WASHINGTON, DC (Jun 15, 2008) USSoccerPlayers -- Minus Landon Donovan and Carlos Ruiz, Edson Buddle once again answered LA's depth question with a hat-trick against the Earthquakes.
Colorado 1 - Toronto 3
Let's do ourselves a favor and just expect Toronto not to lose at fortress BMI. Toronto got their opener from Danny Dichio in the 37th minute and added two more from Rohan Ricketts in the 58th and 67th. Christian Gomez ruined backup keeper Brian Edwards' shutout in the 80th who had a stelar performance otherwise, stopping seven shots.
Credit FC coach John Carver for seeing that as a problem rather than just focusing on the win.
“What frustrates me is you get into a lead of 3 nil and against good sides they punish you," he said. "I’ve seen sides come back from that before, and we got complacent, we got sloppy, we got lazy and I told them that. I’m not happy with that because I wanted to keep a clean sheet and win the game 3 nil. We’ve got to be professional enough to drive it home when you take a lead, a decent commanding lead of 3 nil – and punish the opposition as much as you can. I’m not a happy coach because we’ve conceded a goal.”
Meanwhile, Colorado coach Fernando Clavijo pointed to relative roster strength. "We have 9 players that started today from our reserve team, that’s very positive. Again, you can see we’re missing crucial players in key positions, and we’re not there yet with some of the younger players.”
New York 1 - DC 4
Welcome back Luciano Emilio. 2007's offense force returned for DC against New York, scoring in the 23rd, 46th, and 54th in what quickly turned into a route of an unrecognizable Red Bulls squad.
"I've been playing the same all along," Emilio said. "I think the difference is that were creating more chances now as a group and obviously I have more opportunities."
Dave van den Bergh ruined the shutout in the 54th, with Clyde Simms getting DC's second goal in the 26th.
"It's or mistakes, you know," said van den Bergh. "Jaime Moreno could drop, receive it and turn. If you see how our forwards were treated -- they didn't have time to control the ball, let alone turning. We kind of played into their strengths, which is the worst thing you can do against a good team like this."
Columbus 3 - Kansas City 0
Will Hesmer got the shutout and Chad Marshall and Alejandro Moreno got the goals in the 3rd, 21st, and 67th minute to put away the Wizards at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
"I thought our team played really well tonight," Hesmer said. "It's a good feeling right now. We're clean at winning our one-on-one battles, playing as a team, and putting out fires as soon as they start. That was what it took to come out on top tonight."
"We just shot ourselves in the foot," Wizards coach Curt Onalfo said "We lost the game in the first 20 minutes against a very good, opportunistic Columbus team.... You want the storyline to write 'you're coming home, you haven't been home for six games and you want it to be a perfect scenario where you get off to a good start, get the fans behind you and everything else.' But we shot ourselves in the foot."
Los Angeles 3 - San Jose 0
Same score line at McAfee Coliseum, where Edson Buddle hit in the 6th, 63rd, and 68th to raise his season total to eight and dominate San Jose. Buddle took six shots, scoring on all three he put on frame.
"I have been working hard in training and just getting a lot of repetitions in, Buddle said. "The balls that I get in training and in the game are on time and if I time my runs well I will have opportunities."
"Edson is a player that is getting better all the time," Galaxy midfielder David Beckham said. "He is a hard worker. He proved tonight how good he is and he proves it in training every day. He is scoring goals and creating opportunities. He is a handful to play against."
Salt Lake 1 - Chivas USA 0
The battle of the expansion class ended with RSL finally taking one from Chivas USA in Carson. Robbie Findley got the goal in the 34th minute in a game that was otherwise even. Well, except for the small matter of Chivas USA's 23 fouls to Salt Lake's 14. For all the fouling, RSL led in cards four yellows to two.
"I'm so, so proud of the guys," RSL coach Jason Kreis said. "I said at halftime to them that 'here we are again, in a spot that we've talked about multiple times this season, so let's show everybody, let's show ourselves that we've learned something,' and the guys did a fantastic job with that. They've taken a big step forward by showing that they're learning."
In a surprise move, Chivas USA coach Preki took off Atiba Harris and Jonathan Bornstein for Justin Braun and Raphael Wicky. He also faced an issue with National Team duty, finding out late on Saturday that Sacha Klejstan would be able to play for Chivas USA but Brad Guzan would not. Guzan would end up starting for the US on Sunday against Barbados after Tim Howard was injured in practice on Friday.
"I didn't think we were particularly sharp in the first half," Preki said. "Actually, quite a few guys that weren't sharp, and I didn't feel like the commitment was good from the get-go. We made one or two mistakes and we paid for it."
Dallas 1 - Chicago 0
The Fire slip again, this time unable to answer Kenny Cooper's 17th minute opener while allowing ten shots on goal. Jon Busch stopped nine, a wasted performance when his offense can't get him at least a point.
"We gave up an early goal, and a bad goal," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "I think it was just a little too easy. I think after that, given the conditions, it made it hard, because whoever got that first goal was going to sit and look for the counter."
