MLS Week 1 Recap: Timbers Win Cup Rematch


By: Danny Shin
Major League Soccer kicked off the 2016 season on Sunday and set a record amount of goals, 36, on opening day. With more matches coming fast and furious for the rest of the season, here is a recap of all ten matches from Week 1:
New York Red Bulls 0-2 Toronto FC
In arguably the most shocking result of the day, Toronto went into Red Bull Arena and took all three points from the defending Supporters’ Shield winners. A revamped Toronto defense held strong against increasing pressure from the home side, and took the lead on a Sebastian Giovinco penalty kick in the 81st minute. The reigning MVP also added an assist to Marky Delgado in stoppage time to secure the victory.
Chicago Fire 3-4 New York City FC
This was the wildest game of the opening weekend. Obviously, based on the score line, both back lines had their struggles. Tommy McNamara scored the first goal of the new season on a beautiful curling shot early in the first half. Tony Taylor, Khiry Shelton, and Mix Diskerud provided the other goals for the visitors.
Orlando City SC 2-2 Real Salt Lake
An unbelievable stoppage-time comeback earned Orlando City a point in front of 60,000 fans at the Citrus Bowl. RSL went down a man in the 20th minute, but earned a penalty to take the lead in the 26th minute. Orlando’s Darwin Ceren picked up a straight red card at the end of the first half to level the sides at 10 men. Joao Plata scored a second goal for RSL in the 66th minute. The lead lasted until the 94th minute when Cyle Larin got one back for Orlando. Less than a minute later, Adrian Winter scored the improbable equalizer to send the Citrus Bowl into a frenzy.
FC Dallas 2-0 Philadelphia Union
A perfect day for FC Dallas was marred when Fabian Castillo was stretchered off the field in stoppage time. Castillo scored the first goal from a through ball from Mauro Diaz in the first half. Dallas wouldn’t score until deep in the second half when newcomer Maxi Urruti scored his first goal for the club. This match could have easily been more lopsided if not for the spectacular play of Philadelphia keeper Andre Blake.
Houston Dynamo 3-3 New England Revolution
Houston had to settle for a point after a late equalizer against New England. The Revs struck first with a beautiful goal from Diego Fagundez in the third minute, but the Dynamo would go on to take leads of 2-1 and 3-2 late. Giles Barnes had the third goal for Houston, after one each from newcomers Cristian Maidana and Andrew Wenger. In stoppage time, Daigo Kobayashi’s header snatched a point on the road for New England.
San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 Colorado Rapids
It’s no surprise that a Chris Wondolowski goal made the difference in this match. At the beginning of the second half, Alberto Quintero hit Wondolowski with a cross that the striker headed past Zack MacMath for the goal. Colorado actually won the possession battle, but were not able to finish in the final third.
Portland Timbers 2-1 Columbus Crew SC
A rematch of December’s MLS Cup Final produced the same exact scoreline, as Portland defeated Columbus once again. Diego Valeri opened the scoring on a free kick in the 23rd minute. After the Timbers couldn’t capitalize on several opportunities, Columbus equalized on an amazing bicycle kick goal from Federico Higuain. The winning goal from Fanendo Adi was nowhere near as spectacular, but it got Portland the three points they desired.
Vancouver Whitecaps 2-3 Montreal Impact
Ignacio Piatti proved to be too much for the Whitecaps to handle as Montreal won on the road. Without Didier Drogba in front of him, Piatti scored two goals and assisted Dominic Oduro on the other. The Whitecaps did not go down without a fight, but eight saves from Evan Bush sealed the three points for the Impact.
Seattle Sounders 0-1 Sporting KC
Sporting KC took all three points against ten-man Seattle. The Sounders started the match strong, but were unable to finish their early chances, one of which came from rookie phenom Jordan Morris. Despite the one-man advantage, SKC struggled to break down a disciplined Sounders defense. So it was only fitting that Nuno Coelho, a center back, took a chance from 25 yards out and ended up scoring. Stephan Frei should have done better.
LA Galaxy 4-1 DC United
Los Angeles overcame an early fifth minute goal from Lamar Neagle and ended up with a big win over DC. After a disappointing first half, the Galaxy began to click on the attack in the second half. The story of the game was the triumphant return of Mike Magee, who was subbed in to start the second half after an injury to Giovani dos Santos. “Magic Mike” was involved in every Galaxy goal, scoring two himself, setting up a third and drawing a penalty on the fourth.

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