Saturday's Three Stars

• by Ridge Mahoney  @ridgemax, May 23, 2010

[MLS] The teams with the better records won all four of Saturday’s games, and those victories included vital road wins for San Jose and Real Salt Lake against Western Conference foes. Here are Saturday's Three Stars ...

Saturday's Three Stars

1. DOMINIC ODURO (Houston).

The Dynamo repeatedly dismantled D.C.’s defense in rolling to a 2-0 win at Robertson Stadium as Oduro and several teammates riddled their opponents with swift attacks. Oduro scored the second goal by peeling away from a pair of markers and smashing a bouncing Luis Landin square pass into the net. He’d earlier set up Brian Mullan for a good chance with a clever waist-high flick while facing away from goal as an opponent hit him from behind, and fired a hard, rising shot that required a sharp save from Troy Perkins. He nearly scored again in the 60th minute when he met a Danny Cruz cross with a flying volley that looped just over the crossbar.

2. CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI (San Jose).

He pounced on free kick flicked on by defender Bobby Burling to drill a first-time shot into the net from close range as the Quakes posted their first MLS win in Seattle, 1-0, and recorded a fourth straight shutout for the first time since 2004. He also took over the team scoring lead with his fifth goal, and nearly scored a sixth late in the match when he cut into the middle to fire a left-footer from distance that narrowly missed the top corner.

3. FABIAN ESPINDOLA (Real Salt Lake).

The Argentine came off the bench in the 78th minute and 11 minutes later struck a dramatic winner to keep RSL in a tie for second place. The defending champion  lost midfielder and captain Kyle Beckerman to an ankle injury early in the match, but took a 1-0 lead in first-half stoppage time when defender Chris Wingert scored the first goal of his MLS career. Coach Jason Kreis brought Espindola on as a sub with RSL still leading, and following a Justin Braun equalizer, Espindola chased down a deflected pass from Alvaro Saborio and cut inside from the left wing to sting a low, left-footed blast that appeared to deceive keeper Zach Thornton on its way into the net.



Saturday's Three Stars

1. DOMINIC ODURO (Houston).

The Dynamo repeatedly dismantled D.C.’s defense in rolling to a 2-0 win at Robertson Stadium as Oduro and several teammates riddled their opponents with swift attacks. Oduro scored the second goal by peeling away from a pair of markers and smashing a bouncing Luis Landin square pass into the net. He’d earlier set up Brian Mullan for a good chance with a clever waist-high flick while facing away from goal as an opponent hit him from behind, and fired a hard, rising shot that required a sharp save from Troy Perkins. He nearly scored again in the 60th minute when he met a Danny Cruz cross with a flying volley that looped just over the crossbar.

2. CHRIS WONDOLOWSKI (San Jose).

He pounced on free kick flicked on by defender Bobby Burling to drill a first-time shot into the net from close range as the Quakes posted their first MLS win in Seattle, 1-0, and recorded a fourth straight shutout for the first time since 2004. He also took over the team scoring lead with his fifth goal, and nearly scored a sixth late in the match when he cut into the middle to fire a left-footer from distance that narrowly missed the top corner.

3. FABIAN ESPINDOLA (Real Salt Lake).

The Argentine came off the bench in the 78th minute and 11 minutes later struck a dramatic winner to keep RSL in a tie for second place. The defending champion  lost midfielder and captain Kyle Beckerman to an ankle injury early in the match, but took a 1-0 lead in first-half stoppage time when defender Chris Wingert scored the first goal of his MLS career. Coach Jason Kreis brought Espindola on as a sub with RSL still leading, and following a Justin Braun equalizer, Espindola chased down a deflected pass from Alvaro Saborio and cut inside from the left wing to sting a low, left-footed blast that appeared to deceive keeper Zach Thornton on its way into the net.