Week eight of MLS saw the first double week for some teams. There were blowouts, blown leads, and a lot of action. See a recap of it all before the week nine action kicks off with this week around MLS, week eight.
New England Revolution 0 San Jose Earthquakes 0
The first two teams to battle in a mid-week clash that also had weekend games were New England and San Jose; the match went about as expected for two teams not used to playing on a short week. Neither team did anything with their chances; this game was all back and forth. New England would have a spell of possession, than San Jose would. The best thing from this match was this great Gif-able moment from the Revs. Enjoy this beautiful bit of mid-week MLS:
https://twitter.com/TotalMLS/status/854856255386640385
Toronto FC 3 Chicago Fire 1
High-flying Chicago went to BMO field hoping to continue the success they have been having recently. The beginning of the match made it seem like this would be Chicago’s day; the ball ended up in the back of the net in the second minute, but it was called offside. Then Toronto woke up. Giovinco scored two goals, one off of a brilliant free kick from thirty-plus yards out. Chicago did find a goal after Toronto was up 3-0, but this night will be remembered as the night Chicago was humbled, and Toronto caught fire.
Philadelphia Union 3 Montreal Impact 3
The Union scored three goals in the first 37 minutes of this match. It looked like they were finally going to get their first win of 2017; the offense was clicking on all cylinders for the first time all season. Then Ignacio Piatti scored on the stroke of halftime, and the Union were gutted. Montreal came out in the second half determined while Philly were inept. The Union let up two more goals in the second half, and didn’t offer much going forward. A draw that feels like a loss is the result for Philly, while Montreal will feel confident in how they battled till the end.
Houston Dynamo 2 San Jose Earthquakes 0
San Jose continues to struggle, as Houston continues to make their home field a fortress. The Dynamo got a 2-0 win thanks to a penalty won by Alex and converted by Cubo Torres, and a second half goal by Elis. San Jose looked lost like they did in New England on Wednesday, a few oppertunities here and there, but missed the chances. The early success San Jose found seems to have worn off while Houston continues to show that they are a legit team in the west.
Portland Timbers 2 Vancouver Whitecaps 1
Cascadia Rivals Portland and Vancouver met for the first time this season in a thrilling match. Darlington Nagbe scored a goal of the year contender to open things up. Portland took a 2-0 lead into the second half. Freddy Montero pulled one, back and almost equalized towards the end. But this matched belonged to the Timbers. Portland will be happy to beat their rivals, while Vancouver will feel like they could have done better at the beginning of the match
New England Revolution 2 DC United 2
The Rev’s looked to combat their lackluster 0-0 mid-week draw against DC, and found the lead just five minutes into the match. DC equalized 20 minutes later, and took the lead eight minutes after that. New England fought back in the second half and found the equalizer. The matched ended 2-2. DC will be mad they couldn’t close out a road match where they were leading late; New England will be upset let DC back into the game. Both get one point.
New York Red Bulls 2 Columbus Crew 0
The Red Bulls looked to stop surprise team Columbus, and did so early. An opening goal by Alex Muyl saw the Red Bulls ahead 11 minutes in. After that, New York didn’t look back. A converted Penalty doubled the Red Bulls led at the end of the first half. The rest of the match was Columbus pushing, and New York snuffing out chances and countering. This was a textbook NYRB win, and one that they will hope gets them in the race for the top of the east. Columbus will see this as three huge points dropped on the road.
FC Dallas 1 Sporting Kansas City 0
FC Dallas countered their way to victory agaisnt Sporting Kansas City. The whole match was Dallas breaking after SKC lost possession. Dallas had so many chances, but none went in during the first half. SKC tried to defend the counter, and did so for the majority of them match, but as the game went on SKC grew tired. FC Dallas finally scored in the 76th minute, and held on to victory. SKC will be furious they couldn’t get their attack going, while Dallas will be happy to get a good home win versus a good conference opponent.
Real Salt Lake 1 Atlanta United 3
RSL’s little bit of success had them flying high, they welcomed in Atlanta, and got humbled by the expansion team. Atlanta opened the scoring in the ninth minute, and they didn’t look back afterwards. They found a second goal at the start of the second half. RSL did pull one back with about 20 minute left, but Atlanta killed the momentum with a goal in second half stoppage time. Atlanta will be very happy to get a road win, RSL will be asking what if’s after a slow and sloppy start to the match.
