This time, the goal came in the 36th minute as Donovan was unmarked when receiving a pass from Sean Franklin. Unlike his miss against Costa Rico on the same field in a USA friendly a week early, Donovan was clinical. He smashed the ball home, leaving ‘keeper Matt Pickens no chance for a save.

Colorado, which managed only two shots in the first half, nearly got back into the game in the 56th minute. Midfielder Wells Thompson knocked in a rebound passed a sprawling Donovan Ricketts. However, Thompson’s goal was waived off after the assistant referee flagged Thompson for offsides.

Thompson’s no-goal was as close as it would come for the Rapids. The team managed little offense, but got a sterling match from Pickens that allowed Colorado to hold out hope. In the end, the squad was left holding little else.

Iron Man Missing: For the first time since Aug. 6, 2009, Drew Moor wasn’t on the field for the Rapids. Moor’s streak of 6,210 consecutive minutes — a league record for a field player — came to an end over yellow card accumulation.

Instead of Moor, Tyrone Marshall was paired with Marvell Wynne in central defense. Both men spent much of the game under siege.

Quick Turnaround: There is little time for sulking. Colorado returns to action on Tuesday at home against Santos Laguna in CONCACAF Champions League play. The Rapids are 1-0-1 in the group stage with a home win against Metapan and a road draw at Real Espana.

On Tuesday, the Rapids face the very real possibility of feeling like it’s another road game. The green and white kits of the Mexican power are likely to overwhelm the Rapids burgundy.

Playoff Position: With the win, LA, 15-3-10, 55 points, became the first MLS squad to clinch a playoff spot. The Rapids, 10-8-11, 41 points, held on to the fifth playoff position. With five games remaining, the Rapids are watching the chance for one of the three first-round byes from the Western Conference rapidly fade.

Next Up: After the CCL match on Tuesday, the Rapids travel to Toronto for a Sept. 17 match at BMO Field. The Rapids don’t host a home MLS match again until San Jose comes to town on Sept. 24. Colorado also gets a home date with Real Espana in CCL play on Sept. 21.

De Rosario, cast off by the floundering New York Red Bulls, provided further evidence over the weekend as his two goals gave United a 2-0 win away to San Jose Earthquakes.

The performance pushed the club’s record to 2-1-1 since DeRo’s arrival via a trade with the Red Bulls, and it earned the Canadian attacking midfielder MLS Player of the Week honors for Week 20, as voted on by the North American Soccer Reporters.

De Rosario, who is the first United player to be named Player of the Week this year, earned the award ahead of a pair of fellow two-goal-scorers, LA Galaxy’s Landon Donovan, who struck a brace in a 4-0 win over Vancouver, and Brian Ching, who returned from suspension to lead the Dynamo past Seattle.

CSN Vote: Donovan. There were a number of worthy performances from the week. We liked Donovan’s leadership in the 4-0 pounding of Vancouver.

Our second choice was Brian Ching. His brace lead Houston to a 3-1 win over Seattle.

No fault to DeRo, we just prefered Donovan’s work. Ching was, admittedly, a sentimental choice.

A 12th All-Star, the winner of the AT&T Text Voting, was revealed on Sunday on MLSsoccer.com.

On July 27, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, N.J., the MLS All-Stars will face the defending English Premier League champions Manchester United in the 2011 AT&T MLS All-Star Game (live on ESPN2, Galavision, and TSN at 6:30 p.m.).

The First XI received the most votes at their respective positions from combined fan voting on three platforms – online at MLSsoccer.com, via text message, and via Twitter. The online and text voting ballot consisted of six players from each club, as chosen by a panel of media members. A 4-3-3 formation was selected for this year’s First XI because the third-ranked forward received more than twice as many votes as the fourth-place midfielder.

2011 MLS All-Star First XI

Goalkeeper: Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounder FC)
Defenders: Sean Franklin (LA Galaxy), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Rafa Marquez (New York Red Bulls), Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls).
Midfielders: David Beckham (LA Galaxy), Jack Jewsbury (Portland Timbers), Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
Forwards: Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

AT&T Text Voting Winner: Defender: Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City)

Fan participation in All-Star voting increased by 53 percent this year compared to 2010, according to the league. The MLS All-Star First XI includes three of the top four goal scorers through July 8 – Thierry Henry, Landon Donovan and Brek Shea, who combined have netted 25 goals in the first half of the season. Donovan’s selection ties him with Eddie Pope for the most All-Star nods in MLS history – each have 11.

Besler received 30 percent of all text votes submitted between June 8 and July 5 and he received nearly three times as many text votes as the next closest player.

