By Ian Laird
@UneducatedU on Twitter
This is a weekly run through of all of the MLS games from the previous week where I will do a quick review of each game and then pick a top performer, top goal, top save, top disappointment, and a young player to watch.
LAFC at Vancouver Whitecaps
Score: 0-1
The match got off to a bright start with both teams trading chances in the opening minutes of the game but neither being able to find a breakthrough. The lone goal in the game would come shortly after those initial chances as a looping shot from PC came off the inside of the far post, perfectly teeing up an In-beom Hwang shot which he hit on the half volley to sneak the ball past Tyler Miller. LAFC nearly got an equalizer just before half when Peter-Lee Vassell was able to find some room to get off a shot inside the box, but Maxime Crepeau was able to smother the shot preventing any possible follow up shot. The second half started much like the third with the two sides going end to end for excellent chances in the first few minutes after the restart. First it was Diego Rossi who had his shot off a rebound blocked by Erik Godoy, and then off the clearance Lucas Venuto got in behind LAFC’s line, but his one on one shot was saved by Tyler Miller to keep the Whitecaps advantage at one. The rest of the second half failed to live up to the opening minutes as neither team really posed a real threat to the other, and the game ended 1-0 with LAFC losing for the first time and Vancouver winning for the first time this season.
Real Salt Lake at Cincinnati
Score: 3-0
Real Salt Lake’s resounding victory over Cincinnati gives them their second win in a row while Cincinnati have now failed to win each of their last four games. It took until late in the first half for RSL to get the breakthrough, but in the 42nd minute when Albert Rusnak netted a rebound the floodgates opened up for RSL. They would score just five minutes later once again off a rebound with Sam Johnson finding the back of the net after Damir Kreilach’s initial effort was blocked and then Corey Baird’s follow up was cleared off the line. Cincinnati would get a chance early in the second half with Kenny Saief’s corner getting a minor touch from Nick Hagglund and going on to hit the back post before being scrambled clear by RSL. After that RSL would get a third with Jefferson Savarino getting brought down in the box allowing Rusnak to step up and complete his brace. That goal would effectively seal the result as Cincinnati wouldn’t create any chances after that and RSL were content to sit back knowing the result was already in hand.
Minnesota United at Toronto
Score: 3-4
Alejandro Pozuelo was once again brilliant for Toronto bagging a brace to bring his total to four goals and four assists in four appearances so far. The game didn’t start off well for Toronto though as Minnesota would score first with Darwin Quintero latching on to the end of a Jan Gregus long ball to get in behind the Toronto line and head the ball over a charging Alex Bono allowing him to tap the ball into an open net. Toronto would get the equalizer through Pozuelo just eleven minutes later as Minnesota committed bodies forward allowing Pozuelo to pick up a long clearance uncontested and run at the Minnesota defenders before hitting a beautiful curler from 25 yards out into the top right hand corner. Pozuelo would nab his second two minutes later controlling a Justin Morrow pass that was fizzed across the box and then roofing the ball in the net to give Toronto the advantage which they would take into halftime. Much like the first half Minnesota would get the first chance of the second half, and they once again would bury it with Angelo Rodriguez heading home a Romain Metanire cross. They would then get a chance to take the lead once again in the 70th minute after Rodriguez baited Chris Mavinga into a lunging tackle in the box resulting in a penalty. Quintero would step up to take the kick and coolly converted it giving Minnesota the advantage late in the game after squandering their early first half lead. They would be unable to hold onto the lead though as Jordan Hamilton would be subbed on in the 73rd minute and produce two goals for Toronto before the 80th minute mark. The first would come in the 77th minute with Jonathan Osorio threading a pass to Hamilton who go near post and high to beat Vito Mannone. Then in the 79th minute Jozy Altidore would attempt to flick the ball over Mannone, but his effort was well short allowing Michael Boxall and Hamilton to compete for the header with Hamilton winning out to score into an empty net. Minnesota were clearly frustrated with the result and their tempers boiled over in the final minutes as Jan Gregus’ two legged tackle on Pozuelo earned him a straight red while Francisco Calvo got a second yellow for a kick out at Michael Bradley a few minutes later. Toronto’s ability to rebound from their loss to Seattle and come back from multiple deficits shows a level or resilience that they didn’t necessarily have last season and is one of the reasons they look like the best team in the Eastern Conference so far.
