter to TorontoFC.ca's Asif Hossain. "I think those two opponents (on the road trip) were opponents where you could get four points or more.

"I'm going to trade players (over the schedule break), I want to have a good team, a team that can win, a team that can do simple things on the pitch."

"I think we need to play more offensively, play more in the opponent’s half," said TFC goalkeeper Stefan Frei. "What can you take positive from these two games? You can say they are over."

It will not get any easier for Toronto, who have a couple of tough tests ahead for them after taking the week off. On Wednesday, July 20, the Reds face FC Dallas at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by TSN. 

On Saturday, July 23, TFC faces Sporting Kansas City at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by GOLTV Canada.

17. Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Unlike Toronto, Tom Soehn's Vancouver Whitecaps had a much lighter beatdown. However, just like the Reds, they ended up winless over the course of the week to check in just above the cellar.

On Wednesday, the Caps fell to the Columbus Crew 1-0 at Empire Field in Vancouver, British Columbia. Shea Salinas was sent off in the 77th minute for a rough challenge on Columbus's Josh Gardner.

“I had a head full of steam and couldn’t really stop - it was too late,” Salinas told MLSsoccer.com's Martin McMahon. “It was a reckless challenge. It changed the game. I felt I cost the team some points. I think we would have caught a goal there late, so I feel bad.”

A blown penalty by Vancouver's Terry Dunfield in the 73rd minute also changed the course of the match.

“The stage was set for me there to go on and score, and sometimes in football, there’s no in between,” Dunfield said. “You have the highs and the lows. It’s going to be a tough night for me personally. I wanted the ball and some days they go in and I’m the hero, and other times, they don’t.”

“You credit him for stepping up, but you rely on your senior guys to put situations like that away. That’s why they’re your senior guys,” Soehn said. “He obviously didn’t do that. We rely on senior guys to put a stamp on the game and it wasn’t Terry’s night tonight.”

On Saturday, the Caps fell 2-1 to the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. Camilo scored his sixth of the season in the 77th minute of play.

"We were still looking to stay high up the pitch," Soehn told whitecapsfc.com's Simon Fudge. "We did that a few times, but unfortunately in the final third, we came up a bit short. But for the young group we had on the field, we got so many of our second guys out and they took credit for the work they put in and did a lot of what we talked about. 

"I feel like we’re getting close and we’ve just got to keep plugging away. We hope we’ll get some guys back in the next stretch."

A couple of matches await the Whitecaps. On Saturday, July 16, Vancouver hosts Real Salt Lake. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Rogers SportsNet One.

On Monday, the Caps host defending FA Cup champions Manchester City of the Premier League in the Herbalife World Football Challenge. Kickoff is scheduled for July 18, 2011 at 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by TSN.

16. Portland Timbers

John Spencer's Portland Timbers had a tough test ahead of them in the form of the Seattle Sounders. A red card to Eric Brunner in the 81st minute sealed Portland's fate as they fell 3-2 to the Sounders at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, Oregon.

Seattle's Jeff Parke scored an own goal to put the home team ahead in the 46th minute and Jorge Perlaza scored his fourth of the season in the 69th minute.

Up next for the Timbers is a match on Saturday, July 16 with the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by FOX 12 and estrellaTV 8.3.

15. Chicago Fire

Cristian Nazarit scored for Frank Klopas's Chicago Fire in the 62nd minute, but it wasn't enough as David Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy slammed the door shut on the Fire, 2-1, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.

“We’re desperate, we needed a point more than they did,” said the Fire's Patrick Nyarko to MLSSoccer.com's San Stejskal. “I thought we came out with the right intentions to go out and win the game and I thought we played pretty well, just gave up two bad set-piece goals and here we are with a loss.

“It’s real disappointing. Everyone is really disappointed because we put everything into it and executed the game plan. We just didn’t finish out the game, lost concentration on a couple plays and got beaten.”
Despite the outcome, a quick turnaround is in the books for Chicago.

“As much as this is disappointment, we have a quick turnaround and a win on Tuesday would bring our spirits back,” Nyarko added.

By Tuesday, Nyarko meant the 2011 U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals against the New York Red Bulls. Kickoff at Toyota Park is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET.

