Credit: Mike Fiechtner - Sounders FC
It’s week 9 in MLS, an all-Saturday schedule starting with Austin shutting out the LA Galaxy 1-0 at home. Brandon Vazquez scored the game’s only goal in the 81st, and Austin finished a man down with a red card to Brendan Hines-Ike two minutes into stoppage time.
Miami won 1-0 at Columbus, with Benjamin Cremaschi scoring in the 30th minute.
Montreal drew 0-0 at home with Orlando City. Orlando’s Rafael Santos saw red in the 76th. Montreal put seven shots on goal to Orlando’s two.
“I’m happy about the performance,” Montreal coach Marco Donadel said. “We have the desire to show something, playing with the ball, trying to dominate others with our qualities. We have difficulty scoring despite many crosses and chances. We’re missing the final pass, the last shot and a bit of luck. It’s better to have a team that believes in what we’re doing. That’s the positive aspect. Over the last four weeks, we’ve been building something new and we’re in a good place. We just need to start focusing on the details.”
Charlotte shutout San Diego 3-0 at home, taking the lead from a Liel Abada goal in the 11th. San Diego’s Andres Reyes saw red in the 43rd. Patrick Agyemang converted a Charlotte penalty in the 45th, and Andrew Privett scored in the 57th minute.
“Anytime you get shutout and lose by three, it’s not good,” San Diego coach Mikey Vargas said. “It’s two losses in a row. It’s the first time we’re facing that. It’s not all bad, right, but it definitely wasn’t a good performance, and the boys know that. I know that our job is to put more complete performances together and win games for the club and for the community. That’s on me. We’ll get back to work on Tuesday to make sure we improve.”
New England beat NYCFC 2-0 at home, going ahead when Leonardo Campana scored in the 43rd. Ignatius Ganago doubled the Revolution lead in the 48th minute.
“I like where we’re at,” New England coach Caleb Porter said. “I’m not thinking backwards and I’m not thinking forwards, I’m thinking about where we’re at and I think we’re in a good spot. We’re in the race now. We’re in the hunt, and yet, we have to stay hungry. We’ve got to keep fighting. We’re nowhere near where we need to be; it was a slow start, but we’re making progress. I said we just need time and I think that’s rung true.”
DC United won 2-1 at the Red Bulls, with Joao Peglow scoring in the 35th and 44th. Eric Choup-Moting scored for the Red Bulls in the 57th minute.
Philadelphia beat Atlanta 3-0 at home, with Quinn Sullivan opening the scoring in the 27th. Danley Jacques doubled the Union lead in the 50th. Philadelphia’s Jovan Lukic saw red in the 56th and Tao Baribo finished off the goals in the 56th minute.
Seattle shutout Nashville 3-0 at Lumen Field. Daniel Muovski put the Sounders up in the 19th, Pedro de la Vega scored in the 30th, and Paul Rothrock added a goal in the 34th minute.
Cincinnati won 3-2 at Chicago, taking the lead from an Evander goal in the 9th. Hugo Cuypers equalized for the Fire in the 31st. Cincinnati retook the lead from a Kevin Denkey goal in the 42nd and Evander scored again in the 71st. Brian Gutierrez converted a Chicago penalty in the 85th minute.
“Well, as you saw from the game, there was long stretches where, especially in the first-half, they were moving us around,” Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. “I think how we dealt with some of the movements into the wide spaces, we didn’t get that right with our wing backs and our midfielders. You know how we can make it a little bit more clear and be a little bit more patient with our press from the front line, I think that got better, but still, it can’t take to halftime to make adjustments.”
Houston drew 2-2 at home with Colorado, going ahead from an Amine Bassi goal in the 42nd. Djordje Mihailovic equalized from the penalty spot in the 58th and Rafael Navarro equalized in the 77th minute.
“We talk about being a team that, on the road, we don’t change who we are and play differently just because we’re on the road,” Colorado coach Chris Armas said. “I’m proud of the guys that they stepped hard tonight to do that, and again, in performances, we’d say that it’s a good step in the right direction of performance and looking like us, and consistency.”
Minnesota drew 0-0 at home with FC Dallas. United put three shots on goal to Dallas’ four. “It feels good to get another clean sheet,” Dallas defender Osaze Urhoghide said. “The team worked really hard. Some guys got an opportunity to prove themselves and help the team get a point. We have to go again but it’s another good point on the road.”
St Louis drew 0-0 at home with Vancouver, putting three shots on goal to the Whitecaps’ two.
Toronto won 1-0 at Real Salt Lake on a Theo Corbeanu goal in the 9th. RSL’s Diego Luna saw red in the 61st minute.
Portland and LAFC drew 3-3 at Providence Park. Felipe Mora opened the scoring for the Timbers in the 8th and Santiago Moreno doubled the lead in the 42nd. LAFC’s Olivier Giroud pulled a goal back in the 45th and David Martinez scored in the 64th. Mora converted a Timbers penalty in the 66th and LAFC’s Denis Bouanga equalized from the penalty spot in the 90th minute.
Week 9 concluded in San Jose, where the Earthquakes lost 5-3 at home to Sporting Kansas City. Logan Ndenbe put Sporting KC up in the 18th, Daniel Salloi doubled the lead in the 21st, and Manu Garcia made it 3-0 in the 24th. Josef Martinez pulled a goal back for the Earthquakes in the 30th and Cristian Arango scored in the 42nd. Sporting increased their lead with Salloi scoring again in the 73rd and Erik Thommy adding a goal in the 85th. Arango converted a San Jose penalty four minutes into stoppage time.
“San Jose came back with two goals after we had scored three and the momentum looked to have shifted,” Sporting Kansas City interim coach Kerry Zavagnin said. “We did a really good job in the first moments of that second half to neutralize any momentum that they would be able to sustain. I have to give big credit to the guys. They were fantastic with their mentality.”
Photo by Credit: Mike Fiechtner – Sounders FC
Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.
