Kick Off: MLS stars shine in Week 30 | Thierry Henry nets winner, Landon Donovan sets record

News  |  Videos  |  Schedule & Stats  |  Clubs  |  Fantasy  |  Shop Forward To A Friend Kick Off: MLS stars shine in Week 30 | Thierry Henry nets winner, Landon Donovan sets record Here are the top 15 stories everyone's talking about this morning: 1. ANOTHER RECORD FOR LD With an assist in the LA Galaxy’s 3-0 win over Toronto FC (HIGHLIGHTS) on Saturday, Landon Donovan became the all-time MLS assist leader, with 136 to his name. Robbie Keane was full of praise for his teammate’s latest landmark, and the striker also scored two goals to further his own quest for the MVP award. On the Toronto side, head coach Greg Vanney is playing down the impact of the result. 2. FERNANDEZ GRABS THE GOALS Things may have gotten a little out of hand during the Vancouver Whitecaps' 2-0 victory over FC Dallas (HIGHLIGHTS) on Saturday, and while the home team were full of praise for goalscoring hero Sebastian Fernandez, the visitors' attack just ran out of ideas. 3. TIMBERS KEEP UP THE PRESSURE With the Whitecaps' win already final, the Portland Timbers knew they needed a result against the San Jose Earthquakes and, while it may have been in doubt for a while, the Timbers came from behind to ensure a 2-1 victory (HIGHLIGHTS). With their faint playoff hopes extinguished, the Quakes attributed the result to “dumb luck.” 4. SOUNDERS MARCH ON The unstoppable pairing of Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins once again combined beautifully to help lift the Seattle Sounders to a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids (HIGHLIGHTS) and move back above the LA Galaxy in the race for the Supporters' Shield (based on the wins tiebreaker). The result also eliminates the Rapids from playoff contention, and head coach Pablo Mastroeni is planning to take a good look at where it all went wrong this year. 5. NEW YORK OVERCOME ADVERSITY The Houston Dynamo’s playoff hopes took a blow due to their inability to score during their 1-0 loss Saturday to the New York Red Bulls (HIGHLIGHTS). With all the speculation surrounding Red Bulls' star players off the field, you could perhaps forgive the players for being a little distracted, and Mike Petke praised their character in earning the win while also playing down a man after Tim Cahill’s red card. 6. REMEMBER ME, S'IL VOUS PLAIT “I just want people to remember, hopefully, me. Because of my work and that’s it.” That’s all Thierry Henry, who scored the game-winner vs. Houston, hopes to achieve at the end of his career. But it seems the Frenchman’s time with the New York Red Bulls might not be coming to an end after all. 7. A POSITIVE DRAW While it may not seem like it, Friday's 0-0 draw between D.C. United and Sporting Kansas City (HIGHLIGHTS) was a good result for both teams. For United, the point ensured their place in the playoffs, while Kansas City were able to post a much-needed shutout. 8. MOVING ON UP The New England Revolution strengthened their hold on second place in the Eastern Conference thanks to a 2-1 win over the Columbus Crew (HIGHLIGHTS) on Saturday. Although Lee Nguyen and Jermaine Jones got the goals for the Revs, their goalkeeper, Bobby Shuttleworth, was the star. The result leaves the Crew in fifth place, but manager Gregg Berhalter is glad their fate still remains in their own hands. 9. DEFENSIVE DISPLAY DOWNS RSL Real Salt Lake needed a win against Chivas USA on Sunday afternoon to guarantee their playoff place and they came up short, losing 1-0 (HIGHLIGHTS). While RSL were frustrated by a defensive display from Chivas, the performance has the Goats feeling positive heading into the final month of their season. 10. MEGA MINUTES FOR MAPP In a game that was memorable for little else, Justin Mapp made his return from injury and subsequently logged his 20,000th minute as an MLS player as the Montreal Impact drew 0-0 with the Chicago Fire (HIGHLIGHTS). With the result, Chicago can no longer qualify for the playoffs and, as such, Frank Yallop has begun looking ahead to 2015. 11. DI VAIO CALLS IT QUITS While not altogether unexpected, on Friday Marco Di Vaio officially announced his impending retirement from soccer. The Italian star will see out the remainder of the MLS season with the Montreal Impact but cited family commitments as the main reason for calling time on his career. 12. SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP After the New England Revolution signed a partnership agreement with Sporting Clube de Portugal, it seems more and more clubs are forming beneficial links with foreign teams. Colorado were one of the first to do so when they partnered with Arsenal, and the two clubs will be holding talks this week on how to improve that relationship. 13. US TEAMS TAKING SHAPE Jurgen Klinsmann named his roster for the US national team's first October friendly against Ecuador on Monday morning, but we already knew one player who was going to be called up. In the meantime, the U-23 roster has been named and contains eight MLS players as the team begins its preparations for Olympic qualifying. 14. CHASING THE RISING SUN There are five MLS players set to make a trip to Japan this week after Jamaica announced their squad for their upcoming international friendly. They won’t be the only ones facing off against the Blue Samurai either, as future Orlando City star Kaka has earned his first call up to the Brazilian squad in over 18 months. 15. NYCFC TARGETING AGUDELO? New York City FC’s Designated Players are certainly keeping busy. David Villa has officially begun training with Melbourne City, and Frank Lampard came on to help Manchester City beat Brad Guzan’s Aston Villa 2-0. Yet could there be any truth to rumor that the club is pursuing former New York Red Bulls forward Juan Agudelo? MLSsoccer.com Musts Armchair Analyst: Deconstructing Seattle’s attack and other thoughts from week 30 Report: Tottenham Hotspur looking at former MLS phenom Andy Najar American Exports: Herculez Gomez helps lead Tigres to win