The Fire's next league is on Saturday, July 16 against the Portland Timbers. Kickoff at Toyota Park is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast Sportsnet.

14. San Jose Earthquakes

It was a disappointing week for Frank Yallop's San Jose Earthquakes, to say the least. On Wednesday, they fell to Chivas USA in a battle of Los Angeles Galaxy rivals, 2-0, at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

On Sunday, the Quakes were hoping to nab a result against the Philadelphia Union. Unfortunately, all they could muster up at Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California was a scoreless draw.

The Quakes will look to make a surge back towards to the top of our Power Rankings this week when they travel to Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio to take on the Crew. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, July 16 at 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast by KZSF 1370 AM and KDOW 1220 AM.

Before that, the Quakes will host West Browmwich Albion of the Premier League. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET at Buck Shaw Stadium.

13. New England Revolution

Steve Nicol's New England Revolution were off last week.

The Revs have a couple of matches on the way this week, starting with a friendly with Manchester United on Wednesday, July 13. Kickoff at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET.

New England return to league action on Sunday, July 17 when they face the Philadelphia Union. Kickoff at Gillette Stadium is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast SportsNet.

12. Chivas USA

Robin Fraser's Chivas USA had a decent week, with four out a possible six points to show for it. On Wednesday, goals from Ben Zemanski in the 64th minute and Nick LaBrocca in the 84th minute gave the Goats a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes.

“Overall, we are certainly pleased to get the three points," Fraser told reporters after the match. "For us, it was great. I thought the beginning was a little bit slow and our movement wasn’t great today and we talked about it in halftime and it got a lot sharper in the second half so we were able to create a few more quality chances. It was a good sign for me that as the game went on, we got better and we’re definitely happy with the result.”

“We set out before the game to keep a shutout," Zemanski said. "It was important for us to do that today and earning three points at home is huge for us and hopefully we can keep it going.”

“The effort is on the team, there isn’t just one guy," LaBrocca said on his efforts. "I feel like our locker room is full of many leaders but collectively everyone steps up and takes part of a leadership role and I feel as if that’s going to carry us on through the season.”

On Saturday, the Goals traveled to Livestrong Sporting Park and fought to a 1-1 draw with Sporting Kansas City. LaBrocca scored in the 30th minute for his sixth of the season.

"I thought that Kansas City gave us some problems in the first half, but we were able to adjust and create some chances," Fraser told reporters after match. "In the second half, I thought they came out with a lot of energy and really took it to us. 

"I think it’s the first time all year we’ve had to change our formation because a team was giving us trouble, so hats off to them for playing so well. To be 60 seconds from getting out of here with three points, it’s extremely disappointing."

Midfielder Justin Braun concurred with his manager's sentiments.

"Obviously, it’s disappointing for us," Braun said. "Anytime you give up a goal in stoppage time it’s definitely a letdown. We were expecting to get the three points. We were playing really well and unfortunately in the second half kind of got away from that and came under some pressure and then we broke."

Chivas USA will next take on the New York Red Bulls on Saturday, July 16 at the Home Depot Center. Kickoff is schheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Galavision and Fox Sports Prime Ticket.

11. Colorado Rapids

Gary Smith's Colorado Rapids secured four out of a possible six points over the course of the past week. Wednesday saw the Rapids battle Sporting Kansas City to a 1-1 draw at Livestrong Sporting Park.

Conor Casey scored his fifth of the season in the 32nd minute.

"I thought it was a pretty competitive game. However, I thought during the second half, Sporting Kansas City looked like the home team," Smith said to the press following the contest. "It was a very confident team, who are in a terrific run of form. 

"It was a well-deserved point for both teams, for us on the road. There’s a bit more pressure on our games. But overall, it was a very pleasing display."

A better performance came against the Vancouver Whitecaps. In their 2-1 victory, Casey recorded his sixth of the season in the 25th minute and Scott Palguta brought home the game-winner in the 68th minute of play.

"I think all the guys can breathe out now, breathe a sigh of relief," Smith told reporters. "There was some anxiety in that final 10 minutes, but that’s what happens when you’re not winning regularly at home, even if you’re playing well you’re not quite squeezing the result and getting three points. The most important thing for us today was to make sure that we added three points to the board. Of course it’s great to do it at home.

