In the week 3 MLS roundup, Atlanta United won 3-0 at Charlotte, Cincinnati beat Seattle 1-0 at home, and St Louis took three points at Portland.
MLS Week 3: Atlanta wins at Charlotte, Cincinnati beats Seattle
Week 3 in MLS opened with Atlanta United winning 3-0 at Charlotte. Caleb Wiley put United up in the 5th and Luiz Araujo doubled the lead in the 12th. Wiley scored again two minutes into first-half stoppage time. Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan made three saves to keep the clean sheet.
“Today was one of the most complete games,” Atlanta United coach Gonzalo Pineda said. “Was it perfect? No, we weren’t disrupting their pressure or dominating possession. But, I’m happy with blocking shots and crosses and being good in transition.”
Vancouver and Dallas drew 1-1 at BC Place with Dallas taking the lead in the 5th minute from a Sebastien Ibeagha goal. An own-goal leveled the score in the 34th minute.
“We had a very good game, playing away and dictating the tempo,” Dallas coach Nico Estevez said. “We knew that they were a good team, they have quality. We had a good start and scored a goal. And then it was a moment there that we should have been more aggressive, we should be more determined to score the second goal.”
NYCFC beat Inter Miami 1-0 at Yankee Stadium, with a 36th minute own-goal the difference. New York goalkeeper Luis Barraza kept the clean sheet with three saves.
“We have to be ruthless in front of goal,” NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said. “If we’re going to be a top, top team, we have to score the goals. We have to kill the games.”
Philadelphia shut out Chicago 1-0 at home with the Fire playing a man down from a 50th minute red card to Fabian Herbers. The Union’s Joaquin Torres scored the game’s only goal in the 90th. Chicago’s Kei Kamara saw red three minutes into stoppage time. Union goalkeepers Andre Blake and Joe Bendik kept the clean sheet with two saves, with Blake subbing out in the 33rd minute.
“It’s a devastating feeling just not to come out of here with at least a point,” Chicago forward Kacper Przybylko said. “We did such a great job in the first half, especially with the new formation. It’s just tough. But I think we just need to keep our heads up and just look forward to the next game.”
Cincinnati won 1-0 at home over the Sounders with Brenner scoring in the 63rd minute. Cincinnati’s Nick Hagglund saw red in the 83rd. Roman Celentano kept the clean sheet with one save.
“That was a really professional win for our group for a lot of different reasons, but I was really proud of how we went about this game,” Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. “We were able to beat a really good team.”
DC United and Orlando drew 1-1 at Audi Field with City taking the lead from a 53rd minute Duncan McGuire goal. United’s Chris Durkin equalized in the 80th.
Toronto and Columbus finished 1-1 at BMO Field. Toronto took the lead from a 24th minute Deandre Kerr goal and the Crew’s Jimmy Medranda scored in the 75th.
Sporting Kansas City and the Galaxy drew 0-0 in KC. Sporting put 11 of its 30 shots on target to LA’s two from eight.
“I was proud of our guys for the grit, the determination, and the effort,” LA coach Greg Vanney said. “I thought it was a character point on our behalf.”
St Louis came back to beat Portland 2-1 away after falling behind to a 3rd minute Zac McGraw goal. Jared Stroud equalized for St Louis a minute into first-half stoppage time and Kyle Hiebert scored in the 75th minute.
The Earthquakes beat the Rapids 1-0 at home with Cristian Espinoza scoring in the 78th minute. San Jose’s Jamiro Monteiro saw red three minutes into stoppage time. JT Marcinkowski recorded the shutout with Colorado finishing without a shot on goal from six taken.
“Credit to the boys, I am proud of them, and again proud of the fans for a great home turn out to push us and give us energy,” San Jose coach Luchi Gonzalez said. “We want to give that back in terms of performance.”
Austin won 2-1 at Real Salt Lake, taking the lead from a 9th minute Jon Gallagher goal. Real Salt Lake equalized through Justen Glad in the 22nd, but it was Austin’s Owen Wolff scoring in the 33rd minute.
Nashville beat Montreal 2-0 at home. Jacob Shaffelburg put Nashville up in the 37th and Taylor Washington doubled the lead in the 89th. Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis kept the clean sheet with Montreal not putting a shot on goal from eight taken.
“We had a lot of possession,” Montreal coach Hernan Losada said. “But it was possession without real chances. All the things that Nashville did well are things we want to produce on our end like quick transitions, good crosses and good finishing.”
Minnesota and the Red Bulls drew 1-1 at Allianz Field with United taking the lead from an 18th minute Bongokuhle Hlongwane goal. New York equalized in the 49th when Andres Reyes scored.
with LAFC beating New England 4-0 at BMO Stadium. Denis Bouanga converted an LA penalty in the 14th and doubled the lead in the 67th. Timothy Tillman made it 3-0 in the 83rd with Stipe Biuk scoring six minutes into stoppage time. LAFC goalkeeper John McCarthy kept the clean sheet with one save.
