The Seattle Sounders went to Portland and grabbed bragging rights in the most storied rivalry in Major League Soccer to put a cap on Rivalry Week.
Fredy Montero’s second-half header finish stood up as the winning goal in Seattle’s 2-1 victory over the Timbers at Providence Park on Sunday. Raul Ruidiaz opened the scoring before Montero doubled Seattle’s lead. Bill Tuiloma struck a beautiful stoppage-time finish to give Portland some late hope, but the Sounders held on for the three points.
Portland saw the tide of the match turn when Diego Valeri missed a penalty kick, then missed a second attempt following an encroachment call on the first one. Valeri struck his second attempt off the left post, and since the attempt was untouched, his subsequent follow-up finish was not allowed.
In the Eastern Conference, Inter Miami and Atlanta United played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon, with Lewis Morgan scoring an excellent equalizer in the 2nd half to cancel out a Josef Martinez goal.
Sunday night concluded with Sporting Kansas City pulling off a late comeback to beat Austin FC at Children’s Mercy Park. An Alexander Ring red card opened the door for an SKC comeback and goals from Ilie Sanchez and Gadi Kinda halted Austin FC’s two-match winning streak.
Saturday’s MLS slate was headlined by the LA Galaxy’s Javier Hernandez scored a goal and set up a Jonathan Dos Santos winner to help the Galaxy rebound from a tough loss to the Seattle Sounders, while LAFC was left feeling unfulfilled after a match that Bob Bradley’s side dominated for long stretches.
Saturday’s MLS action also saw the New York Red Bulls hand Toronto FC a 2-0 loss, with young midfielders Caden Clark and Frankie Amaya scoring goals to give the Red Bulls their second straight win.
Saturday’s action concluded with the Colorado Rapids pulling off a two-goal comeback to hand Minnesota United its fourth straight loss to start the 2021 season.
SBI will keep you updated on all of the weekend’s action, including updates from Sunday’s trio of matches, so be sure to follow along here.
Enjoy the action:
Sunday
Inter Miami 1, Atlanta United 1 (Final)
(Lewis Morgan 77′) – (Martinez 9′)
Man of the Match: Federico Higuain. The veteran playmaker came off the bench early in the second half to help turn the tide once again for Inter Miami, moving the ball quicker and giving his side some sorely-needed creativity and ideas.
Moment of the Match: Lewis Morgan’s equalizer. The right winger helped the Herons avoid a second straight home loss, dribbling through a pair of defenders in the 77th minute before firing home a low effort to the near post.
Match to Forget: Santiago Sosa. The Atlanta United midfielder was active throughout, completing the most passes in the match, but he faded in the second half and it was his poor marking that opened the door for Morgan’s winner.
Timbers 1, Sounders 2 (Final)
(Bill Tuiloma 90+4′) – (Raul Ruidiaz 62′, Fredy Montero 79′)
Man of the Match: Joao Paulo. The Brazilian midfielder helped Seattle find more control in the second half, and his pin-point set-piece delivery set up the winning goal.
Moment of the Match: Diego Valeri was given a second chance to convert a penalty kick after encroachment canceled out his initial miss, but the Timbers star sent his second kick off the post.
Match to Forget: Valeri will have nightmares about his pair of penalty misses, which could have led to a very different result for the Timbers.
Sporting Kansas City 2, Austin FC 1 (Final)
(Ilie Sanchez 82′, Gadi Kinda 90′) – (Jon Gallagher 7′)
Man of the Match: Johnny Russell was a constant threat on the right wing for SKC, generating a whopping eight key passes to go with four successful dribbles and the assist on Sporting KC’s first goal.
Moment of the Match: Gadi Kinda’s 90th-minute winner sealed the comeback and was the product of a good pass from Graham Zusi and touch from Khiry Shelton to set up the winner.
Match to Forget: Alexander Ring was already on a yellow card so his reckless challenge in the second half led to a deserved sending off, which helped turn the tide in the match.
Saturday
Fire 0, Union 2 (Final)
(Cory Burke 51′, Jakob Glesnes 60′)
Man of the Match: Jamiro Monteiro. Monteiro assisted on the opening goal for the Union and also continued to run the show from the No. 10 position. Monteiro put in a lot of hard work in his shift and was credited with one assist and a first league win of 2021.
Moment of the Match: Cory Burke goal. Burke had found it tough to make an impact so far this season but set himself up nicely for his first goal of 2021. The Jamaican international bullied his way into a good position before rifling a shot past Bobby Shuttlesworth. Philadelphia would add a second to ice the three points.
Match to Forget: Robert Beric had two good looks to score today but missed both in the 2-0 defeat. The striker was on his own for most of the afternoon at Soldier Field and will be kicking himself for not delivering in big-time moments.
Red Bulls 2, Toronto FC 0 (Final)
(Frankie Amaya 32′, Caden Clark 69′)
Man of the Match: Caden Clark. Clark not only helped set up the opening goal for New York, but he continued his good run of form with his third goal of the campaign. Clark continues to find freedom in Gerhard Struber’s system.
Moment of the Match: Clark’s goal truly ended TFC’s hopes for a comeback, pouncing on a loose ball in the box. Toronto FC brought on several subs, but it didn’t amount to anything in the final scoreline.
Match to Forget: Ayo Akinola. Akinola was held in check for most of the afternoon, failing to get any good looks on goal. The young forward will definitely need help if TFC wants to start finding the back of the net regularly.
Crew 3, D.C. United 1 – (Final)
(Lucas Zelarayan 20′, Felix Brillant OG 63′, Tony Alfaro OG 83′) – (Ola Kamara 82′)
Man of the Match: Lucas Zelarayan scored a goal and created several dangerous chances against a D.C. defense that simply couldn’t keep tabs on him.
