Orlando City remained without star striker Daryl Dike on Thursday with the visiting Philadelphia Union coming to town, but the Lions struck in each half to down the defending Supporters’ Shield winners 2-1.
Benji Michel and Andres Perea both goals goals as Oscar Pareja’s side leapfrogged the Union into second place on 25 points. Kacper Przybylko pulled a goal back for Jim Curtin’s side, but a slow start hurt the Union’s chances of picking up back-to-back wins.
Raul Ruidiaz played the hero for the Seattle Sounders at Q2 Stadium as Brian Schmetzer’s side defeated Austin FC 1-0. Despite fielding the second-youngest lineup to start an MLS match, the Sounders used a 67th minute winning strike from Ruidiaz to pick up all three points.
Portland Timbers striker Felipe Mora made sure the fans at Providence Park went home on Wednesday night with something to celebrate while leaving Los Angeles FC was left with nothing but disappointment.
Mora’s 93rd-minute header off a Sebastian Blanco cross gave the Timbers a 2-1 victory, halting LAFC’s three-match winning run and give Portland its second straight win.
The New England Revolution were another team that didn’t have to settle for a draw, pummeling Inter Miami CF, 5-0, at DVR Pink Stadium. Arnor Traustason scored a pair of goals in a four-goal first half for the visiting Revs, while Phil Neville was left looking like a coach with no answers as his team suffered its sixth consecutive loss, having scored just one goal during that stretch.
Here is a closer look at this week’s MLS slate:
Austin FC 0, Sounders 1
(Raul Ruidiaz 67′)
Man of the Match: Raul Ruidiaz didn’t start Thursday’s match in Texas, but he did have the final say in an important bounce-back win for the Sounders. Ruidiaz’s long-range finish was the difference between the two Western Conference clubs.
Moment of the Match: Ruidiaz’s strike sucked the air out of Q2 Stadium and eventually propelled the Sounders on the road to victory. His goal will certainly be a top contender for finish of the week.
Match to Forget: Going up against a young Sounders backline, you would think Cecelio Dominguez would have a few good offensive looks for Austin FC. Dominguez was shut down in his 90-minute outing, registering only one shot on goal and losing possession three times, a game-high.
Orlando City 2, Union 1
(Benji Michel 10′, Andres Perea 57′) – (Kacper Przybylko 68′)
Man of the Match: Benji Michel. Michel delivered the opening goal for the Lions and overall put in a hardworking shift in the victory. He registered one key pass and did a lot of strong defensive work against Union right back Olivier Mbaizo.
Moment of the Match: Kyle Smith made a heroic goal line block to deny Quinn Sullivan his second-career MLS goal. Jack Elliott’s effort was palmed away by Pedro Gallese before Jack McGlynn’s cross to Sullivan at the back post was cleared away by Smith, preserving the Orlando City lead.
Match to Forget: Daniel Gazdag. Gazdag was ineffective in his 69-minute performance, failing to register a shot on goal or a key pass in the final third. Gazdag tried to make things work in the attacking end of the field, but ultimately was his night end earlier than expected.
Wednesday
Toronto FC 1, Red Bulls 1
(Ralph Priso-Mbongue 62′) – (Patryk Klimala 46′)
Man of the Match: Brought on in the first half to replace the injured Auro Jr., Ralph Priso-Mbongue earned Toronto FC a point with a well-hit rebound in the 62nd minute.
Moment of the Match: Ralph Priso-Mbongue’s scored his career first MLS goal in the 62nd minute, rebounding Carlos Coronel’s palmed clearance into the back of the net.
Match to Forget: Dom Dwyer struggled to get into the game after starting his second straight. The 30 year-old forward registered just one shot before being replaced in the 54th minute.
Inter Miami 0, Revolution 5
(Arnor Traustason 15′, 36′; Teal Bunbury 27′; Adam Buksa 45+4′, 83′)
Man of the Match: Arnor Traustason. The Revolution midfielder scored twice off of set pieces for his side, including the opener that helped turn the tide in the team’s favor after a bright start from Inter Miami.
Moment of the Match: Inter Miami was on the front foot in the first 15 minutes, but the Revolution zapped the home side’s momentum and snatched it for themselves via Traustason’s clinical header following a free kick from the left.
Match to Forget: Blaise Matuidi. Practically no one saved face for Inter Miami in this bloodbath, but the French central midfielder had an absolute nightmare. He lost the ball leading to the second goal, and was yanked at halftime after getting overrun in the center of the park a number of times.
Crew 0, Nashville SC 0
Man of the Match: Joe Willis made seven saves for Gary Smith’s side to help preserve the road point at Lower.com Field. Willis stood on his head as Nashville SC extended its unbeaten run to six matches.
