North Carolina Wesleyan Men's Soccer

LAFC Continue Their Dominance In MLS Despite Midweek Defeat

LAFC Continue Their Dominance In MLS Despite Midweek Defeat

Our weekly MLS recap covers the Parley jerseys, LAFC's continued mastery over MLS, and the wild affair between TFC and Minnesota.

Apr 22, 2019 by Steven Streff
LAFC Continue Their Dominance In MLS Despite Midweek Defeat

This weekend in MLS featured the Parley jerseys, made by adidas from recycled plastic. It's an interesting idea from the league, but it caused plenty of confusion for fans watching the games. This was the third year of the Parley jerseys, and for the second consecutive year every game featured the two different jerseys. That made it difficult to remember which team was which in any given game, as teams were sometimes wearing unfamiliar colors. 

The idea is in the right place, but there just needs to be better execution of that idea. Maybe that will be fixed by next year. 

On the field, three teams picked up their first wins of the season, leaving the Colorado Rapids as the last team without the sweet taste of victory in 2019. LAFC lost for the first time on Wednesday but responded in a big way yesterday, handing the Seattle Sounders their first loss of the season.

To the weekly recap! 

FC Cincinnati 0 - 3 Real Salt Lake

The first of three Friday night games on the docket went decidedly in the favor of the visitors, with Albert Rusnak scoring two goals after suffering a nasty finger injury. It wasn't pretty for Rusnak, but the injury didn't deter him from helping RSL to their second win in a row. Sam Johnson also scored for the second game in a row, potentially signaling a change in fortune for RSL, who had previously lost four consecutive games. 



Toronto FC 4 - 3 Minnesota United

The previous two games between these teams produced goals aplenty, and Friday night's tilt kept up the wonderful tradition. Both teams had the lead in the first half, and both teams also had the lead in the second half, as a two-minute salvo from Jordan Hamilton put the Reds ahead for good. The game featured two goals from Hamilton, Alejandro Pozuelo, and Darwin Quintero in a show befitting of the scoreline. Jozy Altidore made headlines after the game after he had to be removed from due to injury, taking a swipe at team president Bill Manning of the release of a trainer linked with Sebastian Giovinco: 


The Monday update is that the two reconciled and that the trainer will be rejoining the Reds. The question for Altidore now though is will he be healthy enough to feature at the Gold Cup, where he would likely lead the line for the US squad.

LA Galaxy 2 - 1 Houston Dynamo

The Dynamo finally lost a game this season in a tightly contested match on Friday, featuring a bit of controversy. AJ DeLaGarza wasn't too happy with the call that went against him for Zlatan Ibrahimovic's penalty, but the former Galaxy defender had Zlatan completely wrapped up in the box with both arms. Zlatan then wasn't happy with the video review call that led to Albert Elis' penalty equalizer, but Diego Polenta's late winner gave the Galaxy another three points. After the game, the Swedish striker had another classic line about the decision to award Houston a penalty:



Chicago Fire 4 - 1 Colorado Rapids

In a matchup between two teams that desperately needed a win, it was the hosts who got a resounding victory on Saturday afternoon. The Rapids remain winless on the season, now the only team to be without a victory in MLS this year. Kei Kamara's goal was nowhere near enough for the Rapids, as Nemanja Nikolic, CJ Sapong, Djordje Mihailovic, and Aleksandar Katai all scored for the Fire. Nicolas Gaitan got his first two MLS assists, though as we've seen in recent weeks, beating the Rapids isn't exactly a cure-all for opposing teams. 

Philadelphia Union 3 - 0 Montreal Impact

Even without Marco Fabian, Jim Curtin's side had little trouble at home against their Eastern Conference foes. Jamiro Monteiro scored from the spot in Fabian's absence, the first MLS goal from the midfielder. Cory Burke and Alejandro Bedoya provided the other tallies, as the Canadian side put up little resistance in Chester. The bigger issue for the Union is that Andre Blake had to leave the game early with an injury, and then Kai Wagner got sent off late in a game that was well out of reach with an ill-advised tackle.