Houston Dynamo at Los Angeles Galaxy
Score: 1-2
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored once again to push his goal scoring streak to six goals in four straight games, while he has seven goals in five appearances so far this season. He would have to convert from the penalty spot to keep his streak alive with his chance coming in the 31st minute. Zlatan was the one to earn the penalty when he was football tackled by A.J. DeLaGarza at the back post on a cross, and while Joe Willis was able to get his hands on the shots Zlatan put too much power on the shot preventing him from making strong enough contact for a save. Houston would get an equalizer from a similar series of events in the 53rd minute as Alberth Elis was tackled by Jorgen Skjelvik at the edge of the box. Elis’ penalty was well placed to sneak past David Bingham, and Houston’s star would pick up his fourth goal of the season. The Galaxy would go on to get a late winner though from an unlikely source as Diego Polenta would rise up for a header in the 88th minute to score just his 23rd club goal in 268 senior appearances. The Galaxy are now just behind inter-city rivals LAFC in the conference standings while Houston are no longer undefeated and have slipped to fifth place.
Colorado Rapids at Chicago Fire
Score: 1-4
Nico Gaitan made a grand entrance to the MLS with two assists in his first appearance for the Chicago Fire helping fuel a 4-1 victory over the floundering Rapids. It took them a little while to settle into a rhythm during the game, but once they settled in they were dominant. In the 26th minute Aleksandar Katai worked to create some space in the box, but his rifled shot couldn’t stay on target instead pinging off the crossbar. In the 34th minute Nemanja Nikolics wouldn’t have any trouble finding the back of the net with Gaitan hooking in a perfect cross for Nikolics to get his head on. The Rapids managed to get a quick response from Kei Kamara who headed home a Nicolas Mezquida corner in the 40th minute, but that was the lone time they were able to get the better of Chicago. In the second half the Fire would take over with Dax McCarty lumping a long ball forward to allow Katai to slide the ball across the goal mouth for a C.J. Sapong tap in eight minutes after the restart. Then in the 61st minute Gaitan would get his second assist unselfishly laying the ball into the path of Djordje Mihailovic after both players were left two on one against Tim Howard. Their final goal would come from Katai in the 80th minute to shut the game away after he cut in from the left wing and hit a stunning shot into the side netting. To make matters even worse for the Rapids Jack Price would pick up a straight red card for a frustration foul late in the game leaving them with ten men and without Price for the near future. With Portland’s win later in the week Colorado are now in the cellar of the Western Conference on two points while the Fire are up into a playoff spot with the hope that Gaitan can partner with Sapong, Katai, and Nikolics to form a front four to carry them deep into the playoffs.
Montreal Impact at Phildelphia Union
Score: 0-3
Philadelphia managed to rebound from last week’s loss to the Galaxy with a win, but it came with a heavy price as goalkeeper and Jamaican international Andre Blake suffered a groin injury with no word yet on how serious it is. Kai Wagner also picked up a 90th minute red card meaning the Union will be without their starting left back for the next two games. In terms of offensive production though there were plenty of positives to take away as Cory Burke’s long distance strike in the fourteenth minute opened proceedings giving the center forward just his second goal of the season. Their second goal would come on a spot kick just before half time which was awarded after Jack Elliot was dragged down in the box by Zakaria Diallo. Jamiro Monteiro stepped up to take the kick and had no problem putting it past Evan Bush. They would get their third in teh 56th minute to put the game on ice with Kai Wagner’s low cross initially being whiffed on by Burke allowing Alejandro Bedoya to stroke it into an empty net. Wagner would get sent off just before the end of the game with Mathieu Choiniere leading a Montreal breakaway and Wagner coming across the field to try and make a tackle. He led with a high boot studs up and caught Choiniere up high in an ugly tackle that initially was only given a yellow card, but after going to VAR referee Robert Sigiba determined correctly that it was deserving of a red card. After being mostly irrelevant for a large portion of their MLS lifespan the Union are now among the best in the east currently sitting in third place, while the Impact’s lukewarm season has continued with another poor result failing to build off of a win against Columbus last week.
