MLS is back! Week one of the 2019 season was full of action. Before we move on to week two, lets tie a bow on week one. Here’s a look at MLS the first week of the 2019 MLS season.
Week One:
All 24 teams were in action on the first weekend of the MLS season! Of the 12 matches, eight resulted in draws. Here’s a look at all of the matches from week one!
Philadelphia Union vs Toronto FC
Result: Toronto win 3-1
Box Score:
| 45’+3′ | TOR | Michael Bradley. Assisted By: Auro, Nick DeLeon |
| 62′ | TOR | Michael Bradley. |
| 73′ | PHI | Marco Fabián. (PK) |
| 90’+4′ | TOR | Nick DeLeon. Assisted By: Jonathan Osorio |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 30′ | PHI | Fafa Picault. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 54′ | TOR | Michael Bradley. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 81′ | PHI | Sergio Santos. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 83′ | TOR | Jonathan Osorio. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
Takeaways:
The Union rolled out their new 4-4-2 diamond formation, and showed a lot of the same struggles the side had last season. There was an inability to preform well in either of the 18 yard box’s. The attacking buildup halted when around TFC’s box, and defensive switch-offs led to both of Michael Bradley’s goals.
Philadelphia start the season off with an L in front their home crowd in a game that many thought they should have won… They’ll need to pick things up in their next few matches to pick up the slack, but that’s a tall task going up against SKC and Atlanta in the next few weeks.
Toronto FC were on a slide entering the MLS season. They crashed out of Concacaf Champions League, and needed a strong start to right the ship. They got just that against the Union in week one. Micahel Bradley looked like a man possessed. The TFC Captain was left unmarked on both of his two goals. He was fiery all game which pushed them to victory.
Toronto are at the top of the eastern conference after their win. They’ll hope that the win and the addition of Alejandro Pozuelo keep TFC at the top of the east!
Orlando City SC vs NYCFC:
Result: Draw 2-2
Box Score:
| 13′ | NYC | Ebenezer Ofori. Assisted By: Jonathan Lewis |
| 45′ | NYC | Alexander Ring. Assisted By: Alexandru Mitrita |
| 59′ | ORL | Chris Mueller. |
| 75′ | ORL | Tesho Akindele. Assisted By: Dom Dwyer, Nani |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 9′ | ORL | Sebastián Méndez. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 17′ | ORL | Alex De John. Reason: Not visible |
| 19′ | NYC | Ben Sweat. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 56′ | NYC | Maxime Chanot. Reason: Time wasting |
| 73′ | ORL | Dom Dwyer. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
Takeaways:
Orlando City’s open match did not start as planned. They conceded two goals and looked very out of sorts. With the poor play It looked to be NYCFC’s day.
Then in the second half Orlando came to life thanks to subs Dom Dwyer and Nani. The Lion’s roared back to tie the game, and could have been give a penalty to win the game but VAR deemed the play not a handball. Orlando will hope their squad is at full strength as they continue in the early 2019 season.
NYCFC come into their first match without David Villa, and looked like it had no affect. They scored the first two goals of the match, and looked to be firing on all cylinders.
Orlando City’s second half substitutions made life harder for NYCFC. New York tired to sit deeper to hold onto their lead, but did not do well with that at all. In the end NYCFC looked lucky to get a draw, they’ll have to re-evaluate as the season moves on.
Columbus Crew SC vs New York Red Bulls:
Result: Draw 1-1
Box Score:
| 6′ | NYR | Andreas Ivan. Assisted By: Florian Valot, Michael Murillo |
| 41′ | CLB | Gastón Sauro. Assisted By: Federico Higuaín |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 15′ | CLB | Harrison Afful. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 27′ | NYR | Aaron Long. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 31′ | CLB | Wil Trapp. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 68′ | NYR | Cristian Cásseres Jr. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 74′ | CLB | Pedro Santos. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 90’+1′ | CLB | Waylon Francis. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
Takeaways:
Columbus Crew SC started 2019 amid all the other changes of the #SavedTheCrew movement. New owners, a new GM, a New Coach, and talks of a new stadium had the fanbase buzzing that their team was not moving to Austin Texas. Their high was killed in the sixth minute of their 2019 home opener.