Orlando City 1 - 0 Vancouver Whitecaps

First a shout-out to the Whitecaps, who picked up their first win of the year in the midweek against the previously undefeated LAFC. Because this is the MLS, and results most of the time make no sense. It was then going to be a big stretch for them to make the longest trip between two MLS teams on short rest, and get a result. Plus, City's manager James O'Connor learned a secret from last week — if you start your best players, your team has a better chance of winning! A week after keeping Nani and Dom Dwyer out of the starting lineup against RSL, both were back in against Vancouver, and Nani scored the late winner for the Lions.

Crazy how that works. 

Atlanta United 1 - 2 FC Dallas

The first two years of Atlanta's existence went so well that the crash down to Earth this year has been quite the ride for the Five Stripes. The latest setback was the defeat at home to Dallas, leaving the champs at the bottom of the Eastern Conference once again. At some point, this regression to the mean was inevitable for Atlanta, because this is the MLS, where parity reigns supreme. But maybe Atlanta thought they were a bit immune to that, thanks to the success that Tata Martino and Miguel Almiron brought to them before heading elsewhere in the offseason.

This tweet — about the fans at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday — is pretty telling about how the reality of life in the MLS might sinking in to the fans of United.


Don't discount Luchi Gonzalez's side, by the way. Atlanta played well, but Dallas took their chances, and have now won five of their first eight games this season, getting a lot of production from their young, homegrown players. 

Columbus Crew 1 - 3 Portland Timbers

If we excuse the midweek Vancouver and LAFC result, this was the most surprising result of the week in MLS. Portland had been awful up until this point of the season, conceding goals at an alarming rate. Columbus had been mostly solid this year but managed to lay an egg at home in a rematch of the 2015 MLS Cup Final. Portland had been left frustrated last week with a late no-call against Dallas for a chance to get a point on the road, but were convincing in picking up their first win of the season in Ohio.

New England Revolution 1 - 0 New York Red Bulls

The rumors swirling around Red Bull Arena this past week were that former club legend, Thierry Henry, is set to become the new manager at the club. Which is awkward, because all that the man in charge now, Chris Armas, managed to do last year was take over midseason, and lead the club to the Supporters' Shield. But 2019 hasn't been kind to the Red Bulls, who have one win from seven games. 

The game at Gillette Stadium wasn't pretty on the eyes, though few contests in Foxborough are. But the two beleaguered teams were set apart by a Cristian Penilla goal, giving the Revs their second win on the season. 

San Jose Earthquakes 4 - 1 Sporting Kansas City

Where to begin with this one? The hosts, so bad during the early part of the season under Matias Almeyda, have now won two out of three. It wasn't even close on Saturday either, as the 'Quakes were up two goals by the 12th minute thanks to two tallies from Danny Hoesen. It was 4-0 in the second half before Felipe Gutierrez scored a consolation goal for SKC from the spot. 

For Sporting, it's only been 22 days since they beat Montreal 7-1 at home. Since then, SKC got destroyed in the Champions League semifinals by Monterrey to the tune of 10-2 over two legs. Draws against Cincy and NYRB were excusable because of those midweek games, but this result might indicate a bit more worry out in Kansas.  

D.C. United 0 - 2 New York City FC

United were quickly anointed the class of the Eastern Conference after a strong March, but they have quickly relinquished that crown in April. Three games at home this month have yielded zero goals with only one point to show for. The attack is missing something, with Luciano Acosta and Wayne Rooney not being able to have the same influence on games as last year.

NYC picked up their first win of the season on Sunday, but they might have also found their solution up top. In his first start, Brazilian striker Heber picked up his first goal and assist. He won't completely replace David Villa, but if Dome Torrent can get Heber contributing consistently, then wins will come more easily for the Pigeons. 

Los Angeles FC 4 - 1 Seattle Sounders

LAFC rebounded from their first loss to pick apart the last unbeaten team in MLS on Sunday evening. Carlos Vela continues to destroy teams in the league, as the Mexican forward scored twice against Seattle to become the first play to reach double digits in goals this year. Vela is stealing all the headlines, but Mark-Anthony Kaye was really the stand out performer against the Sounders.

Three assists from the Canadian midfielder helped LAFC pick up their seventh win from nine games this year. Kaye bounced around for a couple of years in America, playing mostly in USL before landing in LA. Apparently all he needed was the guidance of Bob Bradley, who has quickly turned the midfielder into one of the best in the league. The assist for Vela's first goal was quite something: