MLS Wednesday July 16th, 2014

Four games on tonight in the league, beginning in...

Philadelphia, as the Union host the New York Red Bulls. Luis Robles and Zac MacMath are in goal. Philadelphia opened in the ninth minute on a Conor Casey goal, via Andrew Wenger. The Union added on in the fifty-first minute as Fred scored, thanks to Casey and Sheanon Williams. New York got one back in the sixtieth minute with a Bradley Wright-Phillips goal, coming off of Thierry Henry and Ambroise Oyongo Bitolo. Philadelphia answered in the sixty-ninth minute when Sebastien Le Toux deposited a penalty kick into the net. The Red Bulls had a yellow card issued to Matt Miazga in the eighty-sixth minute. They also went on to lose by a 3-1 score, with the man of the match being MacMath for turning aside five shots to preserve the decision.

West to Columbus, as the Crew welcome Sporting Kansas City. Andy Gruenebaum and Steve Clark are the keepers. Kansas City first had a yellow card on a thirty-fourth minute foul by Lawrence Olum. Sporting led off with a forty-second minute goal by C.J. Sapong, assisted by Benny Feilhaber. Columbus was visited by the referee in the fifty-third minute for a Wil Trapp foul that drew a yellow card, but Kansas City came away worse off when Aurelien Collin was sent off with a straight red card two minutes later. The Crew tied the game when Igor Juliao put the ball in his own net for an own goal in the sixty-ninth minute. In the seventy-ninth minute, Juliao was again a liability when he was booked for a foul, earning him a yellow card. Columbus also dropped to ten men in the game when Trapp picked up his second yellow card of the game on a foul in the eighty-ninth minute. Kansas City cashed in with a stoppage time goal by Feilhaber, passed from Jacob Peterson and a redemptive Juliao, which stood as the game winner in a 2-1 match. Feilhaber was the man of the match for his all-around good effort.

Up in Canada, Toronto FC brings in their cross-country rivals, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC. David Ousted and Joe Bendik play in the six-yard boxes. Toronto was first to receive a yellow card for a Bradley Orr foul in the twenty-eighth minute. Vancouver started in the fiftieth minute on a Darren Mattocks goal, fueled by Russell Teibert and Pedro Morales. Teibert gave the Whitecaps their first yellow card in the sixty-first minute. Toronto tied the game in the sixty-fourth minute when Jermain Defoe scored a penalty kick goal. Vancouver was booked twice more in the game, with yellow cards given to Nigel Reo-Coker in the seventieth minute and Sam Adekugbe in the eighty-fifth minute, both for fouls. Toronto also got another yellow card in stoppage time as Collen Warner committed a foul. The result was a 1-1 draw, with the man of the match being Ousted for his five saves.

Finally, in Los Angeles, the Galaxy host the New England Revolution. Bobby Shuttleworth and Jaime Penedo are manning the nets. Los Angeles began with a tenth minute Robbie Keane goal, made possible by Baggio Husidic. The Galaxy's A.J. DeLaGarza was shown a yellow card a minute later for a foul. Los Angeles added on with a Gyasi Zardes goal in the eighteenth minute, passed from Keane and Stefan Ishizaki. The two teams each lost a man in the first half, as New England's A.J. Soares was booked on a red card for a serious foul in the twenty-ninth minute, only to see the Galaxy lose their manpower advantage in the thirty-sixth minute on Dan Gargan's professional foul that drew a red card. When that was all settled, Lee Nguyen put away the penalty kick in the thirty-eighth minute to bring the Revolution back into the game. Los Angeles dashed these hopes by answering in the forty-eighth minute on another Zardes goal, coming off of Keane. The Galaxy picked up another yellow card when Leonardo was booked in the fifty-first minute for a foul. New England suffered another setback when Jerry Bengston's foul in the seventy-fourth minute gave him a yellow card and a free kick to Ishizaki, who scored to extend the Los Angeles lead. In the seventy-eighth minute, Keane scored his second of the night to further the Galaxy lead. Los Angeles was slapped with a yellow card to Chandler Hoffman in the eighty-second minute for a foul. The final stood at 5-1, with Keane's brace and pair of assists leading the way as man of the match.

Follow me on Twitter @KipperScorpion.

MLS July 11-13th, 2014

Another weekend of soccer, with the first game on Friday night in...

