After a slow start for both squads, the first major incident became an injury to RSL midfielder Javier Morales. Unable to continue, an emotional Morales was subbed out in the 22nd minute.

In the 41st minute, the Galaxy struck first, as 2009 MLS MVP Landon Donovan crossed a ball to Galaxy midfielder Mike Magee at the far post, who kicked it in. RSL created a few scoring chances prior to the half, but were unable to capitalize. At half time, the Galaxy led 1-0.

In the 64th mnute, RSL evened the score. Inside the penalty area, Movsisyan shot a ball toward goal that was immediately blocked. Bouncing around, the ball finally found Findley, who put it home with his left foot. On the play, Ricketts seemed to injure his hand that was already in pain after a collision he had earlier in the half with RSL forward Robbie Findley. Galaxy coach Bruce Arena was ultimately forced to pull Ricketts for backup goalkeeper Josh Saunders. It marked the first time a goalkeeper was substituted in MLS Cup history.

With neither team able to score in the rest of the second half and overtime, RSL and the Galaxy had to take play into a penalty shoot out to crown a champion.

In the first three rounds of the penalty shoot out, both teams matched each other with goals in the first two and saves in the third. In round four, Donovan kicked the ball over the crossbar and Ned Grabavoy knocked one in to give RSL their first lead, 3-2. In round five, Magee would tie it 3-3 for the Galaxy and Andy Williams was stopped by Saunders, keeping it tied. Both teams scored again on their respective kicks in round six to make it 4-4. Finally, in round seven, Rimando came up with a save on an Edsun Buddle kick and Robbie Russell stepped up and hit home a ball into the left corner, giving RSL the win.

For his performance in the penalty shootout, Rimando was named the MLS Cup MVP.

Twitterers recognized the fact that Real Salt Lake was a sub-.500 team (11-12-7) during the regular season:

1. 
   bbudlong Well done Real Salt Lake against Galaxy. Sub-.500 all the way to the MLS Cup on penalties! 23 Nov 2009 from web
   
   
2. 
   trpdtn yes it’s remarkable, but the fact that RSL won the MLS Cup after a sub-.500 regular season is a damn shame. 23 Nov 2009 from Tweetie
   
   
3. 
   Phonedog_Noah A sub-.500 team won the MLS Cup? That’s absurd and a total league fail. Why have a regular season at all? 23 Nov 2009 from TweetDeck
   
   

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Twitterers from Utah comment on Real Salt Lake’s victory:

1. 
   chrismanning Real Salt Lake wins MLS Cup in their 5th year in the league! It’s a great time to be from Utah! 23 Nov 2009 from web
   
   
2. 
   Merk RSL just brought home the first championship in Utah professional sports history! #mlscup #realsaltlake 23 Nov 2009 from web
   
   

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Twitterers also comment on Donovan’s penalty kick miss and the Galaxy loss:

1. 
   MegWags How do you lose with the MLS MVP and Rookie of the Year? I cannot believe Donovan missed the shoot out goal. Sad day! 23 Nov 2009 from web
   
   
2. 
   TheCoster MLS MVP a no show from halftime on. RT @GrantWahl: Wow–Donovan misses. LA down one heading into last round. 23 Nov 2009 from TweetDeck
   
   
3. 
   gibi_gibi Wow. Salt lake beat beckham and Donovan in the #mlscup. 23 Nov 2009 from txt
   
   
   
   
4. 
   MichaelATerry Can’t belive Donovan was the one to choke! T’was a great game none the less. #mls #fb 23 Nov 2009 from Tweetie
   
   
5. 
   austin_f_talley How in the world does Donovan miss a wide open PK in the MLS Finals?! 23 Nov 2009 from txt

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Here are some TwitPics from Twitterers at the game:

“MLS cup!!!!!! #fb” per @ThisIsTheDuke:

“MLS cup 25 mins in-we’ve had 1 shot on target…” per @andylane16:

“Oh man, down to shootout at MLS cup” per @nahun:

“Ohhhh crap that was awesome. Best game ever RSL wins!” per @nahun:

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Things would be ok, however, because the U.S. would lose Wednesday to the No. 1 Spanish team and everything in the soccer world would go back to normal.

