Davis: Chivas' contributions from many

who did what, what it means and what to look for next:

Chivas USA 3, New York Red Bulls 0

Man of the match: Just when it looked like Maykel Galindo was being left behind by the league scoring leadership front-runners, he keeps 'em within sight with goals Nos. 11 and 12. The first came via brilliant team play, but the second was all Galindo.

Bigger picture: Preki is getting performance from so many places on the field right now. Galindo struck early, but Paulo Nagamura, Ante Razov and (especially) Sacha Kljestan all delivered something with quality to help create the tap-in. Preki's team still lacks a touch of imagination in the attack. But players don't try to do more than can, and there's so much balance and substance that Chivas is playing as well as any MLS club right now.

Pressure point: Bruce Arena's team has one win and six losses on the road since mid-June. With United and New England pulling away with the top two spots in the East, it looks increasingly as if the Red Bulls would have to win on the road in order to get to the MLS Cup, and that's not something they are particularly good at right now.

D.C. United 4, New England Revolution 2

Man of the match: Four goals in two games over four days makes for a pretty good week. Luciano Emilio is the league's hottest striker, working with supreme confidence. His second-half strikes Sunday represented the game-winner and the insurance goal.

Bigger picture: Remember last year when United was fading about this time? Tom Soehn's club is doing it right this go-round, having sorted out the early struggles and getting stronger along the way. Plus, Soehn has been careful to manage the minutes, resting players along the way -- something Peter Nowak didn't do much of last year. The ability to bring Bobby Boswell, Brian Carroll and Ben Olsen off the bench, as Soehn did Sunday, speaks to United's quality depth.

Pressure point: Soehn might have something special going at United, who are unbeaten in eight matches. The trick will be in keeping everybody focused on the team, not on individual playing time. It'll be tough, as some of the talent on the sidelines is used to starting.

Los Angeles Galaxy 3, Colorado Rapids 1

Man of the match: Abel Xavier was large and in charge in the Galaxy penalty area, killing off the crosses Terry Cooke or anyone else from Colorado offered. He's not only commanding in the air, but he reads the game at a level above most fellow central defenders in the league.

Bigger picture: With all the injuries and other issues, a few players around Victoria Street have to elevate their games. And that's exactly what Pete Vagenas and Cobi Jones did against a similarly depleted Colorado Rapids. Plus, Chris Klein exploited a favorable matchup with Brandon Prideaux to cause some trouble on his side.

Pressure point: The Rapids have a pretty decent starting 11 -- so long as they are all available. But the depth looks like a problem. Without Pablo Mastroeni to hold down the middle and Conor Casey to play as a target, the Rapids drop a notch in quality.

Houston Dynamo 4, Real Salt Lake 3

Man of the match: Nate Jaqua's hat trick was desperately needed as the Dynamo attack had gone a bit cold lately. He found the gaps in Real Salt Lake's defense and finished efficiently.

Bigger picture: Rookie midfielder Corey Ashe gave Houston what's been missing for a few weeks, good service from the left side. If Ashe can keep it up, Dominic Kinnear will have extra options and various ways of attacking opponents once Stuart Holden and Brad Davis get healthy.

Pressure point: Houston is generally a terrific team when playing with a lead. But Kinnear's men relaxed a bit and let RSL slip back into contention and earn a shot at tying the match late. Houston, ahead by scores of 4-1 and 4-2, gave up the ball needlessly a couple of times to assist RSL's spunky efforts to rally. Kinnear will certainly work with this week on keeping possession and playing with a lead.

Chicago Fire 1, at Columbus Crew 0

Man of the match: A nice debut for newly signed Fire defender Wilman Conde, who managed to remain composed in a big match played through miserable conditions. Good pace. Good size. Smooth distribution. Has Chicago finally found the answer to the center back puzzle?

Bigger picture: Chicago is getting it done right now with stingy defense, not only on the back line but in a hard-working midfield. But the forwards will have to do a little more during Chicago's chase for a playoff spot. Paulo Wanchope continues to struggle with his first touch, although he did finish with authority Saturday. Neither Chris Rolfe nor Chad Barrett can grab a solid hold on the other forward spot.

Pressure point: No team is more desperate for points in the playoff race than Columbus. Sigi Schmid's team travels to Kansas City this week but will be without Frankie Hejduk and critical offensive conduit Guillermo Barros Schelotto. Columbus had two players in yellow card peril last Saturday. So who were the first two who collected cards? Yep, Hejduk and Schelotto.

FC Dallas 2, Toronto FC 0

Man of the match: Abe Thompson doesn't have pace that troubles defenses, but he works so hard that things tend to happen around him. He got behind Tyrone Marshall, who was forced to foul and put Dallas on the penalty spot in the first half. Thompson stepped up to take a spot kick himself near game's end when Dominic Oduro was wrestled to the ground near goal.

