MLS had an interesting last two weeks. Week 14 was full of action; week 15 had just a few games. The international break was again not observed by MLS, so the few teams that did have to play, played without some key components who were representing their countries. Let’s look at all of the games from the past two weeks! This week around MLS, weeks 14 & 15
Week 14:
Columbus Crew 3 Seattle Sounders 0
Columbus found a midweek home win vs Seattle. A dominant first half saw Columbus go up 2-0. Seattle did little to combat them, and in the second half conceded another goal. Some few and far between chances capped the reigning champs night in Columbus. The Crew will love getting three points at home, while Seattle will have to regroup after a lackluster performance.
New York City FC 2 New England Revolution 2
A midweek thriller came from this match. NYCFC opened the game with a great run from David Villa to spark a goal. Kei Kamara answered for New England in the first half. The second half David Villa provided for NYC again, then a lovely cross and headed goal helped New England secure a point. New England will love the road point, while NYCFC will hate losing their lead twice.
Orlando City SC 2 DC United 0
This game can is a testament to taking advantage of oppertunities. DC had many oppertunities to take the lead in this match and missed every one of them. Orlando scored the opener in the second half. two missed tying opportunities in a 30 second span, and a howler from DC keeper Hamid sealed the match. Orlando will love the home points, while DC will have to work on finishing.
Houston Dynamo 5 Real Salt Lake 1
Houston provided the midweek blowout. Three goals in the first half buried RSL. A fourth was added in 54th minute. When it looked like RSL wasn’t going to find anything, Joao Plata scored a nice free kick goal. It was a little consolation prize for RSL, Houston scored a fifth to end it. Houston will be riding high, while Salt Lake will need to find a way to salvage their 2017.
Portland Timbers 2 San Jose Earthquakes 0
San Jose took themselves out of this match at the end of the first half. A red card put them a man down, and Portland capitalized. The Timbers wore San Jose down in the second half. Valeri and Adi made deadly runs into the box that helped them find their two goals that beat San Jose. Portland will take the three points, while San Jose will hate putting themselves out of the match.
New York City FC 2 Philadelphia Union 1
This match shows what happens when you fall asleep on restarts. A game full of back and forth play led to the opening goal in the second half. The Union’s Fafa Picault put Philly up. Then NYCFC found their scoring boots off of corners. Two goals were found by NYCFC in the last 10 minutes gave NYCFC the win. The Union will hate losing a lead, while NYCFC will love their resilience.
Sporting Kansas City 3 Minnesota United 0
SKC put a rout on Minnesota. A laser goal from way far out put SKC up 1-0 right before the half. The kept their foot on the pedal in the second half. Scoring two more goals. Minnesota never really got going in this one. The game ended 3-0. Sporting KC will love getting the home points, while Minnesota will be wondering where their team was in this match.
Vancouver Whitecaps 3 Atlanta United 1
Atlanta made an early boom on their trip to Vancouver, scoring a goal in the first seven minutes. Vancouver countered in the 31st minute, and didn’t look back. They found the lead right before halftime, warded off Atlanta attacks and found the insurance goal to put the game away. Vancouver will love the home win, while Atlanta will look to find out why they lost their lead.
DC United 0 LA Galaxy 0
Chances but no goals. LA made a cross-country trip to DC, and got a draw after defending for their lives. DC tried to score, but again couldn’t capitalize. LA stopped their chances,and had a few oppertunities as well. They also couldn’t capitalize. A 0-0 draw was the result. DC will be mad they couldn’t get three points at home, while LA will be content with a cross-country point.
New England Revolution 3 Toronto FC 0
The surprise result came from New England’s 3-0 win over Toronto. Toronto had a few chances in the first half, but were buried by a New England goal. New England dominated the game after finding the first goal. They went on to score two more in the midst of their blowout. New England will love the three points, while Toronto will hate dropping points,
Montreal Impact 1 New York Red Bulls o
Montreal played the Red Bulls needing some points. The game was full of chances and back and forth play. It wasn’t until the second half that anything came of the chances. Montreal built up a chance and Blerim Dzemaili put home the chance. Red Bulls tried to come back, but Montreal snuffed the chances. Montreal will love the three points, while NYRB will hate losing all points.
FC Dallas 6 Real Salt Lake 2
RSL continued their tough week in Texas. After letting up five goals at Houston they let six more in at Dallas. RSL looked like a team exhausted from the start. Dallas was all over them. Salt Lake did fight to manage to find two goals in the match, but it wasn’t anywhere near close. Dallas will be happy to get a huge home win, while RSL will hate conceding 11 goals in one week.
