There's plenty of material to cover and the headline speaks for itself, so let's get right to it.
THE GOOD
- Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Midfielder, Columbus Crew) scored twice more on Sunday to give the home side a 2-1 victory over Chivas USA. It was the second time in as many matches that the Argentinean provided all the scoring in a Crew victory on two goals.The reigning league MVP is all alone atop the scoring charts with 10 goals in 13 games.
- Marco Pappa (Midfielder, Chicago Fire) scored a wonderful goal for the visitors at RFK Stadium, though it ultimately wasn't enough. The Guatemalan now has four goals and two assists this season, and he's a big reason the Fire are still very much in a good spot, just a point behind D.C. United in the East.
- Christian Gomez (Midfielder, D.C. United) gave the Black-and-Red that top spot in the East on a wicked free kick, and he was unfortunate not to get a second goal later when his shot from long distance pinged off the crossbar. It looked like the Gomez of old, and a little confidence can go a long way.
- Cam Weaver (Forward, Houston Dynamo) netted a double on Saturday, scoring his first goals for the Dynamo after starting the season in San Jose. With Brian Ching in the national team picture, the rookie is likely to get more time. He could be a great third forward picked up on the cheap.
- Freddie Ljungberg (Midfielder, Seattle Sounders FC) had a goal and an assist in a home victory over San Jose. It's amazing how much better he plays when he's healthy...
THE BAD
- More questionable officiating over the weekend, with D.C. and Chicago both getting soft penalty kicks called against them. Unfortunately for the Fire, they couldn't convert theirs after an obvious make up call.
- Eddie Lewis (Midfielder, L.A. Galaxy) was shown a straight red card for throwing the ball at a player who was down following a foul call. It was a soft call at best, but it's L.A.'s fifth red card in 13 games. Playing a man down so much surely doesn't help matters for Bruce Arena.
- Emmanuel Osei (Defender, New England Revolution) got tossed for taking a whack at Claudio Lopez while on the ground. Stupid move.
- New York's defense left surprise starting goalkeeper Danny Cepero out to dry as the Red Bulls lost again Saturday, this time 2-1 at BMO Field. Both of Toronto FC's goals came on rebounds, including one on a penalty kick that Cepero had stopped. At 2-10-3, how much longer will it be before the club changes coaches ... for the umpteenth time.
THE UGLY
- Andrew Boyens (Defender, New York Red Bulls) completely whiffed on an attempted clearance Sunday, resulting in a simple finish for the opposing forward on Sunday. The only good news for Red Bulls fans was that he embarrassed himself while wearing his national team jersey. New Zealand was thoroughly trounced by Spain 5-0 at the Confederations Cup in South Africa.