Seattle Sounders FC: Watch the Kasey Keller Quadruple Save That Amazed 64,000

Every major football league in the world is playing at some capacity during this particular stretch of the year. So why was the fourth-largest football crowd on Earth over the weekend located in America's Pacific Northwest?To honor an American goalkeeping legend, that's why. Typically, the Seattle Sounders put a cap on ticket sales around 37,000 per match (a limit that they've never failed to reach in Major League Soccer play).But Saturday night was special. It was the night that the club was honoring it's All-Star goalkeeper, four-time World Cup participant and former Millwall, Leicester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham man, Kasey Keller. As far as club officials were concerned, no fan would be turned away if they could help it.And none were, as Seattle fans poured in to see the legend in his final regular-season home match of his career.Despite allowing a first-half goal to the visiting San Jose Earthquakes, it was Keller who kept the Sounders in the match and kept the crowd fired up, providing save after save to keep the deficit manageable. But fans could sense that there was something even more special in store for them that evening. They could smell it in the air.And then, ...

Did Thierry Henry Deserve the Straight Red Card? Watch and Decide

Another match week in Major League Soccer brings with it yet another controversial officiating decision.This time around, it is splitting American soccer fans into two evenly divided camps with very different opinions.For the second time this season, French international star and former Arsenal and Barcelona forward, Thierry Henry, was sent off in a questionable decision by MLS referees.In the first incident, in a June match at Portland, Henry was sent off after he and Adam Moffat appeared to be engaging in relatively civilized conversation during a stoppage of play.After convening with the sideline officials, the referee approached Henry and held up what seemed to be the most randomly decided red card of the season.Replays of the incident revealed Henry and Moffat discussing an on-field incident and appearing to respectfully separate to allow play to resume.But Henry, with his arm around Moffat as they walked along, clearly tapped the Portland defender twice on the back of the head before they separated.Critics of the call howled that the gesture was clearly respectful in nature, resembling a friendly pat on the back more than anything. Those who supported the decision insisted the tap must have been harder than it looked, citing the fact ...

Los Angeles Galaxy vs. Club Deportivo Motagua: Do-Or-Die In Tegus

Tegucigalpa. The epicenter of Honduran life. A city of over 1.1 million strong. On Thursday night, it will be the home of the biggest test to date for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy. That's right everyone it's the final match day of the 2011-12 CONCACAF Champions League, and for the Galaxy, it is an absolute must-win. Of course, they will know that for sure when Alajuelense and Morelia clash. However, nothing should be left for chance against an opponent who may already be out of the running for the knockout stages, but can still play spoiler on Thursday night. Unfortunately for Motagua, they are facing some pretty long odds to defend their turf. It has been a sorry season for the Blue Eagles, who are currently 2-6-4 (10 points) and saw manager Ramon Maradiaga sacked in favor of Mexico's José Treviño. Furthermore, chaos in the locker room ensued, with Colombian striker John Palacios leaving the team after one month with his new club. In spite of the chaos, Jerry Bengtson remains the biggest threat to the Galaxy's chances of sealing qualification to the knockout rounds. Bengtson has six goals this season for Motagua. Galaxy forward Chad Barrett emphasized the need ...

2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 31

The MLS Cup Playoff picture has become clearer and clearer with every passing match. Only one spot among the wild card berths remains in contention heading into the final week of the 2011 Major League Soccer regular season.The Los Angeles Galaxy return to the top spot after rebounding from a harrowing road defeat to New York earlier in the month, while a few other teams punched their ticket to the postseason.As the World Series looms near in Major League Baseball, and the NFL and NHL seasons continue to rumble on, we take a look at this week's MLS Power Rankings.Begin Slideshow

LA Galaxy vs. Chivas USA: Victoria Street is True Fortress for Galaxy in 1-0 Win

There are many fortresses in Major League Soccer that owe their reputation to a seemingly impenetrable home-field advantage. There's the fortress of Sandy, Utah known as Rio Tinto Stadium, where Real Salt Lake have been particularly tough to beat in. And there's Jeld-Wen Field, the New Fortress, known for its partisan atmosphere and the fearsome play of the Portland Timbers. And there are other cathedrals that have their own reputation, such as RFK Stadium, Columbus Crew Stadium and Pizza Hut Park. In the end, the true fortress of Major League Soccer, at least for the  2011 regular season is...the Home Depot Center. Victoria Street. “We’ve always said we want to make our stadium somewhere to come that’s hard to win, and I think we’ve done that," midfielder David Beckham told the press. "We’ve worked hard on that, and it’s important that we do that at home. The fans obviously are behind us, we got the support of them, so it’s important that we perform in our own stadium.” That fact was made very clear when Chad Barrett's 53rd minute goal from an Adam Cristman delivery secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory for Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy over Robin Fraser's Chivas ...

