THE GAME YOU SHOULD HAVE SEEN

The Seattle Sounders 3-2 victory over the Chicago Fire produced a heady mix of beauty and ferocity that can often come from a closely contested match.

Obafemi Martins opened the scoring for the Sounders in the 31st minute when he was allowed to turn and shoot near from the top of the six-yard box.

A few minutes later the home side found itself one man down after Jhon Kennedy Hurtado made a rash double-footed challenge in the box. Martins calmly put the penalty past Sean Johnson for his second.

In the 41st minute Chicago rookie Harrison Shipp made a winding run into the box and lashed in a low shot beyond Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

Leading up to the reset after Shipp’s goal, Martins was involved in an off-camera scuffle with Benji Joya over the ball and was shown a straight red for his overzealous behavior, leveling the head count at 10-against-10.

Frei produced an astounding point blank save to deny Quincy Amarikwa in the 58th minute and keep the Sounders ahead.

Then in the 78th minute Lamar Neagle was given ample space and time in the box to score the winner for the Sounders, his fifth of the season. Shipp smashed in a consolation goal for his brace four minutes later.

GOALS OF THE WEEK

Colorado Rapids forward Deshorn Brown’s quick-minded flick over FC Dallas keeper Raul Fernandez on Saturday gets top billing this week. It was the forward’s fifth goal this month:

Fabian Castillo’s slalom run and shot past four Rapids defenders may have had more weight in the exciting 3-2 result, but the FC Dallas midfielder will have to settle for the runner-up spot this week.

Speaking of skilful winding runs, Shipp’s first goal is definitely worth another look:

GROWING INJURY LISTS

The World Cup break will be welcomed by many teams in the league since the past weekend took a toll on some already-depleted squads.

In the Columbus Crew’s 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, talisman Federico Higuain limped off before halftime with a right hamstring complaint. The striker subsequently missed Saturday’s 0-0 draw at D.C. United.

D.C. United’s Eddie Johnson was forced to leave Saturday’s draw with what appeared to be a hamstring injury.

Sporting KC pair Paolo Nagamura and Benny Feilhaber both had to exit Friday’s 2-0 win over the Houston Dynamo early due to injury. After a clash of heads in the fourth minute, Nagamura was stretchered off with a concussion. Feilhaber picked up a shoulder injury and was replaced at the half. In the ninth minute of the same game, Houston’s David Horst went off with a left leg complaint.

Gilberto picked up an injury in warm ups and was pulled from the match-day squad in Toronto’s 1-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.

After only 25 minutes Vancouver Whitecaps captain Jay DeMerit had to be helped off in his side’s 3-3 draw against the Philadelphia Union. The veteran center back tweeted this update on the injury after the game.

Injury is still a bit unknown but looks to be in or around the ankle/tendons. It's not a ruptured achilles, so that's a positive:) #GoCaps

— Jay DeMerit (@D6MERIT) June 8, 2014

STANDINGS AND STATS

Sporting KC’s 2-0 win over the Houston Dynamo on Friday moved the team to within a point of the Eastern Conference-leading New England Revolution. Previously one of the in-form teams in the league, the Revs lost 2-0 to the New York Red Bulls on Sunday for its second successive loss.

Seattle now lead with a seven-point gap in both the Western Conference and the Supporters Shield standings. Real Salt Lake remain in second.

English forward Dom Dwyer put away a penalty in SKC’s victory, moving him back to the top of the goal scorer standings, alongside compatriot Bradley Wright-Phillips. Chivas USA’s Erik Torres now has nine goals thanks to his opener against the LA Galaxy yesterday, while Martins' brace puts gives him eight.

Portland Timbers designated player Diego Valeri leads the assist rankings with eight. On Saturday Valeri set up the first of Fanendo Adi’s two goals in the Timbers' 3-1 win over RSL. In doing so he helped the his club break an 11-game winless streak against its conference rivals.

NEWS AND NOTES

New York City FC’s first signing, David Villa, will play for Melbourne City FC in the fall leading up to the 2015 MLS season. Formerly named Melbourne Heart FC, the A-League side is owned by City Football Group, owners of Manchester City as well as NYCFC. A member of the Spanish World Cup Squad, Villa scored both goals in the side’s warm-up against El Salvador on Saturday.

Whitecaps striker Erik Hurtado has scored a goal in each of his last four league games. The 23-year-old also picked up an assist against Philadelphia.

Houston are now on a four-game losing streak and will have to wait till June 29’s visit to the Montreal Impact to try and break the funk.

Dallas snapped an eight-game winless streak with its home win against Colorado. The team will travel to Portland this Wednesday in one of the two remaining season fixtures before the leage takes its World Cup break. The other Wednesday game is between the Montreal Impact and D.C. United.

Nick Kariuki writes both the ASN Injury Report and the MLS Roundup every week. Follow him on Twitter.