Far from it.

The Americans, outshot 29-9 in the match, recorded a stunning 2-nil victory in South Africa to advance to the finals against the winner of Brazil and host South Africa, per ESPN.com.

An American fan proclaims victory over Spain

(TwitPic by @xh1gHxVoLt4g3x)

Jozy Altidore, who plays for Spanish club team Villareal, scored in the 25th minute– dodging one of his Villareal teammates in the process– to give the U.S. a 1-0 lead at halftime.

Clint Dempsey provided the winning margin with a goal in the 73rd minute, while goalie Tim Howard was remarkable, amassing six key saves. Get additional commentary at Soccerblog.com.

Here’s the reaction from the United States of Twitter:

1. 
   LorrieLiane Team USA > Team Spain….crazy! 24 Jun 2009 from twitterfeed
2. 
   Antoniodr USA defeated Spain 2-0, Good win for us, atleast they show us that for a moment we’re also good at soccer! 24 Jun 2009 from web
3. 
   annyrei woot! The USA actually semi-wins at something! We beat Spain and are going to a FIFA final! We notoriously suck at soccer! Was it a miracle? 24 Jun 2009 from web
4. 
   KINGNORDIC USA WILL BE ONE OF THE SOCCER SUPER POWER SOON ! 24 Jun 2009 from web
5. 
   cliffwegner If USA can keep it close and play fairly even with (I assume) Brazil, they’ll gain some respect. If they get hammered, well… 24 Jun 2009 from Tweetie
6. 
   Akiborbor Go USA! I definitely didn’t give them any chance to beat Spain. But damn, they did it….good game guys! 24 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry

 On a scale of 1-10, how surprised were you the US beat Spain? Comment below or tweet @BTsports or @BTSports_Brian!

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“I think we let ourselves down,” said U.S. team member Jozy Altidore. “But this is a blue collar team and we’ll pick each other up and hopefully show people tomorrow.”

The Americans are looking to start strong this against Honduras, seeing as they trailed to Costa Rica 2-0 just 13 minutes into the game. Nobody knows this more than U.S. midfielder DaMarcus Beasley.

We lost the game in the first five minutes, and that’s not like us,” Beasley said. “We have to show that we’re a team that can bounce back from a result like that.”

“People say we’re have a lot of pressure on us, and to be honest, we do. Because we feel like we’re a good team and we should go to the World Cup, but we need to show it.”

Twitterers are nervous and excited about the  qualifier:

1. 
   rustywatkins Really hoping the US MNT has a better showing tomorrow against Honduras #football #WC2010 05 Jun 2009 from TweetDeck
2. 
   Timhanlon Gut-check time for soccer in Chicago this weekend – Fire tonight vs. Houston, US Nats vs. Honduras Saturday 05 Jun 2009 from Ping.fm
3. 
   gaeblerdotcom Psyched that I have tickets to US-Honduras soccer game tomorrow! 05 Jun 2009 from web
4. 
   drsilva08 Come on US Soccer lets not choke when we play Honduras tomorrow 06 Jun 2009 from web

The U.S. will need to win the remainder of its home matches to qualify. Honduras, the last team to beat the Americans at home in 2001, is heading into the match still riding high from a 3-1 win over Mexico on April 1.

“They’re strong, they’re fast, they’re a lot more organized than past teams we played against,” Beasley said. “So, it’s not going to be easy.”

Honduras will also have the luxury of playing what will probably feel like a home game. The crowd for Saturday’s game is expected to be in the Hondurans favor at around a 4-to-1 ratio.

Beasley believes his team won’t be bothered by the crowd.

“I think the boys, we’re used to it,” he said. “We’ve been playing away games at home for nine or 10 years since I’ve been here.

“You know you’re not going to get a real big crowd unless you go to Columbus (OH),” joked Beasley, referring to an upcoming game against Mexico being held in Columbus, Ohio.

The game kicks-off at 7 p.m. CST.

US Soccer team warming up for practice at Soldier Field-By @pjflynn23

Where will you be watching the US-Honduras match? Comment below and follow @BTsports as we run a Live Tweet Log and provide Twitpics of the match!

