MLS Week 20: Atlanta shuts out DC, Inter Miami beats Columbus
Week 20 of the 2024 Major League Soccer season started with Montreal drawing 2-2 at home with the Red Bulls. Sunusi Ibrahim put Montreal up in the 11th and Kwadwo Opoku doubled the lead in the 40th. The Red Bulls’ Wikelman Carmonsa pulled a goal back in the 61st and Julian Hall equalized in the 87th minute.
“In terms of our game plan and resources, I thought we’d be safe with a third goal,” Montreal coach Laurent Courtois said. “We’re mature enough not to concede like that. If we don’t have all these self-critical standards within us and the requirement of a top-level athlete to be more ambitious, it’s a shame. If we had that kind of attitude all the time, we’d be in a different place in the standings.”
Charlotte drew 2-2 at home with Orlando, going ahead from an 11th minute Kerwin Vargas goal. Charlotte played a man down from a 38th minute red card to Scott Arfield. Orlando pulled a goal back through Duncan McGuire in the 63rd. Brandt Bronico returned Charlotte’s lead in the 77th and Facundo Torres equalized for Orlando City in the 81st minute.
Atlanta won 1-0 at DC United with Thiago Almada scoring in the 79th minute. “I think it was very important because it served to win,” Almada said of his goal. “But I think the work of the team was very important and that we deserved this win.”
Inter Miami beat Columbus 2-1 at home, going up from a 10th minute Ian Fray goal. Leonardo Campana doubled the Miami lead in the 21st. Cucho Hernandez scored for the Crew in the 40th minute. “The team is doing well,” Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said. “This is what was supposed to happen and what we expect to happen. The team can get good results despite knowing the absences beforehand. The absences for national team duties and for injuries. We won the game, and the players are very happy.”
Nashville won 2-1 at Toronto after falling behind to a 34th minute Alonso Coello goal. Nashville’s Sam Surridge equalized in the 65th and scored again in the 90th. Toronto failed to convert a penalty in the 31st minute.
FC Cincinnati beat Philadelphia 4-3 at home, taking the lead from a Kevin Kelsy goal in the 29th. Thai Baribo equalized for the Union in the 43rd. Luciano Acosta converted a Cincinnati penalty in the 49th with Jesus Bueno equalizing for Philadelphia in the 55th. Cincinnati went ahead from a Luca Orellano goal in the 60th. Baribo equalized for the Union a minute into stoppage time but Acosta scored again for Cincinnati ten minutes into stoppage time.
“A pretty wild affair,” Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. “We saved it until the end with Lucho coming up with some of his magic. But I’m certainly pleased with the result. How it got there was…some good, some bad. I think you can see some of the challenges with some of the new combination on the back line, as well as fatigue and a lack of match fitness under these conditions. So, a lot to dissect and hopefully improve on, certainly on the defensive side of the ball. We created a lot of good chances and scored some goals. That was the difference in the result.”
Austin drew 1-1 at home with LAFC, going ahead from a 19th minute Jader Obrian goal. LAFC’s Kei Kamara equalized in the 90th minute.
Dallas beat Minnesota 5-3 at home, taking the lead from a Petar Musa goal in the 17th. United’s Bongo Kuhle Hlongwane equalized in the 32nd. Musa scored again in the 38th with Hassani Dotson equalizing for Minnesota in the 57th. Musa scored his third goal in the 62nd, Jesus Ferreira doubled the Dallas lead in the 75th, and Logan Farrington extended the lead in the 90th. Wil Trapp converted a Minnesota penalty nine minutes into stoppage time.
“We are making progress,” FC Dallas interim coach Peter Luccin said. “It’ll be step-by-step but you can see the attitude from the players is excellent. They want to play, they understand. Now we need to adjust to find that balance. I really think we deserved to win. Maybe against St. Louis it was a little different but tonight I think we deserved to win.”
Houston drew 2-2 at home with Seattle, taking the 2-0 lead from Latif Blessing’s goals in the 30th and 39th minutes. Seattle’s Paul Rothrock pulled a goal back in the 57th and Jackson Ragen equalized in the 63rd minute.
“Latif has been great, and we’re scoring goals,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said. “His energy and ability to find the back of the net has been impressive. He’s got five goals already this season, and that is almost as high as he’s ever scored in his career. Latif has been a nice addition for us.”
Real Salt Lake won 4-3 at Sporting Kansas City. Andres Gomez put RSL up in the 14th. Sporting KC failed to convert a 23rd minute penalty but Stephen Afrifa equalized in the 28th. RSL retook the lead from an Anderson Julio goal in the 33rd and doubled it from Gomez’s goal in the 51st. William Agada pulled a goal back for Sporting in the 70th, but Matt Crooks made it 4-2 Salt Lake in the 84th. Agada scored again for Kansas City five minutes into stoppage time.
Colorado won 3-0 at St Louis City with Djordje Mihailovic scoring in the 9th, 60th, and converting a penalty six minutes into stoppage time.
The LA Galaxy shut out NYCFC 2-0 at home. Dejan Joveljic put the Galaxy up in the 41st and Diego Fagundez doubled the lead in the 49th minute.
Portland won 2-1 at San Jose, going ahead from a 22nd minute Evander goal. Paul Marie equalized for the Earthquakes in the 50th, but Jonathan Rodriguez put the Timbers up for good in the 72nd minute.
Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.