Vancouver Whitecaps vs FC Dallas: 4 Thoughts From Saturday’s Loss

The Vancouver Whitecaps (6W-17L-10D) broke their modest two game winning streak in a 2-0 loss to playoff-bound FC Dallas (15W-11L-7D). The defeat leaves the Blue and White winless (0W-12L-5D) on the road in their inaugural MLS season.Coming off a midweek match, head coach Tommy Soehn made a number of changes to his starting lineup.He inserted Michael Boxall for injured centre-back Carlyle Mitchell, left Alain Rochat on the bench, pushed Jordan Harvey back into defense with Shea Salinas starting in his place in midfield.He handed Designated Player Mustapha Jarju a start in place of Chinese striker Long Tan.The changes didn't help the Whitecaps as they fell to two goals by Honduran international Marvin Chavez and United States international Brek Shea.Here are four thoughts from a disappointing night in the Lone Star State.Begin Slideshow

Philadelphia Union: Analyzing Why the Sophomores Are Playoff Bound

In their sophomore season, the Philadelphia Union are playoff bound for the first time since their inception.With the addition of several veterans and international players, the Philadelphia Union’s roster was hardly the same as last year. So far, this has been an exciting season; players have come and gone, been hot and cold, and as the season is coming to an end, it appears as though the team is starting to get hot just in time for the playoffs. The following are what I believe were the most important factors in the Union’s first trip to the postseason.Begin Slideshow

MLS: Ruthless Columbus Crew Flex Muscles, Crush New England Revolution 3-0

Robert Warzycha’s Columbus Crew needed a statement victory to make the point clear to the rest of Major League Soccer: We are America’s hardest-working team, and we will be a massive force to be reckoned with in the MLS Cup Playoffs. On Saturday, the Crew shut out the Eastern Conference cellar dwellers, Steve Nicol’s New England Revolution, to the tune of 3-0 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. With the win, the Crew return to the playoffs for the fourth straight year, tying a similar streak dating back to 1996-1999. “We’ve tried to be positive in every game we’ve played. We’ve tried to do that. We want to do all those things. We haven’t done it—that’s the facts of the matter,” Nicol told reporters. "And on the occasions we have made chances and scored some goals, we’ve let them in at the other end. And vice versa. We’ve had a tough time here; there’s no hiding from that fact." Andres Mendoza played a key role in the victory, recording a brace to add to his team-high 13 goals on the year. In the 31st minute, Emilio Renteria delivered a textbook through ball to Mendoza to open the proceedings for the road side. ...

MLS: FC Dallas Pick Up Steam Ahead of Playoffs with 2-0 Win over Vancouver

Schellas Hyndman’s FC Dallas received a big boost to their postseason standing on Saturday night, when they silenced the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Tex. Looking to build on their momentum from their 2-1 playoff-clinching win over Chicago midweek, the Hoops established the rhythm early and wore down Tom Soehn’s Whitecaps, who never looked to threaten much at the Over. In the 35th minute, a long goal kick from Kevin Hartman found Brek Shea, who delivered the ball to a streaking Marvin Chavez, who recorded his sixth goal of the season to open the proceedings. A would-be brace at the beginning of the second half for the Honduran international was called back due to an offsides call. In the 54th minute, Dallas put the game out of reach. Brek Shea took advantage of a mishit from Hoops captain Daniel Hernandez, who blasted the rebound past embattled Vancouver netminder Joe Cannon for his team-leading 11th goal of the season. With the result, FC Dallas improve to 15-11-7 (52 points) and are only out of the top three due to Real Salt Lake managing a superior goal differential (+8 to +5).Dallas wrap up the MLS regular season away ...

MLS: Chicago Fire Scorch D.C. United’s Playoff Dreams in 2-1 Victory

Talk about leaving it late. Frank Klopas’ Chicago Fire kept their MLS Cup Playoff hopes alive heading into the final week of regular season action on Saturday in a thrilling 2-1 victory over Ben Olsen’s D.C. United at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. “It was one of the toughest losses I have ever taken,” Olsen told reporters after the match. “[I told the team] I was proud of them, it was a good effort. “ Neither team was able to get on the score sheet for a good deal of the match until the 90th minute, when Dwayne De Rosario scored his 15th goal of the season, tying him for the lead with San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski. In the second minute of stoppage time, Sebastian Grazzini pulled home the equalizer for his fifth goal of the season. Just when it was about to be a 1-1 draw for D.C., Uruguayan international Diego Chaves scored his fifth goal of the season off a sequence by Gonzalo Segares and Orr Barouch. “It’s not good when you don’t have your destiny in your own hands, and we’re looking for other teams to lose and win,” said midfielder Santino Quaranta. “This was a great opportunity ...