The week 22 MLS roundup has Dallas beating LAFC 2-0 at home and Minnesota scoring four goals in their 4-1 home win over the Portland Timbers.
MLS Week 22: Dallas beats LAFC, Minnesota scores four in win over Portland
Week 22 of the 2023 Major League Soccer season started in Columbus, where the Crew beat the Red Bulls 2-1. Cucho Hernandez put Columbus up in the 19th with Elias Manoel equalizing for New York in the 28th. Yaw Yeboah scored for Columbus in the 62nd minute.
Cincinnati and New England drew 2-2 at TQL Stadium. Dominique Badji opened the scoring for Cincinnati in the 11th and an own-goal leveled the score in the 15th. New England went ahead from a Gustavo Bou goal in the 24th, but Badji equalized for Cincinnati in the 55th minute.
“On the day, our play in front of goals, I think is what prevented us from walking away with three points,” Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. “But the guys put a lot into it. You can tell the temperatures affected the play, the tempo of the recoveries, but they pushed in a good way.”
Inter Miami drew 1-1 with Austin at DRV PNK Stadium. Josef Martinex put Inter Miami up in the 47th and Austin’s Nick Lima equalized in the 51st minute.
“I’m proud and I’m happy with the way they played,” Inter Miami interim coach Javier Morales said. “If we continue to play that way, the results will come,” said Interim Head Coach Javier Morales. “We created a lot of good chances, we controlled the game, and we focused on those positive things and that’s important to us.”
Orlando City beat Chicago 3-1 at home, taking the lead from a 38th minute Facundo Torres goal. Torres made it 2-0 from the penalty spot in the 55th with Chicago’s Xherdan Shaqiri converting a 66th minute penalty. Ramiro Enrique finished off the Orlando scoring in the 75th and Chicago played a man down from an 84th minute red card to Arnaud Souquet.
Real Salt Lake shutout Toronto 1-0 on the road from an Anderson Julio goal two minutes into stoppage time. RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath made three saves to keep the clean sheet.
FC Dallas beat LAFC 2-0 at home. Bernard Kamungo put Dallas up in the 56th and Samuel Junqua doubled the lead in the 90th. Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes made three saves to record the shutout.
“I am very happy, we fought hard and needed this win especially after the result against Austin. We had players missing and others injured and it was not easy, as we know the LAFC is a very strong team but we managed to get that win tonight.”
Minnesota beat Portland 4-1 at Allianz Field. An own-goal put United up in the 43rd and Emanuel Reynoso made it 2-0 four minutes into first-half stoppage time. Portland’s Franck Boli pulled a goal back in the 60th. United’s Bongokuhle Hlongwane made it 3-1 in the 74th and Reynoso finished off the Minnesota goals in the 77th minute.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult game,” Reynoso said. “But with the support of our fans, and with our team, we were able to move the game in a positive direction. I’m also happy because we won at home, which we haven’t done in a long time. So we have to continue on this path, which is hard, but we know that we have to go down this path to reach our objective of making the playoffs.”
Nashville shutout DC United 2-0 at home on goals from Randall Leal in the 18th and 37th minutes. Nashville played a man down from a 64th minute Walker Zimmerman red card. Joe Willis made two saves for the clean sheet.
Sporting Kansas City beat Vancouver 3-0 at home. Remi Walter opened the scoring in the 33rd, Alan Pulido doubled the lead two minutes into first-half stoppage time, and Erik Thommy finished off the goals in the 53rd minute. Sporting KC goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh made one save for the shutout.
Sometimes in matches, you’re trying to get a rhythm,” Sporting KC coach PEter Vermes said. “You’re trying to get into your flow. We for sure changed some stuff in this game in the way that we do things for the opponent. It took a little while for us to get there, but I don’t think it was like we were performing poorly at that moment. It’s just that we needed to open up the game a little bit, and we started to do that after that point.”
St Louis beat Colorado 2-0 at CityPark. Tim Parker put St Louis up in the 4th and Jared Stroud made it 2-0 in the 11th minute. Roman Burki made three saves to keep the clean sheet.
NYCFC won 1-0 at Montreal with Matias Pellegrini scoring in the 33rd minute. Luis Barraza kept the clean sheet for NYCFC with three saves.
“I understand there are going to be opinions on the way we play, how we play, but I think if this was my team, and I was a fan tonight, I would be super proud because we have shown every side of the game tonight,” NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said. “We have played really good football and created some really good chances.”
San Jose and the LA Galaxy drew 2-2 at Stanford Stadium with the Galaxy taking the lead on the road from a 31st minute Raheem Edwards goal. Jack Skahan equalized for the Earthquakes in the 42nd, but Preston Judd returned LA’s lead in the 47th. San Jose’s Cristian Espinoza equalized in the 81st minute.
“I think it shows that we’re a resilient team, that we’re a team that doesn’t want to put their heads down in this situation,” San Jose midfielder Jackson Yueill said. “Of course the last couple of games we wanted to get wins, especially at home, but I’m proud of the guys for the effort, the attitude, and the response. I think we could have had a few more moments to put balls away but overall, I think we’ll take, this try to learn from it and move on to next week.”
Seattle shutout Houston 1-0 at home, with the Sounders playing a man up from a 62nd red card to Michel. Albert Rusnak scored Seattle’s goal in the 67th and goalkeeper Stefan Frei made two saves to keep the clean sheet.
Week 22 ended on Sunday in Atlanta, where United shutout Philadelphia 2-0 at home. Thiago Almada put United up in the 7th and Brooks Lennon doubled the lead in the 79th minute. Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan made one save to keep the clean sheet.
