Major League Soccer continues to be as action-packed as ever, and most teams will face their biggest rivals over the course of these three matches across two weekends and a midweek round. This first weekend featured a feisty Hudson River derby, a wonder goal from Dénis Bouanga and more – read on for our Matchday 12 Recap
Chicago Fire FC 1-0 St. Louis City
An inch-perfect pass from Xherdan Shaqiri to set up Rafael Czichos at a free kick was the game’s only goal as expansion side St. Louis City received a rude welcome on their first visit to the Windy City. The contest was all but over after defender John Nelson was sent off with twenty minutes to play,
Columbus Crew 2-2 Orlando City
While not a rivalry, this match was one of the weekend’s most exciting. The hosts stormed to an early 2-0 lead despite missing some key players, but Orlando battled back, with Pedro Gallese making five saves before Duncan McGuire popped up with a stoppage-time equalizer.
DC United 1-1 Nashville SC
In a tense affair that was scoreless until the second half, Nashville scored first, but the hosts’ teenage midfielder Theodore Ku-Dipietro, scored his second goal of the season just minutes after coming off the bench to secure a point for Wayne Rooney’s just ten minutes from time.
Inter Miami CF 2-1 New England Revolution
Josef Martínez continued his good form, following last week’s brace with a goal here, but the real story was youngster David Ruiz, who scored and set up the Venezuelan before being sent off ten minutes from time. Despite a man advantage, the Eastern Conference leaders were unable to get the result, and Inter Miami had their fifth straight win in all competitions.
New York Red Bulls 1-0 New York City FC
Omir Fernandez scored a stunning goal in the second half to give the hosts a badly-needed win in the Hudson River Derby. Gabriel Pereira would hit the woodwork for the visitors, but the Red Bulls have now made it two wins from two in all competitions under new manager Troy Lesesne.
Atlanta United 1-3 Charlotte FC
In-form Charlotte made it three wins from three in all competitions away to Atlanta on Saturday night. The hosts made things easier for their opposition when Andrew Gutman received a straight red card early in the second half, with Justin Meram scoring twice for Charlotte.
CF Montreal 2-0 Toronto FC
In-form Montréal made it four wins in four across all competitions, adding to their opponents’ misery after beating them in cup competition in the week. Nigerian striker Chinoso Offor recorded his second goal of the season as the surging hosts moved into seventh place.
Austin FC 0-1 FC Dallas
In this Copa Tejas matchup, Jesús Ferreira scored the match’s only goal in injury time as the ten-man hosts lost for the second time this season to an in-state rival. Dallas moved into fourth place, while Austin are just a point off bottom in the Western Conference.
Houston Dynamo FC 0-1 Seattle Sounders FC
Amine Bassi and Hector Herrera were both sent off as the hosts endured a difficult evening. Little-used Paul Rothrock struck the winner for Seattle, who kept hold of top spot in the Western Conference.
Sporting Kansas City 3-0 Minnesota United
Sporting Kansas City are well and truly past what had been a moribund start to the season. They recorded their second straight win with Daniel Sallói scoring and setting up Dani Rosero ahead of their midweek clash with LAFC.
Colorado Rapids 1-2 Philadelphia Union
Julián Carranza led the way for the visitors in a physical match; the Argentine forward has six goal contributions this season with the Union having shaken off a frustrating Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League elimination for their third MLS win in a row.
Real Salt Lake 0-3 LAFC
LAFC showed once more why they’ve been the league’s top side this year. After suffering their first loss of the season against San José last weekend, the visitors were ahead within ten minutes, taking a lead they would never relinquish while adding another clean sheet for a defense which is the league’s second-best.
Portland Timbers 3-1 Vancouver Whitecaps
A moment of magic from summer signing Evander was the highlight of this Cascadia Cup encounter, but the Timbers were full value for the result. The Brazilian would later add a second as Portland moved into the playoff places.
LA Galaxy 2-1 San José Earthquakes
The final mach of the weekend was the Cali Clásico, one of the oldest rivalries in the league. For the Galaxy, Martín Caceres and Dejan Joveljić scored for the hosts before substitute Ousseni Bouda pulled one back in stoppage time.
