US Soccer Rewind: A Look Back and a Look Ahead

It has certainly been a fun week in Major League Soccer with midweek games and all of the rivalries going on. It will be another exciting one this week with the Women's World Cup semi-finals on Tuesday and the U.S. Open Cup Tuesday and Wednesday.

MLS

After this week in MLS, we are about halfway through the season and D.C. United holds a very strong lead over the Eastern Conference. After defeating the Chicago Fire on Wednesday and earning a point against Toronto FC, they have earned seven points in their last three games and hold a commanding 11 point lead over the New England Revolution in the East.

Following the Revs is Toronto FC, New York Red Bulls and Orlando City all tied in points at 23. Columbus Crew SC are struggling to hold onto a playoff spot in sixth place, while the Philadelphia Union and Montreal Impact pull closer. Along with leading the East, DC also holds on to the top spot in the Supporters' Shield race.

In the West, things are much closer. The Seattle Sounders are just four points behind the Vancouver Whitecaps for first in the West. Behind Seattle are the Portland Timbers and LA Galaxy tied at 28 and Sporting Kansas City at 27. FC Dallas holds on to a playoff spot by one point in front of the San Jose Earthquakes who are surging up the standings lately.

World Cup

On Tuesday the U.S. Women's National Team takes on Germany for a chance to go back to the World Cup Final. Germany will be the toughest team that the U.S. team has faced all tournament, but coming off of a tiring win in penalty kicks the German National Team will have their hands full with with a fully recovered U.S. side. After not having Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe for the quarter finals, the United States will be back to full force for the semis.

U.S. Open Cup

U.S. Open Cup play begins on Tuesday and sees two teams from lower leagues competing to get to the next round to take on another MLS team. The Charlotte Independence (USL) will take on the Chicago Fire on Tuesday night in Chicago and the New York Cosmos will head to Red Bull Arena to take on the Red Bulls Wednesday night. Orlando City will host Crew SC in what could be another ugly battle to move on. If Orlando wins, this will be the furthest the team has ever been in this tournament, including it's days in the USL. Another game to keep an eye on is the San Jose Earthquakes and LA Galaxy. This battle of California has always been a spirited battle and this contest should be no different. U.S. soccer will broadcast all Open Cup games on YouTube.