• Get the EA Sports PGA 14 Package
    Get the EA Sports PGA 14 Package
  • Give the Gift of SI
    Give the Gift of SI
SI.com Home
SOCCER
Posted: Saturday June 16, 2012 9:36PM ; Updated: Sunday June 17, 2012 1:05AM

MLS: Whitecaps surpass last year's victory total

Decrease font Decrease font
Enlarge font Enlarge font

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Sebastien Le Toux's goal in the 80th-minute gave the undermanned Vancouver Whitecaps a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.

Vancouver won while playing a man down after striker Darren Mattocks was ejected in the 60th minute following his second yellow card.

The Whitecaps (7-3-4) posted their seventh victory of the season, surpassing the six they mustered in their 2011 expansion season. Vancouver moved four points up on Colorado (6-7-1) in the Western Conference standings.

Colorado won both games against Vancouver by identical 2-1 scores last season.

Le Toux scored on a sliding volley off Davide Chiumiento's long cross from near midfield. Chiumiento was the key to the play as he dribbled away from three or four defenders in his vicinity.

Sporting KC 2, Toronto FC 0

KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- C.J. Sapong and Julio Cesar scored in the first half to help Sporting Kansas City beat Toronto FC to spoil the debut of new manager Paul Mariner.

Mariner, who had been Toronto's director of player development, took over last week when Aron Winter was fired after a 1-9-0 start.

Graham Zusi had his eighth assist for Sporting (9-3-1), moving him back into a share of the MLS lead with Dwayne De Rosario of D.C. United, and Jimmy Nielsen made three saves for his sixth shutout.

Sapong put Kansas City up 1-0 in the 18th minute, scoring from close range after a cross from Jacob Peterson, and Julio Cesar added an insurance goal in the 35th when he volleyed home Zusi's corner kick from the top right corner of the 6-yard box.

D.C. United 1, Union 0

CHESTER, Pa. -- Chris Pontius scored in the 78th minute to lift D.C. United to their fourth straight victory.

D.C. United improved to 9-4-3 and moved four points ahead of the New York Red Bulls for first place in the Eastern Conference. It's their first four-game winning streak since the 2008 season.

The struggling Union (2-8-2) saw their winless skid reach six. They haven't won since a 1-0 victory over Chivas USA on April 21.

A sellout crowd of 18,876 showed up at PPL Park for the debut of interim manager John Hackworth, who was elevated when Peter Nowak stepped down on Wednesday after two-plus seasons.

Hackworth was an assistant coach under Nowak since the Union's inception in 2010.

But the Union sputtered again offensively and couldn't add to their season total of eight goals. That production is tied with Toronto FC for last in the 19-team league.

D.C. United leads the league with 29 goals.

Crew 0, Revs 0

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Andy Gruenebaum made five saves for his fifth shutout of the season to lead the Columbus Crew in a scoreless draw against the New England Revolution.

The Crew (5-4-4) extended their unbeaten streak to six matches (3-0-3) overall and five (3-0-2) against the Revolution.

Matt Reis had three saves for New England (5-7-2), getting his third shoutout of the season and 58th of his career. The Revolution had scored in six straight matches and totaled 12 goals in their previous six at home, but were shut out for the fifth time this season.

New England had some scoring chances in the first half, but Benny Feilhaber missed in the opening minute and Gruenebaum smothered Jose Moreno's solo breakaway attempt from the left side in the 15th. Saer Sene laced an 18-yard blast off the crossbar in the 29th minute and Fernado Cardenas had a shot off the right wing and a rebound in the 38th.

In the second half, Kelyn Rowe (72nd) and Lee Nguyen (90th) had shots knocked away by Gruenebaum.

Reis made a diving stave on Milovan Morosevic's drive in the eighth minute, and Morosevic had drive off the crossbar in stoppage time.

Dynamo 2, FC Dallas 1

HOUSTON -- Adam Moffat scored his first goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift Houston.

Moffat converted a big rebound for Houston (5-4-4) after FC Dallas goalkeeper Kevin Hartman made a save on a corner kick by Brad Davis.

FC Dallas (3-9-4) is winless in its last 10 games and played the last 26 minutes with just 10 players after Jair Benitez was given a red card. Benitez hit Dynamo midfielder Colin Clark in the head.

That play started a minor scrum between both teams, but cooler heads prevailed.

Jackson Goncalves tied the game in the 59th minute when he put a rebound past Tally Hall after Scott Sealy's initial shot caromed off Dynamo Houston defender Jermaine Taylor.

Both teams created multiple scoring chances in the first half, but Houston grabbed a 1-0 lead in the third minute on Bruin's goal. FC Dallas defender Hernan Pertuz tried to clear the ball, but his attempt deflected off Bruin and past Hartman from about eight yards out.

Dallas had six shots in the first half and nearly tied the game twice. The best chance came in the 16th minute when Scott Sealy beat Hall from 15 yards out, but his left-footed shot hit the far post.

Hall finished with three saves, and Houston improved to 9-3-7 all time against FC Dallas and 6-1-3 at home against its intrastate rivals.

Impact 4, Sounders 1

MONTREAL -- Felipe Martin, Justin Mapp, Andrew Wenger and Lamar Neagle all scored to spark Montreal.

Patrice Bernier assisted on three Impact goals to help Montreal (4-7-3) end a two-game losing streak.

Eddie Johnson scored for the Sounders (7-4-3), who were reduced to 10 men in the 57th minute when Jhon Kennedy Hurtado was sent off for a nasty tackle on Collen Warner.

Seattle is winless in its last five (0-3-2).

Bernier made a quick move at the right side of the area and slipped the ball to Martin at the top of the box to curl a shot inside the far post in the 18th minute.

Mapp scored 6 minutes into the second half when he took a long pass from Bernier and cut most of the way across the front of the penalty area before firing a low shot against the flow inside the left post.

Only seven minutes later, Bernier picked off a Seattle clearing attempt and slipped a pass to Wenger to score from the right side.

The Sounders got one back when Fredy Montero sent Johnson in alone to chip a ball over Ricketts in the 62nd minute.

Neagle, a former Sounder, replaced Mapp in the 62nd minute and scored his first goal of the year.

The game was the opener of the revamped and expanded Saputo Stadium. The expansion Impact played their first five MLS games next door at Olympic Stadium as work was completed on their grass field home park.

Real Salt Lake 3, Chivas USA 0

Carson, Calif. -- Fabian Espindola put Real Salt Lake (10-3-2) up in the 41st minute after a giveaway in midfield led to a Kyle Beckerman pass from 35 yards that found the Argentine, who eluded Chivas (4-7-3) defender Danny Califf to head in the opening goal.

Espindola added another goal in the 54th minutes when Ned Grabavoy found him mid-run. Espindola then deked past defender Rauwshan McKenzie before scoring his second of the night. With his two goal performance, Espindola placed himself in a tie with forward Alvaro Saborio for the club scoring lead.

Salt Lake added a third goal in stoppage time when midfielder Will Johnson had his first of the season.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

 
SI.com
Hot Topics: College Athlete of the Year Sidney Crosby Michael Phelps NBA Playoffs Matt Harvey Preakness Stakes
TM & © 2013 Time Inc. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Terms under which this service is provided to you. Read our privacy guidelines, your California privacy rights, and ad choices.
SI CoverRead All ArticlesBuy Cover Reprint