Whilst Major League Soccer – the United States’ elite football league – doesn’t exactly sport the same quantity as other leagues, such as La Liga and the Premier League, the quality of goals are arguably some of the best football fans will ever witness. Total Pro Sports has compiled a list consisting of the top 10 best MLS goals of 2011.

10. Alan Gordon vs LS – Week 13:

It’s not often that a ball is hit as perfectly as this. With the ball dipping perfectly following a header from Alan Gordon’s teammate, the lower segment of the football was hit with just enough power and direction that it found itself flying goal-ward, hitting the bar fiercely enough to cause it to go off the bar and into the back of the net.

9. Chad Barrett vs Portland – Week 6:

Retrieving the ball with his first touch via a neat flick, LA Galaxy’s Chad Barrett controls the ball with his upper arm/borderline shoulder, waits for it to drop down and unleashes an unstoppable strike. Whilst there was initially a hint of handball, it was deemed to have been controlled by his shoulder.  Either way, there’s no doubting the quality of the way he set up, composed, and finished the strike for his goal.

8. Darlington Nagbe vs Kansas City:

In terms of individual prowess, Darlington Nagbe’s goal against Kansas City is up there with the very best. The player performs a touch after the ball falls down to the edge of the area, and then takes a further kick up to subsequently strike a beautiful effort that just guided the ball into the top corner of the net.

7. Javier Martina vs Portland - Week 2:

Long balls from keepers are always awkward for defenders due to the bounce of the ball. Javier Martina capitalized on exactly that by waiting for the ball to bounce ahead of him and then executing a volley-styled shot that was combined with a suitable amount of power; a shot which found its way onto the left side of the bar and consequently ending up in the goal.

6. Juan Agudelo vs DC – Week 6:

With a fairly awkward ball to deal with when it’s behind you, the pass from Juan Agudelo was still controlled and picked up by the player in what turned out to be a beautifully crafted strike that resulted in a goal. Flicking the ball up with his boot and switching immediately to his other in order to strike the ball, the rapidness and technique proved too much for the goalkeeper.

5. David Beckham vs Kansas City - Week 9:

David Beckham’s prolonged career has seen the former England captain play in several leagues; the Premier League with Manchester United, Serie A with AC Milan, La Liga with Real Madrid, as well as Major League Soccer in America. While Beckham has had his fair share of goals during his time with the LA Galaxy, his free-kick scorcher in 2011 is arguably one of his finest. From a few yards outside the edge of the area on the left side of the pitch, Beckham swirls in a shot that dumbfounded the keeper to go past him and into the middle of the net.

4. Graham Zusi vs Dallas - Week 13:

Graham Zusi sure knows how to strike a free kick. In a 40 + yard proximity to the goal line, Zus cleverly executes a delicate, yet powerful strike that has just enough uplift to go over the keeper and into back of the net. Granted, Dallas’ goalkeeper was understandably some way off the goal line and was blind-sighted by the strike, but Graham Zus’ quality in this instance shouldn’t be overlooked.

3. Bobby Convey vs New England - Week 10:

Another free-kick stunner is executed by Bobby Convey; from just outside the box on the right side of the stadium, Convey defines what a curling shot should be like. An absolute peach of a shot sees the ball curling all the way into the top left hand corner of the goal, which was also paired with a dip that fooled everyone on the pitch.

2. Carlos Ruiz vs Chicago - Week 10:

You arguably won’t see a more stunning goal in Major League Soccer for 2011 than this beauty delivered by Carlos Ruiz. Literally touching the ball down neatly away from a player, the control showed by Ruiz allowed him to drive a powerful, dipping shot that had just enough power and vision to hit the underside of the cross-bar.

1. Eric Hassli vs Seattle - Week 13:

When Eric Hassli scored this particular goal, the world of football were in awe of the sheer technique and execution of the shot itself. Hassli capitalizes on an error by the defender to control the ball in order to flick it ahead of him and ultimately produce a mesmerizing, unstoppable shot.

Luke Rodgers was already in an unfavorable position with the Los Angeles Galaxy fans, as his goal in the opening minutes of yesterday’s second leg of the Western Conference Semi-Finals gave the New York Red Bulls the early 1-0 lead and tied the aggregate at 1-1.  His reputation would only diminish approximately four minutes later, as he booted a ball out of bounds along the sideline and nearly took off the head of a female spectator standing behind the advertisement board.

Luckily, disaster was averted as the female left the Home Depot Center with he face still intact and the Galaxy’s fans and players were able to celebrate a 2-1 victory and a birth in the MLS Western Conference Finals.