Vancouver Whitecaps at Orlando City
Score: 0-1
In a matchup between two teams that leak goals the expectation was that this could possibly be a high scoring affair, but instead it was a fairly dull offensive contest. It took until the 42nd minute for either team to create a real threatening chance with Christopher Mueller getting up for an Orlando corner and directing a header on goal forcing a goal line clearance from Scott Sutter. Orlando would go on to create a few half chances through the start of the second half with Nani being the main catalyst, but they couldn’t manage to find a breakthrough. Then against the run of play Fredy Montero made a darting run into the box and had a backheel layoff to In-beom Hwang whose sliding effort ended up going just over the bar. Finally in the 88th minute, after being subbed on, Sacha Kljestan put his foot through a low cross that set up right near the penalty spot, and his shot ricocheted off of Nani into the corner giving Orlando the late winner. The goal is the fourth of the season for the Portuguese star, and he has been a big reason why Orlando are currently sitting in a playoff spot scoring or assisting on just over 40% of Orlando’s goals on the season.
FC Dallas at Atlanta United
Score: 2-1
Atlanta’s nightmare start under Frank De Boer continued this weekend as the Five Stripes were sunk by FC Dallas whose youth once again played a prominent role in the outcome of the match. In just the sixth minute of the game Jesus Ferreira slotted home a finish past Brad Guzan after Michael Barrios had turned his defender near midfield to unlock space in behind the back line allowing Barrios to play a leading pass for Ferreira. Ferreira already has three goals on the season, and ever since he assumed the starting role as the team’s striker Dallas have taken twelve of a possible fifteen points. Ezequiel Barco, who has been one of the lone bright spots for Atlanta so far, nearly scored an equalizer in the 26th minute, but his shot off a half clearance from a corner couldn’t bend enough to get inside of the post with the upright and preserving Dallas’ one goal lead. Barco would again hit the woodwork after halftime with his free kick coming off the top of the crossbar and going out of play in the 61st minute. Atlanta continued to push for an equalizer late with Josef Martinez forcing a reaction save out of Jesse Gonzalez when he got on the end of a corner kick, but ultimately Dallas would score the next goal doubling their lead in the 84th minute. Once again Barrios got the assist with Atlanta pressure to equalize creating gaps and spaces in behind the defense allowing Barrios once again to hit out on the break and swing in a perfect cross to Bryan Acosta who did well to keep his finish on target. Atlanta would get a consolation goal late with a Carlos Gruezo stamp on Brek Shea giving them penalty which last year’s golden boot winner Martinez stepped up to take and convert for just his second goal on the season. The defeat was the first home loss for Atlanta since May of last season, and as they currently sit bottom of the Eastern Conference it seems like only a matter of time until De Boer is out as head coach.
New York Red Bulls at New England Revolution
Score: 0-1
With two of the lesser offensive teams in the league so far this season (fourteen goals in fifteen games combined between the two teams) facing off, it didn’t come as much of a surprise when the game finished 1-0. The first half came and went with neither team creating much more than a half chance though the Red Bulls ended up getting more shots. The second half was much of the same with teams struggling to create chances and whenever they did they were unable to put the ball in the back of the net. In the 71st minute Cristian Penilla would be subbed on for Diego Fagundez who had been disappointing throughout the game. Penilla would go on to score the winning goal after Juan Fernando Caicedo played a through ball along the right side, and then Penilla beat Luis Robles at the near post with a low shot. Both clubs have been disappointing so far this season though for different reasons. The Revolution have been poor at best under Brad Friedel who needs to turn things around quickly if he wants to keep his job, while the Red Bulls have failed to continue the success that saw them win the Supporters Shield last season.
