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MLS Wednesday Scoreboard: Sounders handle RSL, LAFC rolls over FC Dallas, and more

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The Seattle Sounders returned to winning ways at home on Wednesday night, beating Real Salt Lake at Lumen Field after a pair of draws in their previous two home games, back in May.

The MLS-leading Sounders remain the only undefeated team left in the league, and jumped back to the top of the overall league standings after Raul Ruidiaz delivered winning goal in the 88th minute.

Wednesday saw plenty of late heroics, including a last-minute winner by Efrain Alvarez to help the LA Galaxy earn a win against the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Whitecaps scored a stoppage-time equalizer that looked like it would force Greg Vanney’s men to settle for a draw, but Alvarez responded one minute later with a stunning left-footed finish for the winner.

The Portland Timbers also conjured up some late heroics, with Jeremy Ebobisse scoring a 91st-minute equalizer to help Portland rally from a 2-0 halftime deficit to earn a 2-2 draw against the Houston Dynamo.

In the Eastern Conference, the New England Revolution continued their red-hot form, posting another victory at Gillette Stadium to maintain their hold on first place in the Eastern Conference on Wednesday night.

The Revs jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and held on for a 3-2 victory over the New York Red Bulls, marking the fifth straight victory for Bruce Arena’s side, a win that extended New England’s lead atop the East back to five points.

The Philadelphia Union moved into a tie for second place in the East with their 1-0 win against the Columbus Crew. Jamiro Monteiro’s first-half finish stood up as the winner to snap the Crew’s three-match winning streak.

New York City FC edged Atlanta United, 1-0, at Red Bull Arena, with Ismael Tajouri-Shradi providing the game-winning goal to help NYCFC jump up to fourth place in the East.

Here is a look back at Wednesday’s busy MLS schedule:


MLS WEDNESDAY


Revolution 3, Red Bulls 2 (Final)

(Tajon Buchanon 26′, DeJuan Jones 32′, Gustavo Bou 51′) – (Patryk Klimala 53′, Andres Reyes 75′)

Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Carles Gil picked apart the Red Bulls defense, setting up all three Revs goals on a night when he once again created chances in bunches. The Spanish playmaker delivered six key passes to help keep the Revs in first place in the East.

Moment of the Match: New England’s third goal was the backbreaker, and wound up being the winning goal, as Gustavo Bou took advantage of some poor Red Bulls organization on its own set piece to burn the visitors on the counter and make the score 3-0 at the time.

Match to Forget: Sean Nealis looked lost on all three New England goals, out of position for the first two goals, then failing in an attempt to get a shot off on a set piece only to get caught upfield on the ensuing counterattack.


NYCFC 1, Atlanta United 0 (Final)

(Ismael Tajouri-Shradi 69′)

Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Ismael Tajouri-Shradi’s fourth goal in as many games proved to be the winner in a tight Eastern Conference battle.

Moment of the Match: Tajouri-Shradi’s run and calm finish past Brad Guzan broke the deadlock in the 69th minute and earned NYCFC three points.

Match to Forget: A quick turn of possession left Santiago Sosa out of position, allowing Tajouri-Shradi to slip behind Atlanta’s back line and score.


Union 1, Crew 0 (Final)

(Jamiro Monteiro 24′)

Mitchell Leff-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Jamiro Montiero scored the winning goal at Subaru Park on Wednesday night and overall was one of the few bright spots in the match. Monteiro showed his quality in the final third by beating Eloy Room to the bottom corner on his goal, and also covered a lot of ground defensively in the clean sheet win.

Moment of the Match: The Columbus Crew didn’t trouble Andre Blake a lot in the match, but saw their best chance denied by the Jamaican in the final minutes. Marlon Hairston created room for a curling effort inside of the box in the 81st minute, but Blake stood tall to repel the substitute’s effort.
Match to Forget: Alex Matan. Matan got the start for Caleb Porter’s side, but left in the 60th minute after making little of an impact. Matan lost possession three times in the match, the most by any player on the field, and failed to help defensively with Olivier Mbaizo’s runs upfield for the Union.