There’s nothing like conceding early to light a spark under you. That’s what happened to Columbus. They fought to get back into the match after going down early. Crew SC did just that before the stroke of halftime. In the second half, the home side nor the traveling Red Bulls had any clear scoring oppertunities, and the game ended in a draw.
The Red Bulls started their 2019 season on a high, coming off of their 2018 supporters shield winning campaign. New York was also battling in Concacaf Champions League, and decided to play mostly reserves in their first MLS match in 2019. That did not go too badly for them.
They scored the first goal of the match in the 6th minute and fought the full strength Columbus side to a 1-1 draw. While the Red Bulls put more of an emphasis on their Champions League hopes, they were still able to pick up a point against an in conference team.
FC Dallas vs New England Revolution:
Result: Draw 1-1
Box Score:
| 13′ | DAL | Michael Barrios. Assisted By: Dominique Badji |
| 57′ | NE | Carles Gil. Assisted By: Antonio Mlinar Delamea, Jalil Anibaba |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 19′ | NE | Wilfried Zahibo. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 56′ | DAL | Reto Ziegler. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 70′ | NE | Antonio Mlinar Delamea. Reason: Persistent Infringement |
| 71′ | DAL | Dominique Badji. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
Takeaways:
FC Dallas opened their season at home against a New England side that are a bit of an unknown quantity. Dallas wasted little time to get on the front foot. They dominated the game in the first half, and that was capped off with a Michael Barrios goal inside of the first 20 minutes. However, as the game went on they lost their grip on the game.
Inside the first 15 minutes of the second half New England found the equalizer. The rest of the second half Dallas kept the pressure high, but failed to get a second goal in the match, as the game ended in a draw.
New England were happy the match ended in a tie. They lost their starting striker in warmups, and had to go into the match already short-handed. After conceding in the first half, many thought New England would just fold, as they did most of the 2018 season. However, this time was different.
The Revs came out flying in the second half, and were able to find an equalizer through Carles Gil, then hold onto the result. New England used to drop games like this, especially on the road. Could we be witnessing a new New England side that is no longer a push over?
Colorado Rapids vs Portland Timbers:
Result: Draw 3-3
Box Score:
| 16′ | COL | Kei Kamara. Assisted By: Kellyn Acosta, Dillon Serna |
| 29′ | POR | Diego Valeri. |
| 45’+1′ | POR | Sebastián Blanco. Assisted By: Diego Valeri |
| 46′ | COL | Benny Feilhaber. |
| 66′ | POR | Deklan Wynne. (OG) |
| 90’+4′ | COL | Andre Shinyashiki. |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 18′ | POR | Diego Chara. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 27′ | COL | RED: Axel Sjöberg. Reason: Denial of obvious goal scoring opportunity (handling) |
| 32′ | POR | Julio Cascante. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
Takeaways:
Colorado spent a lot of money this past off-season on proven MLS players, trying to create a core to sustain this club for the next few years to come. The start to their 2019 season will always be remembered as an exciting one. The orange ball was out, and the snow fell throughout the match.
The match itself was a sprint. Colorado took the lead early, then received a red card and lost the lead just before halftime. In the second half as conditions worsened, the Rapids fought to tie the match; they then conceded an own goal, but did not quit. In the 90+4 minute Colrado found the crucial equalizer to secure a point in the snow!
Portland started the 2019 season hoping they could build off of their 2018 MLS Cup run. Unfortunately for them, they had to start the season on the road in a snowstorm. After conceding early, Portland’s fortunes turned. A Colorado red card resulted in two Portland goals before the second half. AS the second half started the weather and match fell into chaos.
With at least a few inches of snow on the pitch, the second half of the match was sloppy. This benefited Colorado’s game. Portland conceded, but fought hard to regain the lead through a Colorado own goal. Portland couldn’t hold onto the lead at the death of the match, but will definitely take the road point that they had to get ridiculous weather.
