The Philadelphia Union and Los Angeles FC both reached MLS Cup in 2022 and both clubs took their first steps on Saturday night to returning there this year.
LAFC and the Vancouver Whitecaps played out a thrilling opening 45 minutes at BMO Stadium on Saturday night before the defending league champions rolled away to an opening night win.
Ryan Hollingshead and Denis Bouanga both scored twice for Steve Cherundolo’s men while Jesus Murillo added an insurance goal in a 5-2 result. Brian White and Samuel Adekugbe each found the back of the net in the loss for the visiting Whitecaps.
Hollinshead’s opener came in the 18th minute mark for LAFC as the veteran fullback stroked home a left-footed shot into the bottom-right corner. The right back’s original header was denied by Yohei Takaoka but Hollingshead followed up on the rebound in the box.
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However, Vancouver would tie things up in the 27th minute as Andres Cubas set up Brian White for a 1-1 equalizer. White’s right-footed shot nestled into the bottom-right corner to give Vanni Sartini’s men a lifeline.
LAFC needed only two minutes to recapture their lead as Bouanga finished off Diego Palacios’ headed pass for a 2-1 lead.
The Whitecaps would fight back once again before halftime though as Adekugbe’s header from a Ryan Gauld set piece for make it 2-2 going into halftime.
LAFC responded in a major way after halftime, eventually putting the match in their favor for good.
Hollingshead’s left-footed strike paired with Bouanga’s long-range finish boosted LAFC’s advantage to 4-2 after the hour mark. Murillo’s close-range header with 10 minutes to play truly iced the result for LAFC at 5-2, which marked their second match out of the past four overall in which they scored five goals.
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The series shifts to BC Place on November 5 for the second showdown in quick succession.
Union 3, Revolution 1
Jim Curtin’s Union rolled to a 3-1 opening night victory on Saturday, using a trio of first-half goals to down the New England Revolution. Daniel Gazdag, Mikael Uhre, and Nathan Harriel all scored at Subaru Park while Gustavo Bou pulled a consolation goal back for the Revs in the second half.
Revs head coach Clint Peay will be worried after captain and star playmaker Carles Gil exited the match with an apparent injury in the 23rd minute mark.
Gazdag’s 19th minute penalty kick opened the scoring for the Union after Julián Carranza was hauled down by Revs goalkeeper Jacob Jackson in the box. VAR ruled in favor of the spot-kick opportunity and the Hungarian netted his 15th goal in league play this season.
Mikael Uhre doubled the Union’s lead in the 26th minute after Kai Wagner’s cross from the left wing ricocheted back to the Danish striker. Wagner’s cross was pushed away from Jackson, but right into the path of Uhre who made no mistake bundling the ball over the goal-line.
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Harriel’s powerful header in the 37th minute off of a Wagner free kick extended the Union’s advantage to 3-0 before halftime. It marked the second goal contribution on the night for Wagner, who remains linked with an exit from the club this offseason.
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Bou’s sensational solo effort pulled the Revs to within two goals of tying things up, but that was the closest they would get to coming back.
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New England also struck the crossbar twice in the match, while being denied by Jamaican international Andre Blake on five occasions.
The series now moves to Gillette Stadium on November for the second match of a potential Best-of-3 series.