The First XI is not necessarily the starting lineup. MLS All-Star coach Hans Backe will select the starters based on player availability and tactical considerations. If First XI selections are unavailable due to injury, international duty or other commitments, Backe will select alternates for the game day roster, but all First XI players are All-Stars.

Two selections by MLS Commissioner Don Garber will be announced July 16. The complete game day roster will be announced on July 18. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, a total of 32 players will be named All-Stars. After the game day roster, the remaining players receiving the All-Star honor will come from voting among MLS players and be announced July 25.

The loss ended a nine-game unbeaten streak for the Rapids (5-4-7, 22 points) and continued a run of disappointing results for the team at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park this season. LA improved to 9-2-7, 34 points, and remains atop Major League Soccer.

OOOOOF! Juan Pablo Angel's shot goes squarely into the midsection of Rapids defenders in the wall on Saturday night. (Photograph by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

The result was as disappointing as it was unlikely for a Rapids side that controlled play early before a Chris Birchall cross was directed into the Rapids net by defender Drew Moor as he raced toward the end line.

The 1-0 lead for the Galaxy, who were playing without Donovan Ricketts, Landon Donovan and David Beckham, doubled in the 42nd minute when Juninho launched a golazo from 25-yards out into the far corner of the goal. ‘Keeper Matt Pickens reacted, but was unable to stop the shot.

Colorado opened the second half with three forwards as coach Gary Smith inserted Omar Cummings into the match and kept Caleb Folan and Conor Casey on the field. Cummings, who had been out with an ankle injury for six weeks, proved a threat and when his shot in the 64th minute pinged off the post, Casey tapped the loose ball into an open net.

The Rapids comeback came to an end 10 minutes later when Folan was shown red for a tackle on Juninho. LA iced the game with a Chad Barrett goal in the 80th minute. Wheat Ridge native Todd Dunivant set up the goal with a pass to Barrett.

An aghast Jeff Larentowicz reacts during Colorado's home 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night. (Photograph by Jonathan Ingraham/ColoradoSoccerNow.com)

Home Letdown:

While the Rapids own a solid 3-2-3 record in away games this season, Colorado is a meager 2-2-4 squad at home. During the run to the MLS Cup in 2010, the Rapids lost only two home games, with the second home loss not coming until Oct. 2.

The team has not won at home since April 3, and a crowd of 18,277 couldn’t boost the team to that next home win on Saturday.

LA had not scored two or more goals against the Rapids at home during the regular season since June 25, 2003.

Missing Attack: Since scoring eight goals in the first three games — all wins — the Rapids have scored 10 goals in 13 matches. The Rapids have been shutout five times this season.

MIA Beckham: David Beckham did not travel to Colorado after suffering back spasms on Friday, according to the Galaxy. In five seasons with LA, Beckham has only played one match in Colorado. He went 90 minutes in a 4-0 loss to the Rapids in 2008.

Next up: The Rapids travel to Columbus to play the crew on June 26. Colorado returns home to Commerce City to face the Houston Dynamo for the annual fireworks extravaganza on July 3.

If he produces something positive for the Galaxy in the thin air at Commerce City, it will be a sea change for the superstar who has been either absent or a nonentity in Colorado since joining the league in 2007.

Sure, there was the fun of rumored sightings of Beckham and his family back in August 2007, but he only played six MLS games that season and was nowhere near the pitch when Colorado won at home 3-0.

In 2008, it was even worse for the Galaxy. Beckham was part of a side that went down 4-0 in the season opener at DSG Park. During the season when Beckham appeared in 25 games, the most so far in his MLS stint, he spent 90 minutes on the field and his only entry on the scoring sheet was the one foul he committed.

In 2009, Beckham was on one of his Serie A dalliances with AC Milan when the Rapids and LA tied 1-1 at Dick’s. In 2010, he was out injured (see: Dalliance, Serie A, above) when the Rapids went down 1-0 at home.

So, for what is likely to be only his second and last appearance as a player, Beckham in Colorado has drawn fans to the seats (18,086 in ’07, 18,713 in ’08) but shown little on the pitch. While his 14 games this season indicate he is giving his all for LA — one goal, six assists and six yellow cards — the midfielder the Rapids most fear — Landon Donovan — will be off on his duties with the U.S. Men’s National Team.

Rapids Woes: I wasn’t kidding about Donovan. He had the assist on the goal that beat Colorado at home in 2010. He scored the goal in the 2009 tie. And that makes him the most effective attacker for the Galaxy at DSG in the past five seasons.

Otherwise, Los Angeles has suffered in Colorado. The Galaxy suffered shutout losses in six consecutive games between 2005 and the tie in 2009.