CF Montreal 0, D.C. United 0 (Final)

Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Clement Diop made five saves to help preserve the clean sheet for 10-men CF Montreal. Diop suffered an injury late in the match on a goal kick, but fought through the pain to help Wilfried Nancy’s side steal a point against D.C. United.

Moment of the Match: Russell Canouse had the best chance for Hernan Losada’s side in the second half, heading a Yamil Asad cross towards the bottom-right corner. However, Diop had other ideas, denying the midfielder his second goal of the season.

Match to Forget: Zorhan Bassong showed inexperience by collecting two yellow cards in the final ten minutes of the first half. Bassong delivered a poor foul on Canouse in the 35th minute before being carded once again for a hand ball. The defender hurt his team’s chances at collecting three points at home.


Fire 0, FC Cincinnati 1 (Final)

(Alvaro Barreal 50′)

Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Cincinnati midfielder Luciano Acosta was lively throughout his 90-minute shift and was unlucky to come up empty-handed in his three shots on target and four key passes.

Moment of the Match: Alvaro Barreal’s go-ahead goal gave Cincinnati a much-needed win and snapped the team’s two-game scoreless streak.

Match to Forget: Chicago’s star striker Robert Berić was invisible in his eighth straight scoreless game. Last year’s golden boot runner-up had a big miss in his only credible opportunity in open play. In stoppage time, his would-be equalizer was waved off after VAR deemed him offside.


Minnesota United 2, Austin FC 0 (Final)

(Franco Fragapane 10′, Adrien Hunou 18′)

David Berding-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Minnesota newcomer Franco Fragapane was rolling in the game’s opening phase. Scoring in the 10th minute and assisting in the 18th had the Loons off to a dream start.

Moment of the Match: Fragapane’s goal sent the Minnesota fans in a frenzy and set the tone early on. It was an aesthetic goal, too. Romain Métanire took the ball to the edge of the goal line, slung it to Fragapane who smashed it in with ease and authority.

Match to Forget: Austin did not play well overall, but midfielder Diego Fagúndez did not have any answers. In his 65-minute shift, he was charged with a yellow card and did not manage to create any threatening looks for his team.


Dynamo 2, Timbers 2 (Final)

(Fafa Picault 15′, Tyler Pasher 33′) – (Dairon Asprilla 50′, Jeremy Ebobisse 90+1′)

Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Jeremy Ebobisse. Ebobisse had the late tying goal, and also distributed the ball expertly on a few of the Timbers’ best chances. Also worth mentioning is Dairon Asprilla, who scored in his second straight match.

Moment of the Match: Jeremy Ebobisse earned the away point for the Timbers with a stoppage-time header goal. The draw will feel like a win for the Timbers, who came back from a two-goal deficit.

Match to Forget: Houston centerback Tim Parker had some difficulty stopping the Timbers from finding chances in the middle of the box. To top it off, Ebobisse elevated higher than Parker to score the tying goal.


Nashville SC 3, Toronto FC 2 (Final)

(Jack Maher 62′, L. Haakenson 83′ 90+2′) – (Jonathan Osorio 26′, Patrick Mullins 81′)

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Luke Haakenson. Haakenson started the match on the bench for Nashville, but the 80th pick in the 2019 MLS SuperDraft made his presence known with the game tying goal in the 83rd minute and scoring the winner in the stoppage time to complete the comeback victory for Nashville SC.

Moment of the Match: After scraping back to tie the match in the 83rd minute, it seemed as if Nashville SC and Toronto FC were destined for a draw, but Luke Haakenson had other plans. In the 92nd minute Haakenson received a Daniel Lovitz pass in the box and touched it around the TFC defender for the game winning goal.

Match to Forget: As a whole the TFC backline struggled throughout the match, but defender Chris Mavinga was at fault for the game winner so he will hope for a rebound performance against FC Cincinnati over the weekend.


