Sunday, August 17, 2014

MLS Weekend August 15-17, 2014

Nine games for the weekend, beginning in...

Houston, as the Dynamo host the Philadelphia Union. Andre Blake and Tally Hall are in front of the woodwork. Houston's David Horst had the first yellow card twenty-eight minutes in, for a foul. Philadelphia matched that with a first half stoppage time yellow card for Danny Cruz expressing his dissent. The Dynamo were first to score in the fifty-first minute on a Will Bruin goal, via Giles Barnes and Brad Davis. Houston got another yellow card for unsporting behavior by DeMarcus Beasley. The Dynamo got another goal in the ninetieth minute when Raymon Gaddis put the ball into his own net for an own goal. The final was 2-0, and the man of the match was Blake, who made seven saves despite the loss as Houston came in firing often and accurately.

On Saturday, the first game was a matinee affair between Real Salt Lake and the visiting Seattle Sounders FC. Stefan Frei and Nick Rimando are the solid keepers. Salt Lake and Seattle traded yellow cards around the fifteen minute mark, with Olmes Garcia and Zach Scott each getting one for a foul. Salt Lake took the lead in the fifty-third minute on a Joao Plata goal, via Luke Mulholland. In the fifty-seventh minute, Real got a gift as Osvaldo Alonso put the ball in his own net for the own goal. The Sounders' DeAndre Yedlin picked up a yellow card for dissent in the sixtieth minute. Seattle tied it in the seventy-second minute with a Chad Barrett goal. They couldn't tie it up, dropping a 2-1 decision. The man of the match was Mulholland, who drew fouls and factored into the offense as well.

Northeast to Montreal, where the Impact bring in the Chicago Fire. Sean Johnson and Evan Bush are in goal. Chicago took a yellow card for a twenty-fourth minute foul by Patrick Ianni. Montreal matched it in the seventieth minute on a Gorka Larrea foul that saw him booked on a yellow card. Marco Di Vaio gave the Impact the lead with an eighty-fourth minute goal, and this held up to make it a 1-0 final. The man of the match was Di Vaio for the timely goal.

Down to New England, where the Revolution host the Portland Timbers. Donovan Ricketts and Bobby Shuttleworth man the nets. New England opened in the twenty-seventh minute with a Charlie Davies goal, passed from Diego Fagundez. Portland's Gaston Fernandez took a yellow card for a foul in the fifty-third minute. The Timbers tied it in the sixty-fifth minute on a Liam Ridgewell goal, going in unassisted. This was good enough to make it a 1-1 final, and the man of the match was Ricketts with his five saves to preserve the tie.

West a bit to Columbus, where the Crew welcome the Los Angeles Galaxy. Jaime Penedo and Steve Clark draw the starts in goal. Columbus struck first in the twenty-third minute on a Justin Meram goal, passed from Tony Tchani. The Crew added on with a thirty-third minute Ethan Finlay goal, made possible by Meram. Los Angeles got on the board with a forty-ninth minute goal by Gyasi Zardes, guided in by Dan Gargan and Robbie Keane. Columbus answered in the seventy-fifth minute on a Ben Speas goal, assisted by Finlay. The Crew finished it at 4-1 with an eighty-fourth minute goal by Giancarlo Gonzales, coming off of Federico Higuain. The man of the match was Meram for being included in the making of the critical goals in the match.

Down in Kansas City, Sporting brings in Toronto FC. Joe Bendik and Jon Kempin protect the woodwork. Kansas City began as Dominic Dwyer converted a penalty kick in the eighteenth minute. Lightning struck twice for Sporting, as Dwyer converted another penalty kick to extend the lead in the thirty-third minute. Toronto got one back in first half stoppage time on a Gilberto goal, via Dominic Oduro and Collen Warner. Kansas City answered in the sixty-fourth minute with a Soony Saad goal, going in unassisted. Sporting finished it at 4-1 with a C.J. Sapong goal in the seventy-seventh minute, coming off of Saad and Graham Zusi. The man of the match was Dwyer for his game-winning brace on PKs.

Out in California, Chivas USA hosts the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. David Ousted and Dan Kennedy are called on to start in goal. Vancouver's Matias Laba was given a yellow card for a foul in the thirty-seventh minute. Chivas picked up a yellow card for an Agustin Pelletieri foul in the forty-ninth minute. Chivas had two more yellow cards late in the second half, going to Mauro Rosales in the seventy-ninth minute and Leandro Barrera in the eighty-second minute for fouls. This was it for the game, ending in a scoreless draw. Ousted's four saves earned him man of the match honors.

Finishing off Saturday, the San Jose Earthquakes welcome FC Dallas. Raul Fernandez and Jon Busch are the keepers. Dallas started in the thirtieth minute on a Fabian Castillo goal. Dallas added on in the forty-third minute as Tesho Akindele scored, thanks to Castillo. San Jose's Victor Bernardez was shown a yellow card in the forty-fourth minute for a foul. In the fifty-sixth minute, Akindele struck again with his second goal of the game to extend the Dallas lead. Castillo struck again to get himself a brace as well in the seventy-fourth minute, with the help of Blas Perez. In the eighty-sixth minute, Akindele finished off his hat trick to pad the lead for Dallas. This made it a 5-0 final, and Akindele was the man of the match for obvious reasons. 

Closing out the weekend, DC United brings in the Colorado Rapids. Clint Irwin and Bill Hamid get the starts in goal. Colorado's Nick LaBrocca was shown a yellow card in the third minute for a foul. DC took the lead with a Luis Silva goal in the twelfth minute, passed from Taylor Kemp. The Rapids' Chris Klute was given a yellow card for a foul in the forty-third minute. Colorado tied it in the fifty-second minute with a Dillon Serna goal, fueled by Jared Watts. United retook the lead in the sixty-seventh minute as Silva scored again, thanks to Sean Franklin and Perry Kitchen. In the sixty-eighth minute, DC's Davy Arnaud picked up a yellow card for a foul. In the seventy-second minute, Kitchen was shown a yellow card for a foul. Chirs Rolfe extended the United lead with a goal in the eighty-first minute, via Kemp. DC got another in the eighty-sixth minute with a Fabian Espindola goal, passed from David Estrada. The Rapids took one back in the first minute of stoppage time with a Deshorn Brown goal, helped along by Dillon Powers. The final stood at 4-2, with the man of the match being Silva with his brace.

Follow me on Twitter @KipperScorpion. 

No comments :

Post a Comment