Returning Home: Defender Todd Dunivant, 30, returns to his homeland for the match. The LA Galaxy leftback is a native of Wheat Ridge.

Last One Out: This game marks the final game of the 10-match suspension of Rapids midfielder Brian Mullan. Mullan was suspended for a reckless tackle that broke the leg of Seattle’s Steve Zakuani.

Return Imminent: Omar Cummings may finally see the field after suffering an ankle injury against Houston on May 4. Cummings has been training with the team and is listed as probable.

Seeing Yellow: Accumulation of yellow cards means that Conor Casey, Drew Moor, Pablo Mastroeni and Tyrone Marshall are two cards away from having to sit a game.

Jeff Larentowicz races upfield with the ball as LA's Chris Birchall gives chase during the 2010 meeting between the Galaxy and the Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. (Photograph by Jessica Taves/ColoradoSoccerNow.com.)

Donovan leads the MLS with eight goals and has one assist in 11 games with the Galaxy this season, helping his club to an 8-2-5 record for an MLS-best 29 points entering June.

After missing three games in mid-April because of a knee injury, Donovan burst out of the gates in May, scoring five goals in LA’s first four games. He later added a sixth goal from the penalty spot against Houston on May 25, helping the Galaxy claim a 1-0 victory. The Galaxy had a 4-1-2 record in the month of May to stretch their lead at the top of the Western Conference standings to seven points over FC Dallas. They are unbeaten in their last six and have won four straight, culminating with a 1-0 win over New England at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.

Following that game, Donovan reported to U.S. National Team camp ahead of the CONCACAF Gold Cup. If the U.S. qualifies for the Gold Cup Final, Donovan will miss all four of the Galaxy’s games during the month of June.

This is the fifth time in Donovan’s MLS career that he has been named the MLS Player of the Month, with three of those coming as a member of the Galaxy. He won the award twice in the 2003 season with the San Jose Earthquakes before claiming the prize in April 2008 and again in July 2009 with the Galaxy.

The MLS Player of the Month is selected after each calendar month of the regular season by a panel of journalists from NASR. The group consists of members of print, television, radio and online media.

CSN Vote: Donovan. It was a simple vote. He was crucial to his team, and this will be obvious during his June spell with the national team.

Looking at the Rapids future has been an exercise in looking at what the team already possesses. In considering signing a Designated Player, it’s time to look outside the club.

Where is the rest of the league going, and do the Rapids need a Designated Player to keep pace?

Picking up Juan Pablo Angel makes it clear that the LA Galaxy is not content with a Supporters Shield. Having the best regular season record is “nice,” but it’s not enough. Teams want to be playing in the final game of the season.

LA lost in the final two years ago and fell to FC Dallas in the semifinals in 2010. With Landon Donovan and David Beckham, the Galaxy already has marquee names. Edson Buddle was a pistol-hot scorer for the first half of the season, and will benefit from not having any national team duties this summer. Adding Angel makes this a team that can score in bunches.

Rafa Marquez and Thierry Henry give New York Red Bulls star power. It doesn’t hurt that the rest of the squad is also better. Truthfully, the erratic brilliance of Bouna Coundoul in goal is the only question mark left on this team.

In the Western Conference alone, Real Salt Lake needs a consistent scoring touch, but represents a threat to breakup the LA-New York road to the final. FC Dallas is improved and San Jose isn’t a fluke. Seattle seems to be stagnating, and Portland and Vancouver will be learning. Houston is adrift and aging. Chivas is a hot mess.

The Rapids? Well, they aren’t much for star power. Pablo Mastroeni, Conor Casey and, now, Omar Cummings are the only names most fans in the league would know. So far, this hasn’t hurt Colorado.

Outlook: Can Colorado continue to thrive without a designated player? Yes.

The way this team is built, there is no obvious spot for a DP. If coach Gary Smith decided to go with a 4-3-3 and play three central midfielders, it would make sense to grab a slick passer from overseas. If Smith decides to try the 4-5-1 again, a holding midfielder would be worth the price.

Who is out there that would fit as a midfield DP? It would almost have to be a benchwarmer in England, Italy, Germany or Spain. Most of them would expect DP money, but would they be worth it? Probably not.

Likely Move: Unless someone buys Cummings, the Rapids will hold pat. In building from the current 23 to 30 players, there is hypothetical room for a DP signing, but it’s unlikely to happen. Instead, Smith may look to add another veteran midfielder for depth or a young wing back for development.

