Another exciting round of action in Major League Soccer saw Rivalry Week come to a conclusion with derbies in Ohio, Florida, California and more. We saw no less than four stoppage time winners, and three matches with five or more goals in an action-packed Saturday! Here’s our recap of the weekend that was in MLS:
Charlotte FC 1-2 Nashville SC
Hany Mukhtar scored a brace, including a stoppage-time penalty to power Nashville SC past hosts Charlotte. The result sees Nashville into second place, having battled back after conceding the opener after just six minutes.
FC Cincinnati 3-2 Columbus Crew
In the Hell Is Real derby, Cincinnati turned in a bravura performance to get past a feisty Columbus side. Luciano Acosta scored a brace, and a late save from Roman Celentano preserved the result, which saw Pat Noonan’s side consolidate top spot.
DC United 3-0 LA Galaxy
Christian Benteke returned from injury with a goal and an assist to lead the hosts past a struggling Galaxy side. D.C. have now lost just once in their last six matches, and sit sixth in the Eastern Conference.
Inter Miami CF 1-3 Orlando City
Ercan Kara turned in an impressive performance for the visitors, leading the line with a goal and an assist to power Orlando past Florida rivals Inter Miami. Inter had a brilliant strike from Leonardo Campana, but were unable to offer more as they slipped to their second loss in a row.
Philadelphia Union 3-0 New England Revolution
Philadelphia, last year’s Eastern Conference MLS Cup representatives, turned in a statement win at home to New England. Daniel Gazdag netted a brace, while Julián Carranza scored his fifth goal of the season to seal the result.
New York Red Bulls 2-1 CF Montréal
The hosts continued their revival under Troy Lesesne, edging a closely-fought match thanks to goals from defender Andrés Reyes and striker Cory Burke. Montréal had canceled out Reyes’ opener through Joel Waterman, but missed a raft of injured players.
Austin FC 1-0 Toronto FC
Gyasi Zardes came off the bench to score the game’s only goal in stoppage time, powering the hosts to a badly-needed win. Austin are now ninth in a closely-fought Western Conference, while Toronto are bottom of the Eastern Conference.
Chicago Fire FC 3-3 Atlanta United
In a wild match in the Windy City, both teams had a man sent off, and Greek attacker Georgios Koutsias netted a late equalizer to cancel out a brace from countryman Giorgos Giakoumakis. Chicago moved off bottom spot with the draw, while Atlanta are fourth.
FC Dallas 1-1 Houston Dynamo FC
This fiercely-contested Copa Tejas match was decided on narrow margins - Thorleifur Úlfarsson came off the bench to score a late equalizer for the visitors, Jáder Obrian having given Dallas the lead just after halftime. Dallas stayed fourth, while Houston moved to within a point of the playoff positions.
St. Louis City 4-0 Sporting Kansas City
In the first derby between expansion side St. Louis, the hosts were back to their rampant best, putting an end to what had been a mini-revival on the visitors’ part. Indiana Vassilev scored twice, with Jared Stroud adding a pair of assists as the expansion side continued their impressive start to the season.
Colorado Rapids 2-3 Real Salt Lake
A feisty affair with eight bookings, Real Salt Lake raced out to a 3-1 halftime lead, but were forced to hold on as the hosts battled valiantly to equalize. For Colorado, the result marked their third straight loss, while RSL are now within a point of the playoff positions.
Los Angeles FC 2-1 San José Earthquakes
Carlos Vela came off the bench to net a winning penalty in stoppage time, allowing the Western Conference leaders to exact revenge for their first loss of the season, suffered early in the month in the reverse fixture.
Portland Timbers 0-1 Minnesota United
Winger Bongokuhle Hlongwane scored the game’s only goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time for the visitors, who won their second straight. Dayne St. Clair made four saves for Minnesota, who have already won four times on the road this season.
Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 Seattle Sounders FC
The Whitecaps, who had earlier ripped off a league-best eight-match unbeaten run, were imperious in this Cascadia Cup match against the Sounders. With Raúl Ruidiaz and Cristian Roldan absent through injury, the visitors have struggled going forward, slipping off of top spot.
