DC United got another Luciano Emilio double to go clear in the East, while Houston outgunned Real Salt Lake to stay ahead of the chasing pack in the West.

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GALAXY EXACT RAPIDS REVENGE
Thirteen days after a deflating 3-0 road loss to the Colorado Rapids, the Los Angeles retaliated with a 3-1 victory over Colorado at the Home Depot Center on Saturday night, breathing just a little life into their faint playoff hopes.

With Landon Donovan not in the lineup after being called into the US camp the friendly against Brazil, the Galaxy finally put things together on the field, using three second half goals to snap a miserable six-game losing streak that saw them sink to the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

The first quality chance of the game went to Los Angeles in the 21st minute when Cobi Jones fed the ball to Edson Buddle on the right side of the box. Turning the corner around his defender, Buddle fired a hard shot as he crossed the six-yard line, but Rapids keeper Bouna Coundoul was ready, getting down low to make the save.

In the 38th minute, the Rapids nearly cashed in when Jovan Kirovski found Mehdi Ballouchy streaking down the left side of the field. One-on-one at an angle with Galaxy keeper Joe Cannon, Ballouchy opted to shoot instead of passing to two wide open teammates, but his effort intended for the corner flew just over the crossbar.

Five minutes before the half, Galaxy forward Alan Gordon threatened, bringing the ball down in the box with his chest. Avoiding a sprawling defender, he fired a point blank shot at the Colorado goal, only to see Coundoul make another good stop.

With the halftime words of their manager still ringing in their ears, the Galaxy opened up a lead just 25 seconds into the second stanza. Controlling the ball in midfield, Pete Vagenas sent a ball in over the top to Gordon.

As Coundoul came off his line to intercept the pass, he inadvertently overran the ball, giving Gordon enough space to sneak around the keeper and tap it into an empty net for his second goal of the season.

After the play, Coundoul laid on the ground for several minutes with an apparent abdominal muscle injury and required a visit from the trainer before resuming play.

Los Angeles looked poised to double their lead in the 55th minute. Off a Kyle Martino corner kick, Buddle rose above his defender, knocking a shot on frame with his head that got by a diving Coundoul, but was cleared off the goal line by Ballouchy. Shortly thereafter, Coundoul was unable to continue, coming off in favor of Zach Thornton.

Coming into the match cold, Thornton would be beaten in the 63rd minute by Buddle. Midfield ace Vagenas set the table for this attack also, laying the ball off to Jones, who threaded a pass to Buddle between two Colorado defenders. As the flag stayed down, Buddle chipped the ball over a charging Thornton and into the back of the net with his left foot to give Los Angeles some breathing room.

Cannon prevented Colorado from pulling one back in the 65th minute, deflecting away a line drive shot from former Galaxy standout Herculez Gomez after a loose ball came to him at the top of the box.

In the 70th minute, Los Angeles tacked on another goal to seal the game when Chris Klein's cross was met by a diving Martino. The 2002 Rookie of the Year's header beat Thornton at the near post to give the Galaxy an insurmountable three-goal lead.

The Rapids would get a meaningless goal just before full time after Cannon failed to clear the ball away off a Colorado corner kick. Ballouchy took advantage of the mistake, stepping up to volley the ball through the crowd of players in front of goal and into the upper corner for his first goal of the season.

With the victory, the Galaxy move to 4-11-5 on the season, and trail the Chicago Fire by 12 points for the eighth and final playoff spot, though Los Angeles does have three games in hand. Their next match will come on Thursday, facing off against city rivals Chivas USA with the Honda SuperClasico on the line.

For the Rapids, their loss coupled with a Fire win on Saturday night, means that Colorado has fallen into a tie with the Columbus Crew for ninth place, just one point behind Chicago for that last ticket to the postseason. Fernando Clavijo's club will return to action next Sunday when Chivas USA rolls into Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

Scoring
LA - Alan Gordon 2 (Peter Vagenas) 46'
LA - Edson Buddle 4 (Cobi Jones, Peter Vagenas) 63'
LA - Kyle Martino 2 (Chris Klein, Cobi Jones) 70'
COL - Mehdi Ballouchy 1 89'

Line-ups
COL - Bouna Coundoul (Zach Thornton 58'); Ugo Ihemelu, Facundo Erpen (Jacob Peterson 71'), Mike Petke, Brandon Prideaux, Terry Cooke, Mehdi Ballouchy, Tony Sanneh, Colin Clark, Herculez Gomez (Omar Cummings 86'), Jovan Kirovski

LA - Joe Cannon; Chris Klein, Ty Harden (Kyle Veris 80'), Abel Xavier, Mike Randolph, Cobi Jones, Kevin Harmse, Peter Vagenas, Kyle Martino, Edson Buddle (Carlos Pavon 64'), Alan Gordon (Gavin Glinton 57')

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FIRE STAY RED-HOT IN THE RAIN
A driving rain could do little to extinguish red-hot Chicago as the Fire got a second half goal from Costa Rica international Paulo Wanchope to defeat the Columbus Crew 1-0 on Saturday night at Crew Stadium.

With both teams fighting for the last playoff spot in Major League Soccer, the Crew came out determined to strike early and nearly did so in the very first minute of play. Argentinean playmaker Guillermo Barros Schelotto's free kick from the left side was met in the box by the head of Rusty Pierce, with the defender's effort ending up over the crossbar.

Unfortunately for the Crew, Schelotto would be forced out of the game in the 10th minute with a strained hamstring after fouling Chicago's Cuauhtémoc Blanco.

In the 19th minute, Blanco would have a free kick opportunity of his own, striking the ball well and toward the upper corner. Columbus keeper Will Hesmer would have none of it, however, parrying the ball over the crossbar to deny the Mexico star.

Columbus would get their best chance of game in the 32nd minute when Jacob Thomas sent in a cross to Alejandro Moreno. Settling the ball at the six-yard line amongst three Fire defenders, Moreno had just enough time to get his shot away, missing by mere inches to the wrong side of the post.

Chicago nearly grabbed the lead just before halftime when Blanco sent a deep cross into the box, where Wanchope was waiting. The well-traveled striker's header was placed nearly perfectly, but Hesmer ably dove to his right to make the save and keep the game scoreless.

Less than a minute later, the game would be halted with lightning in the area. After a 32-minute delay, referee Josef Batko decided it was safe to resume.

Ricardo Virtuoso, subbed into the game in place of Schelotto, recovered a loose ball and broke in on goal in first-half stoppage time, but his rocket-shot sailed wide of the net, taking the game into halftime with nothing to separate the two teams.

Things would get chippy in the second half, starting when Columbus' Jacob Thomas crashed into Chicago keeper Matt Pickens in the 53rd minute while going for the ball. A minor scuffle ensued in front of the net, with Thomas emerging from the scrum with a torn jersey. Amazingly, no players were served with yellow cards following the altercation.

Thomas would continue to make things difficult for the Fire in the 62nd minute, making a run down the right side before finding Virtuoso at the top of the box. The Brazilian forward used a cutback move on his defender before taking aim at the Chicago goal, but his shot was deflected by a second Fire defender, causing the ball to shoot high in the air and out of play.

On the ensuing corner kick, Eddie Gaven's in-swinger found Marcos Gonzalez, whose glancing header beat Pickens but struck firmly off the post before being cleared out of danger.

Just as the momentum seemed firmly in the Columbus camp, Chicago struck gold through the combination of two of their newest signings. Defender Wilman Conde, playing in his first game since joining the club from Millonarios of Colombia, linked up with Wanchope with a ball over the top that beat the Crew's offside trap. In alone on goal, Wanchope kept the ball low with his shot to beat Hesmer, giving Chicago a 1-0 lead with his second MLS goal.

In the 79th minute, Eddie Gaven's free kick nearly pulled Columbus level, but his shot spun just wide of the near post.

Second half substitute Kei Kamara also had a chance to notch the equalizer two minutes from full-time, but his shot was turned away by Pickens to preserve the shutout and the victory for the Fire.

With the victory, Chicago has vaulted into the eight and final playoff position, leap-frogging over the Crew and the Colorado Rapids, who also lost this weekend. The Fire will host the sliding New York Red Bulls this upcoming Saturday, hoping to put some space between themselves and the other playoff hopefuls.