Take for instance the choice of Blaise Nkufo as the MLS Player of the Week, an accolade he earned from the league and the North American Soccer Reporters on Monday. Nkufo, who plays for Seattle Sounders FC, picked up the honor after scoring a hat trick against the Columbus Crew on Saturday. Seattle stunned the Crew 4-0, with Nkufo picking up the first two goals and the final tally.

While a hat trick is always an impressive accomplishment on the field, I am not convinced that Nkufo’s three goals made him the player of the week.

As I argued in my ballot for the week, it was impressive, but overdue work from Nkufo. He failed to land on the scorer’s sheet in his first five games as a Sounder. As someone who can receive bank-breaking money but only count for one-third of a million under the salary cap, he hasn’t been that great of an investment. And, while his first two goals set the tone for the day, his last one was simply a team attempting to get him a hat trick, regardless of the worth of another score.

If it all comes down to goal differential then maybe, just maybe, the money spent on Nkufo and this week’s accolades will have been worth it.

Otherwise, I am having a hard time justifying this selection. Looking at this weekend’s games, I think we had a case where two goals were worth more than three.

On a day when his team was playing poorly against poor opposition and looking ready to surrender three points at home, Landon Donovan delivered salvation. Donovan scored twice in the final 10 minutes to give the LA Galaxy a full three points against a DC United side that had led 1-0 and outplayed the hosts for most of the day.

Someone who can hoist a team on his shoulders and deliver an improbable victory in the dying moments of a match seems more worthy of league honors.

When Edson Buddle was hot to start the season, Donovan was there with the assists. As Buddle cooled, Donovan has stepped up with timely strikes. On Saturday, when no one on his side was playing winning football, Donovan plugged in his goalscoring abilities and delivered a win.

For my vote, he was player of the week. If I had to pick which of these two to have on my side over the weekend, there is no question it would have been Donovan.

The US staged another second half comeback to tie Ghana 1-1, and then simply ran out of gas. The US followed the script by falling behind early, rallying in the second half, and then not having anything left at the end. Ghana got one good counterattack early in the first extra time period when the US was snoozing. After that, there was nothing left.

So, what lessons can we learn from the US’s departure in the second round?

Capable: For once, the Yanks took care of business in a weak group. Alexi Lalas was right when the draw was announced. This was a group that the US should be able to get out of. The US did get it done. Past US teams would have botched this opportunity.

The 2006 and 1998 squads would have killed to have been in any of the positions that this squad found.

Comeback Kings: The US could come back. England, Slovenia and Ghana all lead early. The US managed to tie up each of those games. The second half was the US friend, and the comeback against Slovenia and the finale against Algeria were fantastic.

Looking Back: The US never quite figured out the center of defense. Carlos Bocanegra does a passable job there, but he was beat on the final Ghana goal, and he’s better on the outside. Jay DeMerit was stellar. He seemed to get better as the tournament went on. The man from Green Bay, Wisc., gave everything.

The injury to Oguchi Onyewu last fall was probably more devastating to central defense than I thought. I have never been a huge Onyewu fan. He always seems too likely to run over an opponent and draw a silly foul. This wasn’t a problem in South Africa, but Onyewu was not 100 percent. He gave all he had, but it wasn’t enough.

Stuck in the Middle: Michael Bradley did fantastic work in the center of the field. His best companion was Maurice Edu, as Ricardo Clark and my personal fave, Jose Torres, came up short.

Looking back, I wonder what Edu-Bradley could have done with a full 90 minutes together every game.

This leads us to the other issue for the US, why isn’t Benny Feilhaber a starter? All he does is hold the ball, light up the field and make the right pass time and again. I’m sorry he didn’t get more opportunity.

Going Forward: There’s a forward problem. None of the strikers scored in the tournament. All the US goals came from the midfield, (Clint Dempsey, Bradley, Landon Donovan) plus Edu’s disallowed finish.

Coach Bob Bradley is probably going to face his most questions here. Jozy Altidore played a great second half against Algeria. That’s not much of a return for starting four games in the World Cup.

Herculez Gomez made a difference, but he didn’t spend much time on the field. Edson Buddle got one chance, which probably wasn’t enough.

What did Robbie Findley do? I was grateful he wasn’t available against Algeria. He may be fast, but he couldn’t finish. You have to finish chances at this level. Findley got his chances, but he didn’t do the job. I still don’t see the Findley allure.

Four More Years: Now the long wait to the next World Cup begins. This time, it’s in Brazil, and I can’t wait to go.

In CONCACAF, the US is a likely representative. Who will be on the field?  

