MLS Roundup: Toronto continue winning form as the battle for the West becomes closer

This week’s encounters saw the gaps at either end of the table grow larger, with Toronto running away at the top, and DC finding nothing but frustration at the bottom. In the West, there is only a six-point difference between first and seventh place, meaning it is anyone’s title at this point.

FC Dallas 0-0 Colorado Rapids

Dallas fail to make good on chances as the Rapids hold on for the draw.

Dallas would have won if it weren’t for the combination of Rapids keeper Tim Howard and the new VAR system. In the 47th minute Maximiliano Urruti buried a shot into the back of the net from 20-yards out, but it was ruled out due to a foul on Rapids forward Dominique Badji at the start of the play that led to the goal.

Kellyn Acosta nearly put Dallas in the lead again with a powerful shot from 20-yards out that would have gone in if not for a huge save by Tim Howard.

Seattle Sounders FC 1-0 Sporting Kansas City

The Sounders manage to grab a a win over stumbling SKC.

Clint Dempsey scored the winner for the Sounders in the 36th minute with a commanding header. The Sounders were clearly the dominant team on the night, with SKC struggling to make a mark throughout the game.

Toronto FC 4-1 Portland Timbers

Toronto continue scoring for fun to cut down the Timbers.

Justin Morrow opened scoring for Toronto with a close-range finish in the 58th minute. Victor Vazquez doubled Toronto’s lead in the 72nd minute with a neat finish of Sebastian Giovinco’s pass. Justin Morrow scored his brace four minutes later with a close-range shot following a scramble in front of goal. Marco Delgado made it 4-0 to Toronto in the 87th minute after he cleanly tucked away a loose ball following what appeared to be a foul in the box. Diego Valeri scored a consolation goal for the Timbers in the 89th minute after taking on several defenders.

Columbus Crew SC 3-1 Chicago Fire

The Crew stun the Fire to stay in the hunt for the East.

Michael de Leeuw was the first to score with a strong header in the thirteenth minute to put the Fire ahead. Kekutah Manneh brought the Crew level in the 18th minute with a chipped goal from close.

Justin Merram put the Crew ahead in the 73rd minute with a wonderful finish off of Waylon Francis’ cross. Ola Kamara earned a penalty late on and tucked it away with a stuttered shot in the 88th minute to close the scoring out 3-1.

New York Red Bulls 3-1 Orlando City SC

The Red Bulls stampede Orlando as they continue to close the gap on the top of the East.

Carlos Rivas tucked a neat shot just under the outstretched arm of Red Bulls’ keeper Luis Robles to open scoring in the 18th minute. In the 30th minute, Leo Pereira suffered the unfortunate circumstance of scoring an own goal while defending a cross to bring the Red Bulls level.

Bradley Wright-Phillips put the Red Bulls ahead in the 60th minute with a tapped in goal of Sean Davis’ pass. Sean Davis then put his name on the scoreboard with a beautifully curled shot from distance in the 80th minute. To round out the night, Kaka fell victim to the new VAR system when he was shown a red card in the seventh minute of extra time for playfully putting his hands on the face of his former teammate Aurelian Collin while both were laughing following disruption in play.

Philadelphia Union 0-3 Montreal Impact

The Union crumble under the devastating Impact.

Blerim Dzemaili scored the first goal of the night for the Impact in the 69th minute with a powerful shot from just inside the box. Ignacio Piatti tucked away a penalty earned by Dzemaili in the first minute of added time. Dzemaili scored his brace in the fifth minute of extra time with a curled shot from just inside the box to end the scoring 0-3.

New England Revolution 1-0 Vancouver Whitecaps

The Revs edge the Whitecaps in a very close encounter.

Teal Bunbury scored the only goal of the night in the 53rd minute with an excellent finish following Kellyn Rowe’s perfectly weighted pass into the box. There was a glimpse of hope for the Whitecaps in the 70th minute when Cristian Techera’s free kick rebounded off the crossbar, but was eventually cleared from danger.

Houston Dynamo 3-0 San Jose Earthquakes

The Earthquakes fail to topple the high-flying Dynamo.

Alberth Elis began the Dyanmo’s onslaught in the 21st minute with a headed goal off a corner kick. The Dynamo would have gone up by two in the 49th if not for an excellent save by Earthquakes keeper Andrew Tarbell.

Andreas Imperiale was initially given a red card for his tackle that led to the penalty, but it was changed to a yellow by the referee after some discussion with his assistants.

Victor Sanchez did eventually score the Dynamo’s second in the 86th minute with a close finish over Tarbell. Mauro Manotas got the third for the Dynamo in the fourth minute of added time after a clearance by Tarbell deflected off of Vicente Sanchez who passed in front of the open goal.

LA Galaxy 0-2 New York City FC

NYCFC continue top form, as the Galaxy continue to falter.

Jonathan Lewis put NYCFC up 0-1 over the Galaxy in the 54th minute after a solo dribble leading to a curled shot from distance to score his first ever MLS goal. David Villa score his 18th MLS goal of the season from 25-yards out to put NYCFC up 0-2 and finish scoring.

DC United 0-1 Real Salt Lake

RSL edge DC to keep them at the bottom of the table.

Despite a seemingly close encounter, RSL managed to keep DC at the bottom of the MLS thanks to a fantastic strike by Luis Silva in the 64th minute from the edge of the box. DC United are now twelve games without a win, and seem guaranteed to finish bottom of the MLS despite finishing in the top-ten for the last three seasons.