The week 19 roundup in MLS has NYCFC and Columbus drawing, Real Salt Lake winning at DC United, and New England beating Orlando City at home.
MLS Week 19: NYCFC draws with Columbus, Real Salt Lake wins at DC
Week 19 of the 2023 MLS season started at Yankee Stadium, where NYCFC and Columbus drew 1-1. The Crew took the lead through a Christian Ramirez goal in the 48th and Gabriel Segal equalized for NYCFC four minutes into stoppage time.
“Ultimately now it’s about winning football games,” NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said. “Of course we have to stay on the right path, we have to stick to the direction because this direction will turn us into a real challenging team. I think the most positive thing, and what I’ve said to the guys is, you can’t question this team’s spirit and commitment to New York, because the desire and the fight… if I was a supporter in the crowd, I would be really proud of my team today.”
Real Salt Lake won 2-1 at DC United. RSL played a man up from a 26th minute red card to Steve Birnbaum. Pablo Ruiz scored for Real Salt Lake in the 41st and Daniel Muskovski doubled the lead in the 51st. DC’s Christopher Durkin pulled a goal back in the 53rd minute.
New England beat Orlando 3-1 at Gillette Stadium, taking the lead from a 51st minute Emmanuel Boateng goal. Gustavo Bou doubled the Revolution’s lead in the 69th with Orlando’s Duncan McGuire scoring in the 80th. New England’s Carles Gil finished off the scoring in the 85th minute.
“It was a good win for us,” New England coach Bruce Arena said. “The first 15-20 minutes of the game weren’t good. I think we picked it up over the last 20 minutes of the first half. It was a good start to the second half with Ema’s goal. I thought we scored three really good goals tonight. Orlando’s a good team and when they’re at full strength, they’re certainly going to be a handful. So overall, it’s a good win for us. The three points are important as we start the second half of the season.”
Nashville beat St Louis City 3-1 at home. Hany Mukhtar opened the scoring for Nashville in the 11th with St Louis City’s Nicholas Gioacchini equalizing in the 41st. St Louis went a man down in the 68th with a red card to Kyle Herbert. Mukhtar converted a 70th minute penalty and scored again in the 75th.
LAFC won 2-1 at Sporting Kansas City after falling behind to a 17th minute Alan Pulido penalty. Denil Maldonado equalized in the 48th and Carlos Vela scored in the 90th minute.
Week 19 ended at PayPal Park, where San Jose and Portland drew 0-0. The Earthquakes put two shots on goal to the Timbers’ four.
“I think the draw was fair,” San Jose coach Luchi Gonzalez said. “I liked our foundation in terms of build-up. We got into their half a lot, but we didn’t turn those finishing attack phases into crosses and shots in the volume that we wanted. I am happy with the foundation of how we moved the ball forward, especially against their high press.”
