MLS Weekly Wrap Up: Back in action

Opening weekend sure came in with a bang, although a not-so-positive one at that for us Toronto FC supporters. Regardless, MLS is finally back and everything is right in the world. Not able to keep up with the scores around the league this weekend? No worries, I got you! Here’s what opening weekend looked like.

Saturday:

Houston Dynamo 4-0 Atlanta United

Atlanta United got stomped opening day by the Houston Dynamo. Both Atlanta and Houston had thirteen shots on goal, but Atlanta only managed to get two on target. Atlanta committed ten fouls, three of those resulted in a yellow card. Overall, Atlanta performed poorly. Andrew Wenger (5’), Philippe Senderos (23’), Mauro Manotas (27’), and Darwin Cerén (45+5’) had the four goals for Houston, giving the Dynamo a promising start to their season.

Philadelphia Union 2-0 New England Revolution

The New England Revolution fell short to the Union in Philadelphia on Saturday. Philadelphia outshot New England 21 to eight. New England’s Antonio Delamea Milnar (24’) and Claude Dielna (86’) were both shown red cards. Anthony Fontana (43’) and C.J Sapong (69’) found the back of the net for Philadelphia, securing the 2-0 victory with the two-man advantage.

Orlando City 1-1 D.C. United

Orlando City and D.C. United pulled off a draw on their opening day. Yamil Asad found the back of the net for D.C. at 32’. Shortly after at the 41’ mark, Orlando’s PC was given a red card. Down a man, Orlando was able to bounce back with Stefano Pinho scoring a goal at the 90+3’ mark. Orlando fought back hard, keeping possession at 60%.

FC Dallas 1-1 Real Salt Lake

Another opening day match ended in a draw and a disappointing one at that for Real Salt Lake. They started out strong, scoring a goal at 25’. The score managed to stay 1-0, although FC Dallas had 18 shots on goal compared to Real Salt Lake’s nine. It looked like it was going to end favorably for Real Salt Lake. At the 86’ mark, Marcelo Silva managed to score an own goal, tying up the score. Neither team was able to score again, leaving the score 1-1.

San Jose Earthquakes 3-2 Minnesota United

Although Minnesota maintained 57% possession in San Jose, they just couldn’t capitalize on it. Danny Hoesen saw his first of two goals at the 27’ mark. The Earthquakes landed a second point on the board from Valeri Qazaishvili a minute later. Danny Hoesen struck again (59’) giving the Quakes a 3-0 lead. Minnesota’s Kevin Molino had two of his own, coming in at 81’ and 85’, but it wasn’t enough in the end.

Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Sunday:

Seattle Sounders 0-1 Los Angeles FC

I guess it’s a good year for expansion teams across sports. The new guys LAFC came out of their first game with a W. Diego Rossi started it out strong for LA, finding the net early in the first half (11’). LA only had five shots on goal, the only one on target was the goal they scored. Seattle dominated, keeping possession at 60% with 22 shots. They just couldn’t seem to find the net. Tony Alfaro was given a red card (83’) that sealed the deal for the Sounders. The newest MLS team found a game one victory.

Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 Montreal Impact

An all-Canadian matchup ended with a victory for the West. Kei Kamara struck first for Vancouver at 63’. Alphonso Davies scored again not too long afterward (70’), giving the Whitecaps a 2-0 lead. Matteo Mancosu scored at 81’ in an attempt to revive the Impact, but it was too late. Although they possessed the ball more, they only managed to land one shot on target.

Sporting KC 0-2 New York City FC

NYCFC continues to be a team to watch coming into the new season. Maximiliano Moralez had the first goal (32’) and Jesús Medina followed up with a goal at 53’. NYCFC fell to Sporting KC when it came to ball possession and shots, but had nearly double the number of fouls Sporting KC had. Maxime Chanot had the lone NYCFC red card (88’).

LA Galaxy 2-1 Portland Timbers

We got to end the week with a West Coast rivalry. The original LA club walked away victorious over their Pacific Northwest rivals. These two teams were pretty evenly matched, LA with 46% possession, 14 shots, and 15 goals, while Portland had 54% possession, 15 shots, and 14 fouls. Ola Kamara put LA on the board (32’) and Romain Alessandrini made the score 2-0 shortly after (34’). Portland’s Sebastián Blanco made it 2-1 at 66’, but in the end, the Timbers couldn’t bring it home.

What did you all think of the MLS opening weekend? Be sure to share your thoughts and predictions in the comments below!