"Given this month and the teams that we play against and the possibilities of bagging a reasonable amount of points this month, it was very important that those three points came our way."

"It’s been a long time coming, it’s been a struggle, we’ve got a lot of ties, and just to get the three points at home against a team that we really thougth that we needed to beat," Casey said. "It’s a big relief and it’s also a big confidence booster moving forward. There was a lot of good things tonight that we’re going to take with us."

On Saturday, July 16, the Colorado Rapids take on the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Washington. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. MT/4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.

10. Houston Dynamo

Dominic Kinnear's Houston Dynamo had one match this week, against Toronto FC. Goals from Danny Cruz in the 50th minute and Geoff Cameron in the 81st minute paced the Men in Orange to a 2-0 victory.

“I was happy we won," a relieved Kinnear told reporters. "It took us a while to get a goal. We had some decent chances in the first half. I felt if we could score the first goal, we would win the game because they weren’t pushing much forward, and defensively we were very solid tonight. I thought if we got a goal it could be enough, and thankfully it was.”

“It was a good hard-fought game," Cameron said. "We came out and wanted to win, and we did that. We got another home game, got confidence, got another three points, and we’re going to try to do the same exact thing that we did this weekend and take it into next week to get three points.”

Defender Corey Ashe opted to keep his feet on the ground.

“We know we have a long, long, long way to go," Ashe said. "We can celebrate now, but come tomorrow and the next day, it’s back to work. We need to climb the ladder. We have some home game that we need to start utilizing. Ties are good, but they’re not great. Especially since we’re at home, we need three points.”

Next Saturday, July 16, the Dynamo host Sporting Kansas City at Robertson Stadium. Kickoff is schheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by KOU 11.2 and TV Azteca 51 on tape delay on Sunday, July 17 at 8:30 a.m. CT/9:30 p.m. ET. 

9. Philadelphia Union

Peter Nowak's Philadelphia Union were hoping to secure three points on the road against the San Jose Earthquakes but could only secure a scoreless draw. It was the result of the team's depth showing its true colors after four of its starters were unavailable for action.

“From the defensive perspective, we played a pretty good game," Nowak told philadelphiaunion.com's Judan Levine. "We didn’t allow San Jose to counter. We were pretty sure that Stefani [Miglioranzi] can do the job with his confidence and experience. It’s another option for us defensively.

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“With the chances, we need to do better, much better. We got lucky when we played DC, but this game we were supposed to win by a couple of goals. Those games last year we lost. This is progress and we are still getting the points on the road which is important as well.”

“Everyone worked hard," midfielder Brian Carroll added. "We deserved the clean sheet, I thought, and maybe more out of the game than a tie, but we’ll certainly take one [point] on the road.” 

Next up for the Union is a Sunday match with the New England Revolution on Sunday, July 17 at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast Sportsnet.

8. Sporting Kansas City

After going on a winning tear, Peter Vermes's Sporting Kansas City took their foot off the gas pedal and battled a couple of teams to identical 1-1 draw.

Graham Zusi scored his third of the season in the 62nd minute as Sporting drew 1-1 with the Colorado Rapids at Livestrong Sporting Park.

"I thought it was great play by us and we had great counter-attacks," Vermes told the press after the match. "Sometimes when it hits the crossbar, it is what it is. But I’m happy that we could score. We had some good chances, and sometimes they don’t drop. You have to look at it from the point of view that you took some chances and you were driving the game. 

"For about 75 minutes, we really controlled the game. It was just those 15 minutes at the end of the first half where we lost hold of the game. Some teams hope that if they kick it 70 yards down field and it will knock the guys head off up front, and that’s great. But we drive the goal and we want to get numbers in there. I’m proud of that."

"We knew that we deserved better than where we were and we started to get some momentum in the second half," Zusi said. "We got our goal and we’re lucky. We just knew we needed to do it and that we could."

"We shut them down for the most part, and we're happy with that," said defender Michael Harrington. "Unfortunately we made a mistake on their goal, but it was still a strong performance defensively, and we've just got to keep that going moving forward."

