Matchday 8 in Major League Soccer was another-action packed round. We had bitter rivals squaring off in Portland and Los Angeles, and a golazo or two in the process. St. Louis City got back to winning ways over previously undefeated Cincinnati, while in the east, New England held on for a draw against Columbus to take top spot. Read on to catch up on the weekend’s action.
CF Montréal 0-1 D.C. United
The hosts’ tough start to the season continued as D.C. United got their first away win of the campaign. Lewis O’Brien’s goal early in the second half, his first for the club, was all Wayne Rooney’s side needed for the three points.
Charlotte FC 2-2 Colorado Rapids
One of several matches that featured dramatic late goals, the hosts scored twice in three minutes in the second half, but were pegged back in stoppage time by a goal from substitute Michael Barrios.
Columbus Crew 1-1 New England Revolution
The Crew had been in fine scoring form before this match, but struggled to find an answer against the league’s third-best defense. Even with Dylan Borrero sent off in the second half, the hosts needed to reach an eighth minute of stoppage time to snatch a point against a New England side who now top the Eastern Conference.
New York City FC 2-1 Nashville SC
Superb goals from Maxime Chanot and Keaton Parks were enough for the hosts to exact revenge for an opening day loss in Tennessee. Hany Mukhtar would score his second of the season ten minutes from time, but it wasn’t enough for the visitors to scrape a draw.
Toronto FC 2-2 Atlanta United
Atlanta took the lead early on through Giorgios Giakoumakis – he now has four goals on the season – but Richie Laryea responded with a stunning solo goal to level the match. Atlanta took the lead with Machop Chol’s first goal of the season, but a late equalizer from Brandon Servania saw Toronto extend their unbeaten run to seven matches.
New York Red Bulls 1-1 Houston Dynamo
Second half goals from Adalberto Carrasquillo and Omir Fernandez saw these two sides share the spoils in a match that had been initially delayed by lightning.
Austin FC 0-0 Vancouver Whitecaps
The ‘Caps shook off their disappointing elimination from the Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League by earning a gritty draw on the road against Austin. Yohei Takaoka made seven saves to keep his third clean sheet in a row for the visitors.
Chicago Fire 2-2 Philadelphia Union
The hosts were cruising early in the second half, having gone up 2-0, but the Union battled back with goals from the in-form duo of Dániel Gazdag and Julián Carranza. The pair have scored five goals each across all competitions, having helped their team into the SCCL semifinals in midweek.
FC Dallas 2-1 Real Salt Lake
Youngster Bernard Komungo came off the bench to score with two minutes left in normal time, giving the hosts a deserved win that allows them to keep touch with the top three in the Western Conference.
Minnesota United FC 1-2 Orlando City SC
Coming back from an off week, the visitors stayed unbeaten on the road, winning after going a goal down thanks to Iván Angulo and Duncan McGuire.
Portland Timbers 4-1 Seattle Sounders
The Timbers put on the performance of the week, scoring four goals in less than twenty minutes to thump their rivals, who had been top of the Western Conference. Dairon Asprilla scored a stunning overhead kick, while Santiago Moreno added two assists for the Timbers.
San José Earthquakes 3-0 Sporting Kansas City
Hapless Kansas City remain one of two winless teams in the league after losing in San José. A double from Jeremy Ebobisse was more than enough to seal the result after Robert Castellanos was sent off in the first half.
St. Louis City 5-1 FC Cincinnati
Expansion side St. Louis City shook off a frustrating pair of losses to batter previously unbeaten Cincinnati, scoring all of their goals in the match’s first hour.
LA Galaxy 3-2 LAFC
A sunny Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles saw the season’s first Tráfico take place, the city derby between LAFC and LA Galaxy. A first start of the season for Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández and a wonder strike from Tyler Boyd wasn’t enough for the hosts to overcome a dominant display from Carlos Vela. After netting a brace in the week, Vela did the same here, including a sublime curling shot to open the scoring, allowing his side to remain the league’s only unbeaten team.