Houston Dynamo vs Real Salt Lake:
Result: Draw 1-1
Box Score:
| 40′ | RSL | Albert Rusnák. Assisted By: Corey Baird |
| 62′ | HOU | Mauro Manotas. Assisted By: Adam Lundkvist, Maynor Figueroa |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 11′ | RSL | Everton Luiz. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 14′ | RSL | Kyle Beckerman. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 27′ | RSL | Aaron Herrera. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 30′ | HOU | Kevin GarciaReason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 31′ | HOU | Matías Vera. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 81′ | HOU | Second Yellow/RED: Matías Vera. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 90’+3′ | RSL | Sam Johnson. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
Takeaways:
Houston started their 2019 season at home looking to build off of their 2018 US Open Cup Championship. With their play in the Concacaf Champions League, they could have came out with a reserve lineup, but the Dynamo did not. While Houston looked to be on the front foot in the beginning stages of the match, it was RSL who scored first, and killed Houston’s vibe. The second half was another story.
The second half showed both sides were going for it. Houston needed to find that equalizer, and found it through Mauro Manotas half way through the second half. As the Dynamo pushed for the winner Real Salt Lake did a good enough job at stifling their chances. The match ended 1-1; a good point for both sides to start the season.
Real Salt Lake were a playoff team in 2018, but still have not gained the national recognition for the way they have produced a strong team. RSL play their youth, and they take the chance and secure points for the club. In the 2019 season opener, they showed their promise by getting the first goal at Houston.
Coming into the second half with the lead, RSL looked to keep their foot on Houston’s throat, but were opened up by a quick attack by Houston. Just like that Salt Lake had lost their lead, and fought to get back in front. In the end they could not, and ended the match tied. They’ll take the point, but will be mad they switched off for a moment and conceded.
Vancouver Whitecaps vs Minnesota United FC:
Result: Minnesota Win 3-2
Box Score:
| 6′ | VAN | Erik Godoy. Assisted By: Yordy Reyna |
| 37′ | MIN | Darwin Quintero. (PK) |
| 66′ | MIN | Francisco Calvo. Assisted By: Darwin Quintero, Romario Ibarra |
| 70′ | MIN | Romario Ibarra. Assisted By: Darwin Quintero |
| 81′ | VAN | Doneil Henry. Assisted By: Victor Giro, Hwang In-Beom |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 24′ | MIN | Osvaldo Alonso. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 31′ | VAN | Jon Erice. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 45′ | VAN | Derek Cornelius. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 45’+2′ | MIN | Romario Ibarra. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 79′ | MIN | Francisco Calvo. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
Takeaways:
Vancouver seem like they start a rebuild every season. 2019 is no different, new players and a new coach started the season at home. It looked like the start to 2019 was going to be a fruitful one as they scored the opening goal in the sixth minute. However, they were soon humbled by the Loons, as Minnesota tied the game before halftime.
Vancouver came out in the second half looking different. They allowed Minnesota to control the game and score two more goals. With nine minutes left Vancouver scored another goal, but at that point it was too later to find the equalizer. Vancouver not getting any points at home will not be the start the cascadia side was looking for.
Minnesota United entered the 2019 revitalized with new MLS veterans to lead their side. Even so, it looked like the same old Loons early on. Conceding inside the first 10 minutes lit a fire under Minnesota. They fought back to tie the match thanks to Darwin Quintero.
In the second half Quintero continued to provide for Minnesota. He assisted on the two goals that gave United the two goal lead on the road. Minnesota may have just found their foundation for their first successful season in MLS, but it has only been one week. We’ll see if they continue their success in the weeks to come!
LA Galxy vs Chicago Fire
Result: LA Galaxy win 2-1
Box Score:
| 49′ | CHI | C.J. Sapong. |
| 68′ | LAG | Daniel Steres. Assisted By: Efrain Álvarez |
| 80′ | LAG | Zlatan Ibrahimovic. |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 44′ | CHI | Marcelo. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 83′ | LAG | Efrain Álvarez. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
Takeaways:
LA Galaxy started their 2019 season by making a mockery of MLS rules trying to keep four DP’s on their roster, a clear rule violation. After “fixing” that issue, LA unveiled a statue of their legendary player David Beckham before their opening match. They welcomed Chicago to start their season on the pitch.
The first half for the Galaxy was promising but there was no goal to come. Then in the second half, LA gave the lead away. An errant back pass allowed Chicago to take the lead. In the second half. This made LA wake up. 16-year-old Efrain Álvarez provided and assist on LA’s equalizer and Zlatan scored the winner for LA. The Galaxy had to fight back to win their first match of 2019.
