Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

By THOMAS FLOYD

The Chicago Fire haven't had much to celebrate in a season marred by the ouster of coach Carlos de los Cobos and a league-low four wins through 26 games.

But Tuesday's 2-1 triumph over the Richmond Kickers put Chicago in the U.

None of the MLS post-season awards are as fluid as the league's Most Valuable Player race.

Brek Shea may be the flavor of the moment, and rightly so. But if the young attacker "hits the wall," as they say, he could slide like a puppy on a slick tile floor.

Mauro Rosales (the biggest bargain in MLS – scroll to the bottom once you link to the piece) is toting the note for Seattle's attack as his Seattle nip annoyingly at the Galaxy heals in the West.

BY JONATHAN VERA

CARSON, Calif.--D.C. United received a very encouraging sign from striker Charlie Davies that he was ready to take on a bigger role as the club hits the playoff stretch drive, but also faced the devastating news that they lost one of their best performers of the 2011 season.

Apparently Office Joe is some sort of soothsayer as he predicted D.C. United would win (although he had the score wrong) and he somehow new that United forward Charlie Davies would return to his early season goal scoring form, predicting Davies would have a "break out game".
The hat-trick from Davies and the much needed 3 points where obvious positives from Saturday night in L.

DC United started another one game win streak with a rousing 3-0 victory in LA against Chivas, and now faces a critical run of 5 games in 16 days starting with the match tomorrow night in Seattle against a Sounders ...

The Major League Soccer playoff picture is slowly coming into focus as we head towards the stretch run. The race for the final wild card spots will be a good one with the Red Bulls and upstart Portland Timbers on the heels of DC United, Houston, and to some extent the defending champion Colorado Rapids.

With eight regular season matches left in the current MLS season, D.C. United will have to make the most of every game and can not afford to lose any more ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
D.C. United currently are two points behind New York who sits in the final wild card playoff spot and a distant five points behind the last playoff team in the East, Philadelphia.

Ben Olsen was furious as DC United's playoff hopes took a body blow when they let a two goal lead slip away at home allowing Chivas to tie the game in the second half, and DC even missed a stoppage time penalty kick ...

As predicted yesterday D.C. United struggled to contain Juan Pablo Angel in last evenings important match against Chivas USA.
VASoccerNews: "Keep an eye out for Juan Pablo Angel who finally snapped his scoring drought with a goal against Chicago...Goal scorers like JPA often score in bunches, just ask Davies.

Fans who saw the scoreline of September 10th's 3-0 win by DC United over Chivas would assume that DCU would win handily against the Goats at home and, with New York's loss, would move into the driver's seat with their ...
Visit http://www.majorleaguesoccertalk.com for the rest of the story.

After a depressing draw to Chivas, United must regroup and find a way to beat RSL, one of the best teams in MLS the past few seasons. However, history is on their side, and perhaps the wrath of Ben Olsen ...

After a depressing draw to Chivas, United must regroup and find a way to beat RSL, one of the best teams in MLS the past few seasons. However, history is on their side, and perhaps the wrath of Ben Olsen ...

Photo: Paul Rudderow

After Saturday's action, four points are all that separate the top six teams in the Eastern Conference.

Houston rose to first place when Geoff Cameron scored in the 87th. KC and Columbus are tied for second after the Crew lost to LA and KC tied the Union.

Following a loss on the road to Seattle 0-3 and settling for a draw with Chivas USA despite a 2-0 halftime lead VASoccerNews asked via Twitter if Ben Olsen's job as Head Coach might be in jeopardy should United not manage to make the playoffs for the 2011 MLS Season.
For the sake of a fair debate VASocerNews enlisted the help of a guest blogger,Ryan Keefer, to argue 'for' Olsen remaining as Head Coach for the Black and Red.

Photo: Nicolae Stoian

Union

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation reports that Keon Daniel may have contracted dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness, and will miss the CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Bermuda. The guy simply cannot catch a break.

JP Dellacamera says the Kansas City draw is cause for optimism.

Photo: Nicolae Stoian

Union

The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation reports that Keon Daniel may have contracted dengue fever, a mosquito-borne illness, and will miss the CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against Bermuda. The guy simply cannot catch a break.

JP Dellacamera says the Kansas City draw is cause for optimism.

DC United head to PPL Park in Philadelphia to take on the Philadelphia Union in match that could easily have crucial implications on the playoff picture for both teams. As Eastern Conference rivals, this match could have more than a ...

By THOMAS FLOYD

The last time D.C. United recorded back-to-back league wins, Tom Soehn was the coach, Josh Wicks was in goal, and the attack was led by Ben Olsen, Christian Gomez, Luciano Emilio and Jaime Moreno.

That was June 2009. Needless to say, a lot has changed for United and now-coach Olsen in the past 27 months, but the lack of any sort of winning streak has continued.

By JOEY SAMUEL

CHESTER, Pa.--In the ever-changing Eastern Conference playoff race, the Philadelphia Union have become the latest team to post a statement win.

A night after Sporting Kansas City made their intentions of winning the East clear with a 2-1 win over Columbus, the Union responded by defeating bitter rivals D.