The Seattle Sounders’ lead atop the Western Conference has shrunken to three points after Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City at Lumen Field.
A 79th-minute winner from Scottish winger Johnny Russell propelled Peter Vermes’ side to an important win, helping keep SKC in second place in the West. The Sounders are winless in three straight, with Saturday’s loss eliminating them from contention for the MLS Supporters’ Shield, officially won by the New England Revolution after Sporting KC’s victory.
The New York Red Bulls continued their push for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, downing the Columbus Crew, 2-1, at Lower.com Field. Sean Nealis’ 87th-minute finish pushed the Red Bulls’ unbeaten run to eight matches, helping Gerhard Struber’s side move into sixth place in the East standings. The Crew struggled offensively without injured striker Gyasi Zardes, recording only two shots on goal in the home defeat, which keeps the reigning MLS Cup champions outside of the playoff picture.
New York City FC stopped its own recent slide in dramatic fashion, erupting for six goals in 6-1 shellacking of D.C. United. The victory helped NYCFC jump up to fifth in the East standings.
In the Western Conference’s late matches, a trio of draws helped tighten things up even further in the race for the final playoff spots. The LA Galaxy were forced to settle for a point after tying FC Dallas, while LAFC and Minnesota United played to a 1-1 draw.
Portland’s 2-1 loss to the Colorado Rapids leaves teams fourth through seventh in the West standings separated by just two points, with the Timbers still holding onto fourth place. The Rapids stayed even on points with Sporting KC, though SKC has a match in hand.
Sunday saw Austin FC claim a sixth home win of the season, downing Texas rivals Houston Dynamo 2-1 at Q2 Stadium. An own goal from Dynamo goalkeeper Marko Maric paired with a first-half goal from Sebastian Driussi handed Josh Wolff his eighth MLS head coaching win of the season.
The New England Revolution picked up one point on Sunday, fighting back for a 2-2 draw at Orlando City. Despite goals from Nani and Daryl Dike, the Lions watched as Adam Buksa scored twice in the final minutes to give Bruce Arena’s side some added confidence nearing the postseason.
Here is a closer look at this weekend’s MLS results:
Orlando City 2, Revolution 2 – (Final)
(Nani 39′, Daryl Dike 50′) – (Adam Buksa 81′, 90+3′)
Austin FC 2, Dynamo 1 – (Final)
(Marko Maric own goal 7′, Sebastian Driussi 45+4′) – (Julio Cascante own goal 90+2′)
Sounders 1, Sporting KC 2 – (Final)
(Nicolas Benezet 58′) – (Remi Walter 4′, Johnny Russell 79′)
Crew 1, Red Bulls 2 – (Final)
(Miguel Berry 18′) – (Cristian Casseres Jr. 7′, Sean Nealis 87′)
NYCFC 6, D.C. United 0 (Final)
(Thiago Andrade 1′, Valentin Castellanos 7′, 11′, Maxi Moralez 44′, Alexander Callens 52′, Jesus Medina ’74)
Union 1, Nashville SC 0 (Final)
(Kacper Przybylko 18′)
Toronto FC 1, CF Montreal 1 (Final)
(Jozy Altidore 90+5′) – (Sunusi Ibrahim 55′)
Fire 1, Real Salt Lake 0 (Final)
(Robert Beric 45′)
Inter Miami CF 5, FC Cincinnati 1 (Final)
(Federico Higuain 6′, Gonzalo Higuain 53′, Indiana Vassilev 69′, Lewis Morgan 74′, Julian Carranza 85′) – (Brandon Vazquez 21′)
Minnesota United 1, LAFC 1 (Final)
(Cristian Arango 32′)
Rapids 2, Timbers 0 (Final)
(Dominique Badji 45+2′, Diego Rubio 63′)
Galaxy 2, FC Dallas 2 (Final)
(Chicharito Hernandez 65′, Sebastian Lletget 83′) – (Jesus Ferreira 30′, Franco Jara 41′)
Earthquakes 1, Whitecaps 1 (Final)
(Benji Kikanovic 60′) – (Bruno Gaspar 53′)
