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SOCCER
Posted: Saturday July 7, 2012 11:21PM ; Updated: Sunday July 8, 2012 1:53AM

Draw gives Sporting KC portion of lead in East

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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Sporting Kansas City moved back into a share of the Eastern Conference lead with a 0-0 draw against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.

Sporting (10-5-3) has 33 points, tying them with idle D.C. United.

Houston (6-5-7) earned a road point and extended its unbeaten streak to three matches despite being outshot 17-7.

Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall made four saves and Sporting's Jimmy Nielsen had two in earning their respective shutouts.

It was the first meeting between Kansas City and Houston since the Dynamo's 2-0 win at Livestrong Sporting Park in the 2011 Eastern Conference final.

Jacob Peterson gave Sporting its best chance to take all three points when his shot in the 33rd minute beat Hall, but caromed off the right post and back into play.

Houston's best opportunities came early, but Sporting defender Matt Besler blocked Will Bruin's shot in the ninth minute and Nielsen saved Boniek Garcia's low shot in the 15th.

Real Salt Lake 3, Portland 0

SANDY, Utah -- Alvaro Saborio scored three second-half goals to help Real Salt Lake earn a 3-0 victory over the Portland Timbers.

RSL (11-6-3) snapped a four-game winless streak. Salt Lake also snapped a three-game winless streak at its home stadium. Portland (5-8-4) lost its third straight road game and is still winless away from home this season.

Saborio broke a prolonged scoring drought for RSL in the 60th minute. Luis Gil crossed the ball up top to Kyle Beckerman. Then Beckerman floated a pass down to Saborio in the center of the box. Saborio headed in the ball to make it 1-0.

He came up with an even better goal two minutes later. Chris Wingert fired a pass deep into the center of the box. Saborio met the ball on the run and headed it past Portland goalkeeper Troy Perkins to lift Salt Lake to a 2-0 advantage.

Saborio added to his tally when he converted a penalty kick following a handball call on Diego Chara to make 3-0 in the 75th minute.

Before Saborio's hat trick, RSL had gone 249 minutes without scoring a goal. He became just the third player in Salt Lake history to notch a hat trick in a game.

Salt Lake could not end its offensive drought before halftime, even though the team dominated possession and had a few shots at the goal. Finishing those shots proved problematic.

The best first-half scoring chance for Real came when Saborio pulled the trigger in the 18th minute and fired it down the center of the box. Saborio's shot never reached its intended target because teammate Paulo, Jr. accidentally deflected the ball away.

Portland fared no better. The Timbers did not generate a single shot on goal in the first half and had only four shots total in that span.

FC Dallas 0, San Jose 0

FRISCO, Texas -- Defenders Hernan Pertuz and Carlos Rodriguez each cleared shots off the goal line and Kevin Hartman made two spectacular saves in the final 10 minutes to preserve a 0-0 tie for FC Dallas against the San Jose Earthquakes.

The tie was the third in a row for FC Dallas (3-9-7), the Western Conference's worst team, and extended their franchise-record winless streak to 13 games (0-7-6).

The result allowed San Jose (11-4-4) to maintain its spot atop the MLS overall standings and preserved the league's best road record at 6-3-2.

After captain Ramiro Corrales was ejected in the 80th minute for his second yellow card within three minutes, San Jose was forced to finish the match with 10 men for the first time this season.

Still, the Earthquakes had two prime opportunities down the stretch, but were unable to solve Hartman, who made outstanding saves on Shea Salinas and Chris Wondolowski in the final minutes for his MLS-record 109th career shutout.

Dallas pushed forward until the final whistle, but its last-gasp attempt in the 93rd minute, a 30-yard blast from Rodriguez, was expertly punched out by Earthquake goalkeeper Jon Busch.

Busch made three saves for his fourth shutout of the season.

Each side had chances to snap the scoreless tie in the first half.

Vancouver 0, Chivas USA 0

CARSON, Calif. -- Joe Cannon earned his MLS-best eighth shutout of the season and the Vancouver Whitecaps and Chivas USA played to a draw.

The match was physical and featured six yellow cards from referee Juan Guzman.

With the match confined to midfield, both teams struggled to generate scoring chances. But it was Cannon who was the most active of the two goalkeepers, making four saves.

Cannon's finest moment came in the 73rd minute when the 37-year-old goalkeeper made a one-handed stop on a Paolo Cardozo free kick from the edge of the box.

Seattle 2, Colorado 1

SEATTLE -- Alvaro Fernandez scored on a header in the 52nd minute and Eddie Johnson scored in the 64th and the Seattle Sounders halted a nine-game winless streak.

Mauro Rosales assisted on both goals.

The Sounders (8-5-6, 30 points) had not won since a 2-0 decision at Dallas on May 9. Between then and Saturday, they went 0-4-5.

Saturday's game marked the return of Seattle midfielder Steve Zakuani. He played for the first time since April 22, 2011, when he suffered a broken right leg during a game in Colorado on a hard tackle by Brian Mullan. The Rapids forward was suspended for 10 games. Zakuani came on early in the 86th minute to a loud standing ovation from the 39,060 fans.

Second-half sub Omar Cummings scored in the 79th minute for Colorado (7-10-1, 22 points), which has lost two straight and four of its past five. An apparent tying goal by Jeff Larentowicz midway through the 85th minute was flagged offside.

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

 
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