At keeper, Marcus Hahnemann was in South Africa for veteran stability and Brad Guzan was there to learn. Tim Howard was the man from start to finish. He did nothing to dislodge his place. I expect to see him in the goal in 2014. I suspect the two sitting on the bench will two names I haven’t mentioned.

Defense is in for an overhaul. Steve Cherundolo is 31. This was his final World Cup. Bocanegra and DeMerit are unlikely to be back in four years. Jonathan Spector is a serviceable sub, but he’s unlikely to get another sniff. Onyewu might be back, but he’s a borderline case. He’s going to have to stay healthy and play some outstanding club football.

Jonathan Bornstein needs to take his play in the final game and keep building. He’s shown promise and stagnation in equal measures. Clarence Goodson rode the pine. I suspect Bornstein and Goodson will get a chance for 2014. Both are likely to make it after the taste they got this month.

Dempsey and Donovan will play in the midfield until they can’t. Expect both of them to make heroic last stands for one more cup in 2014. Each will be nearing the end, but I don’t see either one of them missing out.

Bradley is a pup. He could lead the midfield for the next decade. Edu, Clark, Feilhaber and Torres will all be in the mix. Despite an atrocious half, I still believe in Torres. Stuart Holden shows some exciting possibilities. Midfield is the one area where the US has to feel good.

Forwards are a problem. Buddle and Gomez were in-form strikers who got their shots. Neither will be in the mix in four years.

Findley was useless. I never got his charm, and I still don’t. However, he gets four years to prove me wrong. If he can figure out how to finish, he will have a case to go to Brazil. Altidore also needs to step up his finishing and learn how to play 90 minutes as a top flight professional.

Of the four on the roster, only Altidore is likely to be back.

Next Up: I’m going to try and forget about today’s fadeout and enjoy the rest of the tournament. Plus, the Colorado Rapids and  the rest of the MLS come back online today. After a two-week break, I wonder what we will see.

That’s the question for the U.S. Men. After a nervy tie with England, a rousing comeback and unjust goal decision against Slovenia, and then the 90-plus goal to upend Algeria, what do they have left?

Hopefully, after this rollercoaster ride, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Co. will have enough fuel to push through 90 minutes against Ghana. Ghana has the team speed and quality players to score, but it also has a shaky defense. The one thing I have believed about this U.S. team from the naming of the original pool of 30 players was that this group could score.

Dempsey has been unlucky and the referees have been unkind. I don’t see either of those streaks continuing. The U.S. will score goals, just to keep me from losing my mind. I don’t think I can take another anxious afternoon.

Regardless, Saturday should be a great match. These teams have a lot of the same virtues and vices. I can’t wait.

1930 Redux: By beating Algeria, the U.S. won its group for the first time since the first World Cup in 1930.

Just for a little perspective, that first team went to the semifinals. Argentina crushed the Americans 5-2.

Guessing Game: With all the first round games, it’s time to review my prognasticating skills. My predictions are here.

On the plus side, I got 12 of the 16 teams that advanced to the second round. I regretted picking France for the second round before the first game. The French only made it worse. Kudos to Uruguay for topping the group. I should have known better to discount any team with Diego Forlan.

I’m not sure what to make of Italy’s flameout. As a team, they just waited until too late to play. The final 10 minutes of the Slovakia game was one of the most entertaining portions of any game this tournament. I don’t know, maybe Italy packed its sense of urgency in a different bag.

Still, kudos to Slovakia and farewell to the ’06 finalists, France and Italy.

Also, South America is due for all possible respect. Only one team lost even one game, and Chile’s 2-1 loss to Spain on the final day of first round play was no embarrassment. Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile and Brazil each came out and took care of business. Very impressive to see five of the final 16 coming from South America.

Asian Surprises: I thought the home continent advantage would push Nigeria through. The Super Eagles never came together. South Korea, which seemed to be regressing at a rapid pace since 2002, played solid defense and found a way to score. In one group, you got a pleasant surprise and a sad disappointment.

I also thought Japan was done. However, the Japanese seem to be getting better as the tournament progresses. The game against Denmark was fantastic. It was a well-deserved 3-1 win, and it’s not unreasonable to picture the Japanese in the quarterfinals.

African Disappointments: Ghana was the only African team to get through the first round. Of the other four, the only one that looked likely to make it was Nigeria. Ivory Coast was a trendy pick, but I never bought into that belief. Cameroon showed little in qualifying and little in the tournament.

This leaves the hosts. Bafana Bafana did everything but qualify for the next round. The team played attractive soccer and showed that they belonged. It would have been a storybook to move on to the second round, but there is no shame in bouncing out. I doubt it will reduce the sound of vuvuzelas, but the hosts are on the sidelines.