Chicago started their season on the back-foot to LA. The Galaxy reeked havoc on Chicago, and the Fire were lucky not to concede in the first half. Holding the Galaxy scoreless in the first half gave the Fire confidence as the second half was underway.
New Chicago striker CJ Sapong jumped on a bad back pass, and made LA pay. The Fire had the lead, but unfortunately for them it was short lived. LA roared back to score the two goals, as Chicago decided to frantically defend for the remainder of the game. The Fire took an L out in LA, which was not the start they were looking for.
Seattle Sounders FC vs FC Cincinnati:
Result: Seattle Win 4-1
Box Score:
| 13′ | FCC | Leonardo Bertone. |
| 27′ | SEA | Kelvin Leerdam. |
| 33′ | SEA | Jordan Morris. Assisted By: Nicolás Lodeiro |
| 43′ | SEA | Jordan Morris. Assisted By: Víctor Rodríguez, Nicolás Lodeiro |
| 87′ | SEA | Raúl Ruidíaz. Assisted By: Víctor Rodríguez |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 46′ | FCC | Fanendo AdiReason: Unsporting Behavior |
Takeaways:
Seattle started their 2019 season hoping it would be different than the start to their 2018 season. Last year they welcomed newcomers LAFC to town and were beaten. This year, they welcome FC Cincinnati, but the result was different one.
Seattle started the game by letting FC Cincy score a screamer. After conceding thoughts of last season crept in, and the Sounders turned on the jets. They scored three in before half time, and added a fourth late in the second half to secure a victory on opening day.
FCC Cincinnati kicked off their first ever MLS campaign at Seattle hoping for success in their first season that Seattle had in their first season in MLS. Early in the match they seemed like they may just have some great success.
Leonardo Bertone hit a perfect volley in the 13th minute to ope n the scoring. After that, Cincy fell off allowing four goals. They looked uninspiring after they scored their opener. They have to do better to get results in MLS matches; next up for FCC is reigning champs. Atlanta United.
San Jose Earth Quakes vs Montreal Impact:
Result: Montreal Win 2-1
Box Score:
| 11′ | SJ | Magnus Eriksson. Assisted By: Valeri Qazaishvili, Aníbal Godoy |
| 29′ | MTL | Ignacio Piatti. Assisted By: Saphir Taïder |
| 44′ | MTL | Saphir Taïder. Assisted By: Zakaria Diallo |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 45’+1′ | MTL | Bacary Sagna. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 58′ | MTL | Micheal Azira. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 66′ | MTL | Harold Cummings. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 73′ | SJ | Tommy Thompson. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 77′ | SJ | Judson. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 82′ | SJ | Mathieu Choinière. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 90’+5′ | MTL | Evan Bush. Reason: Not visible |
Takeaways:
San Jose start their new season with their new coach, looking to get out of the basement of MLS. They were one of the worst teams in the league last season and looked to prove they were better off in 2019. The start to their first game gave some glimpses of success. The Quakes welcomed Montreal Impact as their first opponent in 2019, and dominated the start to the match.
They found the opening goal in the 11th minute, and looked like they could add more. With around 15 minutes left in the first half they allowed Montreal back in the match giving up an equalizer, and then the winner right before halftime. San Jose looked like a fish out of water in the second half, and lost as a result. They’ll need to pick themselves back up and try again in week two if they want to show they are not a bottom-dweller in MLS.
Montreal are all in for their last season with Captain Ignacio Piatti. They made a long trip out west to San Jose to open the season. It seemed like they left their players in Montreal. Montreal let the Quakes dominate the first 15 minutes of the match. San Jose jumped to an early lead, then Montreal remembered they were playing a real soccer game.
Ignacio Piatti did his thing and scored a goal to tied the match on an amazing effort. Then Montreal pushed for a second. The second came from Saphir Taïder right before half time. Montreal had the lead and kept it stifling San Jose attempts in the second half. The Impact look poised to do just that on the eastern conference this season; we’ll see if they can keep it up.
