Crew concede late, all depends on final game.

The Columbus Crew (new logo under consideration), couldn't hold a 1-0 lead against Saprissa at home and now must draw or win at Puerto Rico to advance to the knock out stages of the CONCACAF Champions League.

Playoffs Unofficially Begin

Yes, I realize there is still a full month of action to play in the regular season, but October is sure to be full of drama, close finishes, and surprises. This weeks action kicks off tonight with the New England Revolution traveling to take on FC Dallas (7pm EST, MLS Direct Kick). After that match in the same stadium will be a Mexico-Columbia friendly (9:30pm EST, Telemundo). This weekend's action features some tasty match-ups, including the Fire visiting the Galaxy, the Sounders visiting the Crew, and the Revs travel to Commerce City to take on the Rapids. There's even a battle of the bottom-feeders as New York travels to San Jose. Here's the full schedule:

Friday:
Chicago Fire @ LA Galaxy; 11pm EST on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes

Saturday:
Seattle Sounders FC @ Columbus Crew; 7:30pm EST on MLS Direct Kick
Chivas USA @ DC United; 7:30pm EST on MLS Direct Kick
New England Revolution @ Colorado Rapids; 9pm EST on MLS Direct Kick
New York Red Bulls @ San Jose Earthquakes; 11pm EST on Fox Soccer Channel

Sunday:
Kansas City Wizards @ Houston Dyanmo; 3pm EST on Telefutura

MLS Final Weekend Lookback

The MLS playoff picture is crystal clear after this weekends matches. With only one more match left to be played (New England Revolution @ FC Dallas; 7pm EST on MLS Direct Kick), it is ultimately a meaningless match. Here are the results from this past weekend:

Saturday:
LA Galaxy 0, Columbus Crew 2
Seattle Sounders 1, New England Revolution 2
Colorado Rapids 0, Kansas City Wizards 0
FC Dallas 3, Real Salt Lake 2
Toronto FC 2, Chicago Fire 2
New York Red Bulls 1, Chivas USA 1

Sunday:
San Jose Earthquakes 2, DC United 1

These results mean that these teams are qualified for the playoffs:
Columbus Crew - E1 - 46 points
Houston Dynamo - W1 - 43 points
LA Galaxy - W2 - 41 points
Chicago Fire - E2 - 41 points
Colorado Rapids - WC - 39 points
Chivas USA - WC - 38 points
Seattle Sounders FC - 38 points
New England Revolution - 38 points

US U20 World Cup Preview

No, I didn't forget out arguably the most important competition other than the full blown World Cup. This years version of the U20 World Cup features, once again, the US stuck in a group of death (with Germany, South Korea, and Cameroon). It lacks however, the star power of US rosters in the past. Gone are Freddy Adu, Josmer Altidore,Michael Bradley, Danny Szetela, Sal Zizzo, Chris Seitz, and Robbie Rogers. In are the latest batch of young US stars; Mikkel Diskerud, Dilly Duka, Brek Shea, Bryan Arguez, and Jared Jeffery. Here is the entire US roster, by position:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Sean Johnson (Central Florida; Lilburn, Ga.), Josh Lambo (FC Dallas; Middleton, Wis.), Brian Perk (UCLA; Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.)
DEFENDERS (5): Gale Agbossoumonde (Miami FC; Syracuse, N.Y.), Kyle Davies (FC Dallas; Danville, Calif.), Aaron Maund (Notre Dame; Dorchester, Mass.), Ike Opara (Wake Forest; Durham, N.C.), Sheanon Williams (Unattached; Boston, Mass.)
MIDFIELDERS (10): Bryan Arguez (Hertha Berlin, Miami), Danny Cruz (Houston Dynamo; Glendale, Ariz.), Mikkel Diskerud (Stabaek; Oslo, Norway), Dilly Duka (Rutgers; Montville, N.J.), Jorge Flores (Chivas USA; Anaheim, Calif.), Jared Jeffrey (Club Brugge; Richardson, Texas), Gerson Mayen (Chivas USA; Los Angeles), Brian Ownby (Virginia; Glen Allen, Va.), Dillon Powers (Notre Dame; Plano, Texas), Michael Stephens (UCLA; Naperville, Ill.)
FORWARDS (3): Peri Marosevic (FC Dallas; Rockford, Ill.), Brek Shea (FC Dallas; College Station, Texas), Tony Taylor (Miami FC; Jacksonville, Fla.)

In their first game, the US faces traditional European power, Germany. However, it is a weakened German side due to the fact that teams are not required to release players for the competition, and many young German stars are missing because they are critical to their club sides. All matches will be aired on the ESPN family of networks and tomorrows game vs. Germany will be on ESPN Classic at 9:30am. COME ON YOU YANKS!!!!!!!!!

CONCACAF Champions League Update

Well, two MLS teams made names for themselves this week with big wins against top competition. Houston Dynamo dismantled Arabe Unido (Panama) 5-1 and DC United toppled CD Marathon (Honduras) 3-0. However, the Columbus Crew missed a great opportunity for redemption against Cruz Azul as they lost 2-0 in Columbus.

The teams next match-ups:
Sep. 29 Saprissa @ Columbus Crew
Sep. 30 San Juan Jabloteh @ DC United
Sep. 30 Pachuca @ Houston Dynamo