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The Dynamo’s Stuart Holden ran diagonally through the middle of the box and tapped a Kei Kamara ground pass past Chicago keeper Jon Busch and into the left side of the goal for the game’s only score.

The Fire (5-2-6) have now have lost two straight matches and fall into a tie in the loss column with D.C. United in the East, this despite out shooting the Dynamo 7-5 and recording six corners to Houston’s one.

Houston (6-2-3) is now just a win behind Chivas USA in the Western Division.

Here were some of the fan reactions after the game:

1. 
   Marisela004 Such a beautiful night in Chicago to put out the Fire! Go Dynamo! Forever kickin a** and taking names! http://twitpic.com/6pwky 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterFon
2. 
   CorrSports Fire suffer second straight shutout loss; Chicago heads on the road to D.C. … Fire are more successful away from Toyota Park anyway 06 Jun 2009 from web
3. 
   dpbyron What the hell is wrong with the Chicago Fire? 06 Jun 2009 from Tweetie
4. 
   yanks02 1 nil to the dynamo! singing with some french ppl on the L. 06 Jun 2009 from mobile web

Check out the game action from tonight’s game:

SECOND HALF:

1. 
   BTSports_Brian Wow! Another chance by Nyarko! Quick little kick, standing still on cross from Pappa. Right to Dynamo GK Onstad though 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
2. 
   BTSports_Brian Nyarko again almost gets clear for a shot! He’s been everywhere but really needs to get the Fire a goal– about 35 min left in match 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
3. 
   BTSports_Brian I don’t know how many more chances Nyarko needs before he can score. Another ground cross at his feet, but not controlled and cleared out 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
4. 
   BTSports_Brian Dynamo missed great chance to go ahead two! Holden missed wide open shot after tipping in air to himself 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
5. 
   wvhooligan Holden nearly bags another goal…so close! #mls 06 Jun 2009 from web
6. 
   bzygo Oh, Holden was so close, but into the side of the net. 06 Jun 2009 from TweetDeck
7. 
   BTSports_Brian Sure looked to be a PK chance for Fire’s Justin Mapp but no foul called. That might be Chicago’s last chance to score 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
8. 
   keepernotes Cameron pulls off a great defensive effort to prevent a Justin Mapp shot. 06 Jun 2009 from web

END OF FIRST HALF:

Major League Soccer might be playing second-fiddle (or third… or fourth…) to other league’s at the moment, especially with the NBA Finals and the Stanley Cup Finals on every major network, but it sure isn’t any less exciting.

The Houston Dynamo scored in just the fourth minute on a goal by Stuart Holden, leading to a 1-0 lead at halftime.

The Chicago Fire (@chifiresoccer) had numerous scoring chances, but could not find net.

Here’s some of the first-half game action as viewed from the press box:

1. 
   BTSports_Brian Dynamo score first off a pretty ground pass to Stuart Holden’s right foot on the run, lower left box. Very pretty play! 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
2. 
   BTSports_Brian Ooh Fire’s Patrick Nyarko misses shot in 1-on-1 vs. GK. Just wide right. Could have tied up game. 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
3. 
   BTSports_Brian Chris Rolfe misses left-footed shot high from 10 yds out. Another good chance for Fire 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
4. 
   BTSports_Brian Brian McBride just nails a ball hard on GK, but Chi Fire still can’t get on scoreboard. 7 min left until half 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
5. 
   BTSports_Brian @chifiresoccer getting scoring chances but not converting. Quite a few corners in the first half 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry

It’s a beautiful night for soccer:

The Chicago Fire and Houston Dynamo square off at Toyota Park

(Twitpic by @BTSports_Brian)

Here’s what some other tweeters were thinking from the stands:

1. 
   joekenny A beautiful night at Toyota Park. My first Fire game. Houston Dynamo 1
   Chicago Fire nil at Half Time. Great game! 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
2. 
   lynnzeheralis At the chicago fire game having soo much fun!!! 06 Jun 2009 from txt
3. 
   hexablog Chicago Fire 0 Houston Dynamo 1 (Holden 3′) HT. Fire dominated after early goal, but great saves by Onstad 06 Jun 2009 from TwitterBerry
4. 
   bzygo Fire v. Dynamo is shaping up to be a very good match, too bad it isn’t a national game. 06 Jun 2009 from TweetDeck

There was a carefully orchestrated riot at Toyota Park on Friday night:

The Chicago Fire crowd gets crazy behind the Dynamo goal!

