Seattle edges D.C. United with late winner

Soccer Betting Lines

07/15/2010 - Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Levesque scored in the 89th minute and Kasey Keller made five saves, leading Seattle Sounders FC to a 1-0 victory over D.C. United in MLS on Thursday night at RFK Stadium.

Keller made a few great saves for his fifth shutout of the season and Levesque scored his first goal of the year to end Seattle's four-game winless skid.

Seattle (5-8-4) won for just the second time in its last eight matches and for just the second time on the road this season.

D.C. United (3-10-3) became the first team to lose 10 matches in MLS this year and is winless in four straight.

Both clubs created tons of scoring chances, as Fredy Montero and Steve Zakuani both missed wide on early chances and United 17-year-old Andy Najar was denied by Keller in the eighth minute.

Montero forced a save from D.C. goalkeeper Troy Perkins in the 15th minute and D.C.'s Stephen King forced Keller to turn his shot by the post in the 19th.

Najar found the side netting in the 32nd, then Zakuani and Moreno responded on the other end with chances that were both off target.

Seattle's Patrick Ianni turned a header over the crossbar early in the second, and Montero continued the trend of missing the target with a free kick around the right post in the 55th.

United's Chris Pontius followed with a shot wide left in the 59th but D.C. was gifted a chance to take the lead minutes later when Keller came out of his box to challenge Najar. Keller remained on the ground after the challenge, but his absence in goal was wasted by D.C.

Santino Quaranta fired a quick shot at the empty net but Ianni headed the ball off the line to prevent a goal. Keller, who finished the game with a limp, had another save in the 67th on new D.C. signing Pablo Hernandez.

Keller then tipped a long drive from Quaranta over the bar in the 76th and was up to the task again in the 87th when D.C.'s Branko Boskovic directed the ball on goal from close range.

Zakuani fired wide again in the 87th but Seattle found the game-winner seconds later through Levesque. Montero took the ball to the right edge of the box and crossed over Perkins to the far post, where Levesque lunged to head the ball just inside the left post.

Seattle will try to build on the win July 25 when it hosts the Colorado Rapids and D.C. will try to bounce back Sunday when the Los Angeles Galaxy visit.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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