Final: New York Red Bulls at Chivas USA
Chivas 1 New York Red Bulls 1
Chivas USA let three points get away in this one, two ball-watching defenders (Jonathan Bornstein and Yamith Cuesta for those of you keeping count at home) allowing Juan Pablo Angel to get his 10th goal of the campaign with a determined header off a Sinisa Ubiparipovic six minutes from the end of regulation time.
That was his 46th career goal in all competitions for New York making Angel the all-time franchise leader in that department (he had been tied with Clint Mathis).
Things got even worse two minutes into stoppage time when an Andrew Boyens handball resulted in a penalty kick that Sacha Kljestan missed when he limply shot the ball wide, pretty much summing up his season.
Chivas USA had looked far livelier in the second half than they did in the opening 45 minutes and appeared to deserve the win - and the three points - until the late-game lethargy and missed golden opportunity struck.
Maicon Santos twice went close in the second half, notably pinging a ball off the bar in the 74th minute.
Preki will rue the missed chances as he attempts to solidify a shaky-looking team ahead of the playoffs. For Kljestan it was a cruel way to end the game.
And it was just New York's second point on the road all season.
I'll have more later.
About 100 Percent Soccer
Sportswriter Nick Green has written the 100 Percent Soccer column since 2005 for the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other Los Angeles area newspapers. The blog of the same name began in 2007. A native of England, he began writing about soccer in the mid-1980s and in 2000 permanently exchanged a seat in the stands for one in the press box. He lives six miles from Carson's Home Depot Center, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, Chivas USA and the training headquarters for U.S. Soccer and is married to a long-suffering soccer widow. Join Nick on FaceBook and follow him on Twitter.
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