Moment of the Match: Kevin Molino had a golden opportunity to win the match for the Crew in stoppage time, but curled his shot from the center of the box wide. It was a great build-up from the Crew, but Molino missed the chance to be a hero on the night.
Match to Forget: Lucas Zelarayan could not come up clutch for the Crew in the dying moments of the match and overall lacked the final touch offensively. He failed to record a shot on goal out of his six attempts in total.
NYCFC 1, CF Montréal 0
(Ismael Tajouri-Shradi 29′)
Man of the Match: Luis Barazza bounced back from a shaky performance against Columbus to grab an assist and a clean sheet in his first career MLS win.
Moment of the Match: Ismael Tajouri-Shradi made the most of CF Montreal’s defensive mistakes, finishing off a well hit goal kick after catching James Pantemis off his line.
Match to Forget: Zorhan Bassong allowed Tajouri-Shradi to beat him to a challenging ball, eventually letting it bounce behind him for Tajouri-Shradi to finish off.
Fire 2, D.C. United 2
(Gaston Gimenez 32′, Andy Najar Own Goal 61′) – (Kevin Paredes 82′, Ola Kamara 87′)
Man of the Match: Gaston Gimenez scored the Fire’s opening goal and provided quality in central midfield, and it is telling that D.C. United started its comeback after he left the match in the 74th minute.
Moment of the Match: Kevin Paredes scored a well-struck left-footed shot off the inside of the right post to spark D.C. United’s comeback.
Match to Forget: Jonathan Bornstein committed the foul on Andy Najar that set up Ola Kamara’s equalizing penalty kick.
FC Cincinnati 1, Atlanta United 1
(Luciano Acosta 61′) – (Ronald Hernandez 71′)
Man of the Match: Luciano Acosta contributed a goal, nearly two, and rose above plenty of hard contact from an Atlanta side clearly on a mission to stifle him.
Moment of the Match: Ronald Hernandez’s equalizer was the decider in extending FC Cincinnati’s winless streak at home to five.
Match to Forget: Atlanta midfielder Santiago Sosa let a lot go in the midfield and was in a position to bust up the opening goal but ultimately found himself chasing it the play.
Sporting KC 1, Earthquakes 1
(Daniel Salloi 90+4′) – (Nathan 53′)
Man of the Match: Sporting KC winger Johnny Russell found several clear-cut chances, nearly drew a penalty kick and smacked a free kick off the crossbar, which led to the late winning goal for Sporting KC.
Moment of the Match: Daniel Salloi will never score an easier goal than his eighth goal of the season. The 90+4′ game-winner was punched in by Salloi as it bounced on the goal line.
Match to Forget: San Jose’s attack sputtered, with its forwards missing chances. Chris Wondolowski missed a wide open shot in the second half, and Cristian Espinoza had three shots with none on target.
Rapids 2, FC Dallas 0
(Lalas Abubakar 48′, Michael Barrios 55′)
Man of the Match: Lalas Abubakar scored the Rapids’ opening goal with a powerful header and was a force defensively, registering two tackles, three interceptions and five recoveries.
Moment of the Match: The Rapids very nearly went down 1-0 in the 23rd minute when William Yarbrough committed a turnover but then promptly made a big-time save on the ensuing FC Dallas shot.
Match to Forget: It may have come on an insurance goal, but Jimmy Maurer will some sleep over how poorly he played Michael Barrios’ finish.
Timbers 2, LAFC 1
(Diego Valeri 2′, Felipe Mora 90+2) – (Carlos Vela 17′)
Man of the Match: Timbers playmaker Diego Valeri was excellent from the start, scoring the opening goal and playing a key role in the victory.
Moment of the Match: Just when the match seemed to be heading for a draw, Sebastian Blanco played a looping ball into the box that Felipe Mora headed home in stoppage time to give the Timbers the win.
Match to Forget: Marco Farfan returned to his boyhood club for the first time since being traded to LAFC in the offseason, but the 22 year-old defender was at fault for the first Timbers goal and looked uncomfortable playing as a third center back.
LA Galaxy 2, Real Salt Lake 2
(Victor Vasquez 33′, Rayan Raveloson 77′ ) – (Albert Rusnak 9′, Maikel Chang 25′)
Man of the Match: Julian Araujo. As evident by his two assists, the Mexican-American right back was excellent going forward for the Galaxy and was arguably the best defender for the Galaxy in his 90 minutes on the field.
Moment of the Match: In the 48th minute, Rayan Raveloson had a clear header in the box that looked destined for goal if not for a David Ochoa save that kept the scoreline at 2-1 for the time being.
Match to Forget: Kevin Cabral. With Javier Hernandez sidelined for a third straight game, Cabral was shifted to a center forward role, but was largely ineffective before being subbed off in stoppage time. Cabral also had a few chances on the night to get on the scoreboard, but he was unable to make a tangible impact on the match.