The loss extends the Crew's winless streak to seven games, as Sigi Schmid's club has fallen into a tie for ninth place in the MLS standings. Trailing Chicago by a single point for that last playoff spot, Columbus will try to get back on track this Saturday when they travel to Kansas City to take on the Wizards.

Scoring
CHI - Paulo Wanchope 2 (Wilman Conde) 65'

Line-ups
CHI - Matt Pickens; C.J. Brown, Wilman Conde, Dasan Robinson, Logan Pause, Chris Armas, Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Bakary Soumare, Diego Gutierrez (Mike Banner 62'), Paulo Wanchope (Chad Barrett 72'), Chris Rolfe (Calen Carr 82')

CLB - Will Hesmer; Frankie Hejduk, Marcos Gonzalez, Rusty Pierce (Ezra Hendrickson 19'), Stefani Miglioranzi, Guillermo Barros Schelotto (Ricardo Virtuoso 10'), Danny O'Rourke, Duncan Oughton, Eddie Gaven, Jacob Thomas (Kei Kamara 71'), Alejandro Moreno

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DYNAMO OVERPOWERS RSL
Defending champions Houston needed a Nate Jaqua hat trick and an all-star game from Corey Ashe to defeat suddenly lethal Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

The win extends Houston's winning streak to four, while also stopping Salt Lakes only winning streak of the season at two games.

Jaqua and Ashe got started early for the Dynamo, as the two combined in the sixth minute to score for the first of three times through the match. The goal was simple enough, an Ashe cross from the right side found Jaqua in the center of the box and he one-timed his shot past Salt Lake keeper Nick Rimando.

Real pulled one back, however, with another goal from new Argentine singing Fabian Espindola, who beat Pat Onstad inside the far post before Houston defender Eddie Robinson scored to give Houston the lead just 10 minutes later.

The teams went in to halftime with the 2-1 scoreline, and the Dynamo came back out prepared to build on their lead.

Ashe and Jaqua combined for the second time in eerily similar fashion to the first to give the Dynamo a 3-1 advantage just three minutes out of the break before combining once again with a cross and header in the 57th minute.

If the 4-1 scoreline seemed insurmountable to Real Salt Lake, they certainly didn't show it as Carey Talley headed home a Javier Morales corner kick in the 69th before Kyle Brown made things interesting with an opportunistic goal in the 82nd minute.

However, the Rocky Mountain side couldn't find a way to finish that last chance, as Houston held on to collect all three points.

Scoring
HOU - Nate Jaqua 4 (Corey Ashe) 6'
RSL - Fabian Espindola 2 18'
HOU - Eddie Robinson 1 (Richard Mulrooney) 28'
HOU - Nate Jaqua 5 (Corey Ashe, Dwayne De Rosario) 48'
HOU - Nate Jaqua 6 (Corey Ashe) 57'
RSL - Carey Talley 2 (Javier Morales) 69'
RSL - Kyle Brown 1 82'

Line-ups
RSL - Nick Rimando; Jean-Martial Kipre, Matias Mantilla, Eddie Pope (Chris Wingert 53'), Ritchie Kotschau, Robbie Findley, Kyle Beckerman, Javier Morales, Carey Talley, Alecko Eskandarian (Kyle Brown 60'), Fabian Espindola (Andy Williams 55')

HOU - Pat Onstad; Richard Mulrooney, Ryan Cochrane, Eddie Robinson, Wade Barrett, Ricardo Clark, Dwayne De Rosario, Corey Ashe, Brian Mullan, Nate Jaqua, Joseph Ngwenya

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FC DALLAS WIN HITS THE SPOT
A pair of penalty kicks edged FC Dallas past visiting Toronto FC at Pizza Hut Park on Saturday night. Shutout for the eighth consecutive league match, TFC's record drought has reached 732 minutes without a goal.

Denílson and Abe Thompson would both convert from the spot, keeping Dallas in the chase for the Western Conference title, now a three-team race with Houston and Chivas USA.

Toronto looked to shake the monkey off their back early in the match, with Maurice Edu pouncing on a loose ball in the box and firing a shot from 12 yards out, only to see his effort fly well over the crossbar and into the stands.

