10 Bright Spots of Week Twelve

1. Robbie Findley – the Oregon State product highlighted inspiring play from Real Salt Lake (and by inspiring I mean just a notch better than DC United on that given day; the braced speedster took two through balls and stayed composed enough to beat former RSL’er Jay Nolly confidently; it really was nice to watch Findley make a statement after LA so rudely abandoned them in Salt Lake (although maybe it’s a blessing in disguise?)

2. Brad Davis – should a hat-trick trump Findley’s brace? Nah. Everything connected for Davis against Chivas USA however and Houston motored to a 4-0 shutout; a penalty and two long range blasts were still not enough to grab him a Copa America roster spot, although his timing was a bit off as Benny Olsen got his spot partially thanks to his trick against RBNY a little while back

3. Andy Dorman – the whole beginning of the game the commentators (Greg Lalas, go figure) could only talk about how crappy his first touch was and how uninterested in the game he was; Dorman replied (as if he actually heard them) with two goals, granted his teammates did a lot of the work and Dorman provided the finishes – but truthfully the goals were all that mattered in a 3-0 drubbing a Toronto FC

4. Eddie Robinson – has been real solid for Houston this whole year and often escapes the media’s praise; I salute you Eddie Robinson plus you are the only defender I know that somehow gets fouled more times than 95% of the attackers in this league…Eddie, you’re almost 200 lbs., how do you get fouled so much?

5. Bouna Coundoul and Dario Sala – both the Colorado and FC Dallas keeper had great outings this past Saturday, Coundoul probably a little bit better; he is gradually getting a bit more consistent, whereas Sala is showing why Shaka Hislop will no longer see time in between the posts; Juan Carlos Toja spoiled Coundoul’s party however and scored his fourth of the season in the 62^nd minute (after a Coundoul save no less) to put Colorado away

6. Guillermo Barros Schelloto – I bet you Steve Ralston can’t wait to get back and play for the Revs as his Schelloto is starting to heat up that MLS assist leaderboard (now tied with Ralston at 6); Schelloto’s instruction and exemplary vision on the field as started to pay dividends with other Crew players; his patience is key and when he doesn’t get rattled his team normally follows suit…Terry Cooke who?

7. Ezra Hendrickson – yea, the dude that got the red card. His absence kicked the Crew in the ass and Columbus under the tutelage of Schelloto became counter-attack extraordinaire. Grabavoy missed a PK, but got that elusive goal in the 58^th minute and Moreno added the clincher in the 84^th. Some credit and a smack in the head to Hendrickson for the dumb tackle that forced Columbus to play well. Interesting how that works out.

8. Wells Thompson – gets the #8 position for smothering Andy Welsh and keeping him silent all game; he also had a couple nice runs and along with Adam Cristman, these two are making noise for the best 1-2 rookie punch in the league

9. Eddie Gaven – two assists and a goal in the last two games, he also had a hand in the botched PK attempt by Grabavoy; his recent form has pushed Columbus to two consecutive wins and although he might no deserve the call-up to Copa America due to his recent history of underperforming the wheels are turning the right direction

10. Patrick Ianni – in a game that was mostly dominated by the Wizards and at a level at which he hasn’t grown accustomed to playing yet (50 min his whole career before this game), Ianni found a way to muscle home his header to put Houston ahead in the 81^st minute.

Because I Think's Worst of the Week: In a week where nobody really stood out on the bad side, Facundo Erpen was mediocre. He was a symbol of the mediocrity that was D.C. United's defense this week. Los Angeles' backline was probably worse though with Quavas Kirk (why is he playing back, I thought he was a wing midfielder?) not doing so hot. It didn't help that in order for Yallop to find some goals, he went from a 4-4-2 to a 3-5-2 (or some variation). That gave the 10-man Crew more space and they took advantage of it scoring two goals a man down.