Wednesday, September 25, 2019

MLS Midweek - September 25, 2019

Six games on for the last midweek action of the season. Leading off...

New York City FC hosts Atlanta United FC. Brad Guzan and Sean Johnson man the nets. New York City led off in the 14th minute with an Alexandru Mitrita goal, assisted by Ismael Tajouri-Shradi. The Pigeons added on with another Mitrita goal in the 23rd minute, set up by Maximiliano Moralez. Florentin Pogba of Atlanta had a yellow card for a 27th minute foul. New York City's Alexander Ring saw a yellow card for his 33rd minute foul. The Pigeons extended the lead as Mitrita completed his hat trick in the 34th minute. Tony Rocha of New York City took a yellow card for a 36th minute foul. The Five Stripes' Leandro Gonzalez Pirez picked up a yellow card for a foul in first half stoppage time. Maxime Chanot of the Pigeons received a yellow card for a 52nd minute foul. Atlanta got on the board with a Gonzalo Martinez penalty kick goal in the 53rd minute. Eric Remedi of the Five Stripes was issued a yellow card for a 56th minute foul. In the 71st minute, Valentin Castellanos of New York City earned a yellow card for a foul. The Pigeons replied with a Heber goal in the 87th minute. Mohammed Adams of Atlanta saw a yellow card for an 89th minute foul. Ronald Matarrita of New York City was booked for a foul in second half stoppage time. The game ended 4-1, with Mitrita as the man of the match.

Westward to Minnesota United FC welcoming Sporting Kansas City. Tim Melia and Vito Mannone guard the woodwork. Kansas City began in the 7th minute with a Botond Barath goal, via Johnny Russell. Minnesota tied it on an Osvaldo Alonso goal in the 70th minute, assisted by Abu Danladi and Jan Gregus. Chase Gasper of the Loons took a yellow card for a 79th minute foul. Minnesota pulled ahead in the 90th minute with a Hassani Dotson goal, guided in by Gregus. Sporting's Felipe Gutierrez picked up a yellow card for a foul in stoppage time. A minute later, the Loons went down to ten men as Gasper received a second yellow card for a foul. Kansas City's Krisztian Nemeth had a yellow card for dissent a couple minutes later. The final stayed at 2-1, with Gregus as the man of the match.

Southwest to Utah, where Real Salt Lake brings in the Los Angeles Galaxy. David Bingham and Nick Rimando are the keepers. Diego Polenta of Los Angeles took a yellow card for a 36th minute foul. The Galaxy got going in the 50th minute with a Cristian Pavon goal, coming off of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Daniel Steres of Los Angeles earned a yellow card for a foul in the 60th minute. The Galaxy added on with Ibrahimovic's 80th minute goal, via Pavon. Salt Lake's Albert Rusnak had a yellow card for a foul in the 82nd minute. Real got on the board with an 89th minute Nedum Onuoha goal, courtesy of Sebastian Saucedo. This only made it 2-1, the final, with the man of the match being Ibrahimovic.

Along to California, with Los Angeles FC hosting the Houston Dynamo. Joe Willis and Tyler Miller are in goal. Los Angeles opened in the 23rd minute with a Carlos Vela penalty kick goal. Houston tied it in the 28th minute when Miller committed an own goal. Aljaz Struna of the Dynamo took a yellow card for dissent in the 33rd minute. Mohamed El-Munir of the Black and Gold saw a yellow card for his 56th minute foul. Los Angeles pulled ahead on a Diego Rossi goal in the 70th minute. Eduard Atuesta of the Black and Gold received a yellow card for a 75th minute foul. In the 80th minute, Rossi of Los Angeles had a yellow card for time wasting In the 81st minute, Matias Vera of Houston picked up a yellow card for a foul. The Black and Gold added on with an Atuesta goal in the 82nd minute. The final remained at 3-1, with Rossi as the man of the match.

Up in Portland, the Timbers welcome the New England Revolution. Brad Knighton and Steve Clark draw the starts in goal. Portland dented the scoreboard in the 49th minute with a Jeremy Ebobisse goal, assisted by Jorge Villafana. New England saw yellow cards for fouls by Michael Mancienne in the 67th minute and Diego Fagundez in the 68th minute. The Timbers added on in the 81st minute with an Ebobisse goal, fueled by Sebastian Blanco. The Revolution got on the board in the 87th minute with a Gustavo Bou goal, passed from Teal Bunbury and Cristian Penilla. Larrys Mabiala of Portland had a yellow card for an 88th minute foul. New England tied it in stoppage time on a Carles Gil penalty kick goal. The final was a 2-2 draw, with Ebobisse named man of the match.