San Jose, as the Earthquakes host DC United. Bill Hamid and Jon Busch are in goal. DC began with an Eddie Johnson penalty kick goal in the twelfth minute. United tied it on a Luis Silva goal in the twenty-fifth minute, made possible by Chris Rolfe. San Jose got one back in the thirty-ninth minute on a Chris Wondolowski goal, coming off of Khari Stephenson. DC picked up a yellow card for a foul by Perry Kitchen in the seventy-first minute. United had the next yellow card as well, with Johnson being booked for time wasting in the eighty-seventh minute. The Earthquakes's Alan Gordon was shown a yellow card in the second minute of stoppage time for a foul. The final was 2-1 favoring DC. Hamid was the man of the match for turning aside seven shots on goal.

Leading off on Saturday, the Philadelphia Union welcome the Colorado Rapids. Clint Irwin and Zac MacMath are the keepers. Colorado had the first yellow card in the game for a foul in the twelfth minute by Shane O'Neill. Philadelphia opened the scoring with a Conor Casey goal in the sixteenth minute, via Raymon Gaddis. The Rapids tied it on a Dillon Serna goal in the eighteenth minute, passed from Dillon Powers. The Union's Michael Lahoud got a yellow card in the twenty-ninth minute for a foul. Philadelphia overcame it to take the lead back on a thirty-first minute goal by Sheanon Williams, guided in by Cristian Maidana. Colorado picked up another yellow card in the thirty-fourth minute for Nick LaBrocca's express of dissent. The Union added on in the seventy-fourth minute when Andrew Wegner scored an unassisted goal. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, Lahoud was shown a straight red card in the seventy-sixth minute for a foul, putting them at ten men. Powers cashed in for the Rapids in the seventy-ninth minute on a penalty kick goal. Colorado got the equalizer in the eighty-sixth minute on a Deshorn Brown goal, set up by Gabriel Torres. The Union suffered another blow that will hurt more the next time out, as Amobi Okugo was shown a straight red card during stoppage time, and both he and Lahoud will be out for the next game. The result was a 3-3 draw, with the man of the match being Powers.

Over in New York, the Red Bulls bring in the Columbus Crew. Steve Clark and Luis Robles will play goal. New York got going in the seventeenth minute with a Bradley Wright-Phillips goal, coming off of Thierry Henry and Eric Alexander. Columbus tied it in the thirty-ninth minute when Adam Bedell scored, with the help of Ethan Finlay. The Crew took a yellow card in the forty-third minute for a Bernardo Anor foul. The Red Bulls shot back on the scoreboard in the forty-fifth minute with an Henry goal, going in unassisted. New York added on in the fifty-sixth minute as Lloyd Sam scored, courtesy of Henry. The Red Bulls took a yellow card for Robles' time wasting in the seventy-third minute. Columbus suffered some foul trouble later on, as Tony Tchani was shown a yellow card for a foul in the eighty-fourth minute, and Anor was given a straight red card for a fight a minute later. In the eighty-ninth minute, New York's Sam was given a yellow card for his foul. The Red Bulls iced their 4-1 victory in stoppage time with Alexander's goal from Henry. The man of the match was Henry, who factored in on every goal.

Up in Canada, Toronto FC hosts the Houston Dynamo. Tally Hall and Joe Bendik are manning the nets. Houston struck first with a Brad Davis goal in the thirteenth minute, courtesy of Giles Barnes. The pair met up again in the thirtieth minute as Davis buried another Barnes pass for a goal. Yellow cards soon came pouring down on the teams, with Kofi Sarkodie getting one for a thirty-fifth minute goal for the Dynamo, followed by Jermaine Taylor of Houston and Jermain Defoe of Toronto each getting one for an argument. Toronto got on the board in the thirty-ninth minute with a Jonathan Osorio goal. David Horst brought another yellow card Houston's way a minute later on a foul. Toronto pulled level in the first minute of first half stoppage time with an unassisted goal by Dominic Oduro. The Dynamo had two more yellow cards in the second half, as Ricardo Clark got one for a foul in the fifty-sixth minute and Warren Creavalle followed in the fifty-ninth minute with a foul of his own. Toronto took the lead in the sixty-third minute as Defoe buried a goal assisted by Osorio and Jackson. Toronto padded the lead as Defoe scored in the eighty-ninth minute, an unassisted goal that made it a 4-2 result. Defoe's game winning brace earned him man of the match honors.

