Six matches were played on the weekend with a couple more scheduled for early this week but there was plenty of action in Major League Soccer as always.
FC Dallas won their fourth match in their past five with a 2-0 home result over ten-man Columbus Crew to put them within a point of Western Conference leaders LA Galaxy and allowing them to be the first team to 10 victories for the season.
On Sunday night, San Jose Earthquakes and New York Red Bulls played out an exciting 2-2 draw at Stanford Stadium in front of more than 40,000 fans.
Joel Lindpere put the Red Bulls ahead in the 7th minute when Roy Miller's dangerous ball from the left was met by the Estonian midfielder whose initial touch bobbled off two Quakes defenders and back into his path for an easy finish past John Busch.
San Jose managed to level when Khari Stephenson struck home from right near the penalty spot after New York keeper Bouna Coundoul fumbled a straight-forward corner in the 37th minute before the home side went 2-1 up with just over 20 minutes remaining thanks to a superb Steven Lenhart header from a pinpoint Steven Beitashour cross.
With five minutes remaining, Lindpere grabbed a lever for the Red Bulls with a deflected strike from the edge of the area before Quakes defender Bobby Burling received his marching orders for picking up a second yellow in the final minute.
The draw kept New York second on the Eastern Conference table whilst San Jose remained sixth in the West.
In other MLS matches, Philadelphia Union held DC United to a 2-2 draw in Washington, Chivas USA and Chicago Fire drew 1-1 in Los Angeles, Sporting Kansas City grabbed a 2-1 at Portland Timbers as Colorado Rapids and Houston Dynamo played out a scoreless draw.
On Monday night we have a double header with Real Salt Lake hosting New England Revolution whilst Seattle Sounders make the trip to LA Galaxy for a vital clash in the West.
2011 MLS season - Week 16 scores
DC United: 2 (Josh Wolff 44', Andy Najar 58') Philadelphia Union: 2 (Perry Kitchen (og) 49', Carlos Ruiz 84') RFK Stadium, Washington, DC - 13,365
FC Dallas: 2 (Brek Shea 58', Jackson Goncalves 76') Columbus Crew: 0 (red card: Andy Iro 82') Pizza Hut Park, Frisco, TX - 20,704
Chivas USA: 1 (Nick LaBrocca 46') Chicago Fire: 1 (Dominic Oduro 26') The Home Depot Center, Carson, CA - 15,152
San Jose Earthquakes: 2 (Khari Stephenson 37', Steven Lenhart 68', red card: Bobby Burling 90+1') New York Red Bulls: 2 (Joel Lindpere 7'/85') Stanford Stadium, Stanford, CA - 41,028
Portland Timbers: 1 (Darlington Nagbe 45') Sporting Kansas City: 2 (CJ Sapong 15', Aurelien Collin 19') JELD-WEN Field, Portland, OR - 18,627
Houston Dynamo: 0 Colorado Rapids: 0 Dick's Sporting Goods Park, Commerce City, CO -18,203
