FOR A PAIR of 2.Bundesliga forwards, Valentine's Day weekend 2015 provided memories to cherish. But for a few U.S. national team defenders, it was a weekend they would soon like to forget.

All told it was an eventful few days for Americans abroad—with the Julian Green saga taking an ugly turn and Ventura Alvarado seeing his stock surge in Mexico. Here are the top stories.

Andrew Wooten sparks Sandhausen

One day after Bobby Wood scored two goals for Erzgebirge Aue and earned Player of the Week honors, fellow American Andrew Wooten followed suit, scoring a pair for Sandhausen in a very impressive 3-1 away win over league leaders Ingolstadt. Wooten made the 2.Bundesliga's Team of the Week.

Wooten opened the scoring in the 12th minute when his deflected shot found the back of the net. Six minutes later he scored from the penalty spot, putting Ingolstadt in a 2-0 hole early in the game. Wooten now has seven goals on the season and the win moved Sandhausen into 13th place, six points clear of relegation. U.S. international Alfredo Morales started the game and went 81 minutes for Ingolstadt—which is still five points ahead of its closest competitor and would move up to the Bundesliga if the season ended today.

Timothy Chandler's Assists Proves Big

Timothy Chandler is quietly putting together a very nice season for Eintracht Frankfurt and Saturday’s 1-0 win over fourth place Schalke was a good indication of that.

Throughout his 90-minute outing, Chandler was heavily involved with 76 touches—the second most on his team. He completed 79% of his 58 passes and had a total of seven crosses. Most significantly, his 64th-minute cross took a slight deflection and found Lucas Piazon, who headed it home for the game’s only goal.

After struggling to earn minutes early in the season, Chandler has now reclaimed the starting spot with authority and Eintracht are now in ninth place in the Bundesliga, trailing sixth place Bayer Leverkusen by four points for a Europa League spot.

Danny Williams, Reading move on in FA Cup

Danny Williams missed the early stages of the 2014-15 season following knee surgery and it took him awhile to get back to full strength once he returned. But he's back now, and looked solid.

Reading FC is in the midst of an impressive FA Cup campaign, and on Saturday it defeated Derby County to move into the quarterfinal round. Williams went a full 90 and helped to control the midfield—even getting into a heated dispute with the referee on a penalty claim.

Geoff Cameron Struggles in FA Cup

Geoff Cameron had a bad day at the office on Saturday in Stoke City's 4-1 loss to Blackburn. Starting at right back, Cameron was vulnerable throughout most of the first half and was getting beat out wide on a recurring basis. In the 45th minute he conceded a penalty was given a red card, putting his team in a difficult predicament.

Cameron has been among the best American players in Europe in part because he is so mentally strong. He has had poor outings, certainly, but he has rebounded quickly from each of them. Everyone knows that he would prefer to play as a central defender or a defensive midfielder but he has accepted the right back position and learned the role quickly.

Saturday’s game was dreadful but the safe bet is that it won’t affect his confidence.

Tijuana Remains in Liga MX contention

Though not a favorite to compete for the Liga MX title, Club Tijuana has looked impressive through the first six games of the Clausura. Currently in second, the Xolos trail league leaders Cruz Azul by just one point.

Americans continue to play key roles on the team. Texas native Greg Garza has locked down the left back spot and showed no lingering effects from an injury that forced him out a game on January 30. Joe Corona has been used primarily off the bench but he has looked sharp when doing so. And U.S. U-23 eligible midfielder Alejandro Guido is knocking on the door for playing time after being named to the first team bench after strong Copa MX performances.

Garza’s consistent play no doubt brings a smile to Jurgen Klinsmann's face because it allows him to play a natural left back at that always troublesome position. He can now go with Garza on the left and stick with Chandler, Fabian Johnson, or DeAndre Yedlin on the right.

Julian Green's struggles continue

Earlier in the week, it was reported that Julian Green was dropped to Hamburg SV’s U-23 team. The next day, however, Green refuted the reports and said he was still with the senior side. This past weekend he failed to make the matchday lineup for either squad.

Perhaps it was for the best: Green's former club, Bayern Club, defeated his current one 8-0 in one of the most lopsided Bundesliga contests you will ever see.

Earlier in the week, HSV coach Josef Zinnbauer made this somewhat ominous statement about Green: “I hope he does not forget what he has to do to make the squad."

Then, Bayern Munich CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also chimed in, calling Green’s demotion “regrettable.” “That's not what our intention was—we send players on loan so that they can play at the highest level, and develop.”

Either way, it looks as though Green will have to fight hard to get meaningful playing time the rest of this season.

Alvarado fits new role at Club America

Ventura Alvarado continues to impress at Club America and could be working his way toward a U.S. national team call-up. On Saturday, the 22-year-old central defender from Phoenix showed another reason why he could fit very well into Klinsmann’s plans: He started on the right side of a three-man backline and was very effective as America defeated Chiapas 5-0.

If Klinsmann continues to dabble with a 3-5-2 formation, Alvarado's familiarity with the system would be an added bonus.

Relegation battles for two Yanks

American soccer obsessives know all about the problems that face Aston Villa and its starting goalkeeper, Illinois native Brad Guzan. The club is now in the English Premier League drop zone, having scored just 12 goals through 25 games. Guzan, one of the more reliable backstops in the EPL, will feel plenty of pressure the rest of the way.

But Guzan is not alone now. Hertha Berlin dropped a 2-0 decision to Freiburg on Sunday and the loss moved Hertha into 16th place—which is the relegation playoff spot. Hertha has conceded 40 goals through 21 games—third worst in the league.

As the number of Yanks in Europe continues to plummet, two first-team regulars are in danger of moving to lower leagues.

Brian Sciaretta is an American Soccer Now columnist and an ASN 100 panelist. Follow him on Twitter.