"It would have been great to get the three points," said defender Matt Besler. "I think we probably deserved it, but in the grand scheme of things we played well, we're still undefeated at home and we still have the unbeaten streak intact, so those are positives."

On Saturday, Omar Bravo forced a point split in the third minute of second-half stoppage time in Sporting's 1-1 draw with Chivas USA.

"The important thing is how you react in the second half," Vermes said to reporters. "And I thought our reaction was excellent, and we had the last-minute dramatic goal to get the tie, but the amazing part is the fight the guys have to just keep going and going. It was pretty impressive and I’m proud of the fact that we put ourselves in that position to start the second half."

"We like to make ourselves suffer sometimes, but in the end the ball went in and we get the tie," Bravo said. "There’s a lot of things we need to get better at, but it was important to get the tie."

Next up for Sporting are a couple of matches. First, there is the U.S. Open Cup match with the Richmond Kickers. Kickoff for this quarterfinal is scheduled for TUesday, July 12 at 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET.

On Saturday, July 16, Sporting return to league action when they face the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by KSMO-TV.

7. FC Dallas

Schellas Hyndman's FC Dallas never really got into form in the first of two back-to-back meetings with Real Salt Lake, falling at Rio Tinto Stadium 2-0.

“It was unfortunate,” the Hoops' Kevin Hartman said of his goalkeeper mistakes to MLSSoccer.com's Greg Lalas. “I think the most important thing for me is it really kind of changed the game.” 

“I think that it was so easy that he took his eye off the ball, to be honest,” Hyndman said. “You see in the other football sport, when a ball is thrown right to a receiver and he’s got it in his hand and he drops it because he’s looking somewhere else. I think that was very uncharacteristic of Kevin.”

Here's a hint: keep the other code out of our arguments, Schellas. Still, there's another reason behind the blown opportunity.

“We left [team captain Daniel Hernandez] behind at the last minute and I think that there was a little bit of confusion in our midfield,” Hyndman added. “But I thought [our central midfielders] did do a pretty good job of just trying to stay compact and block the passing lanes and try to make the play predictable going out wide.”

FC Dallas will look to exact payback at home in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup against RSL at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for Tuesday, July 12 at 8:00 p.m. CT/9:00 p.m. ET.
The Hoops will then host D.C. United on Saturday, July 16 in league play. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CT/9:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports Southwest Plus.

6. Red Bull New York

It was a tale of two matches for Hans Backe's New York Red Bulls. A hit-and-miss week. A blowout, and a shutout. Yin and yang. You know how it goes.

On Wednesday, a Juan Agudelo brace in the 66th and 89th minutes paced New York to a comfortable 5-0 victory over Toronto FC. Other scorers included Thierry Henry with his ninth of the season in the 33rd minute, Luke Rodgers in the 38th minute and Joel Lindpere in the 52nd minute of play.

“We didn’t concede goals today,” Henry told MLSSoccer.com's Kristian Dyer. “Even if we hadn’t scored four or five, we would have won by three or two.”

“Everybody wanted the ball. I saw a lot of the same things I saw earlier in the season,” said right back Jan Gunnar Solli of Toronto's predictability. “We were all over them with the passing game.”

“It’s almost a full team,” Backe added. “I hope and expect we can be a team that can control the game.”

Saturday was a different story, as they were shut out 1-0 by D.C. United.

In the first half, we looked a little bit fatigued," Backe said to reporters. "Too many, absolutely too many unforced errors in the first half. So no rhythm in the passing game, giveaways, way too easy. Then suddenly we started very well in the second half, controlling it totally the first 15 minutes, and it should be impossible to score (against us) when we have the shape. 

"We have eight players on the right side, but we’re absolutely too sloppy in the defending. We just need to use our bodies. It was absolutely not good enough, the defending game from our midfield and sometimes even from the back four. When I talk about the goal we conceded it’s absolutely too easy in today’s football."

"Whenever you lose at home it is frustrating and it is hard to take," said defender Tim Ream. "It is just one of those plays that was bang, bang and if you’re not in it mentally and watching everything around you, you are going to get burned. That is what happened."