Portland Timbers at Columbus Crew
Score: 3-1
Portland almost got off to a horrendous start when Jeff Attinella’s ball out of the back went straight to Federico Higuain affording the Crew playmaker the chance to try and chip him, but Higuain was unable to get his shot on target allowing the Timbers to escape the danger. The Crew would maintain some pressure forcing a few saves out of Attinella and providing Portland with some more close calls, but it was Portland that would strike first against the run of play. Just after the half hour mark they were given a free kick which Diego Valeri floated in towards Larrys Mabiala who headed it through the hands of Zack Steffen into the net. With Columbus still reeling the Timbers would find a second goal with some nice passing atop the box eventually shifting the ball to Sebastian Blanco whose cross found Jeremy Ebobisse for an easy finish from ten yards out. Attinella’s horror show of a game allowed Columbus to get back in the game in the second half though as a throw from Attinella went straight to Pedro Santos, and this time the chip with Attinella off his line found the back of the net. With the Crew pushing for a late equalizer Portland managed to seal the game away with Blanco finding Cristhian Paredes atop the box who made the extra pass to Jorge Moreira who lashed a shot into the top left corner. For the second time in two weeks the Crew lost to a team with less points than them, while Portland got their first win of the season leaving Colorado as the only team in the MLS without a victory so far.
Sporting Kansas City at San Jose Earthquakes
Score: 1-4
In a surprise result Sporting Kansas City were drubbed 4-1 by the lowly San Jose Earthquakes who had lost five of their first six games. The Earthquakes got off to a hot start with Danny Hoesen picking up a brace within twelve minutes. The goals came six minutes apart with the first coming when Anibal Godoy hit a long ball that Hoesen controlled off his chest between two defenders and then finished calmly past Tim Melia. The next goal came from a similar buildup with Jackson Yueill hitting the long ball this time and Hoesen having a bit more time and space to compose himself before scoring. SKC had a chance to pull within one in the 26th minute when Gianluca Busio was bundled over by Florian Jungwirth in the box giving SKC a penalty. Krisztian Nemeth skied the penalty though putting it well over the bar and killing any momentum they had built up. Coming out of the tunnels for the second half the Earthquakes had the second half kick and within seconds of the restart they had found the back of the net again as some quick combination down the left side freed up Shea Salinas to curl a shot into the top right. Things got even worse for SKC just past the hour mark when a deflected shot from Magnus Eriksson squibbed just past Melia for the Earthquakes’ fourth. SKC would get a consolation goal when Jungwirth once again conceded a penalty this time taking down Nemeth, and Felipe Gutierrez stepped up to take the spot kick converting it to prevent the shutout. With their second win of the season the Earthquakes now move just three points and one spot behind SKC with the system and game plan of Matias Almeyda starting to take shape.
NYCFC at D.C. United
Score: 2-0
After drawing five of their first six games and losing the other NYCFC were desperate for a win heading into the weekend, and they would get one once again dominating the game and managing to actually convert some of the chances that they created. Their first goal came in the 35th minute when Heber Araujo dos Santos picked up the ball in the box and squared a ball to Alexandru Mitrita who squeezed a shot between a defenders legs and past Bill Hamid to sneak just inside of the far post. NYCFC easily could’ve doubled their advantage when Anton Tinnerholm was shoved over by Leonardo Jara in the box in first half stoppage time, but Maxi Moralez’ penalty came harmlessly off the post. Moralez would again hit the post in the second half when his long distance effort found its way through multiple defenders and beat Hamid, but was unable to beat the frame of the goal. Seconds after the ensuing corner kick Ronald Matarrita would play a perfectly weighted chip into the box for Heber to laser home off the half volley. Even with the loss D.C. United remain atop the Eastern Conference while NYCFC have finally started to show some offensive production over the past two weeks with five goals in the two games, and they will be hoping that they can build off of this result from their current position in ninth place.
