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Sporting KC shuts down Crew to grab top spot in East

SPORTING KC 3, CREW 0

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) -- Claudio Bieler converted a penalty kick in the first half for his first goal in nearly two months, leading Sporting Kansas City to a 3-0 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night.

Soony Saad and C.J. Sapong also scored for Kansas City (13-9-6), and Jimmy Nielsen got his 10th shutout to take a share of the league lead with Philadelphia's Zac MacMath.

Sporting moved into the Eastern Conference lead, three points ahead of New York and Montreal, who both play on Sunday. Columbus (9-14-5) dropped to 1-1 under interim manager Brian Bliss.

Bieler scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute to put Sporting up 1-0, after Will Trapp brought down Benny Feilhaber in the penalty area, and also provided the assist on Saad's goal in the 41st. Bieler's goal was his first since July 15.

Sapong's header in the 55th made it 3-0.

FC DALLAS 3, WHITECAPS 1

FRISCO, Texas (AP) - Mauro Diaz and Jair Benitez scored in the final five minutes to lift FC Dallas past Vancouver.

Je-Vaughn Watson also scored for FC Dallas (10-7-10), which moved three points ahead of Vancouver for sixth place in the Western Conference.

Diaz got the tiebreaking goal in the 87th minute when he tapped a pass from Fabian Castillo into the center of the net from inside 10 yards. Benitez added another goal with a looping volley from close to midfield that sailed over the head of Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted in the 90th.

Daigo Kobayashi gave Vancouver (10-10-7) the lead in the 4th minute. Watson tied it in the 8th.

SOUNDERS 2, FIRE 1

SEATTLE (AP) - The Seattle Sounders benefited from an own goal in the 89th minute to beat Chicago for their fourth straight win.

The Fire's Gonzalo Segares ran back toward the goal to clear the ball and instead knocked it into the net.

Lamar Neagle also scored for Seattle (14-8-4), which has won seven of its last eight.

Mike Magee had a goal for Chicago (10-11-5), which has never beaten the Sounders while losing for the fourth straight time in Seattle.

RAPIDS 1, GALAXY 0

CARSON, Calif. (AP) - Edson Buddle scored in the 75th minute to lead Colorado past short-handed Los Angeles.

Buddle rocketed a shot to the upper-left corner after Vicente Sanchez stripped Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant of the ball on Los Angeles' left wing. The win kept Colorado (11-8-9) in fourth place in the Western Conference.

The Galaxy (13-10-4) lost at home for the first time since early May, dropping from second to third in the West - two points behind second-place Seattle.h

Los Angeles was missing four starters - forwards Robbie Keane and Landon Donovan, defender Omar Gonzalez and goalkeeper Jaime Penedo - away with their national teams for World Cup qualifying. Colorado was without Gabriel Torres, Penedo's Panama teammate.

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