Bigger picture: Toronto will surely score again -- it's just hard to say when that might be. Mo Johnston's hard-luck side actually created some chances Saturday, with Andrea Lombardo and Marvell Wynne getting the best of them. Alas for the expansion side, still no goal at an MLS-record 732 minutes and counting.

Pressure point: FC Dallas manager Steve Morrow has gone on record, saying it's time for Carlos Ruiz to produce more offense. The league's ninth all-time leading scorer sat out Saturday's match with a sore knee. In his place, Abe Thompson was active and productive. We'll see what happens over the rest of the month.

Chivas USA 2, D.C. United 2

Man of the match: There might not be a more confident player in MLS right now than Luciano Emilio, who struck for Nos. 15 and 16. One was a classy touch directed away from a defender, creating just enough space for a sweet shot from 18 yards. He helped set up the other with a nice turn, then hustled into the perfect spot to opportunistically bury a rebound.

Bigger picture: Think this wasn't a matchup of two surging sides? Consider that going into the match the clubs had combined to take 27 or a possible 27 points since the end of July.

Pressure point: Credit to D.C. United for handling such a tough slog through August and early September. We heard all about the Galaxy's taxing slate. While L.A. certainly had it tough, with nine matches from Aug. 1 to Sept. 2, Tom Soehn's men from the nation's capital played eight over the same stretch.

THIS AND THAT FROM ROUND 24
Technician's notebook:

The New York Red Bulls went with a high defensive line against Chivas USA, which doesn't have anybody who can consistently hit the big ball out of midfield that exploits an advanced back four. But Paulo Nagamura and Jesse Marsch can do it well enough, and Sacha Kljestan is playing so well right now that Chivas was bound to get behind the Red Bulls a time or two, which is exactly what happened. On offense, without Dane Richards to get by people on the wing, the Red Bulls were very direct in their attack. Shavar Thomas and replacement center back Jason Hernandez were up to the job in the middle of Chivas' defense.

The Fire basically are playing with five in the back right now, at least on the road, with Logan Pause and Diego Gutierrez playing very conservatively and covering the defensive flanks for manager Juan Carlos Osorio's three-man back line. Chris Armas and Bakary Soumare are staying at home, too, as defensive midfielders.

Columbus' offense is so dependent on Guillermo Barros Schelotto, the attack was fairly rudderless when he left in the 10th minute Saturday with a hamstring strain. Jacob Thomas, just back from injury, was set up wide right in the Crew's 4-3-3. While he gives the Crew some speed, with Schelotto out and Ned Grabavoy on the bench due to a coach's decision, the Crew had very little in the way of imagination and ideas.

After playing Bobby Boswell twice last week (against FC Dallas and Chivas USA) in central defense, United manager Tom Soehn went back to Devon McTavish on Sunday. Soehn said all along that McTavish had done fine, but that he sought to exploit roster depth and reward Boswell for sharp play in practice. The constant has been Greg Vanney, who needed a few games to get healthy and find his place in the lineup at RFK. Now, he's a steadying force along United's back four.

After deploying a very defensive 4-5-1 lately on the road, Mo Johnston set up his side in a 4-4-2 against Dallas, albeit a piecemeal one. Todd Dunivant and Marvell Wynne, brought to the club to be the left and right backs, were stationed instead along the flanks in the midfield.

The Rapids didn't really seem to adjust their tactics to account for a new lineup, with Herculez Gomez filling in for the injured Conor Casey. Gomez likes to make more diagonal runs off the ball, whereas Casey is big enough to take in the passes, flick them out to the wings or hold off defenders until help arrives. Tony Sanneh (playing his third different position for the Rapids since joining last month) filled in at central midfield, but he looks better these days as a right back.

FC Dallas manager Steve Morrow retooled his lineup, asking the versatile Juan Toja to play as a second holding midfielder alongside Pablo Ricchetti. Newcomer Denilson played in the hole underneath striker Abe Thompson in the club's 4-2-3-1 look.

Luciano Emilio now pacing the field: As the last week began, the race for league scoring leadership was shaping up splendidly. But Luciano Emilio has grabbed the race by the lapel -- and he's starting to sneak away with it. With four strikes this week he now has a four-goal cushion over the nearest competitor. He also set himself up for a stab at the debuting MLS Newcomer of the Year Award (although Juan Pablo Angel or Maykel Galindo might still have something to say about it). And with just one more strike, Emilio will have the second-best season yet for a United goal scorer, behind only Raul Diaz Arce's 23 goals in 1997.

More injury losses in L.A.: The LA Galaxy's injury situation approaches the surreal. Already missing several starters, including David Beckham, of course, the Galaxy saw two more players hobble off during Saturday's match. And here's the strangest part: those two were the first two goal scorers. Alan Gordon had trouble with the same (left) foot he had surgically repaired during the offseason. And Edson Buddle left with a hamstring strain.

Steve Davis is a freelance writer who has covered Major League Soccer since its inception. Steve can be reached at BigTexSoccer@yahoo.com. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author's, and not necessarily those of Major League Soccer or MLSnet.com.