Finally, the San Jose Earthquakes bring in the Philadelphia Union. Andre Blake and Daniel Vega patrol the penalty areas. Kai Wagner of Philadelphia had a yellow card for a 7th minute foul. San Jose saw a yellow card for a Judson foul in the 23rd minute. The Earthquakes started in the 35th minute on a Jackson Yueill goal, set up by Danny Hoesen and Magnus Eriksson. The Union's Haris Medunjanin received a yellow card for dissent in first half stoppage time. Philadelphia's Kacper Przybylko picked up a yellow card for his 57th minute foul. The Union tied it in the 70th minute with an Alejandro Bedoya goal, fueled by Raymon Gaddis. Philadelphia took the lead with a Przybylko goal in the 76th minute, made possible by Jamiro Monteiro. The final held at 2-1, with Przybylko as man of the match.

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

NWSL Midweek - September 25, 2019

Two games on this Wednesday for the last midweek action of the season. First up...

The Houston Dash welcome the Washington Spirit. Aubrey Bledsoe and Jane Campbell protect the nets. Washington saw a yellow card for a 12th minute foul by Sam Staab. Houston's Allysha Chapman took a yellow card for a 45th minute foul. In the 66th minute, Paige Nielsen of the Spirit had a yellow card for a foul. The final was 0-0, with Dash center back Amber Brooks earning woman of the match honors.

Also, Reign FC brings in the Utah Royals FC. Nicole Barnhart faces a younger foe in Casey Murphy in goal. Reign led off in the 40th minute with a Bethany Balcer goal, assisted by Jodie Taylor and Beverly Yanez. Utah tied it in the 67th minute with a Katie Stengel goal set up by Vero Boquete after chaos in the box. Reign's Kristen McNabb was assessed a yellow card in the 77th minute for a foul. Reign took the lead back with a Taylor goal, courtesy of Darian Jenkins in the 86th minute. The final held at 2-1, with Taylor selected as woman of the match.

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

MLS 2019 - Week 29

A full weekend of games awaits, beginning with...

Atlanta United FC hosting the San Jose Earthquakes. Daniel Vega and Brad Guzan protect the nets. Atlanta began in the 4th minute with a Justin Meram goal. Emerson Hyndman of the Five Stripes took a yellow card for a 14th minute foul. Cristian Espinoza of San Jose had a yellow card for not retreating in the 16th minute. Atlanta's Meram received a yellow card for a 24th minute foul. The Earthquakes got on the board in the 27th minute with a Guzan own goal. San Jose went down to ten men in the 34th minute when Espinoza took a second yellow card for a foul. The Earthquakes drew yellow cards for Vega's time wasting in the 48th minute and persistent infringement by Judson in the 62nd minute. The Five Stripes pulled ahead in the 90th minute on a Hyndman goal, passed from Darlington Nagbe. In stoppage time, Chris Wondolowski of San Jose took a straight red card for language. Atlanta iced it at 3-1 with a Gonzalo Martinez goal a minute later, set up by Brandon Vazquez and Hector Villalba. The man of the match was Hyndman.

Way northwest to Vancouver, as the Whitecaps FC welcome the Columbus Crew SC. Eloy Room and Zac MacMath are the goalies. Vancouver's MacMath took a yellow card for a 17th minute foul. Columbus led off in the 18th minute with a Gyasi Zardes penalty kick goal. The Whitecaps saw yellow cards for fouls by Tosaint Ricketts in the 35th minute and Ali Adnan in first half stoppage time. Vancouver tied it on a Fredy Montero goal in second half stoppage time, assisted by Adnan. The final was 1-1, with MacMath's seven-for-eight save performance good enough for man of the match.

Back east, FC Cincinnati brings in the Chicago Fire. Kenneth Kronholm and Przemyslaw Tyton get the starts in goal. Cincinnati's Kendall Waston took a yellow card for a 20th minute foul. Chicago saw yellow cards for fouls by C.J. Sapong and Dax McCarty in the 25th and 30th minutes, respectively. The final remained at 0-0, with the man of the match being Kronholm for his three-save clean sheet.

Further east, the New England Revolution host Real Salt Lake. Andrew Putna is mismatched with Matt Turner in goal. New England saw a yellow card for a foul by Antonio Mlinar Delamea in the 46th minute. Salt Lake's keeper Putna took a yellow card for time wasting in the 87th minute. It didn't prevent Putna from taking the man of the match honors in his three-save clean sheet.

