and he rattled it off the inside right post, just past Kennedy's dive, for his 10th goal of the season and the game-winner.
At CommunityAmerica Ballpark, the Wizards were finishing off a run of five out of six games at home, where they had taken 10 of a possible 12 points. The Earthquakes were all but eliminated after their last-gasp 2-1 loss at Houston at midweek.
The teams traded goals two minutes apart early in the first half. Claudio Lopez reached out to toe-poke an Abe Thompson cross, looping the volley over Joe Cannon into the goal, for the 18th-minute opener. But two minutes later, Scott Sealy brought San Jose level, heading home an Arturo Alvarez cross from the right flank.
The Wizards moved back in front seven minutes later, again through Lopez's mastery. A through-ball from midfield from Jack Jewsbury was diverted with a nifty backheel from the Argentinean, and Davy Arnaud ran onto it in the area before slotting home for his sixth goal on the campaign.
But the Quakes fought back to even the score once again in the 71st minute. A cross came in from the right that Kevin Hartman could not control, and after the ball pinballed around the box, substitute Shea Salinas drove high into the goal.
Yet deep into stoppage time, the Wizards pulled out some late magic. Lopez swung in a corner from the right, it dropped to the edge of the six-yard box, and Herculez Gomez charged it to touch it home for his first goal since coming to Kansas City.
At Giants Stadium, the Red Bulls came in after three losses and a draw in their last four games put them on the edge of playoff consideration. The Crew had already clinched the Supporters' Shield for the best overall record, unbeaten in nine consecutive league games.
The home side broke through just three minutes after the second-half restart. Mac Kandji stripped a Crew defender and Juan Pablo Angel charged toward goal, poking the ball just under an advancing Andy Gruenebaum out of the Crew goal.
The Crew pulled level, though, in the 62nd minute. Guillermo Barros Schelotto served up a free kick from out on the left and Steven Lenhart headed it home. It was the 19th assist of the season for Schelotto, matching the second-highest single-season total in league history.
But Angel stepped up once again to pull the Red Bulls in front. A cross was bounced into the air by Seth Stammler and the Colombian international brought it down on his chest before ripping home a dipping volley in the 76th minute, his 12th goal on the year.
Then, seven minutes from the end, came history. From a free kick just a few yards in front of his own penalty area, goalkeeper Danny Cepero -- making his MLS debut -- launched a long ball that bounced once at the top of the Columbus penalty area and caught out Gruenebaum, sailing over his head into the goal. It was the first goal scored by a goalkeeper in the 13 years of MLS history.
At RFK Stadium, D.C. United had stopped the rot of a three-game losing streak with a tie in Houston the week before, but were still seven league games without a win. The Revolution had secured a playoff spot, but were still looking to nail down home-field advantage for their Semifinal Series meeting with Chicago, with two draws and two losses in their last four.
The visitors jumped into the lead in the 58th minute on a lightning-quick counterattack. Luciano Emilio was dispossessed at the top of the New England box, and Kheli Dube sprung Mauricio Castro down the right flank with acres of space before him. As Louis Crayton came off his line to challenge, Castro squared the ball for Taylor Twellman to side-foot home into an empty net for the 99th league goal of his MLS career.
Five minutes later, prompted by a great through ball from Jaime Moreno, Francis Doe cut inside a sliding defender and tucked a tidy finish just inside the near post. The assist pushed Moreno's season total to 10, now with 99 on his MLS ledger, also giving him 10 goals and 10 assists for the fourth time in his illustrious career.
Then 10 minutes from full time, Doe popped up again. Chasing a flick-on from Santino Quaranta from a long Crayton punt, Doe fended off Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst and latched onto the ball just inside the area, firing a shot high into the right-hand corner to keep United's dreams alive.
At Robertson Stadium, the Dynamo had extended their league unbeaten streak to seven games after two goals from Stuart Holden, the second in stoppage time, gave them a 2-1 win against San Jose at midweek. The Galaxy were coming off a second win since mid-June, which followed back-to-back losses.
The game was put away with a three-goal blitz in a 10-minute span very early on. In the 14th minute, Nate Jaqua's cross from the right flank was aimed for Brian Ching, but deflected off LA's Bryan Jordan into his own goal.
Then in the 20th minute, Jaqua again latched onto a ball on the right and sent into the box. It caromed between a trio of Galaxy defenders before Dwayne De Rosario charged through the group and poked home, his sixth goal on the season and the 50th of his MLS league career.
And three minutes later, the Dynamo rounded off the match. A long ball from Bobby Boswell was flicked on by Nate Jaqua and Ching raced onto it behind the Galaxy defense, slotting home under the left hand of goalkeeper Josh Saunders for his 13th goal.
At BMO Field, Toronto FC needed to win for just the second time in nine games -- and still get a lot of help -- if they were to remain in the playoff hunt. The Fire were coming off back-to-back draws as they were trying to secure home-field advantage for their Eastern Conference Semifinal Series against New England.
A long-range blast from Amado Guevara, from all of 25 yards, put TFC into the lead after just 12 minutes, the fourth goal of the season for the Honduran international. Then six minutes later the Reds doubled the count. Referee Jair Marrufo ruled Marvell Wynne had been hauled down as he cut into the box on the right, but Rohan Ricketts saw the resulting penalty saved by Jon Busch as the Chicago 'keeper dove to his right. But the rebound popped out right in front of goal, and Ricketts was there first to bundle it over the line.
The Fire pulled a goal back in the 25th minute. A three-touch, crossfield passing play between Brandon Prideaux, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Justin Mapp ended with Mapp being wide open on the left side. The veteran midfielder drilled a shot into the left side of the net past a leaping Greg Sutton for his second goal.
Yet in stoppage time, the home side restored its two-goal margin as Ricketts completed his brace. A throw-in into the Chicago area was headed clear, but only as far as Carl Robinson, who pumped it back into the mixer. It went straight to Ricketts, who turned the ball home for his second two-goal game this season.
The Fire pulled a goal back in the second half when a thumping, first-time strike from Cuauhtemoc Blanco from outside the area struck home for his seventh goal on the season. But Chicago could pull no closer -- though Toronto's playoff dreams were still dashed by the results later in the weekend.