"We are real disappointed," said goalkeeper Greg Sutton. "We had some good momentum coming off our last game on Wednesday. I think fatigue set in a little bit mentally and physically. We made some mistakes and it just caught us the game.

"We have a week to get rested and get healthy again and come out next weekend and hopefully get some more points."

But first, there's the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal with the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park on Tuesday, July 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.

The Red Bulls return to league play on Saturday, July 16 when they travel to Carson to face Chivas USA. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by MSG and Galavision.

5. D.C. United

The likes of Dwayne De Rosario were a nightmare for the New York Red Bulls as his goal in the 61st minute gave Ben Olsen's D.C. United a 1-0 victory at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey. 

"It’s never easy when you come back so quick to a team you played for," De Rosario said after the match to reporters. "Scoring against them felt great. It helped my team to win, that’s the most important thing, move slowly up in the standings. Like I said, it’s never easy when you transition, have everything turned out, in terms of getting moved last week and then playing them the week after. 

"Everything works out the way it does for a reason. Like I said, I’m very pleased I was able to help my team get a win this week."

"Look, every win right now is key, especially winning a 1-0 game for us right now is important because we have had some leads that we have squandered and tonight was a good effort," Olsen explained. "I thought we held the fort down. Offensively there was some pretty good stuff. 

"We caught them on a day, they might have been a little leggy but that’s what you have to do in this league. When you find teams in certain situations you have to take advantage of."

"This is a huge win for us," said defender Brandon McDonald. "New York, coming off a 5-0 win [over Toronto FC], you know they are going to come in confident but it was a big test for us and we overcame it."

Next Saturday, July 16, D.C. United travels to Pizza Hut Park in Frisco to face FC Dallas. Kickoff is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast SportsNet.

4. Columbus Crew

Robert Warzycha's Columbus Crew had a midweek game against the Vancouver Whitecaps at Empire Field on Wednesday. The Crew left it late thanks to Jeff Cunningham in the 90th minute of play en route to a hard-fought 1-0 victory.

“It feels awesome,” Cunningham told thecrew.com's Craig Merz. “I want to thank my teammates, thank the coaching staff and the fans for all the support over the years. This is a milestone that means a lot to me and for everyone that’s been supportive of me throughout my career.”

The goal tied Jaime Moreno's all-time record of 133 goals.

“It’s a good night all around for the organization,” goalkeeper William Hesmer said. “I’m really happy for Jeff and happy we came out of this road trip with three points.”

“I’ve been waiting all season for him to score,” defender Julius James said. “I went to celebrate with him but I was so tired. He took off. He’s a fast guy, you know. I tried to catch up to him. When I finally did I was winded. I was really excited.”

“This is the longest I’ve gone without scoring,” Cunningham added. “It’s been a lack of confidence a little bit. I didn’t know when and how that goal was going to come but I’m pretty pleased the way it happened.
“The team needed those three points and I’m happy to contribute in that manner.”

“It’s great that he got rewarded for his effort,” Warzycha concluded. “That was a great ball by Gardner and a great finish by Jeff.”

Could Cunningham break the record on Saturday, July 16 at Crew Stadium against the San Jose Earthquakes? Stay tuned...

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by ONN-TV.

3. Seattle Sounders FC

Sigi Schmid's Seattle Sounders were engaged in a goal festival but did enough to prevail over the Portland Timbers, 3-2, at Jeld-Wen Field on Sunday.

Fredy Montero scored a brace in the 57th and 74th minutes of play. Osvaldo Alonso scored the game winner off a penalty in the 83rd minute of play.

“When you come back twice and take the lead, it shows you what’s going on with this team right now,” goalkeeper Kasey Keller told SoundersFC.com's Matt Gaschk.

“We worked hard today.  It was end-to-end and it felt like we did enough to get the win,” defender Jeff Parke said.  “I thought we outworked them.”

“The emotional lift getting that goal back as early as we did was really important,” Schmid concluded.  “If we had to keep battling for 10 or 15 minutes longer to get that goal back, it would have given them a better chance at things.  But to be able to come back right away both times and score is what made the game a little bit easier for us.

“I think we’ve matured.  I think we’ve grown.  We don’t let a setback take us down. It’s definitely a nice win.  It was what a derby game is all about.”

