Credit: Madelaina Polk - Atlanta United
Week 22 of the 2024 Major League Soccer season started on Friday at Yankee Stadium, where NYCFC beat Orlando City 4-2. Santiago Rodriguez put NYCFC up in the 15th, Hannes Wolf doubled the lead four minutes into first-half stoppage time, and Agustin Ojeda scored 11 minutes into first-half stoppage time. Orlando’s Dagur Thorhallsson pulled a goal back in the 72nd and Duncan McGuire scored a minute into stoppage time. Mounsef Bakrar finished off the NYCFC goals four minutes into stoppage time.
On Saturday, Sporting Kansas City shutout Austin 2-0 at home. Tim Leibold opened the scoring in the 26th and Stephen Afrifa doubled the lead in the 69th minute.
Inter Miami won 2-1 at Nashville, going ahead from a 40th minute Ian Fray goal. Jordi Alba doubled the Inter Miami lead in the 44th. Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar converted a penalty in the 73rd minute.
Houston shutout Charlotte 1-0 at home on a 5th minute Ibrahim Aliyu goal. “The shutout is a wonderful thing for us right now,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said. “Over the last few days, we talked about how we can get back to being one of the better defensive teams in this league. Now that we’re scoring goals and creating chances, that’s certainly a recipe for success. We’ve also talked about making sure we send fans home happy, and this is a step in the right direction.”
Cincinnati won 1-0 at Dallas, with Luca Orellano scoring in the 47th minute.
The Red Bulls drew 2-2 at home with DC United after falling behind to a Jared Stroud goal in the 6th minute. DC’s Cristian Dajome saw red in the 20th and Elias Manoel converted a Red Bulls penalty in the 24th. DC retook the lead from a Pedro Santos goal four minutes into stoppage time. Cameron Harper equalized for New York in the 78th minute.
Columbus won 5-1 at New England after falling behind to a 9th minute Emmanuel Boateng goal. Cucho Hernandez equalized for the Crew in the 16th, Maximilian Arfsten scored in the 42nd, and Diego Rossi made it 3-1 two minutes into stoppage time. Rudy Camacho extended the Columbus lead in the 72nd and Steven Moreira finished off the goals in the 80th minute.
Montreal beat Philadelphia 4-2 at home after trailing from a 29th minute Quinn Sullivan goal. Josef Martinez equalized for Montreal in the 36th. Philadelphia retook the lead from a Jesus Bueno goal in the 42nd, but an own-goal leveled the score in the 56th. Dominik Yankov scored for Montreal in the 89th and Ruan finished off the goals two minutes into stoppage time.
“Every time we play a game, we know we have to treat it as a must-win,” Montreal’s Bryce Duke said. “The standings are tight. With a few winning streaks, we can quickly climb the rankings. We need to keep this competitive mentality and replicate tonight’s result. The most important thing for us is not to drop our level when we take the lead. We had to prove ourselves in the first half and keep playing for the full 90 minutes.”
Atlanta beat Toronto 2-1 at home, going ahead from a Thiago Almada goal two minutes into first-half stoppage time. Federico Bernardeschi equalized for Toronto in the 46th. Jamal Thiare scored United’s winner seven minutes into stoppage time.
“I think we really needed that win, Atlanta defender Caleb Wiley said. “Not just a win, but a win at home to get back to the fans because they emotionally deserve that. I think it was a boost in confidence. We go back on the road next week, two away games, two hard opponents. So I think the boys are in pretty high spirits after this win and we’ll go to New England and try to do the same thing.”
LAFC shutout Colorado 3-0 at home, with Mateusz Bogusz scoring in the 20th and 58th. Colorado’s Kevin Cabral saw red in the 62nd. Bogusz finished off the LAFC goals in the 72nd minute.
“I’m not saying that I’m never happy with what I did, but I just want to keep going all the time,” Bogusz said. “Even if I score a hat trick, I’m not finished. I want to work harder and I’m going to work for more, that’s my character.”
Portland beat Minnesota 3-2 at home after trailing 2-0. United’s Bongokuhle Hlongwane scored in the 29th and Jeong Sang-Bin doubled the lead in the 38th. Evander converted a Timbers penalty eight minutes into first-half stoppage time. Portland’s Santiago Moreno equalized in the 73rd and Jonathan Rodriguez scored two minutes into stoppage time.
“That’s a really disappointing one, for me personally, because I’m gutted for the players because they, to have a man, have left everything on the pitch in a really difficult set of circumstances and showed real character, a real personality, a real sense of togetherness,” Minnesota coach Eric Ramsay said. “But ultimately, it was probably a stretch too far when you look at the balance of how the second half went and where we are at this point in time with the squad that we’ve got and the players that we’ve got available.”
The LA Galaxy won 3-0 at San Jose in a game played at Stanford Stadium. Joseph Paintsil put the Galaxy up in the 37th, Dejan Jovelic doubled the lead in the 72nd, and Mauricio Cuevas scored a minute into stoppage time.
“It was a good group effort,” Galaxy goalkeeper John McCarthy said. “In games, I’ve said it before there’s going to be chances that you give up, whether it’s set pieces, whether it’s a shot on goal or whatever you want to call it, a chance the other teams create. I think our teams have done a really good job at limiting those chances, really got into being a good defensive group.”
Seattle beat Chicago 2-1 at home after trailing from a 30th minute Maren Haile-Selassie goal. The Sounders’ Albert Rusnak converted penalties in the 57th and three minutes into stoppage time.
Week 22 ended at BC Place, where Vancouver beat St Louis 4-2. Mjabulo Blom put St Louis up in the 7th and Eduard Lowen converted a penalty in the 12th. Brian White scored for the Whitecaps in the 37th, 54th, and 61st minutes, with Fafa Picault making it 4-2 in the 90th. St Louis’s Nokkvi Thorisson scored three minutes into stoppage time.
In Europe, Aron Johannsson wasn’t in the squad for Valur’s 3-2 loss at IA in the Besta Deild. Jonatan Jonsson put Valur up in the 14th. IA equalized in the 26th and went ahead from a 36th minute own-goal. Elfar Helgason equalized for Valur in the 50th, but IA scored again in the 90th minute.
On Monday, St Louis announced that they had “parted ways” with coach Bradley Carnell, naming technical director John Hackworth as interim coach. “Given Bradley’s many contributions to the club, this was not an easy decision,” sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel said in the press statement. “Unfortunately, based on our year 2 results to date, we believe a coaching change is in the best interest of the club as we regroup and look to improve both our performance and our results.”
Photo by Madelaina Polk – Atlanta United
Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.
