MLS 2018 Week 31

Another full weekend of games awaits, beginning on Saturday with nine games, the first being...

The Chicago Fire hosting Los Angeles FC. Tyler Miller and Stefan Cleveland are set to start in goal. Chicago began in the twentieth minute with a Djordje Mihailovic goal, assisted by Brandon Vincent. Dax McCarty of the Fire had a yellow card for a foul in the twenty-fourth minute. Chicago added on with a Nemanja Nikolic penalty kick goal in the twenty-ninth minute. The Fire's Nikolic received a yellow card for not retreating in the fifty-sixth minute. Chicago extended the lead as Aleksandar Katai scored in the sixty-sixth minute, thanks to Mihailovic and Nikolic. Los Angeles got on the board with a Diego Rossi goal in the seventy-third minute, coming off of Lee Nguyen. The Fire saw yellow cards for fouls by Brandt Bronico in the seventy-ninth minute and Johan Kappelhof in stoppage time, and another for dissent by Katai in stoppage time. Chicago held on to win 3-1, with Mihailovic named man of the match.

Out west, the Seattle Sounders FC welcome the Colorado Rapids. Tim Howard and Stefan Frei protect the nets. Seattle led off in the twenty-second minute with a Raul Ruidiaz goal, via Nicolas Lodeiro and Cristian Roldan. Kortne Ford of Colorado had a yellow card for a twenty-fifth minute foul. The Sounders' Osvaldo Alonso received a yellow card for a thirty-third minute foul. In the thirty-eighth minute, the Rapids' Tommy Smith took a yellow card for his foul, as did teammate Jack Price in the fortieth minute. Seattle added on in the fifty-second minute with a Lodeiro penalty kick goal. Enzo Martinez of Colorado picked up a yellow card for his foul in the fifty-fourth minute. The Sounders extended the lead as Ruidiaz scored again in the seventy-third minute, with the help of Lodeiro and Victor Rodriguez. Seattle padded the lead on a Rodriguez goal in the eightieth minute, courtesy of Kelvin Leerdam. This produced the 4-0 final score, with Lodeiro earning man of the match honors.

Back east, DC United brings in the Montreal Impact. Evan Bush and Bill Hamid are in goal. DC started in the seventeenth minute with a Luciano Acosta goal, courtesy of Yamil Asad. The Black and Red added on in the forty-eighth minute with a Wayne Rooney goal, via Acosta and Asad. DC extended the lead as Paul Arriola scored in the sixty-first minute, thanks to Acosta and Rooney. The Black and Red padded the lead in the seventy-eighth minute with another goal by Arriola, set up by Acosta, who gets a sock trick for his third assist. DC capped it at 5-0 with a second goal by Rooney in the eighty-second minute. The man of the match was Acosta, amid great performances from the entire DC attack.

In Columbus, the Crew SC host the Philadelphia Union. Andre Blake and Zack Steffen man the nets. Philadelphia had yellow cards for fouls by Fabinho and Alejandro Bedoya in the eighty-fifth and eighty-eighth minutes, respectively. The game ended in an uneventful 0-0 draw, with Blake's two-save clean sheet enough to make him the man of the match.

Up in Canada, Toronto FC welcome the New England Revolution. Brad Knighton and Alexander Bono are between the sticks. New England opened in the tenth minute with a Cristian Penilla goal, assisted by Luis Caicedo. Scott Caldwell of the Revolution had a yellow card for his eighteenth minute foul. In the twenty-seventh minute, Toronto's Justin Morrow took a yellow card for a foul. The Reds tied it on a thirty-sixth minute Sebastian Giovinco goal, via Victor Vazquez. Jonathan Osorio of Toronto had a yellow card for an argument in the thirty-ninth minute. The Reds took the lead in the fifty-third minute with a Lucas Janson goal. Toronto added on with a Vazquez penalty kick goal in the fifty-eighth minute. Auro of the Reds took a yellow card for his foul in the sixty-fifth minute. Toronto extended the lead as Marco Delgado scored in the eighty-first minute. This stood for a 4-1 win, with Vazquez picked as man of the match.