Over to Quebec, where the Montreal Impact welcome Sporting Kansas City. Andy Gruenebaum and Troy Perkins guard the nets. Kansas City led off in the fourth minute on a Dominic Dwyer goal, with an assist by Matt Besler. Montreal tied it on a Marco Di Vaio goal, passed from Justin Mapp and Patrice Bernier in the twenty-eighth minute. The teams traded yellow cards throughout the rest of the half, with the Impact's Felipe Martins getting one for a foul in the thirty-first minute, followed by Sporting's Seth Sinovic doing the same a minute later, and then Montreal had another in the forty-first minute for dissent by Andres Romero. The Impact also had a yellow card issued to Krzysztof Krol in the sixty-fourth minute for his foul. Kansas City got a go-ahead goal from Dwyer in the eighty-ninth minute. Montreal's Di Vaio was booked in stoppage time for a foul, and they ultimately lost 2-1. Dwyer's brace made him the man of the match.

Back stateside, the New England Revolution bring in the Chicago Fire. Sean Johnson and Bobby Shuttleworth are in the six-yard boxes. Chicago was first to score in the third minute with a Quincy Amarikwa goal, set up by Mike Magee. New England picked up a yellow card in the twenty-third minute as Daigo Kobayashi took a dive. The Revolution's Jose Gonçalves was booked for a foul in the sixty-third minute, earning him a yellow card. The Fire's Patrick Ianni was shown a yellow card in the eighty-fourth minute for dissent. Chicago had another yellow card in stoppage time, issued to Grant Ward for time wasting. Still, they won 1-0, with the man of the match being Amarikwa for his early, tone-setting goal.

Out west, the Vancouver Whitecaps FC host Chivas USA. Dan Kennedy and David Ousted are protecting the nets. Vancouver was quick in the referee's book with a Carlyle Mitchell foul in the first minute for a yellow card. Mitchell redeemed himself with a goal in the twenty-seventh minute, assisted by Pedro Morales. Chivas got on the board in the forty-seventh minute as Augustin Pelletieri scored, thanks to Mauro Rosales. The Whitecaps were shown another yellow card in the fifty-fourth minute for a foul by Sebastian Fernandez. Things turned bad in the sixty-ninth minute when Jordan Harvey committed a serious foul for a straight red card, putting Vancouver down to ten men. Chivas cashed in on the man advantage in the eighty-first minute with an Erick Torres goal, set up by Marco Delgado and Rosales. Chivas was shown a yellow card for a Delgado foul in the eighty-ninth minute. Chivas then made it 3-1 in stoppage time with a Leandro Barrera goal, via Rosales. Rosales was the man of the match for featuring on all three Chivas goals.

Finally, Saturday ends in Los Angeles, as the Galaxy welcome Real Salt Lake. Nick Rimando and Jaime Penedo wear the mitts. Los Angeles started in the twentieth minute with a Gyasi Zardes goal, coming off of Marcelo Sarvas. The game was quiet until stoppage time, where Sarvas picked up a yellow card four minutes in and Rimando got one seven minutes in for a foul. This didn't change the result, a 1-0 Galaxy win. The man of the match was Penedo for his six-save clean sheet.

The finale for the week saw the Seattle Sounders FC bring in the Portland Timbers for the second time this week. I am proud to say I was at this game. In goal were Donovan Ricketts and Stefan Frei. The first half was a bit rocky, and notably so when Osvaldo Alonso of Seattle was booked for a yellow card for his thirty-first minute foul. Portland had the next yellow card in the sixty-eighth minute with an off the ball foul by Jack Jewsbury. This was after about 15 minutes of attack from Seattle. The Sounders finally cashed in as Clint Dempsey scored in the seventy-first minute. The play started with a free kick from the corner to Ricketts' right, and Dempsey had the first shot on the play. A second shot was stopped point blank by Ricketts, and a third was blocked before an assist from Gonzalo Pineda led to Dempsey tipping the ball home on an impressive stretch. Diego Valeri believed that Dempsey was offside, and was shown a yellow card for his dissent. In the eighty-sixth minute, Marco Pappa put the dagger in, putting Seattle up 2-0 with a goal. On this play, the Sounders had worked up the field and Pappa had the ball at the top of the box. He hesitated on shooting, which caused Ricketts to overplay the fake, and allowed Pappa to thread the needle through the remaining Timbers defense. Portland had one more yellow card in stoppage time for a foul by Rodney Wallace, but the final stood. The man of the match was Pappa, who kept many a Sounders sequence alive in the second half, and capped the game with his insurance goal.

Follow me on Twitter @KipperScorpion.