This weekend NYCFC continued the winning start to their season with a solid win over Orlando. Minnesota are also surprising many this season as they earned a win over a shorthanded Fire team. Atlanta seem to have their feet back under them as they scored four goals past a seemingly solid Whitecaps team. During the only game on Sunday, Seattle continued their plummet as they were handed a big loss by Dallas while being down to ten men for most of the game.
DC United 2-2 Houston Dynamo
DC grabbed a late equaliser to send Houston home wishing they had done more.
The Dynamo grabbed the lead in the 30th minute when Alberth Elis capitalised on a defensive mistake by DC and was able to collect a loose ball and clip it over keeper David Ousted before putting the final touch on it in front of the net. Mauro Manotas doubled the lead barely a minute later when he was in position to score Elis’ pass across the area following another defensive error.
Darren Mattocks gave a glimpse of hope to DC with goal in the 50th minute which he secured after taking a Yamil Asad pass into the area and then cutting back to put the ball onto his favoured right foot and beat the defender at close range. Luciano Acosta saved the point for DC in the last few moments of the game as he rifled in Frederic Brilliant’s headed pass following an Asad free kick.
Minnesota United FC 2-1 Chicago Fire
In an eventful second half, the Loons showed their competitive capabilities as the Fire were handed their second defeat of the season.
Ibson gave the Loons the lead in the 55th minute with a second-try finish after Fire keeper Richard Sanchez bobbled the save of Ibson’s header. Elliot Collier brought the Fire level with a desperate finish after Loons keeper Matt Lampson parried the first try. Sam Nicholson headed in the winning foal for the Loons in the 66th minute from close range, assisted via a cross from Ethan Finlay.
Philadelphia Union 0-0 Columbus Crew SC
It was a game for the shot-stoppers as all ended level in Philadelphia leaving both teams still undefeated.
Union and Crew keepers Andre Blake and Zack Steffen respectively put forward solid performances to ensure the game ended in a goalless draw, both coming out with three saves apiece. Perhaps the best chances of the night fell to Gyasi Zardes, who will be disappointed in his inability to tuck any of them into the net.
Montreal Impact 1-0 Toronto FC
Toronto received their second defeat in as many games as Montreal were next in line to earn a win against the reigning champions.
Impact forward Jeisson Vargas scored what would turn out to be the winner in the 41st minute with a shot from the right-hand side of the 18-yard box which took a deflection past Toronto keeper Alex Bono, assisted by an Ignacio Piatti through-ball.
New York City FC 2-0 Orlando City SC
Even though David Villa was out of service for the game, NYCFC still continued moving full speed ahead, chalking up their third win of the season against an Orlando side that are still yet to find a win.
NYCFC finally took the lead in the 62nd minute thanks to a goal by Ismael Tajouri-Shradi after a defensive miscommunication between Orlando forward Yoshimar Yotun and keeper Joe Bendik placed the ball right at Ismael’s foot just in front of net for an easy goal. Maximiliano Moralez doubled NYCFC’s lead in the 74th minute with a strike from the edge of the box, assisted by a layoff from Jesus Medina.
Atlanta United FC 4-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
Atlanta handed the ten-man Whitecaps their first loss of the season to continue the establishment of home dominance as the fans were treated to a Josef Martinez hat trick.
Whitecaps defender Kendall Waston was shown a red card in the thirteenth minute after a five-minute long VAR review determined there was misconduct in the box against Atlanta defender Leandro Pirez. A penalty was awarded, and Josef Martinez tucked it away to give Atlanta the lead in the 15th minute.
Whitecaps defender Aaron Maund suffered the ignominy of scoring an own-goal in the 58th minute after he mistakenly tapped in Julian Gressel’s cross into the box. Martinez made it three for Atlanta in the 60th minute after a break left him 1-on-1 with the keeper, and he took the shot from the edge of the box to score. Erik Hurtado put the Whitecaps on the board with a nice run and goal in the 85th minute. Martinez made his hat trick in the 88th minute with a strong header from close range, assisted by a cross from Andrew Carleton.
Sporting Kansas City 3-2 San Jose Earthquakes
SKC did just enough to put away the Quakes and earn their second win of the season.
Ilie Sanchez put SKC on the board in the 25th by converting a penalty earned when Quakes keeper Andrew Tarbell upended SKC forward Johnny Russell in the box. Valeri Qzaishvili brought the Quakes level in the 34th minute with a second-attempt strike from close-range.
Graham Zusi struck the potential goal of the season in the 56th minute to put SKC back on top with a run from the right-hand side that he rifled in from 21-yards out into the top corner of the net. Felipe Gutierrez extended SKC’s lead in the 68th minute with a strike from just outside the box, assisted by Daniel Salloi. Chris Wondolowski made it to for the Quakes in the first minute of added time after finding the end of a lofted through-pass by Magnus Eriksson, but in the end, it wasn’t enough.
Real Salt Lake 1-0 New York Red Bulls
An early penalty set the tone of the match as the Red Bulls were handed a simple defeat at the hands of an RSL team that were okay with playing more men behind the ball for the rest of the game.
In the fourth minute RSL were awarded a penalty after a VAR review determined David Horst was brought down inside the box during a free kick. Albert Rusnak stepped forward to take it and sent Red Bulls keeper Luis Robles the wrong way for what ended up being the winning goal.
FC Dallas 3-0 Seattle Sounders FC
A brace from Roland Lamah helped Dallas to a convincing 3-0 win over a ten-man Sounders team that is still searching for an identity and languishing at the bottom of the MLS.
Roland Lamah was there waiting on the end of a Michael Barrios pass in front of goal in the 20th minute to put Dallas ahead. In the 37th minute Clint Dempsey was shown a red card after a VAR review determined there was violent conduct.
Maximiliano Urruti made it two for Dallas in the 58th minute with a fantastic finish from outside the box, assisted by a Lamah through-pass. Lamah earned his brace with a cheeky chipped goal over Sounders keeper Stefan Frei in the 63rd minute, assisted by Anton Nedyalkov.
