To highlight Sunday’s MLS play, the New England Revolution grabbed three important points against New York City FC. The Portland Timbers also bolstered a campaign for the playoffs that is trending upward.
One of the night’s wildest games brought CF Montreal a win over Toronto FC. Montreal trailed by two goals in the first seven minutes, but tied the game by halftime and scored two more second-half goals to solidify a third-place standing in the Supporters’ Shield table.
In the Western Conference, Nashville SC continues its tear in pursuit of a playoff spot. Hany Mukhtar rose ahead of Sebastian Driussi in the Golden Boot race, scoring twice against Austin FC to hand Nashville its fourth win in a row.
Here are the results in Week 28 of MLS action.
LAFC 2, RSL 0
(Ryan Hollingshead 49′, Cristian Arango 68′)
Man of the Match: Ryan Hollingshead had an excellent match overall, scoring the first goal and contributing to a shutout in defense.
Moment of the Match: Cristian Arango showed how dominant LAFC had been with a goal to double the lead in the 68th minute. It was his 15th goal this season.
Match to Forget: RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath couldn’t punch the ball away on the first goal, and he dove a little too early to allow Arango to score later in the second half.
Quakes 2, Whitecaps 0
Jeremy Ebobisse 4′, Jamiro Monteiro 34′
Man of the Match: JT Marcinkowski had an outstanding game, with six saves. Marcinkowski earned the shutout, despite facing 1.36 xGA.
Moment of the Match: Jamiro Monteiro’s 34th-minute strike put the Quakes into a commanding lead heading into halftime. Monteiro started the play with a long ball across the field, then finished with a powerful shot in plenty of space.
Match to Forget: Brian White couldn’t get much going for the Whitecaps, and was subbed out after 78 minutes. White completed only 56% of his passes.
Revolution 3, NYCFC 0
(Jon Bell 12′, Noel Buck 33′, Tommy McNamara 66′)
Man of the Match: Noel Buck’s first MLS goal was a beauty as the 17-year-old helped New England claim an important three points.
Moment of the Match: Buck’s rifled finish helped the Revs keep their foot on the gas early at Gillette Stadium.
Match to Forget: Thiago Andrade lost all seven of his duels for NYCFC, offering little to nothing for the visitors.
LA Galaxy 2, Sporting KC 2
(Javier Hernandez 87“ 4′, 88′ (pen)) – (Johnny Russell (pen) 67′, Felipe Hernandez 76′)
Man of the Match: Chicharito scored twice including an 88th minute penalty kick to help the Galaxy earn one point at home.
Moment of the Match: Chicharito could’ve wrapped up a hat trick and three points for the Galaxy but missed a 96th minute penalty kick.
Match to Forget: Derrick Williams conceded one penalty kick for the Galaxy, hurting his team’s chances at a needed three points.
Toronto FC 3, CF Montreal 4
(Federico Bernardeschi (pen) 5′, Lorenzo Insigne 7′, 90+3′) – (Kamal Miller 19′, Djordje Mihailovic 21′, Kei Kamara 43′, Alistair Johnston 54′)
Man of the Match: Kei Kamara scored once and assisted once in a huge rivalry win for CF Montreal.
Moment of the Match: Djordje Mihailovic’s rocket helped CF Montreal continue to turn it on at BMO Field.
Match to Forget: Chris Mavinga and Shane O’Neill struggled to deal with the CF MTL attack, before Mavinga was substituted off at halftime.
D.C. United 0, Rapids 0
Man of the Match: William Yarbrough made saves including a key penalty kick stop on Christian Benteke in his home D.C. United debut.
Moment of the Match: Yarbrough’s PK save on Benteke helped the Rapids earn a clean sheet and one point on the road.
Match to Forget: Miguel Berry offered zero for D.C. United, losing six duels and failing to register a shot on goal.
Timbers 2, Atlanta United 1
(Santiago Moreno (pen) 38′, Dairon Asprilla (pen) 82′) – (Josef Martinez 88′)
Man of the Match: Santiago Moreno scored the opening goal for Portland and also won eight duels and completed two dribbles.
Moment of the Match: Dairon Asprilla’s penalty kick in the second half truly iced the result for Portland.
Match to Forget: Ronaldo Cisneros lost all five duels in attack for Atlanta United, struggling once again for the Five Stripes.
Saturday
Nashville SC 3, Austin FC 0
(Walker Zimmerman 49′, Hany Mukhtar 82′, 90+1′)
Man of the Match: Hany Mukhtar’s stellar run of form continued with the German midfielder scoring twice in the dying moments of the match.
Moment of the Match: Walker Zimmerman’s opener was all Nashville needed to set the tone for a dominant victory.
Match to Forget: Julio Cascante lost the most duels in the match (8) while Ruben Gabrielsen’s error led to one of Nashville’s three goals.
FC Cincinnati 2, Charlotte FC 0
(Nick Hagglund 38′, Luciano Acosta 81′)
Man of the Match: Luciano Acosta helped set up Cincinnati’s opening goal before icing the win with a finish of his own.
Moment of the Match: Acosta’s top-shelf finish iced the home win for FC Cincy in sluggish weather conditions.
Match to Forget: Ben Bender was ineffective for Charlotte FC, losing seven duels and receiving one yellow card
Red Bulls 0, Union 2
(Mikael Uhre 48′, Daniel Gazdag 74′)
Man of the Match: Andre Blake made a trio of top saves for the Union to preserve the shutout.
Moment of the Match: Jack McGlynn’s stellar run helped spring Mikael Uhre’s opening goal of the match in the early stages of the second half.
Match to Forget: Dru Yearwood was sent off in the final stages after kicking the ball into the stands.
Crew 0, Fire 0
Man of the Match: Gabriel Slonina impressed by making nine saves in the road clean sheet for the Fire.
Moment of the Match: Jonathan Mensah’s 98th-minute header looked destined to break the deadlock for the Crew, but Slonina made his final save to continue the frustration for the hosts.
Match to Forget: Unlike the week prior, Luis Diaz was poor, losing 10 duels and failing to register a single shot.
Loons 0, FC Dallas 3
(Michael Boxall (OG) 55′, Alan Velasco 56′, Jesus Ferreira 58′)
Man of the Match: Sebastian Lletget completed all 33 of his passes and registered two assists for FC Dallas.
Moment of the Match: Jesus Ferreira’s goal capped off a rapid period of goals for Dallas, truly icing the road win.
Match to Forget: Michael Boxall’s own goal did not help his team’s chances of claiming three points.
Starting to think Slonina should definitely be in the running to be on the WC team as the third GK.