Moment of the Match: Zelarayan’s free kick goal was a thing of beauty.
Match to Forget: Frederic Brillant couldn’t do much about the own goal scored off his chest, but when he attempted to stop a Crew cross instead of leaving it for his goalkeeper, it led to another D.C. own goal in what was Brillant’s second consecutive poor showing.
Nashville SC 2, Revolution 0 – (Final)
(C.J. Sapong 25′, Alex Muyl 75′)
Man of the Match: Alex Muyl. Muyl was lively in his 90-minute performance for Nashville SC, scoring the insurance goal and delivering a strong overall outing for the hosts. His confident right-footed finish helped seal the deal, but he also was strong defensively tracking back on the right wing.
Moment of the Match: With the score at 1-0 in Nashville’s favor, Adam Buksa had his best chance to tie things up in the 62nd minute. Buksa rose highest and headed off the right post, but easily could’ve swung momentum New England’s way if it had gone in.
Match to Forget: Matt Polster was at fault for the giveaway on Muyl’s goal, eventually sealing the victory for Nashville SC. Not only did the veteran give possession away cheaply, he was pushed around on several occasions by the Nashville playmakers in midfield.
Whitecaps 2, CF Montreal 0 (Final)
(Cristian Dájome 57′, 71′)
Man of the Match: Cristian Dájome proved to be the difference-maker for the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, maintaining his composure from the spot to open the scoring. The Colombian international doubled his side’s lead with just under 20 minutes to play, leading the Whitecaps to a crucial three points.
Moment of the Match: Both sides were unable to find the breakthrough until Kamal Miller hauled down Dájome inside the box for the all-important penalty shot. The Whitecaps winger made no mistake, slotting home expertly past Clement Diop.
Match to Forget: Bjørn Johnsen was rewarded with his first start since making the move to Major League Soccer and failed to deliver on Saturday. The towering forward wasted a gilt-edge chance in the first half, with Max Crepeau denying him from in close.
FC Dallas 1, Dynamo 1 (Final)
(Jader Obrian 42′) – (Fafa Picault 34′)
Man of the Match: Bryan Acosta. The FC Dallas midfielder was a two-way workhorse, setting up the lone FC Dallas goal with an excellent cross, and putting in a bunch of defensive work to limit Houston’s attack.
Moment of the Match: FC Dallas goalkeeper Phelipe dove to his left to deny a dangerous free kick from Memo Rodriguez.
Match to Forget: FC Dallas striker Franco Jara mustered just one shot on goal on a day when he may have lost ground to youngster Ricardo Pepi in the race to be FCD’s starting striker.
Orlando City 1, NYCFC 1 (Final)
(Nani 52′) – (Valentin Castellanos 77′)
Man of the Match: Pedro Gallese had a solid day in net, only missing out on a clean sheet due to a second-half penalty. Gallese’s stoppage-time save prevented Jesus Medina from finding the game-winner and secured a point for the Lions.
Moment of the Match: Nani’s 52nd minute hit marked the forward’s second goal from outside the box in as many games. After making space and losing a pair of defenders, Nani’s curling strike left NYCFC goalkeeper Sean Johnson frozen to watch the ball fly into the back of the net.
Match to Forget: Entering the match at halftime to replace the injured Ruan, Joāo Moutinho ended up costing his team a pair of points. The 23 year-old put in a late tackle when defending Ismael Tajouri-Shradi 1-on-1, conceding a penalty that allowed NYCFC back into the game.
L.A. Galaxy 2, LAFC 1 (Final)
(Javier Hernandez 11′, Jonathan Dos Santos 79′) – (Diego Rossi 62′)
Man of the Match: Javier Hernandez scored the opening goal and then set up the winner for the Galaxy.
Moment of the Match: Galaxy teenager Cameron Dunbar forced LAFC defender Jesus Murillo into a turnover that Hernandez used to deliver the winning assist to Jonathan Dos Santos.
Match to Forget: Jose Cifuentes committed a turnover that led directly to the first Galaxy goal, and he offered little effective work in attack, with zero shots on goal and no key passes or successful dribbles.
Rapids 3, Minnesota United 2 (Final)
(Kellyn Acosta 57′, Cole Bassett 71′, Danny Wilson 82′) – (Emmanuel Reynoso 17′, Hassani Dotson 24′)
Man of the Match: Danny Wilson delivered the game-winning goal to cap a match where he completed a game-high 70 passes to go with three tackles and three interceptions.
Moment of the Match: Kellyn Acosta’s long-range strike helped spark the Rapids comeback, and stunned Minnesota United.
Match to Forget: Loons goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair misplayed a cross to hand the Rapids an equalizer and doom Minnesota United to another loss.
Friday
Real Salt Lake 1 – Earthquakes 2 (Final)
(Rubio Rubin 43′) – (Chris Wondolowski 83′, 87′)
Man of the Match: Chris Wondolowski came off the bench and provided a needed boost for San Jose to pick up three points in Utah. The veteran striker scored a pair of goals in a four-minute span to swing the match in the Quakes’ favor for good.
Moment of the Match: Wondolowski’s second goal proved to be the winner and suck the energy out of the RSL faithful at Rio Tinto Stadium. It was another example of the ability Wondolowski has, whether off the bench or starting.
Match to Forget: Erik Holt. The RSL centerback was beaten on Wondolowski’s winner and was in poor position on both of his goals.
If Caden Clark isn’t with NT this Summer I will be disappointed. I think I would find that more disappointing than a Lovitz or Bradley inclusion.