MLS Weekly Wrap-up: Rooney shines to give D.C. United the win

This weekend was a bit of a rough patch for Toronto FC, so you may have sworn off checking any MLS scores out of frustration. I feel you, so I’m here to wrap up this weekend’s matches. Here’s how the weekend shaped up across the league.

Saturday:

Columbus Crew SC 1-0 Houston Dynamo

Another rough week for the Dynamo. Though both teams had 15 shots, only Columbus had a successful attempt. The goal was a very late one, coming from Gyasi Zardes in stoppage time (90+1’). These two teams seemed evenly matched, Columbus with only a slight advantage with 58% ball possession.

New England Revolution 2-3 Philadelphia Union

Philly pulled off a win this weekend on the road against the New England Revolution. Jack Elliot scored two goals early on, the first at 14’ and the second at 24’. Andrew Farrell got the Revolution on the board with a goal at 46’. Wilfried Zahibo tied it up at 64’. After a foul in the penalty box, the Union would take the win with a successful penalty shot goal from Fafa Picault (76’).

Chicago Fire 0-1 New York Red Bulls

Another low-scoring match. Though Chicago maintained more ball possession (54%), they couldn’t land a shot in the net. The lone goal of the match game from Red Bulls legend Bradley Wright-Phillips at 55’.

Colorado Rapids 2-1 San Jose Earthquakes

Colorado’s Tommy Smith had the opening goal of the match, netting one in at 24’. San Jose’s Magnus Eriksson would tie it up on a penalty shot at 58’. It seemed as though the game was going to end in a 0-0 draw, but Colorado had other plans. Shea Salinas was shown a red card for violent contact after giving an elbow. With the man advantage, Bismark Adjei-Boateng scored a late goal in stoppage time (90+3’) to give them the win.

Real Salt Lake 1-1 Montreal Impact

Real Salt Lake maintained more ball possession at 58%, but took less shots on goal than the Impact, ending the game in a draw. Joao Plata scored the first goal of the match on a penalty at 26’. Jukka Raitala tied it up for the Impact with a goal at 55’.

LAFC 0-2 Sporting KC

The expansion team who has had great success this season fell short this weekend against Sporting KC. Although LAFC maintained more ball possession and took more shots on goal, they couldn’t finish. Sporting KC’s first goal came early from Gerso Fernandes (17’). The second and final goal of the match came at 66’ on a penalty shot from Ilie Sanchez to ensure the win.

LA Galaxy 2-2 Minnesota FC

I was able to attend this game on Saturday where Zlatan could have reached his 500th career goal. He didn’t score in this match, but watching him play is still so fun. This was a back and fourth match with a lot of entertainment even though it ended in a draw. Romain Alessandrini scored very early (7’) for the Galaxy. He would later leave the match with a leg injury. Michael Boxall tied it up for MNFC with a goal at 64’. Sebastian Lletget gave Galaxy the lead back at 73’. Romario Ibarra would tie it back up shortly after (84’). At the 89th minute, Minnesota’s Francisco Calvo was given his second yellow card of the match, sending him off and giving Zlatan a chance to score. He didn’t and the game ended in a draw.

Portland Timbers 1-2 Vancouver Whitecaps

The battle of two Pacific Northwest teams ended in Canada’s favour this weekend. Kei Kamara scored the opening goal of the match for Vancouver at the 14’ mark. Cristian Techera brought their lead to two with a goal at 43’. Diego Valeri attempted to revive the Portland Timbers with a goal on a penalty shot at 71’, but it wasn’t successful. Vancouver took home the win.

Sunday:

D.C. United 3-2 Orlando City

Wayne Rooney is getting a lot of praise for his incredible set of plays this weekend, but let’s not overlook D.C.’s lone goal scorer, Luciano Acosta. Acosta scored all three goals of the match for D.C., giving them the win. His first game in stoppage time of the first half (45+4). In the second half, David Ousted scored an own goal to tie up the match (50’). Acosta responded with his second goal of the match (64’). Dom Dwyer tied the game back up at the 71’ mark. Acosta wasn’t done, though, scoring late in the match at 90+6. As for Rooney’s contributions, I’ll just let you watch.

Seattle Sounders 2-1 FC Dallas

The Seattle Sounders took down the team sitting at the top of the table this weekend. They scored the lone goal of the first half thanks to Chad Marshall at 41’. Into the second, Dominique Badji got FC Dallas on the board at 52’. Nicolas Lodeiro would score the game winning goal for Seattle at 63’.

Here’s how the tables are shaping up, courtesy of MLSSoccer.com.