(Twitpic by @BTSports_Brian)

Did you watch the Chicago Fire vs. Houston Dynamo? What are your thoughts on MLS? Comment below or tweet your thoughts to @BTsports!

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Per the Seattle Times, MLS opened up voting to fans yesterday to elect the best players for the MLS 2009 All-Star game. The 14th annual match-up will pit the best of the MLS against English Premier League club Everton FC. This year’s game is the sixth time MLS All-Stars played a high-profile international team in the All-Star game.

“Here is a pic from the Columbus Crew KC Wizards game last night #MLS”
Twitpic posted by @UCBearcats on May 10

Soccer fans will comprise 25 percent of the vote on the 11 players making up the team by selecting one goalkeeper, three defenders, five midfielders, and two forwards. Coaches and general managers, players, and media each hold 25 percent of the vote too.

Fans can vote up to 10 times per day on the League’s official site, www.MLSnet.com, until July 6. MLS will announce the All-Star First XI team on July 16.

Soccer fans in the Twitterverse are already on campaigning for their favorite players:

1. 
   GarMar88 Also, get out da vote 4 da @LAGalaxy in da MLS All-Star game. Votin is now available online so vote 4 da Blu and Gold!!! 13 May 2009 from txt
2. 
   SLU_Billikens Vote for former Billiken men’s soccer players Brian McBride, Jack Jewsbury, and Brad Davis to represent the MLS in the all-star game. … 13 May 2009 from Ping.fm
3. 
   UWSportsNews Vote for former UW soccer standout George John for MLS All-Star! http://tinyurl.com/qarvtl 13 May 2009 from web
4. 
   intemporal wow… MLB All Star voting allows 25 votes per person, MLS All Star voting allows 10 votes per person *per day* http://snipr.com/hz0xl 13 May 2009 from digsby
5. 
   jcsalas08 Vote for @UCSBgauchos Pontius from @dcunited and Avila from FCD for the MLS All Star Game. http://tiny.cc/bPNec 14 May 2009 from web
6. 
   cheleguanaco MLS All Star voting now open: http://tinyurl.com/oe5z9a #mls #soccer My vote inc: #nagamura #thornton #osvaldo #ljunberg #donovan 14 May 2009 from web
7. 
   cheleguanaco MLS All Star voting now open: http://tinyurl.com/oe5z9a #mls #soccer My vote inc: #nagamura #thornton #osvaldo #ljunberg #donovan 14 May 2009 from web
8. 
   IUMensSoccer MLS All-Star voting open. Garcia, O’Rourke, Kovalenko and Klein all on the ballot: http://tinyurl.com/oe5z9a 14 May 2009 from web

And the MLS world is making sure you remember to vote:

1. 
   MLS_Insider ROCK THE VOTE: The polls are open. Vote now for your MLS All-Star team: http://bit.ly/WYfcp 13 May 2009 from Seesmic Desktop
2. 
   RSLSoccerPod ROCK THE VOTE: The polls are open. Vote now for your MLS All-Star team: http://bit.ly/WYfcp (via @TimHaslam @MLS_Insider) 13 May 2009 from web
3. 
   soundersfc Fans can vote for the MLS All-Star team 10 times a day. So make sure to vote each day. 13 May 2009 from twhirl
4. 
   LAGalaxy MLS All-Star Voting Is Open!! Vote 4 Favorite LA Galaxy Players: http://tr.im/lgNF 13 May 2009 from Seesmic Desktop

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Not to be buried in the last-minute drama of Barcelona’s stunning comeback against Chelsea earlier today, but a midweek MLS fixture between the Kansas City Wizards and DC United at the Community America Ballpark helped whet the appetites of Americans trying to earn the bid to the 2018 or 2022 World Cup.

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