MLS Week 15: LAFC wins in Atlanta, Cincinnati in Toronto
MLS week 15 started in Atlanta with LAFC winning 1-0 on the road. Playing a man up after United’s Brad Guzan saw red in the 60th, LAFC’s Mateusz Bogusz scored in the 63rd minute. LAFC’s Eduard Atuesta saw red in the 81st minute.
“There are games when you have big scoreline and a ton of goals and those are always fun but these ones are great too, the ones you have to grind out, they’re tough,” LAFC defender Aaron Long said. “On the road, comes down to the last minute. 10v10- guys need to have a lot of grit in those moments. It feels great to get another win and a very important three points.”
Montreal drew 0-0 at home with Nashville, finishing with two shots on goal to Nashville’s three. “At home, we know we have to do better and get the three points,” Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois said. “But if you take the current situation into account, a draw is a positive thing. But we can also be disappointed with the chances we’ve created for ourselves.”
Charlotte drew 0-0 at home with Philadelphia, with Charlotte putting four shots on goal to the Union’s five.
DC and Chicago drew 1-1 at Audi Field. United took the lead from a Christopher McVey goal in the 20th and the Fire’s Kellyn Acosta equalized in the 53rd minute.
“I think it’s a different kind of feeling after this game,’ Chicago coach Frank Klopas said. “For me it all starts with the team spirit. You know, the way the guys played for each other, the way we fought, the energy we brought all the way to the end, I felt the second half we pushed it. We created, for me, the better opportunities in the game but you know what, we have to take steps, step-by-step.”
NYCFC won 1-0 at New England, with Keaton Parks scoring in the 81st minute. “Tonight shows me that we have a team that is a strong team that has a steel mindset that can absorb pressure but also find a way to win,” NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said. “I want our team to play well, but I think the best factor who’s shown tonight is finding a way to win.”
Columbus won 2-0 at Orlando City, with Diego Risso converting a penalty in the first minute of stoppage time and scoring in the 61st.
FC Cincinnati won 4-3 at Toronto FC. Toronto went ahead in the 25th from a Deybi Flores goal. Cincinnati’s Luca Orellano equalized in the 53rd and Kevin Kelsy scored in the 55th. An own goal leveled the score for Toronto in the 63rd. Orellano returned the Cincinnati lead in the 79th and Lorenzo Insigne equalized from the penalty spot for Toronto in the 85th. Cincinnati’s Sergio Santos scored three minutes into stoppage time.
Dallas and Real Salt Lake drew 3-3 at Toyota Stadium with an own-goal putting Dallas up four minutes into first-half stoppage time. Patrickson Delgado made it 2-0 Dallas in the 57th and Paul Arriola scored in the 59th. RSL responded with goals from Diego Luna in the 61st and Anderson Julio in the 73rd. Nelson Palacio equalized for Salt Lake eight minutes into stoppage time.
“Yeah, it’s very frustrating,” FC Dallas defender Marco Farfan said. “Giving up a 3-0 lead here at home is unacceptable to our team. The vibes in the locker room afterwards, you can tell. We hold each other to a standard. We showed that we could do it against the first-place team in the West.”
Seattle won 2- at St Louis City, going ahead from a 66th minute own-goal and with Jordan Morris doubling the lead in the 69th. St Louis City’s Tomas Totland scored in the 82nd minute.
Colorado drew 3-3 at home with Minnesota after falling behind to a Jeong Sang-Bin goal in the 8th. Kevin Cabral equalized for the Rapids in the 18th. Tani Oluwayeyi returned the United lead in the 24th and Sang-Bin scored again in the 33rd. Colorado’s Rafael Navarro pulled a goal back in the 62nd and Cabral equalized in the 71st minute.
The LA Galaxy beat Houston 2-1 at home after falling behind to an 18th minute Latif Blessing goal. Gabriel Pec equalized for LA in the 44th and Ricard Puig scored in the 59th.
Portland beat Sporting Kansas City 2-1 at home with Felipe Mora putting the Timbers up in the 51st. Sporting KC’s Memo Rodriguez equalized in the 62nd. Evander scored for Portland in the 79th minute. “You have got to keep fighting for it,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “I think the energy and all that is there, but we have got to keep fighting for it. There’s no other way to get around it. We have got quite a few games coming up and we have got to try to find a way to defend better and not put ourselves in a situation where we are chasing the game from behind. We have got to be better in that area.”
San Jose drew 1-1 at home with Austin, going ahead from a 10th minute Jeremy Ebobisse goal. Austin’s Brendan Hines-Ike equalized in the 44th. “I think, from my personal point of view, this is the best game that we have had collectively at home,” Earthquakes goalkeeper William Yarbrough said. “It seemed like we dominated most of the game. We created quite a few goal opportunities, and that is what calms us down a bit. If we continue down that path playing like we did today, we’ll win and we’ll win more than we’ll lose.”
Week 15 ended in Vancouver with Miami beating the Whitecaps 2-1. Robert Taylor put Inter Miami up in the 38th and Leonardo Campana doubled the lead in the 54th. Vancouver’s Ryan Gauld converted a 72nd minute penalty.
Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.