Last year, the Sounders were successful in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals against the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Washington thanks to a Nate Jaqua brace. This year, they will look to reprise their efforts when they face the Galaxy on Wednesday, July 13.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET. A video broadcast will be available on SoundersFC.com.

Seattle's next league game is on Saturday, July 16 against the Colorado Rapids at CenturyLink Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.

2. Real Salt Lake

Jason Kreis's Real Salt Lake move up to second in this week's MLS Power Rankings after a 2-0 victory over FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium.

Andy Williams scored in the 47th minute and Fabian Espindola put the game out of reach in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time.

“This was a huge, huge match for us; probably the biggest one we’ve had this season against what I think is arguably the team that is in the best form right now," said Kreis to reporters on Saturday. "A positive result, doesn’t matter to me the score, to get all three points at home against them was big for us.  It wraps up the series where we drew with them away and win at home.”

“Dropping back in the midfield the first thing I had to think about was to defend," said midfielder/forward Luis Gil. "We have to defend the midfield first. From there when we get the ball, we can have fun with it and we create chances.”

The victory sets the stage for a possible reprise performance at Pizza Hut Park on Tuesday, July 12.
"When I said this match was one of the biggest, if not the biggest one that we’ve played in MLS this year, I wasn’t only talking about MLS," Kreis said on the quarterfinal match. "I knew there would be a positive statement to make to get a little confidence and go down to Dallas and hopefully move on in the U.S. Open Cup.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MT/9:00 p.m. CT and will be broadcast by ESPN 700 AM.

Real Salt Lake's next league match is scheduled for Saturday, July 16 when they travel to Empire Field in Vancouver, British Columbia to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. MT/4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by KMYU 2.2, Comcast Channel 22 and Dish Network 12.

1. Los Angeles Galaxy

Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy return to the top of this week's MLS Power Rankings after a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Saturday at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Landon Donovan scored his ninth goal of the season in the 58th minute of play, and after Chicago equalized, David Beckham rattled home his second of the year off a corner in the 65th minute of play.

"Tough game," Arena remarked to reporters. "Nothing came easy tonight but we’re certainly happy to get the three points.  Chicago played real hard, pretty organized and gave us a battle for 90 minutes.”

“It feels good to win," Donovan said of the victory. "We haven’t been playing well lately. We were a lot better, our energy was better, our commitment was better, we passed the ball better. We made the plays we needed to win.” 

The Galaxy manager was impressed with Beckham's performance on Saturday night at Victoria Street.

“Real good, I noticed his second half was pretty good," Arena said. "He’s really determined. He’s a top athlete and he really wants to win but there was a point at about 65 minutes into the game where I thought we were going to have to take him out he looked really fatigued but he hung in there.  

"He wanted to play and he wanted to win. I think he was a tremendous presence tonight. Obviously the first goal he served, the second goal I don’t know if it touched anyone or went in directly.  I don’t know how that one went in. That’s what we pay him the big money for.”

“It was great," Beckham said of playing a full 90 minutes in spite of injury. "I felt on Thursday, you know, I had a lot of pain in my back. And then Friday I woke up and it got 90 percent better. And then this morning I woke, first morning I woke with hardly any pain. 

"Getting through the game, I didn’t expect to play 90 minutes, but with 25 minutes, 20 minutes to go Bruce said I’m going to give you five minutes and I seemed to get a second wind and I told him that. And he left me in and thankfully he did because obviously I got the goal. I felt good tonight.”

A gamble well taken, with a huge payoff.

"Sometimes when you are tying a lot of games, sometimes it’s better to win games and lose a few, you end up with more points," added midfielder Chris Birchall, "but on the confidence level, it’s unbeaten in 12 and we have a lot of ties, but we’re not losing games, we’re doing well and we’re at the top of the league. It was vital that we got the win tonight, especially with Dallas losing.”

Two big matches are on tap for the Galaxy. First, there is the shot at payback in the U.S. Open Cup against the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday at the Starfire Sports Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for July 13 at 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET. A live audio feed will be available onLAGalaxy.com.

On Saturday, July 16, the Galaxy take on Real Madrid at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the 2011 Herbalife World Football Challenge. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN and ESPN3D.