Credit: Chicago Fire FC
The MLS week 8 roundup starts at Providence Park, where Portland and LAFC drew 2-2. Felipe Mora put the Timbers up in the 11th with LAFC’s Mateusz Bogusz equalizing in the 21st. Playing a man down from a Maxime Crepeau red card in the 48th, Evander returned the Portland lead in the 34th. Bogusz equalized for LAFC in the 51st minute.
Orlando City won 3-2 at DC United after falling behind to a 5th minute Christian Benteke goal. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson equalized for City in the 28th. DC United retook the lead from a Gabriel Pirani goal in the 66th with David Brekalo equalizing for Orlando in the 82nd. Duncan McGuire scored for Orlando City a minute into stoppage time.
Charlotte beat Toronto 3-2 at home, going ahead from a 39th minute Kerwin Vargas goal. Toronto’s Prince Qwusu equalized in the 49th. Liel Abada scored for Charlotte in the 70th but Owusu equalized again for Toronto in the 78th. Patrick Agyemang scored Charlotte’s third goal in the 85th. Toronto’s Kevin Long saw red eight minutes into stoppage time.
Montreal beat Cincinnati 2-1 at home, taking the lead from a Josef Martinez goal four minutes into first-half stoppage time. Cincinnati’s Yuya Kubo equalized in the 58th, but Ariel Lassiter put Montreal ahead for good in the 62nd minute.
“I’m very happy with the three points tonight for the fans and the guys too after the last three games,” Montreal coach Laurent Courtois said. I’m proud of the content tonight because that’s how we want to be recognized. We kept our composure even after Cincinnati equalized. I was nervous we wouldn’t be able to replicate the energy of the fans. But that was exactly what we had in mind.”
The New York Red Bulls and Chicago finished 0-0 at Red Bull Arena. The Red Bulls’ Andres Reyes saw red in the 42nd. New York put five shots on goal to three for the Fire. “On the road, you always take the point,” Chicago coach Frank Klopas said. “You know, I mean, I thought the first half (it) took us a little bit to get into the game. Once we got into the game I felt we were organized. We had some really good moments.”
NYCFC shutout New England 2-0 at Yankee Stadium. Agustin Ojeda put NYCFC up in the 57th and Julian Fernandez doubled the lead three minutes into stoppage time. “I thought it was a team performance for the whole 90 minutes,” NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese said. “Which is, you know, probably the first or second one we’ve had all season, and I think it shows what we can do when we’re all firing on all cylinders altogether.”
FC Dallas and Seattle drew 0-0 at Toyota Stadium. Both teams finished with two shots on goal. “Yeah, I think we started strong,” FC Dallas goalkeeper Maarten Paes said. “The second-half was a bit of chess game. I think we have played them five times since September. And you can see that on the pitch, very familiar with each other. It’s always tough playing Seattle, they have very good players both attacking and defensive. A draw was deserved today, we just have to improve a little bit in the final third.”
Houston won 2-1 at Minnesota, going ahead from a Micael goal in the 38th. Minnesota equalized from a Franco Fragapane goal in the 70th. The Dynamo’s Sebastian Kowalczyk scored in the 77th minute.
Inter Miami beat Sporting Kansas City 3-2 on the road in a game played at Arrowhead Stadium. Sporting Kansas City took the lead from a 6th minute Erik Thommy with Diego Gomez equalizing for Inter Miami in the 18th. Lionel Messi put Inter Miami up in the 51st with Thommy equalizing in the 58th. Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez scored in the 71st minute. “Being first in the standings is something that is comforting,” Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said, “especially now that we have a long week ahead.”
Real Salt Lake drew 0-0 at home with the Columbus Crew. RSL had eight shots on target to the Crew’s four.
The LA Galaxy won 3-1 at Vancouver. Dejan Jovelic put LA up in the 56th with Vancouver’s Brian White equalizing in the 77th. The Galaxy’s Joseph Paintsil put the Galaxy up for good in the 80th and Diego Fagundez extended the lead in the 82nd minute.
Atlanta drew 2-2 at home with Philadelphia on Sunday. United took the lead from a 55th minute Daniel Rios goal and Caleb Wiley doubled it in the 63rd. Mikael Uhre pulled a goal back for the Union in the 73rd and Kai Wagner equalized in the 77th minute.
Week 8 ended at CityPark, where St Louis shutout Austin 1-0. Joao Klauss scored the game’s only goal in the 57th minute.
Photo by the Chicago Fire FC
Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.