Colorado Rapids 2 Columbus Crew 1
Columbus went into Colorado and found a break. After 60 scoreless minute the Crew went up off a deflected goal. Colorado found life late in the match. An 80th minute goal from Kevin Doyle and an 86th minute goal from Alan Gordon helped Colorado get all three points. Colorado will love their teams resilience, while Columbus will hate losing their lead.
Orlando City 0 Chicago Fire 0
Chicago and Orlando fought in an interesting affair. Orlando received a straight red in the first half and the second half. What followed was a lack of finishing. Chicago hit the bar twice in the second half, but couldn’t score. Being two men up and not scoring is a testament to Cities will. Orlando will be happy with a nine man tie, while Chicago will be mad not capitalizing their advantages.
Seattle Sounders 1 Houston Dynamo 0
Seattle battled Hot Houston to round out week 14. The game showed a lot of back and forth, and good transition play. Nothing came of the match until the second half. Seattle’s Will Bruin scored to beat his old squad. Houston tried to equalize but they were not able to. Seattle will love their three points at home, while Houston will have to regroup during their coming week off.
Standings:
Where we stand after Week 14: pic.twitter.com/cgUw09WMQg
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 5, 2017
Goals of the week:
Get those last votes in!
Help decide this week's #ATTGotW: https://t.co/Quie8ygxij https://t.co/GsI8g6JJ4G
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 8, 2017
Saves of the week:
Who had the 🔝 stop?
VOTE: https://t.co/lmBRUQ46M0 https://t.co/EKbMMBgKJc
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 8, 2017
Team of the week:
BENCH: Tim Melia, SKC; Kortne Ford, COL; Marco Donadel, MTL; Diego Fagundez, NE; Justin Meram, CLB; David Villa, NYC; Cubo Torres, HOU
Week 15:
Chicago Fire 2 Atlanta United 0
Week 15 showcased a few teams without their star players. Atlanta was one of them. They went to Chicago, who were almost at full strength. Chicago took hold of the match in the first half, and added an insurance goal in the second. Atlanta will wish they were able to play this game at full strength, while Chicago will be happy to get three points against a conference opponent.
Sporting Kansas City 1 Montreal Impact 1
SKC and Montreal gave fans a thriller of a match. Good open attacking play led to SKC getting the opener. Montreal countered in the second half on a tasty chip from Matteo Mancosu. Both teams pushed for a winner but couldn’t find it. Kansas City will be upset they couldn’t keep their lead, while Montreal will be happy to get a point on the road.
Portland Timbers 2 FC Dallas 0
Portland and Dallas came into the match looking for points to climb and contest SKC. Portland took advantage of the opportunity. A first half goal from Fernando Adi gave Portland some confidence, but Dallas kept pushing, however they couldn’t stop Adi. He found a second goal and sealed the win. Portland will be happy to get three points agaisnt a tough opponent, while Dallas will hate not climbing the table.
Standings:
Where we stand. pic.twitter.com/ZZsP01Ylu1
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 15, 2017
No goals/saves of the week were put out for week 15 so here’s who MLS donned as the player of the week:
A brace and 3️⃣ points.
Congrats to @fanendo for being named @ALCATEL1TOUCH Player of the Week! https://t.co/QT2kUgfNRp
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 13, 2017
Team of the week:
BENCH: Tim Melia, SKC; Vytas, POR; Hernan Grana, DAL; Matt Polster, CHI; Ilie, SKC; Michael De Leeuw, CHI; Maximiliano Urruti, DAL
Week 16 is underway now; here’s a look at the fixtures:
Saturday June 17:
NYCFC 2 Seattle 1 FINAL
Atlanta 3 Columbus 1 FINAL
New England 1 Chicago 2 FINAL
Orlando 3 Montreal 3 FINAL
Toronto 2 DC 0 FINAL
San Jose o Kansas City 0 FINAL
Colorado 2 Portland 1 FINAL
Salt Lake 1 Minnesota 0 FINAL
Vancouver 1 FC Dallas 1 FINAL
LA 2 Houston 2 FINAL
Sunday June 18:
Philadelphia vs NY Red Bulls
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Follow me on twitter @TGing21 for Soccer Twitter fun! Coming soon: A look at the Union’s recent defensive lapse and a look at how the Union can keep pace with the rest of the eastern conference. Until then, peace out!
Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