Here is a look at the incident.

In the end, RSL would hold on for the final 30 minutes and escape with the 3-2 aggregate victory, but there were plenty of opportunities for the Sounders to add one more goal throughout the game.  One of those opportunities came in the 35th minute, when it appeared as though Sounders’ defender Jeff Parke had an empty net to shoot at from inside the box, but his attempt on goal was denied by the head of RSL defender Tony Beltran.

Martin Brodeur’s stick save was probably the best save in sports last night, but Beltran’s header should be considered a close second.

It is all fun and games, until someone loses an eye.

In this case, that someone is Mike Fucito, forward of the MLS’s Seattle Sounders.  His bloody eye was the result of an elbow from Daniel Hernandez of FC Dallas.  Hernandez didn’t receive a card on the play, but he did eventually receive a red card following the game for abusive language.

As for Fucito, he didn’t actually “lose an eye” on the play, but he did require nine stitches to seal the gash below it.

A simple shot or a pass to Edin Dzeko would have given his club a 2-0 lead, but instead, Balotelli wanted to show off some of his fancy footwork.  The end result was an off-target shot, a disgruntled Dzeko, thousands of booing fans, and his eventual substitution shortly after.

As far as disrespect goes, I’m not so sure an MLS team has ever done anything to earn the respect of Europe’s top soccer clubs in the first place.  But with that being said, when it comes to drawing the ire of your coach during a meaningless exhibition game, no one does it quite as well as Balotelli.  You can watch his embarrassing display below.

After Hassli gave the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead on a penalty shot in the 29th minute, things settled down until the final ten minutes of the match approached.  At that moment, the intensity of the game seemed to kick it up a notch.  It started with Mauro Rosales scoring the equalizer for the Sounders in the 81st minute, and they took the 2-1 lead thanks to a Osvaldo Alonso goal only three minutes later.  However, only seconds after play was restarted, Hassli collected the ball at the corner of the Sounders’ box and delivered a perfect strike that soared just over the outstretched hand of Seattle keeper Kasey Keller, tying the game and asserting himself as a frontrunner for MLS “Goal of the Year” honors.

The game would end in a 2-2 tie.  Here is another look at Hassli’s goal, for those of you who missed it.

Hat Tip – [Dirty Tackle]

A few weeks ago it was the Seattle Sounders’ Steve Zakuani who was on the receiving end of a vicious tackle that resulted in a fractured tibia and fibula.

This past weekend, it was Javier Morales of Real Salt Lake who was left with a fractured and dislocated left ankle after being on the wrong end of a nasty tackle from Chivas USA’s Marcos Mondaini.

Morales had beaten Mondaini with a quick move to the inside, and with the Chivas forward unable to keep pace with his Real Salt Lake counterpart, he delivered a dirty tackle from behind that left Morales wallowing on the ground in pain.  Mondaini was given a straight red card and will likely receive a lengthy suspension for his actions.

Morales has since undergone surgery to repair the damage, and while he is not expected back in the line-up for the remainder of the season, doctors do believe that he will be able to fully recover from the injury.

Here is a look at the incident.

During Friday’s game between the Seattle Sounders and the Colorado Rapids of the MLS, Steve Zakuani was the victim of a vicious tackle from the Rapids’ Brian Mullan, leaving him with a fractured tibia and fibula. Following the challenge, Zakuani’s leg could be seen dangling to the side, while Mullan was sent off with a straight red card.

Zakuani underwent successful surgery on Saturday to repair the damage. As for Mullan, he issued an apology through the media, but also stated that it was a challenge he had attempted “hundreds of times and I’d probably do it again.” Perhaps someone should perform a similar tackle on Mullan and break his leg in half, before he has the opportunity to commit another challenge like this for the 101st time.

Following the first goal during the Timbers’ match against the Chicago Fire last night, Timber Joey had some difficulty starting his chainsaw, but once he got it going, the celebration was on.  Joey would take a slice out of “the Victory log” three more times that night as the Timbers went on to record a 4-2 victory.

Here is a look at Timber Joey putting his chainsaw to work 31 minutes into a rainy game in Portland.

Hat Tip – [The Big Lead]

Vancouver Whitecaps player Eric Hassli attempted to skirt the rule by wearing a jersey under his jersey to toss it to fans in the stands after he scored a goal against the New England Revolution. He figured he was being pretty smart.

The ref didn’t take too kindly to his antics and promptly awarded him with a yellow card, effectively sending him off because he was already on a previous yellow.