Seattle Sounders at LAFC
Score: 1-4
LAFC won in an utterly dominant display as their forward line stretched the Sounders back line throughout the game creating gaps and space all across the field. Carlos Vela was the most active forward to exploit those gaps drifting wide affording him the time and space to pick up the ball and run at Brad Smith and Kim Kee-hee and then pinching in to make runs in behind those defenders once they got sucked out wide. It was on one such run when he scored the first goal of the game as he sprinted through the hole between Kee-hee and Smith to latch onto an inch perfect pass from Mark-Anthony Kaye and then fired an outside of the foot shot past Stefan Frei. LAFC got a second when Nicolas Lodeiro turned the ball over trying to play the ball out of the back allowing Eduard Atuesta to drift in fairly uncontested and rifle a shot into the top left corner. Seattle would pull back within one early in the second half with a nice interchange freeing up Harry Shipp inside the box, but even then LAFC still seemed firmly in control, and their third goal just four minutes later proved that. Atuesta would pick up the ball in midfield and spot another diagonal run from Vela who would round Stefan Frei and then lift the ball over a sliding Kee-hee. A fourth goal for LAFC in the 61st minute would seal the game away as Kaye once again was the provider slicing apart the Seattle backline to find Christian Ramirez who would get off a shot from a tight space to place the ball in the bottom right corner. A win for Seattle would’ve allowed them to move level on points with LAFC, but instead they find themselves six points back of the Western Conference leaders who are emerging as early favorites for the MLS Cup.
Player of the Week
Mark-Anthony Kaye
After missing a large portion of last season with a nasty ankle injury Mark-Anthony Kaye is back healthy for LAFC and he has allowed them to be even more fluid and attack-minded. Working box to box he has enough physicality and stamina to force turnovers defensively, and then has the playmaking eye to pick out passes to the multitude of dangerous forwards that LAFC have. This past weekend that skillset was on display as he registered three assists against Seattle and was clearly the best player on the field. If he can remain healthy for the rest of the season and keep up this level of production LAFC will be clear title favorites and are easily the best and most balanced team in the MLS.
Goal of the Week
Alejandro Pozuelo
Alejandro Pozuelo scored his third goal of the season on a brilliant curling shot after driving thirty yards down the field at Michael Boxall and turning him around several times. Pozuelo now has four goals and four assists in four games and seems to have filled the void that was left this offseason when Sebastian Giovinco finally left the club.
Save of the Week
Jesse Gonzalez
At one point Jesse Gonzalez was hailed as the future number one for the United States, but he has since fallen down the depth chart after inconsistent showings. Saves like this though show the flashes of potential that made Gonzalez one of the brightest young talents for the U.S. just a few years ago. Off an Atlanta United corner the ball dropped for Josef Martinez who put his foot through it forcing a quick reaction save from Gonzalez who had to dive to his right late after having his vision of the ball initially being impaired.
Young Player to Watch
Edwin Cerrillo
At just eighteen years old Edwin Cerrillo is yet another product of the FC Dallas’ focus and emphasis on youth. The teenager has made six appearances so far this season and including five straight starts. Cerrillo is a U.S. citizen and while he currently doesn’t have any experience in the U.S. youth team ranks if he continues to progress he might become a bit part player for the senior team.
Further Reading
MLS Week in Review: April 8-14, Seattle Get a Statement Win and Atlanta Get Their First Win
Contact me at uneducatedandunqualified@gmail.com if you have any questions.
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