In the 33rd minute, Thompson ran onto a ball that was sent over the top by Arturo Alvarez and Toronto defender Tyrone Marshall was forced to take him down with a shove from behind. Instantly, referee Hilario Grajeda pointed to the spot and served Marshall with a yellow card for his troubles.

Major League Soccer's newest Designated Player signing, Denílson, stepped up to take the penalty kick, his shot kissing off the left post and going in as Toronto keeper Kenny Stamatopoulos dove the wrong way. It was the Brazilian's first goal in his first start since joining FC Dallas.

In the 86th minute, Dominic Oduro drew a penalty kick as he was swung around and tackled from behind by TFC's Joey Melo inside the box. Thompson, the player who drew the first penalty in the game, calmly stepped up and slotted the ball into the left side of the net, icing the game for Dallas.

Despite Toronto creating a number of quality chances, their every attempt to find the back of the net was thwarted by Sala, leaving Mo Johnston's team shaking their head.

TFC has now gone winless in their last nine league matches, outscored 14-1 over that span dating back to July 4th. They are nine points behind the Chicago fire for the last playoff spot and need to turn things around, starting with Saturday's home game against Real Salt Lake.

With the victory, FC Dallas moves back within three points of Houston in the Western Conference. Their next league match comes on Saturday as they travel to New England to take on the Revolution.

Scoring
FCD - Denílson 1 (PK) 36'
FCD - Abe Thompson 3 (PK) 87'

Line-ups
TFC - Kenny Stamatopoulos; Adam Braz (Joey Melo 72'), Andrew Boyens, Tyrone Marshall, Jim Brennan, Marvell Wynne, Todd Dunivant, Maurice Edu, Chris Pozniak, Andrea Lombardo (Miguel Canizalez 82), Collin Samuel

FCD - Dario Sala; Drew Moor, Aaron Pitchkolan, Adrian Serioux, David Wagenfuhr, Arturo Alvarez (Dominic Oduro 82'), Denílson, Pablo Ricchetti, Juan Toja (Alex Yi 89'), Ricardinho (Dax McCarty 65'), Abe Thompson

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EMILIO LIFTS UNITED LATE
DC United continued their unbeaten run and asserted their dominance over the Eastern Conference on Sunday, using a pair of Luciano Emilio goals to overcome the New England Revolution 4-2 at RFK.

Four of the six goals scored game in the second half, as the teams were tied 1-1 at halftime thanks to a cool Fred finish in the 31st minute and a magnificent Taylor Twellman volley just before the interval.

New England gained the lead in the 54th minute in the most unruly of circumstances, as Jay Heaps capitalized on a goalmouth melee after the United defense caved on a Steve Ralston corner kick.

DC would come right back, however, striking from a similarly close range. After taking hold of a nice through ball in the box, Jaime Moreno had to shoot not once, not twice, but three times as he deftly chipped the ball over Matt Reis and into the side netting of the far post.

From then on, it was the Luciano Emilio show as MLS' leading goal scorer added two more to his tally.

The first came courtesy of a few lucky bounces as Christian Gomez's shot from outside the box deflected off of Emilio and into the back of the net.

The clincher required a bit more skill as Emilio did well to fight off the attentions of the Revolution defense, volleying home substitute Brian Carroll's cross to seal the deal in the 83rd minute.

Scoring
DCU - Fred 6 (Jaime Moreno) 31'
NE - Taylor Twellman 12 (Khano Smith) 45'
NE - Jay Heaps 1 54'
DCU - Jaime Moreno 5 59'
DCU - Luciano Emilio 17 (Christian Gomez, Ben Olsen) 67'
DCU - Luciano Emilio 18 (Brian Carroll) 83'

Line-ups
NE - Matt Reis; Jay Heaps, Jeff Larentowicz, Michael Parkhurst, Avery John, Steve Ralston, Andy Dorman (Sainey Nyassi 82'), Shalrie Joseph, Khano Smith (Wells Thompson 70'), Pat Noonan (Adam Cristman 62'), Taylor Twellman

DCU - Troy Perkins; Bryan Namoff, Devon McTavish, Greg Vanney, Marc Burch, Joshua Gros, Christian Gomez (Bobby Boswell 77'), Clyde Simms (Brian Carroll 69'), Fred (Ben Olsen 61'), Luciano Emilio, Jaime Moreno

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GALINDO PAIR TRUMPS NEW YORK
Maykel Galindo scored twice in the first hour and Ante Razov tallied his 106th career goal on a penalty kick as Chivas USA stormed to victory over the New York Red Bulls on Sunday evening at the Home Depot Center.

