MLS 2019 - Week 1

A new season begins today, as MLS begins the 24-team era. All teams are in action this weekend with ten on Saturday, beginning with...

The Philadelphia Union hosting Toronto FC. Alex Bono and Andre Blake are in goal. Philadelphia's Fabrice-Jean Picault took a yellow card for a 30th minute foul. In first half stoppage time, Toronto opened the scoring on a Michael Bradley goal set up by Auro and Nick DeLeon. The Reds' Bradley took a yellow card for a 54th minute foul. Toronto added on with another Bradley goal in the 62nd minute. The Union got on the board with a penalty kick goal by Marco Fabian in the 73rd minute. Sergio Santos of Philadelphia took a yellow card for his 81st minute foul. The Reds' Jonathan Osorio received a yellow card for his 83rd minute foul. Toronto iced it at 3-1 with a DeLeon goal in second half stoppage time, assisted by Osorio. The man of the match was Bradley for his brace.

Down in Florida, Orlando City SC welcomes New York City FC. Sean Johnson and Brian Rowe are the veteran keepers. Sebastian Mendez of Orlando City took a yellow card for a 9th minute foul. New York City started with an Ebenezer Ofori goal in the 13th minute, courtesy of Jonathan Lewis. Alex De John of the Lions received a yellow card for his 17th minute infraction. The Pigeons' Ben Sweat earned a yellow card for a foul in the 19th minute. New York City added to their lead in the 45th minute on an Alexander Ring goal, via Alexandru Mitrita. The Pigeons' Maxime Chanot took a yellow card for time wasting in the 56th minute. Orlando City got on the board with a Chris Mueller goal in the 59th minute. Dom Dwyer of the Lions picked up a yellow card for his 73rd minute foul. Orlando City evened the score in the 75th minute on a Tesho Akindele goal, passed from Dwyer and Nani. The final held at 2-2, with the man of the match honors given to Mueller for sparking the comeback.

Back north, the Columbus Crew SC bring in the New York Red Bulls. Luis Robles and Zack Steffen tend the twines. New York led off in the 6th minute with an Andreas Ivan goal, via Florian Valot and Michael Murillo. Harrison Afful of Columbus took a yellow card for a 15th minute foul. The Red Bulls saw a yellow card for Aaron Long's 27th minute foul. The Crew's Wil Trapp received a yellow card for his foul in the 31st minute. Columbus tied it in the 41st minute on a Gaston Sauro goal, coming off of Federico Higuain. Cristian Casseres, Jr. of New York picked up a yellow card in the 68th minute for a foul. The Crew had yellow cards for fouls by Pedro Santos in the 74th minute and Waylon Francis in stoppage time. The game ended 1-1, with Sauro earning man of the match honors for the equalizer.

South to Texas, where FC Dallas hosts the New England Revolution. Brad Knighton and Jesse Gonzalez man the nets. Dallas began in the 13th minute with a Michael Barrios goal, made possible by Dominique Badji. Wilfried Zahibo of New England had a yellow card for a 19th minute foul. The Toros' Reto Ziegler took a yellow card in the 56th minute for his foul. The Revolution tied it on a Carles Gil goal in the 57th minute, set up by Antonio Mlinar Delamea and Jalil Anibaba. Delamea took a yellow card in the 70th minute for persistent infringement for New England. Dallas' Badji picked up a yellow card for a foul in the 71st minute. The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with Gil named man of the match.

Staying in Texas, the Houston Dynamo welcome Real Salt Lake. Nick Rimando and Joe Willis are the gloved men. Salt Lake saw yellow cards for fouls by Everton Luiz in the 11th minute, Kyle Beckerman in the 14th minute, and Aaron Herrera in the 27th minute. Houston received yellow cards for fouls by Kevin Garcia and Matias Vera in the 30th and 31st minutes, respectively. Real got going in the 40th minute with an Albert Rusnak goal, set up by Corey Baird. The Dynamo retied it on a Mauro Manotas goal in the 62nd minute, assisted by Adam Lundkvist and Maynor Figueroa. Houston went down to ten men when Vera received a second yellow card for a foul in the 81st minute to earn his ejection. Sam Johnson of Salt Lake got booked in stoppage time for his foul. The game ended 1-1, with the man of the match being Manotas.

Northwest to Colorado, where the Rapids bring in the Portland Timbers. Jeff Attinella and Tim Howard are between the sticks. Colorado struck first in the 16th minute with a Kei Kamara goal, assisted by Kellyn Acosta and Dillon Serna. Portland's Diego Chara had a yellow card for an 18th minute foul. The Rapids went down to ten men when Axel Sjoberg received a straight red card for a handball in the box in the 27th minute. The Timbers tied it when Diego Valeri buried the rebound from a saved penalty kick in the 29th minute. Portland's Julio Cascante saw a yellow card for a 32nd minute foul. The Timbers pulled ahead in first half stoppage time with a Sebastian Blanco goal, coming off of Valeri. Colorado retied it in the 46th minute with a Benny Feilhaber goal. Portland retook the lead when the Rapids' Deklan Wynne committed an own goal in the 66th minute. Colorado salvaged a 3-3 draw with a goal by Andre Shinyashiki in second half stoppage time. The man of the match honors went to Valeri.

