The Major League Soccer season is past the halfway point and heading into the final months. In the Eastern Conference reigning MLS Cup Champions Columbus have a 4 point lead atop the standings while the Houston Dynamo now have a 7 point lead in the Western Conference. Here’s a recap of this week’s matches, video highlights, and the latest standings.

Houston and Columbus remain on top

The Houston Dynamo had to score a late goal against Chicago but now is 7 points clear of 2nd place LA in the Western Conference. In the Eastern Confernce, the Columbus Crew continue their strong play as they won 3-0 at San Jose and now lead by 4 points. Both teams have been in great form the last month and right now appear the favorites to meet in the MLS Cup Final.

Tha LA Galaxy continue to climb

New head coach Bruce Arena and the Galaxy are now 2nd place in the Western Confernce as this team is finally living up to its potential. They have not lost since June 20th and in great position to make the playoffs. They are playing as a balanced team not relying solely on Beckham or Donovan but getting contributions from several players. Donovan has to be at the top of the MVP list so far as he’s been in great form and arguably the most dangerous attacking player in the league. How long before he goes to Europe (not Germany)?

The playoff races are very close

Each conference is very close in the race for the last playoff spots. It’s still many games left in the season but as always the standings are close. Can Toronto FC earn their first playoff berth ever? Will Seattle make the playoffs in their first season? Only time will tell but this season’s last few months should be very entertaining to see what times make the postseason.

Video Highlights – Click on match score and video icon to view highlights

Wednesday, August 5
FC Barcelona **	at Seattle Sounders FC **	FCB 4, SEA 0		66,848
Thursday, August 6
Houston Dynamo	at FC Dallas	DAL 1, HOU 0		7,442
Friday, August 7
Real Madrid ***	at Toronto FC ***	RMD 5, TOR 1		22,089
Saturday, August 8
Los Angeles Galaxy	at New England Revolution	LA 2, NE 1		26,623
Columbus Crew	at San Jose Earthquakes	CLB 3, SJ 0
Seattle Sounders FC	at Real Salt Lake	RSL 1, SEA 0		14,193
Chivas USA	at Colorado Rapids	COL 4, CHV 0		13,364
Sunday, August 9
Real Madrid ***	at D.C. United ***	RMD 3, DC 0		72,368
Chicago Fire	at Houston Dynamo	HOU 3, CHI 2		18,809

Conference Standings through Sunday August 9, 2009

2009 – Eastern Conference Table
			Overall							Home						Away
RK		TEAM	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA		W	D	L	GS	GA		W	D	L	GS	GA		GD	P
1		Columbus	21	9	9	3	32	24		6	4	0	19	12		3	5	3	13	12		8	36
2		Chicago	20	8	8	4	28	23		3	4	2	8	8		5	4	2	20	15		5	32
3		DC United	20	6	10	4	34	32		5	4	0	15	8		1	6	4	19	24		2	28
4		Toronto FC	20	7	6	7	28	31		5	3	3	13	11		2	3	4	15	20		-3	27
5		New England	18	6	6	6	20	24		4	3	2	13	8		2	3	4	7	16		-4	24
6		Kansas City	18	5	6	7	20	25		3	3	3	11	10		2	3	4	9	15		-5	21
7		New York Red Bulls	21	2	4	15	16	37		2	3	4	14	14		0	1	11	2	23		-21	10

2009 – Western Conference Table
			Overall							Home						Away
RK		TEAM	GP	W	D	L	GS	GA		W	D	L	GS	GA		W	D	L	GS	GA		GD	P
1		Houston	22	11	5	6	30	20		7	3	1	18	9		4	2	5	12	11		10	38
2		Los Angeles	20	7	10	3	25	21		3	4	2	9	9		4	6	1	16	12		4	31
3		Colorado	20	8	6	6	32	24		6	3	2	21	8		2	3	4	11	16		8	30
4		Seattle Sounders FC	20	7	8	5	26	21		6	4	1	19	8		1	4	4	7	13		5	29
5		Chivas USA	18	8	3	7	19	19		6	1	2	14	8		2	2	5	5	11		0	27
6		Real Salt Lake	20	7	5	8	29	24		6	3	1	24	10		1	2	7	5	14		5	26
7		Dallas	20	6	5	9	29	30		5	3	3	20	16		1	2	6	9	14		-1	23
8		San Jose	20	4	5	11	25	38		4	3	4	18	18		0	2	7	7	20		-13	17

Key

RK: Rank, GP: Games Played, W: Wins, D: Draws, L: Losses, GS: Goals Scored, GA: Goals Against, GD: Goal Difference, P: Points

Moved Up    Moved Down    Remained