Credit: FC Cincinnati
After a with no games on the schedule, Major League soccer resumed with 11 midweek games. The Wednesday schedule started with FC Cincinnati winning 3-1 at CF Montreal. Evander put Cincinnati up in the 45th, Luca Orellano doubled their lead in the 65th, and Evander scored again in the 83rd. Montreal’s Prince Owusu scored in the 90th minute.
“Yeah, really strong performance from the group,” Cincinnati coach Pat Noonan said. “Very pleased with certainly the attacking output and the chance creation.(We) scored some really nice goals. And I thought for a majority of the game, defended really well. I think the last 5-10 minutes got away from us a little bit and given them some life. But certainly pleased with coming in here and performing in a good way.”
Columbus beat Atlanta 3-1 at home, taking the lead from an Andres Herrera goal in the 23rd. Jacen Russell-Rowe added goals in the 32nd and 42nd. United’s Brooks Lennon scored in the 56th minute.
Nashville beat New England 3-2 on the road after falling behind to a Tomas Chancalay goal in the 15th. Sam Surridge equalized for Nashville two minutes into first-half stoppage time. The Revolution retook the lead from a Brayan Ceballos goal in the 49th. Surridge equalized for Nashville in the 51st and converted a penalty in the 58th minute.
“I think we’re going to have to look at that one again,” New England midfielder Jackson Yueill said. “I mean, it’s poor on us for letting up those goals. They’re a good team. We know that they can hurt us in the runs behind set pieces. I think we needed to be a little bit more turned on in those moments. I think, end of the first half, beginning of the second half, those are key moments in a game. We need to be a little bit better for the games coming ahead.”
Toronto drew 1-1 at home with the Red Bulls. Mohammed Sofo put New York up in the 20th and Theo Corbeanu equalized for Toronto in the 51st minute.
Philadelphia shutout Chicago 1-0 at Soldier Field. Bruno Damiani converted a Union penalty in the 10th minute for the game’s only goal. “I think we knew what the team was, a very aggressive team, a very combative team, and they executed their game plan perfectly, and credit to them for really dominating us in most duels tonight,” Chicago coach Gregg Berhalter said.
Minnesota beat Houston 3-1 at home, going ahead from Bongokuhle Hlongwane goals in the 60th and 63rd. Robin Lod made it 3-0 United in the 70th. Felipe Viera scored for the Dynamo four minutes into stoppage time.
“I felt much more in the flow this game,” Minnesota goalkeeper Wessel Speel said. “I think sitting in the low block especially, felt much more in control. Executing the distribution felt much much better today and I don’t think we gave much away today so really felt in control.”
Sporting Kansas City beat Charlotte 2-1 at home. Charlotte went ahead from an Idan Tojlomati goal in the 34th. Mason Toye equalized for Sporting KC three minutes into stoppage time and Dejan Jovelic scored six minutes into stoppage time.
“For being young players, they have an awful lot of maturity, and they’re gaining it by the game,” Sporting KC interim coach Kerry Zavagnin said. “The amount of minutes that these guys have played is going to benefit us for the course of the year, but also for the course of many years. That’s a very good sign in terms of how they’ve handled themselves mentally in those moments facing adversity, and you can see it on their faces that they have the determination to win and be successful. That’s a special core group of players.”
Orlando won 4-2 at St Louis, going ahead from a Ramiro Enrique goal in the 7th. Marco Pasalic doubled Orlando’s lead in the 9th and Enrique scored again in the 22nd. Simon Becher pulled a goal back for St Louis in the 40th and Joao Klauss scored three minutes into first-half stoppage time. Pasalic finished off the Orlando goals in the 82nd minute.
San Jose came back to beat FC Dallas 4-2 on the road in a game delayed due to weather. After falling behind to a Petar Musa goal in the 30th. Cristian Arango equalized for the Earthquakes in the 50th and a Josef Martinez goal gave them the lead in the 57th. Beah Leroux scored for San Jose in the 76th. Dallas’ Kaick saw red in the 79th and Sebastien Ibeagha followed in the 85th. Mark-Anthony Kaye finished off the Earthquakes’ scoring nine minutes into stoppage time.
“We were well aware of the fact that we were going to be delayed a bit, and I think the guys had a good mentality getting back out on the field and getting ready to play,” San Jose coach Bruce Arena said.
Milan Iloski scored four goals in San Diego’s 5-3 win at Vancouver. Iloski opened the scoring with goals in the 35th and 37th. Edier Ocampo pulled a goal back for the Whitecaps in the 43rd, but Iloski scored again in the 47th. Vancouver’s Mathias Laborda scored in the 66th. Tomas Angel made it 5-2 San Diego in the 90th. Antione Coupland scored for Vancouver six minutes into stoppage time.
Week 20 ended in Colorado with a weather delay postponing the start. The Rapids shutout the LA Galaxy 2-0 with Djordje Mihailovic putting Colorado up in the 24th. Calvin Harris scored in the 28th minute.
“Big shout out to all our fans tonight that, one, showed up, but then stuck around with a few hour rain delay,” Rapids coach Chris Armas said. “It says a lot about our fans. When things get tough, they stick with us, and it’s great that we can reward them tonight with a victory.”
Quotes courtesy of MLS team press releases.
Photo by FC Cincinnati
