MLS Week 1: Wins for last season’s finalists

Week 1 in Major League Soccer opened with Columbus beating Atlanta 1-0 at home. Cucho Hernandez scored the game’s only goal in the 27th minute. “When you look back on it, the dissapointment is there because we had the opportunity to get something from the game,” Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan said. “Whether its a point, or if you even go on to win the game. A loss certainly leaves a bitter taste in your mouth after the performance in the second-half.”

LAFC beat Seattle 2-1 at home, taking the lead from a 45th minute Timothy Tillman goal. Mateusz Bogusz doubled the lead for LAFC in the 55th. Seattle’s Pedro de la Vega converted a penalty in the 73rd minute.

Certainly, the home games, I think you can draw a conclusion that the fans help push things over the finish line,” LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo said. So, our fans are incredible. They came out again today to support us. Without them, the success LAFC has had over the first seven openers, or first six full seasons, wouldn’t have been possible without them. Hats off to them. We’re always grateful for their support.”

Charlotte shutout NYCFC 1-0 at home. Adilson Malanda scored for Charlotte in the 8th minute. “I think when you come away to a team that has 70,000 fans in the stadium, and you dictate the majority of the game, set the intensity of the game, and have the ball for the majority that we had – I think that’s a positive,” NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said. “It shows the mentality of the group.”

Philadelphia and Chicago drew 2-2 at Subaru Park. Brian Gutierrez put the Dure up in the 39th with Mikael Ehre equalizing in the 55th. Chicago’s Fabian Herbers returned the Chicago lead in the 82nd but Daniel Gazdag equalized for the Union three minutes into stoppage time.

“Difficult place to play, but I’m proud of our guys,” Chicago coach Frank Klopas said. “I think they came out. We got a point to start the season in a positive way, and now we just have to, you know, have a safe trip back, regroup and get ready for our home opener.”

Orlando City and Montreal drew 0-0 in Orlando. Montreal put five shots on goal to Orlando’s four. “Tonight’s result characterizes how we want to be known,” Montreal coach Laurent Courtois said. “Credit to the players for their heart and the staff for preparing them for this.”

DC United beat New England 3-1 at home. The Revs played a man down from a 25th minute red card to Giacomo Vrioni. Christian Benteke put DC up in the 34th with New England’s Carles Gil equalizing in the 67th. Benteke put United up for good in the 72nd and scored again two minutes into stoppage time.

Minnesota won 2-1 at Austin, going ahead when Robin Lod scored in the 34th minute. Alejandro Bran doubled the United lead in the 90th with Austin’s Guilherme Biro scoring four minutes into stoppage time.

“I thought it was fantastic,” Minnesota interim coach Cameron Knowles said. “I mean, that first-half was outstanding. Right from the start, the guys showed trust in each other and a lot of belief. They were able to put Austin under a lot of pressure and create some really good chances, and just kept building on it. The number of chances created in that first-half were outstanding.”

St Louis and Real Salt Lake drew 1-1 at CityPark. Cristian Arango scored for RSL in the 74th and St Louis’s Samuel Adeniran equalized in the 79th minute.

Houston and Sporting Kansas City drew 1-1 at Shell Energy Stadium. Sporting went ahead from a 61st minute Erik Thommy goal with Gabriel Segal equalizing for the Dynamo in the 69th. It’s building blocks,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “You’re just always putting layers on when you start a season. And today was good.”

FC Dallas beat San Jose 2-1 at home after falling behind in the 6th minute to a Benji Kikanovic goal. Asier Illarramendi equalized for Dallas in the 25th and Dante Sealy scored four minutes into stoppage time.

“The first ten minutes, it took us a bit to get in the game and find the right way to press them,” FC Dallas coach Nico Estevez said. “They took their chance and scored early on. But the team’s response was very good and very positive, and we are capable of not only tying up the match but also creating goal-scoring opportunities.”

Portland beat Colorado 4-1 at home. Eryk Williamson opened the scoring for the Timbers in the 9th, Antony added goals in the 14th and 29th, and an own-goal made it 4-0 five minutes into stoppage time. Calvin Harris pulled a goal back for the Rapids in the 55th.

On Sunday, Cincinnati and Toronto drew 0-0 at TQL Stadium. Cincinnati finished with five shots on goal to two for Toronto. “A sloppy, slow game,” Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. “I think both teams had their moments to find a goal. You can see just rhythm, intensity, quality, all of that was lacking specifically on our side. I don’t want to talk too much for the other group, but probably a fair result. There wasn’t a ton out there for us, in terms of our attack on a consistent basis.”

Nashville and the Red Bulls drew 0-0 at Geodis Park. New York put five shots on goal to Nashville’s three.

Week 1 finished at Dignity Health Sports Park, where the LA Galaxy drew 1-1 with Inter Miami. Inter Miami goalkeeper Drake Callendar saved Rqui Puig’s penalty in the 13th. Dejan Joveljic scored for the Galaxy in the 75th minute and LA’s Marco Delgado saw red in the 88th. Lionel Messi equalized for Inter Miami two minutes into stoppage time.

Photo by LAFC

Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.