MLS Week 34: Montreal beats San Jose, Atlanta draws at Philadelphia
Week 34 of the 2024 Major League Soccer season started at Stade Saputo with Montreal shutting out San Jose 3-0. Josef Martinez opened the scoring in the 50th and doubled the lead in the 55th. Montreal’s Caden Clark finished off the scoring in the 72nd minute.
“We take it one half at a time and one game at a time. We don’t do things at random,” Montreal coach Laurent Courtois said. “We plan our behavior and reactions to the vagaries of the season, the fatigue and freshness of our players. It was consistent tonight with what we are trying to do.”
DC United and Columbus drew 2-2 at Audi Field, with DC taking the lead from a Christian Benteke goal in the 30th. Cucho Hernandez equalized for the Crew in the 54th and Jacen Russell-Rowe gave them the lead in the 57th. Benteke equalized for DC in the 81st minute.
LAFC won 2-1 at FC Cincinnati, taking the lead from a David Martinez goal in the 34th. Cincinnati’s Luca Orellano equalized in the 61st, but Denis Bouanga returned LAFC’s lead in the 73rd minute.
“A disappointing result that I think stemmed from the poor start to the game,” Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. “Having said that, there was enough out there for us to find another goal. I think we let up a pretty soft second goal, from the beginning of the play and how they’re able to get down the flank. So, a couple naive plays that lead to that second goal, and that’s disappointing. But we’ll move on.”
Inter Miami and Charlotte drew 1-1 in Fort Lauderdale. Karol Swiderski put Charlotte up in the 57th and Lionel Messi equalized for Miami in the 67th minute.
“Well, it’s true that we missed our chances, meaning we had opportunities to win the game in both the first and second halves,” Inter Miami coach Tata Martino said. “At some point, we became or were a bit disorganized, but overall, the effort was consistently ours, and the truth is we missed too many chances. We got very little in return for what we did. And of course, we are frustrated by having three draws in a row.”
New England won 1-0 at Nashville on an 86th minute Brandon Bye goal.
NYCFC won 5-1 at the Red Bulls. Maxi Morales put NYCFC up in the 5th and Adrian Martinez made it 2-0 in the 7th. Dante Vanzeir pulled a goal back for the Red Bulls in the 28th. NYCFC’s Andrea Perea scored in the 30th, Martinez extended the lead five minutes into first-half stoppage time, and Tayvon Gray finished off the NYCFC goals in the 67th minute.
Philadelphia and Atlanta finished 1-1 at Subaru Park. Nathan Harriel scored for Philadelphia in the 61st and United’s Saba Lobjanidze equalized in the 72nd minute.
“At this point in the season, it’s disappointing because we know the situation we find ourselves in,” Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan said. “That being said, if you’re being a realist, 1-1 is probably a fair result. I don’t know if we deserve three but at this point whether you deserve it or not, I’d much rather take three than one.”
Austin drew 2-2 at home with Real Salt Lake after falling behind to a Matt Crooks goal in the 48th. Diogo Goncalves converted an RSL penalty in the 65th. Austin’s Jader Rafael Obrian scored in the 81st and Guilherme Biro equalized in the 89th minute.
Chicago and Toronto drew 1-1 at Soldier Field. Toronto led from a Prince Osei Owusu penalty four minutes into first-half stoppage time. Jonathan Dean equalized for the Fire in the 84th minute.
Orlando beat Dallas 3-1 on the road, going ahead from a Ramiro Enrique goal in the 18th. Rodrigo Schlegel made it 2-0 Orlando in the 51st and Facundo Torres scored in the 55th minute. Paul Arriola converted a Dallas penalty in the 78th minute.
“Yeah, I think obviously they came with a good game plan,” Arriola said. “We knew they were going to be intense, the style that they play, and then the quality that they have up front. To be honest with you, we were a bit confused, trying to find the balance of building out and playing long. We just got caught in between.”
Minnesota shutout Colorado 3-0 at home. Kelvin Yeboah scored in the 16th and 47th with Hassani Dotson adding a goal in the 82nd minute. “The whole season has been up and down,” Minnesota midfielder Robin Lod said. “Now for the final push we are finding some rhythm. We have all the players here now, we are getting to know each other, getting better every game. It’s looking good now.”
St Louis beat Sporting Kansas City 3-1 at CityPark. Cedric Teuchert put St Louis up in the 33rd and Rasmus Alm made it 2-0 in the 54th. Stephen Afrifa scored for Sporting in the 63rd but Eduard Lowen added a third St Louis goal in the 75th minute.
Seattle shutout Houston 1-0 at home with Paul Rothrock scoring in the 22nd minute.
Week 24 ended at BC Place, with Vancouver and Portland drawing 1-1. Brian White scored for Vancouver in the 3rd and Jonathan Rodriguez equalized for the Timbers in the 43rd minute.
Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.