Southwest and stateside, Minnesota United FC brings in New York City FC. Sean Johnson and Bobby Shuttleworth are the experienced keepers. Minnesota struck first in the twentieth minute with an Angelo Rodriguez goal, coming off of Miguel Ibarra and Darwin Quintero. Alexander Ring of New York City had a yellow card for a twenty-first minute foul. The Loons added on in the thirty-sixth minute with another Rodriguez goal. Minnesota's Collen Warner took a yellow card for a foul in first half stoppage time. In the fifty-fourth minute, the Loons' Francisco Calvo had a yellow card for his foul. Minnesota went down to ten men in the seventy-sixth minute as Warner received his second yellow card and ejection for a foul. The Loons' keeper Shuttleworth picked up a yellow card for time wasting in the eighty-ninth minute. The Pigeons got on the board in second half stoppage time with a Rodney Wallace goal. This only made it 2-1, the final, with Rodriguez's brace making him the man of the match.

In Texas, the Houston Dynamo host the San Jose Earthquakes. Andrew Tarbell and Joe Willis are in the six-yard boxes. Guram Kashia of San Jose took a yellow card for an eleventh minute foul. The Earthquakes were first to score in the thirty-seventh minute with a Chris Wondolowski penalty kick goal. San Jose added on when Houston's Alejandro Fuenmayor committed an own goal in the forty-fifth minute. Tomas Martinez of the Dynamo took a yellow card for a fifty-second minute foul. Houston got on the board with a Mauro Manotas goal in the fifty-sixth minute, via Martinez. The Dynamo tied it on a Martinez goal in the sixty-eighth minute. Houston took the lead in the eighty-seventh minute with a Romell Qiuoto goal. This stood for a 3-2 win, with Martinez earning man of the match honors for spearheading the comeback.

Out in California, the Los Angeles Galaxy welcome the Vancouver Whitecaps. Stefan Marinovic and David Bingham play in goal. Los Angeles kicked off the scoring in the fourth minute with a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty kick goal. The Galaxy's Rolf Feltscher took a yellow card for his thirty-seventh minute foul. Los Angeles added on in the fifty-eighth minute with an Ibrahimovic goal, assisted by Feltscher. The Galaxy extended the lead as Romain Alessandrini scored a penalty kick goal in the seventy-seventh minute. Vancouver had a yellow card for a Cristian Techera foul in stoppage time. The final was 3-0, with Ibrahimovic as the man of the match.

Saturday ends in Portland as the Timbers bring in FC Dallas. Jesse Gonzalez and Jeff Attinella are the gloved men. Dallas had a yellow card for an argument by Carlos Gruezo in the seventy-second minute, as well as a foul by Matt Hedges in the seventy-fifth minute and time wasting by Gonzalez in the eighty-second minute. In the eighty-eighth minute, Steve Clark had to replace Attinella in the Portland goal. The Timbers went down to ten men in stoppage time as Liam Ridgewell received a straight red card for violent conduct. Three minutes later, Diego Chara of Portland received a yellow card for a foul. The game ended in a 0-0 draw, with Gonzalez named man of the match for a three-save clean sheet.

On Sunday, the New York Red Bulls host Atlanta United FC in a massive top-of-the-table battle. Brad Guzan and Luis Robles are the keepers. Atlanta saw a yellow card for a handball by Chris McCann in the thirty-eighth minute. New York drew first blood in the thirty-ninth minute with a Daniel Royer penalty kick goal. The Five Stripes' Julian Gressel received a yellow card for a forty-third minute foul. Tim Parker of the Red Bulls took a yellow card in first half stoppage time for his foul. New York added on in the seventy-fourth minute with a Parker goal, via Alex Muyl and Marc Rzatkowski. Michael Parkhurst of Atlanta took a yellow card for dissent in the seventy-ninth minute. The Red Bulls had yellow cards for time wasting by Andreas Ivan in the eighty-eighth minute and Derrick Etienne in second half stoppage time.

Finally, Sporting Kansas City hosts Real Salt Lake. Nick Rimando and Tim Melia patrol the penalty areas. Salt Lake cracked the scoresheet in the ninth minute with a Corey Baird goal, via Jefferson Savarino. Kansas City tied it on an Ike Opara goal in the fifty-second minute, courtesy of Johnny Russell. Felipe Gutierrez of Sporting had a yellow card for persistent infringement in the seventy-fourth minute. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with the man of the match being Opara for his equalizer.

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