Roaring out of the gate, Chivas stung the Red Bulls defense with a goal in the fourth minute when Razov served the ball through the box to Sacha Kljestan. Celebrating his 22nd birthday, Kljestan settled in the right side of the box and sent the ball through the legs of New York defender Kevin Goldthwaite, gifting a perfect ball to Galindo, who easily slotted the ball past Ronald Waterreus for his 11th goal of the season.

The Red Bulls tried to respond in the 19th minute via a Juan Pablo Angel free kick from the top of the box. Headed for the upper corner, Angel's effort was foiled by Brad Guzan as the Chivas goalkeeper was able to parry the shot over the crossbar with right hand.

Another free kick from the Colombian forward three minutes later would sail just over the crossbar, shaking the net as it went past.

In the 35th minute, Chivas nearly doubled their advantage when Francisco Mendoza flicked the ball over the Red Bulls defense to find Razov running in on goal. Before he could fire a shot, Waterreus slid out to break up the chance. Kljestan's follow-up shot from outside the box was easily handled by the Dutch goalkeeper, keeping the Red Bulls down by only one goal heading into halftime.

New York head coach Bruce Arena opted to make a substitution at the half, bringing in speedy winger Francis Doe to replace the shaky defending of Goldthwaite. The switch nearly paid off just 20 seconds into the second half as New York threatened to equalize when Doe drove down the left side and dropped the ball off at the top of the box for John Wolyniec, whose shot forced a diving save from Guzan.

In the 57th minute, Chivas caught New York flat-footed and initiated a stealthy counterattack, with Galindo outrunning Seth Stammler, who was the only defender back. In alone on Waterreus, the Cuban sensation chipped the ball over the goalkeeper, allowing him to get a piece of it before it trickled into the net.

Just after the hour mark, Angel tried to pull one back for New York after receiving a pass in space on the right side, but his effort got caught in the side netting.

In the 69th minute, Laurent Merlin drew a penalty kick when he was shoved to the ground inside the box by Jeff Parke. Razov was chosen to take the kick, Chivas' first of the season, and he made it count, putting the ball to the right side of Waterreus as he guessed to his left for career goal #106, four shy of Jaime Moreno's MLS record.

Jorge Flores made his MLS debut for Chivas in the 76th minute, coming on for Francisco Mendoza. Immediately making his presence felt, the 17-year old winner of Sueno MLS ripped a left-footed shot toward the net, his effort flying just wide of the far post.

Apparently content with the scoreline, both teams coasted for the rest of the way as Guzan picked up his 10th shutout in 19 games and Chivas tallied their eighth win in 10 home games this season.

With the win, Chivas jumps ahead of Dallas for second place in the Western Conference, and now trail the Houston Dynamo by two points with three games in hand. Their next league match will be the fourth installment of the Honda SuperClasico against the Los Angeles Galaxy, to take place on Thursday.

New York has now gone down to defeat three times in their last four matches, leaving them in sixth place in the league. They travel to Chicago on Saturday to face the resurgent Fire.

Scoring
CHV - Maykel Galindo 11 (Sacha Kljestan, Ante Razov) 4'
CHV - Maykel Galindo 12 58'
CHV - Ante Razov 8 (PK) 70'

Line-ups
NYRB - Ronald Waterreus; Chris Leitch, Jeff Parke, Seth Stammler, Kevin Goldthwaite (Francis Doe 46'), Joe Vide, Claudio Reyna, Dave van den Bergh, Clint Mathis (Mike Magee 37'), John Wolyniec (Dema Kovalenko 62'), Juan Pablo Angel

CHV - Brad Guzan; Lawson Vaughn, Jason Hernandez, Shavar Thomas, Jonathan Bornstein, Sacha Kljestan, Jesse Marsch (Orlando Perez 72'), Paulo Nagamura, Francisco Mendoza (Jorge Flores 76'), Maykel Galindo (Laurent Merlin 62'), Ante Razov