Southwest to Houston, as the Dynamo welcome Orlando City SC. Brian Rowe and Joe Willis are between the sticks. Orlando City opened in the 6th minute with a Dom Dwyer goal, via Mauricio Pereyra. Cristian Higuita took a yellow card for the Lions in the 59th minute. Houston tied it in the 70th minute with an Alberth Elis goal, passed from Christian Ramirez and Memo Rodriguez. The Dynamo took the lead with a Ramirez goal in the 73rd minute, assisted by Mauro Manotas. The final held at 2-1, with the man of the match being Ramirez.

Up to Sporting Kansas City bringing in the Colorado Rapids. Clint Irwin and Tim Melia are set to start in goal. Kansas City started in the 3rd minute with a Gerso goal. Matt Besler of Sporting had a yellow card for an 8th minute foul. In the 14th minute, Kansas City added on as Colorado's Tommy Smith committed an own goal. The Rapids' Sam Nicholson took a yellow card for an 18th minute foul. Sporting went down to ten men in the 20th minute when Besler took a second yellow card for a foul. Kansas City's Luis Martins had a yellow card for dissent in the 30th minute. Colorado got on the board with a Kei Kamara goal in the 42nd minute, made possible by Jack Price. Keegan Rosenberrry of the Rapids received a yellow card for his 43rd minute foul. Colorado tied it in the 76th minute with a Diego Rubio goal, guided in by Smith. The Rapids' Rubio had a yellow card for an 83rd minute foul. Colorado took the lead in the 85th minute on a Smith goal, helped along by Price. Lalas Abubakar of the Rapids took a yellow card for a foul in stoppage time. The final was 3-2, with the man of the match being Price.

In California, the Los Angeles Galaxy host the Montreal Impact. Evan Bush and David Bingham are the veteran keepers. Los Angeles saw a yellow card for a Jonathan dos Santos foul in the 29th minute. The Galaxy struck first in the 31st minute with a Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal, via Uriel Antuna. Montreal tied it in the 48th minute with a Lassi Lappalainen goal, set up by Saphir Taider. Los Angeles retook the lead with an Antuna goal, made possible by Ibrahimovic and Cristian Pavon. The final was 2-1, and Antuna was honored as man of the match.

Saturday ends with Los Angeles FC welcoming Toronto FC. Quentin Westberg and Tyler Miller man the nets. Toronto was first to score in the 19th minute with a Tsubasa Endoh goal, fueled by Jozy Altidore. Los Angeles' Steven Beitashour took a yellow card for a 43rd minute foul. The Reds' Richie Laryea saw a yellow card for a foul in stoppage time. The Black and Gold tied it with a Carlos Vela penalty kick goal five minutes later. The final was 1-1, with Westberg (four-for-five in saves) getting the nod as man of the match.

On Sunday, the Portland Timbers bring in Minnesota United FC. Vito Mannone and Steve Clark are in goal. Portland's Zarek Valentin had a yellow card for a 78th minute foul. The final remained as it started at 0-0, with Mannone posting a 12-save shutout for man of the match honors.

Southeast to Texas, where FC Dallas hosts New York City FC. Sean Johnson and Jesse Gonzalez are between the pipes. New York City drew first blood in the 1st minute with a Valentin Castellanos goal, via Anton Tinnerholm and Maximiliano Moralez. Keaton Parks of the Pigeons had a yellow card for a 13th minute foul. Dallas saw a yellow card for persistent infringement by Zdenek Ondrasek in first half stoppage time. The Toros' Bryan Acosta took a yellow card for a foul in the 61st minute. Dallas tied it in the 66th minute with an Ondrasek goal. New York City received yellow cards for a Moralez foul in the 68th minute and time wasting by Maxime Chanot in second half stoppage time. The final remained at 1-1, with Ondrasek as the man of the match.

Next up, the New York Red Bulls welcome the Philadelphia Union. Andre Blake and Luis Robles are the keepers. New York dented the scoreboard in the 32nd minute with a Tom Barlow goal. The Red Bulls saw a yellow card for a Marc Rzatkowski foul in the 60th minute. New York added on in stoppage time with a Daniel Royer goal, via Bradley Wright-Phillips and Alejandro Romero Gamarra. The final was 2-0, with the man of the match being Royer.

Finally, DC United brings in the Seattle Sounders FC. Stefan Frei and Bill Hamid are the strong keepers. DC got going in the 14th minute with a Lucas Rodriguez goal. Seattle's Kelvin Leerdam took a yellow card for a 53rd minute foul. The Black and Red added on with a Frederic Brillant goal in the 54th minute, set up by Wayne Rooney. The final stood at 2-0, with the man of the match being Rodriguez.

Follow me on Twitter @OutsiderSports0.