Into Canada, as the Vancouver Whitecaps FC host Minnesota United FC. Vito Mannone and Maxime Crepeau received the starts in goal. Vancouver was first to score in the 6th minute with an Erik Godoy goal, assisted by Yordy Reyna. Minnesota's Osvaldo Alonso had a yellow card for a 24th minute foul. The Whitecaps saw a yellow card for Jon Erice's 31st minute foul. The Loons tied it in the 37th minute on a Darwin Quintero penalty kick goal. In the 45th minute, Vancouver's Derek Corneilius picked up a yellow card for his foul. Romario Ibarra of Minnesota took a yellow card for his foul in first half stoppage time. The Loons took the lead in the 66th minute with a Francisco Calvo goal, guided in by Quintero and Ibarra. Minnesota added on in the 70th minute with an Ibarra goal, set up by Quintero. Calvo of the Loons got booked for a 79th minute foul. The Whitecaps pulled one back in the 81st minute with a Doneil Henry goal, passed from Victor Giro and Hwang In-Beom. This only made it 3-2, the final, with the man of the match being Quintero for factoring in all three Loons goals.

Down in California, the Los Angeles Galaxy welcome the Chicago Fire. David Ousted and David Bingham are the similarly-named keepers. Chicago's Marcelo had a yellow card for a 44th minute foul. The Fire dented the scoreboard in the 49th minute with a C.J. Sapong goal. Los Angeles tied it in the 68th minute on a Daniel Steres goal, set up by Efrain Alvarez. The Galaxy took the lead in the 80th minute with a Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal. Alvarez of Los Angeles received a yellow card for and 83rd minute foul. The final held at 2-1 Galaxy, with Ibrahimovic earning man of the match honors.

North to San Jose, where the Earthquakes bring in the Montreal Impact. Evan Bush and Daniel Vega are in the six-yard boxes. San Jose kicked off the scoring in the 11th minute with a Magnus Eriksson goal, set up by Valeri Qazaishvili and Anibal Godoy. Montreal tied it in the 29th minute with an Ignacio Piatti goal, assisted by Saphir Taider. The Impact pulled ahead with a Taider goal in the 44th minute, courtesy of Zakaria Diallo. Montreal's Bacary Sagna had a yellow card for a foul in first half stoppage time. Micheal Azira of the Impact took a yellow card for his fifty-eighth minute foul. The Earthquakes received yellow cards for fouls by Harold Cummings in the 66th minute, Tommy Thompson in the 73rd minute, and Judson in the 77th minute. Montreal saw yellow cards assessed for a Mathieu Choiniere foul in the 82nd minute and Bush's time wasting in second half stoppage time. The final held at 2-1, with Taider's goal and assist making him man of the match.

Saturday ends in Seattle, as the Sounders FC host FC Cincinnati. Przemyslaw Tyton and Stefan Frei make the starts in goal. Cincinnati drew first blood in the 13th minute with a Leonardo Bertone goal. Seattle tied it in the 27th minute with a Kelvin Leerdam goal. The Sounders took the lead in 33rd minute when Jordan Morris scored, with the help of Nicolas Lodeiro. Seattle added on with another Morris goal in the 43rd minute, set up by Victor Rodriguez and Lodeiro. Fanendo Adi of the Orange and Blue took a yellow card for a foul in the 46th minute. The Sounders extended the lead as Raul Ruidiaz scored in the 87th minute, thanks to Rodriguez. The final held at 4-1, with Morris' brace earning him the man of the match title.

On Sunday, DC United welcomes Atlanta United FC. Brad Guzan and Bill Hamin guard the woodwork. DC cracked the scoresheet in first half stoppage time with a Paul Arriola goal, set up by Luciano Acosta and Wayne Rooney. Atlanta had a yellow card for a 53rd minute foul by Mikey Ambrose. The Black and Red added on in the 58th minute with an Acosta goal, via Lucas Rodriguez and Junior Moreno. Jeff Larentowicz of the Five Stripes had a yellow card for his 83rd minute foul. The final held at 2-0, with Acosta's goal and assist making him man of the match.

Finally, Los Angeles FC bring Sporting Kansas City. Tim Melia and Tyler Miller are the strong keepers. Kansas City saw a yellow card for a Felipe Gutierrez foul in the 10th minute. Sporting got the first goal in the 16th minute with a Krisztian Nemeth goal, assisted by Johnny Russell. Kansas City took yellow cards for Gerso's dissent in the 17th minute and fouls by Seth Sinovic in the 27th minute, Roger Espinoza in the 31st minute, and Nemeth in the 42nd minute. Los Angeles tied it in the 47th minute with a Diego Rossi goal, set up by Eduard Atuesta. Graham Zusi of Sporting received a yellow card for a 51st minute foul. The Black and Gold took yellow cards for fouls by Jordan Harvey in the 66th minute and Latif Blessing in the 81st minute. Kansas City went down to ten men as Espinoza received a second yellow card for his 84th minute foul. Atuesta of Los Angeles had a yellow card for an 89th minute foul. The Black and Gold won in second half stoppage time with an Adama Diomande goal, coming off of Harvey for a 2-1 result. The man of the match was Diomande for his later heroics.

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