Week five review (part two): unbeaten Chivas, Chicago consolidate top spots; Galaxy winless

April 20, 2:08 PMMLS ExaminerDavid Agrell

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Jonathan Bornstein forced the cross that led to Chivas' first goal (Chivas USA Photo)

Chivas knock back Seattle

Chivas USA extended its lead atop the West after a convincing 2-0 home win over second-placed Seattle Sounders FC Saturday.

The hosts went ahead through Seattle defender James Riley's own goal. The move started when Freddie Ljungberg gave up possession to Chivas midfielder Sacha Kljestan, who engineered a three-man move that forced a desperate Riley into making the error.

"Obviously it's an own goal, but our movement was pretty decent," Chivas coach Preki said [MLSNet]. "The ball from Sacha [Kljestan] to Bornstein was pretty good, and they were scrambling and it goes in the net."

The Sounders, who had begun their short history brightly with three-straight shut-out wins, failed to create many on-target chances, and those that were goal-bound were turned away by Chivas 'keeper Zach Thornton.

"Zach [Thornton] ... makes one or two good saves and keeps us in the game, but that's what he's supposed to do," Preki said.

Chukwudi Chijindu got the insurance goal—and his first ever in MLS—six minutes from time after toe-poking home Bojan Stepanovic's assist.

First-placed Chivas improves to 4-0-1, while Seattle slips to 3-2-0 but remains in second.

For more on Seattle Sounders FC, check out the Seattle Soccer Examiner here.

Video: watch highlights here.

Chicago blows lead for tie

The Chicago Fire dropped a two-goal lead and the Kansas City Wizards rallied to a 2-2 tie Saturday.

Brian McBride had a first-half brace to put the host Fire ahead at the half, but Josh Wolff had a late pair of his own secure a point for Kansas City.

"This is definitely not a good feeling right now," McBride said [Chicago Tribune]. "We felt we could have done better. Any time you lose a two-goal lead, it stings."

Once again McBride and fellow World Cup veteran Cuauhtemoc Blanco were the catalyst for early Fire domination.

Blanco supplied a dangerous long ball into the box, which KC 'keeper Kevin Hartman spilled. Wilman Conde picked up the mess and fed it out to McBride, who from 20 yards buried his shot low and to Hartman's left for the 13th-minute lead.

Seven minutes later McBride rose just outside the six-yard box to head home Blanco's free kick and double the score.

But with 12 minutes left in regulation Wolff connected with Claudio Lopez' left-sided assist to score from close range. Wolff then added a similar goal, this time from Michael Harrington's cross from the other side, to tie it up with a minute spare.

Unbeaten Chicago moves to 2-0-3 and remains atop the East first. Kansas City sits third with at 2-2-1.

For more on the Chicago Fire, check out the Chicago Fire Examiner here.

Video: watch highlights here.

Galaxy remains winless following Cali Clásico

Pablo Campos bagged his first-ever MLS goal as the San Jose Earthquakes tied their rival Los Angeles Galaxy 1-1 in Oakland, Calif., on Saturday.

It took just five minutes for Campos to sneak in behind the Galaxy's three-man defense, latching onto Chris Leitch's long ball from deep inside the 'Quakes' half before firing past goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts.

However, Ricketts—last week's MLS Player of the Week—produced four key saves in the game to keep his side close to the hosts, allowing LA a chance to rally for a tie.

The equalizer came from a likely source when Landon Donovan launched an inch-perfect left-footed cross in the 76th minute to Bryan Jordan, who headed home unchallenged. It was Donovan's third assist of the season.

Despite going winless in his first four games of 2009, Galaxy boss Bruce Arena remains confident that his side is improving.

"Overall I was encouraged by our performance tonight," Arena said [MLSNet]. "We had a little bit of a makeshift lineup due to injuries and suspensions, but I thought the majority of the game we played pretty well."

The Galaxy drops to last in the West with a 0-1-3 record. The Earthquakes go 1-2-2 and sit three spaces above their SoCal rivals.