Sporting KC 3, Rapids 1 (Final)

(Daniel Salloi 14′, 38′, Felipe Hernandez 64′) – (Keegan Rosenberry 84′)

Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Daniel Salloi. Salloi’s comeback from a poor 2020 seems complete. He has now scored three goals in his last three matches. Salloi struck twice in the first half, proving his starting position as the schedule becomes more congested.

Moment of the Match: Two of Sporting KC’s in-form youngsters showed their ability in the 38th minute, when 23-year-old Felipe Hernandez slid a pass into the box to Daniel Salloi. Salloi scored his second goal of the game with a first-time shot. Hernandez added his first MLS goal in the second half.

Match to Forget: The Rapids’ three-man back line struggled to stifle Sporting’s wide players from working the ball inside. Lalas Abubakar could not keep up on both of Salloi’s goals.


Sounders 2, Real Salt Lake 1 (Final)

(Cristian Roldan 59′, Raul Ruidiaz 88′) – (Albert Rusnak 79′)

Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Cristian Roldan. The Sounders’ jack-of-all-trades midfielder menaced Real Salt Lake’s back line from the opening whistle, popped up all over the field over the course of a stellar 90-minute shift, and scored the opening goal.

Moment of the Match: An 88th-minute, game-winning panenka from Raul Ruidiaz, his second goal in as many matches since being left off Peru’s Copa America roster. It was also his 50th career goal in a Sounders uniform (regular season and playoffs combined).

Match to Forget: Anderson Julio. Came on as a substitute in the 80th-minute, conceded a game-winning penalty just six minutes later.


LAFC 2, FC Dallas 0 (Final)

(Carlos Vela 4′, Latif Blessing 71′)

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Carlos Vela. The 2019 MLS MVP showed once again why he is one of the best players in MLS, scoring his first goal of the season in the 4th minute and assisting Latif Blessing in the 68th minute to close out the 2-0 victory.

Moment of the Match: In the 68th minute Carlos Vela found Latif Blessing in the box to give LAFC a comfortable 2-0 lead. Vela’s early goal was also notable, but the second goal deflated FC Dallas and ensured the victory for the Black and Gold.

Match to Forget: Ricardo Pepi. The 18 year-old striker started the last two matches for FC Dallas coming out of the international break, but he was largely ineffective against LAFC and was subbed out in the 76th minute.


Whitecaps 1, Galaxy 2 (Final)

(Janio Bikel 90+2) – (Javier Hernández 47′, Efrain Alvarez 90+3′)

Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Efrain Alvarez. Alvarez started the match on the bench for the Galaxy, but was subbed on in the 60th minute with the Galaxy looking to ride out the 1-0 victory. In the 90th minute the Whitecaps answered back, but less than a minute later Alvarez found the winner for the Galaxy with a left footed half volley from inside the box that ended up as the match winner.

Moment of the Match: Alvarez will get the headlines for his match winner, but the Whitecaps made one final push at the end of the match with a header that was destined for the back of the net if not for a late intervention by goalie Jonathan Bond to maintain the 2-1 scoreline.

Match to Forget: Andy Rose. Rose was solid for most of the match but his failed clearance in stoppage time fell right to Efrain Alvarez and was the difference in the match.


TUESDAY


Orlando City 5, Earthquakes 0

(Nani 7′, Benji Michel 16′, 90′, Daryl Dike 31′, 49′)

Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

Man of the Match: Daryl Dike. Dike’s aggressiveness in the final third helped continue a strong night for the Lions attack, scoring twice and coming close to netting a few more goals as well.

Moment of the Match: Nani’s early penalty kick goal helped set the tone for a busy evening for the Lions attack, and the Portuguese playmaker also set up another goal later in the match.

Match to Forget: Florian Jungwirth didn’t help his team early in the match by conceding the penalty kick and overall struggled with Michel’s pace and Dike’s physicality in defense.

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