DC United vs Atlanta United:
Result: DC Win 2-0
Box Score:
| 45’+1′ | DC | Paul Arriola. Assisted By: Luciano Acosta, Wayne Rooney |
| 58′ | DC | Luciano Acosta. Assisted By: Lucas Rodríguez, Júnior Moreno |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 53′ | ATL | Mikey Ambrose. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 83′ | ATL | Jeff Larentowicz. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
Takeaways:
DC United made huge improvements last season, and is looking to build into a title contender in 2019. They had the please of welcoming the current MLS title holders to their house at the beginning of the season. In a first half with a lot of back and forth play. DC United took advantage of a second bounce off of a corner to get the lead. Paul Arriola scored the opener in first half added time, and DC did not look back
While Atlanta had chances in the second half, DC put an exclamation point on the match in the 58th minute as Luciano Acosta scored DC’s second. In the end DC held on to the only clean sheet in MLS in week one. The win over the holding champions helps their title chances, but we’ll see if they can build off this win.
Atlanta United won MLS Cup in 2018 in their second season. They then sold their best player, and added South American player of the year to replace him. Atlanta juggled Concacaf Champions League and playing their MLS opener against a team they have historically struggled against DC United.
Atlanta looked tired from their Champions League matches. Their midfield had a lot of holes in it, and DC United exploited the space. There was little attacking power through Josef Martinez or newcomer Pity Martinez coming off the bench. Atlanta will take the early season loss, and hope they can bounce back in week two against FC Cincinnati.
LAFC vs Sporting Kansas City:
Result: LAFC Win 2-1
Box Score:
| 16′ | SKC | Krisztián Németh. Assisted By: Johnny Russell |
| 47′ | LAFC | Diego Rossi. Assisted By: Eduard Atuesta |
| 90’+4′ | LAFC | Adama Diomande. Assisted By: Jordan Harvey |
Disciplinary Summery:
| 10′ | SKC | Felipe Gutiérrez. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 17′ | SKC | Gerso. Reason: Dissent |
| 27′ | SKC | Seth Sinovic. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 31′ | SKC | Roger Espinoza. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 42′ | SKC | Krisztián Németh. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 51′ | SKC | Graham Zusi. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 66′ | LAFC | Jordan Harvey. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 81′ | LAFC | Latif Blessing. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 84′ | SKC | Second Yellow/RED: Roger Espinoza. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
| 89′ | LAFC | Eduard Atuesta. Reason: Unsporting Behavior |
Takeaways:
LAFC opened their MLS second season at home vs the top team from the western conference last season Sporting Kansas City. The opening half saw SKC take the lead, and it looked as if LAFC was out of sorts. As the game went to halftime, LA coach Bob Bradley had to give a huge pep talk to get a result.
Whatever Bradley told his team worked as LAFC scored the equalizer just two minutes into the second half. The game was then blown wide open. Both sides had great chances, but at the death LAFC found a way to secure the win. Adama Diomande scored in the 90+4 minute to give LAFC all three points. They’ll look to keep that momentum going forward in the MLS season.
Sporting Kansas City have looked like one of the best sides in MLS for the last few years. As they kicked off their 2019 season at LAFC, they looked to be off to another good start. Krisztián Németh scored in the first 20 minutes to give SKC the lead. Throughout the first half Kansas City looked like they could add another goal, but did not. They went into the half as the better side.
In the second half LAFC turned on the jets. They used their speed on the outside to beat SKC for the equalizer. Then a late red card for Sporting gave LA a lift. They used that lift to beat KC. Now Sporting Kansas City will look to right the ship at home in week two as they welcome the Philadelphia Union to the Blue Hell on Sunday.
Standings After Week One:
Goals, Saves, Passes and Skills:
Here’s a look at some of the great play that occurred in week one!
Week One Accolades:
Here’s a look at the players who made it on the team of the week, and which player took home the player of the week honor.
Week Two Starts Now!
Week two in MLS starts now!
There are 11 games in week two this weekend! Be sure to catch all the action!
The Union have a lot of ground to make up after a lackluster start to their 2019 season. We here at Philly Sports Network will have you covered with a match preview, a look into the players and coaches thoughts on the upcoming match and a look at the Union’s tactics/lineup heading into week two.
Be sure to come back to Philly Sports Network for more Philadelphia Union, Steel FC, and other soccer content!
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Peace out Union fans!
Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
