Eleven games were played this week in Major League Soccer (MLS). In those matches there were 34 goals scored and four games ended with a combined five goals. To say that this week in MLS was anything else but action packed is an understatement.
Only two matches ended in draws. However, even both of the ties ended with the identical 2-2 score line.
As for the home clubs, they did not fare as well as they finished with a pedestrian 5-4-2 record.
However, now it’s time for the games of the week.
Los Angeles 5-1 New York City FC
The Galaxy faced New York for the first time in their history on Sunday, and the citizens of LA sold out the StubHub Center. New York came into the match with some momentum after earning four points in their last two games.
However, Andrea Pirlo’s and David Villa’s presences did not slow down the lethal Galaxy attack. Instead it motivated the five-time MLS Cup champions.
The Galaxy responded by dropping five goals on the expansion side. The reigning MVP Robbie Keane led the way for LA with two goals and an assist.
Toronto FC 5-0 Orlando City Soccer Club
TFC hosted Orlando on Saturday and destroyed the expansion side. The Reds have faced the Lions three times this season, and TFC have won all three games.
Toronto has now swept Orlando 3-0 and finished with a positive 10 goal differential. This time it was substitute Jozy Altidore who led the Reds by scoring his brace against the expansion side.
Columbus Crew Soccer Club 3-2 Sporting Kansas City
The Crew was able to come back twice and defeat Kansas City on Saturday at home. Newly acquired forward Jack McInerney scored the winning goal at the 88th minute.
For Kansas City it marked the ending of horrible week that saw them give up eight goals in the process. For the Crew they were able to bounce back from the disappointing 2-2 midweek home draw against NYCFC.
Teams that disappointed:
Sporting Kansas City:
Sporting played two games this week and lost both. The first match they were dismantled 5-0 by the San Jose Earthquakes at Sporting Park on Wednesday. Then they failed to hold on to a lead on the road. However, Sporting will be heading to Colorado as they face the Rapids next Saturday.
Seattle Sounders F.C.:
The Sounders appeared to have found some consistency, with two straight victories. Seattle thrashed Orlando 4-0 at home the previous Sunday. Then the Sounders completed the 2-1 comeback victory against C.D. Olimpia on Wednesday night at the CenturyLink Field in the CONCACAF Champions League (CCL).
However, the 2-0 flat defeat against Real Salt Lake on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium brought them back down to earth. In 90 minutes Seattle produced five shots and only one of them was on target.
Now the Rave Green will be heading to Honduras to face Olimpia on Wednesday. Then Seattle heads back home to face rivals, the Portland Timbers on Sunday.
The rest of the results from the week:
Wednesday, 9/19
Columbus Crew SC 2-2 New York City FC
Sporting Kansas City 0-5 San Jose Earthquakes
Friday, 9/21
Portland Timbers 2-2 Houston Dynamo
Saturday, 9/22
DC United 0-2 San Jose
Montreal Impact 0-1 Philadelphia Union
Chicago Fire 0-1 Colorado Rapids
Vancouver Whitecaps F.C. 1-0 FC Dallas
Real Salt Lake 2-0 Seattle Sounders F.C.
This is how both conference look now:
| Clubs | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
| 1.DC United | 44 | 27 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 35 | 31 | 4 |
| 2.New York Red Bulls | 39 | 23 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 38 | 25 | 13 |
| 3.Columbus Crew SC | 38 | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 43 | 43 | 0 |
| 4.Toronto FC | 34 | 24 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 42 | 41 | 1 |
| 5.New England Revolution | 34 | 25 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 34 | 36 | -2 |
| 6.Montreal Impact | 28 | 22 | 8 | 10 | 4 | 29 | 32 | -3 |
| 7.New York City FC | 28 | 26 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 37 | 44 | -7 |
| 8.Orlando City SC | 28 | 26 | 7 | 12 | 7 | 32 | 46 | -14 |
| 9.Philaldephia Union | 27 | 26 | 7 | 13 | 6 | 33 | 43 | -10 |
| 10.Chicago Fire | 23 | 24 | 6 | 13 | 5 | 27 | 35 | -8 |
With these results D.C. is still on top of the Eastern Conference. However, the Crew are starting to narrow the gap between them and the top two clubs in the conference. As for Montreal, they are fortunate that both Orlando and NYCFC lost their matches so they still currently hold on to the final playoff spot. However, the Canadians will have to recover quickly since the Union is now just one point away from taking over the sixth spot in the East.
The East is still a wide open race. It is safe to say that the conference will be decided on the final day of the season.
| Clubs | PTS | GP | W | L | D | GF | GA | GD |
| 1.LA Galaxy | 46 | 27 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 49 | 32 | 17 |
| 2.Vancouver Whitecaps FC | 45 | 26 | 14 | 9 | 3 | 38 | 26 | 12 |
| 3.Sporting Kansas City | 40 | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 39 | 33 | 6 |
| 4.Portland Timbers | 40 | 26 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 28 | 30 | -2 |
| 5.FC Dallas | 38 | 24 | 11 | 8 | 5 | 33 | 30 | 3 |
| 6.Seattle Sounders FC | 35 | 26 | 11 | 13 | 2 | 30 | 29 | 1 |
| 7.San Jose Earthquakes | 35 | 25 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 31 | 29 | 2 |
| 8.Houston Dynamo | 32 | 25 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 32 | 32 | 0 |
| 9.Real Salt Lake | 32 | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 29 | 38 | -9 |
| 10.Colorado Rapids | 22 | 24 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 21 | 25 | -4 |
The Galaxy is starting to pick up speed, and the Whitecaps will need to find a new gear to keep up and possibly overlap LA. As for Kansas City, they cannot afford to lose another match. If they continue to lose they might slip to sixth place or out of the top six. The Sounders, like Sporting, cannot continue to have another flat performance or they will lose the final playoff spot. The Earthquakes are catching fire which will give the Sounders another obstacle for this frustrating season.
Another week is about to begin in the MLS. With the season starting to wind down quickly, one can expect more fireworks this week.
Highlights provided by Major League Soccer, Los Angeles Galaxy and the Chicago Fire.