NYCFC 1 Orlando City SC 2
Orlando beat NYCFC on their home turf to secure the top spot in the east outright. Cyle Larin scored twice agaisnt NYCFC. He now has nine goals in seven career matches against NYC. Orlando then shut down New York for the majority of the match. David Villa did get an David Villa quality goal late in the match to pull one back, but Orlando kept the door shut after that. All three points went to the Lions, as well as first place. NYCFC will hate the fact that they let Larin and Orlando dominate them at home again.
LA Galaxy 0 Seattle Sounders 3
LA had a rough day agaisnt Seattle. The talented wingers Morris and Loderio attacked the weak outside backs of Seattle creating space in the middle for key passes. Dempsey, and Morris scored for Seattle, and an own goal from Ashley Cole made the score line 3-0. LA could not get anything going forward. It was all counter attacks that were snuffed out. LA will miss the good old days where they would beat Seattle at home, and Seattle will be happy those days are long gone.
Minnesota United 1 Colorado Rapids 0
Minnesota United are slowly showing that they can be a contender for a low playoff spot out west. They took the game to the struggling Colorado Rapids. The Loons had the majority of possession, and chances, while Colorado relied on few and far between counter attacks. Neither team could find the net, until a great effort in the 72nd minute. A shot from Minnesota hit the post, was headed across goal, and a diving header from Miguel Ibarra found the back of the net. Minnesota took all three points from the effort. Colorado will be upset not to get a point on the road, while Minnesota will like being a win a way from above the redline.
Here’s where all 22 teams stand after the eighth week of the 2017 season!
Eastern Conference
| Points | Overall | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | PTS | PPG | GP | W | L | T | ||||
| Orlando City SC | 15 | 2.5 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Columbus Crew SC | 13 | 1.63 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| New York Red Bulls | 13 | 1.63 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| Atlanta United FC | 11 | 1.57 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| Chicago Fire | 11 | 1.57 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | ||||
| New York City FC | 10 | 1.43 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ||||
| Toronto FC | 10 | 1.43 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | ||||
| New England Revolution | 9 | 1.13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| D.C. United | 8 | 1.14 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Montreal Impact | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||||
| Philadelphia Union | 3 | 0.43 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | ||||
Western Conference
| Points | Overall | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | PTS | PPG | GP | W | L | T | ||||
| Portland Timbers | 16 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| FC Dallas | 14 | 2.33 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| Houston Dynamo | 13 | 1.86 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Sporting Kansas City | 12 | 1.71 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| Seattle Sounders FC | 9 | 1.29 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| San Jose Earthquakes | 9 | 1.13 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ||||
| Real Salt Lake | 8 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| Minnesota United FC | 8 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||||
| Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 7 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 1 | ||||
| LA Galaxy | 6 | 0.86 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | ||||
| Colorado Rapids | 4 | 0.67 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||||
Week eight was full of great goals and saves! Here’s the goals, saves, and team of the week from week eight!
Goals of the week:
Lots to choose from, but there can only be one #ATTGotW. Get those votes in: https://t.co/b7Ts98W0BP https://t.co/jm8f8JmYRJ
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 24, 2017
Saves of the week:
1️⃣ Cropper
2️⃣ Bava
3️⃣ Bendik
4️⃣ MacMathWho deserves Save of the Week? Vote: https://t.co/tcYvI5WafI https://t.co/HRzAuMkOwz
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 25, 2017
Team of the week:
Bench: Bobby Shuttleworth, MIN; Joevin Jones, SEA; Will Johnson, ORL; Alex Muyl, NY; Victor Vazquez, TOR; Jordan Morris, SEA; Anthony Jackson-Hamel, MTL.
Week nine kicked off last night; here are all the fixtures from week nine:
Friday:
Toronto 2 vs Houston 0 FINAL
Saturday:
Montreal vs Vancouver
Orlando vs Colorado
Columbus vs NYCFC
NY Red Bulls vs Chicago Fire
Dallas vs Portland
Minnesota vs San Jose
Kansas City vs Real Salt Lake
Seattle vs New England
LA Galaxy vs Philadelphia
Sunday:
Atlanta United vs DC United
Believe it or not, we are almost a third of the way through the season already. Teams are starting to show if they are contenders or not. Lets see what happens in week nine. Till next time, peace out!
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
