MLS: Wright-Phillips nets hat trick as Red Bulls shut out Toronto FC
HARRISON, N.J. (AP) — Bradley Wright-Phillips had his first hat trick since 2014—when he had three—and the New York Red Bulls beat Toronto FC 3-0 on Saturday night.
Wright-Phillips scored in the fourth, 25th and 27th minutes for the fastest hat trick in MLS history. He has eight goals in the last seven game — the Red Bulls are 5-1-1 in that span — after going scoreless in the first seven.
New York (6-7-1) survived a full half playing a man down after Gonzalo Veron was shown a red card in the 43rd.
USA routs Bolivia, but will it help vs. Colombia in Copa America?
Wright-Phillips opened the scoring with a header, off the feed from Sacha Kljestan, from the center of the box. Kljestan again found Wright-Phillips, who froze the defender and went near post, to make it 2-0 before finding the back of the net from the corner of the 6-yard box. Kljestan lead MLS with 10 assists.
Toronto (4-5-4) in winless in its last four matches.
The Red Bulls, who had an MLS-low three points on April 24, moved into a tie with Philadelphia atop Eastern Conference.
Revolution 2, Sounders 1
FOXOBORO, Mass. (AP) — Lee Nguyen scored on a penalty kick and assisted on Femi Hollinger-Janzen's go-ahead goal in the New England Revolution's 2-1 victory over the Seattle Sounders on Saturday night.
Nguyen tied it in the 24th minute after the referee ruled that defender Erik Friberg handled the ball inside the penalty area. Nguyen has a goal and an assist in each of the last three matches.
Hollinger-Janzen, who entered the game in the 76th minute, went to the far post from outside the box to give the Revolution (3-4-7) the lead about 4 minutes later.
Dynamo 1, Whitecaps 1
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Defender DaMarcus Beasley scored in the 20th minute to help the Houston Dynamo tie the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-1 on Saturday.
With assistant coaches Wade Barrett, Paul Caffrey and Paul Rogers directing the team following head coach Owen Coyle's resignation Wednesday, the Dynamo improved to 3-7-3 overall and 0-6-1 on the road.
Houston opened the scoring on a pretty pass from midfielder Alex. The Brazilian slipped a ball between two defenders to an open Beasley. He then beat goalkeeper David Ousted for his first goal of the season.
Octavio Rivero tied it for Vancouver (6-6-3) in the 53rd minute. Rivero settled down a loose ball, then boomed a right-footed shot from about 10 yards out that twisted into the net past the outstretched fingers of goalkeeper Tyler Deric. It was the second goal of the year for the designated player from Uruguay.
Tempers flared near the end of the first half. Houston's Alex threw a punch and kicked at Vancouver midfielder Pedro Morales. Morales kicked back at Alex and teammates had to restrain both players. Referee Drew Fischer gave both red cards, forcing the teams to play the rest of the game with 10 players each.
Crew 4, Real Salt Lake 3
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ola Kamara scored his first career MLS goal and added two more for a hat trick in the Columbus Crew's 4-3 victory over Real Salt Lake on Saturday night.
Kamara scored his second and third goals on headers in the 64th and 74th minutes to give the Crew (3-4-5) a 4-1 lead.
Jordan Allen scored in the 78th and Joao Plata in the 84th to pull Real Salt Lake (6-4-2) within one goal.
Luke Mulholland opened the scoring in the 13th minute for RSL with a 20-yard shot into the upper-right corner.
Ola Kamara netted his first goal to tie it in the 17th minute, finishing Justin Meram's cross through the 6-yard box with a sliding, right-footed finish. Justin Glad's own goal 3 minutes later gave the Crew a 2-1 lead.
The opening kickoff was delayed 1 hour, 40 minutes because of lightning in the area.
Impact 3, Galaxy 2
MONTREAL (AP) — Didier Drogba scored on a free kick in stoppage time to give the Montreal Impact a 3-2 victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday night.
In the dying seconds of stoppage time, Drogba scored from 30 yards out.
"I just wanted to hit the target, and that's what I did," said Drogba, who has scored in four consecutive matches. "I was lucky enough that the goalkeeper didn't hold it. These things happen. That's football. That's the game."
Galaxy goalkeeper Brian Rowe missed a punch attempt and the ball spun into the back of the net.
"I knew his capabilities for free kicks," Rowe said. "I knew he was just going to try to make it knuckle, make it dance. I just took my eye off it for a second. It's definitely a frustrating one. The guys put in a good effort and they deserved a better result."
Ignacio Piatti and Lucas Ontivero also scored to help Montreal (5-4-4) end a six-game winless streak.
"We really needed that win," Montreal coach Mauro Biello said. "What a big goal by Didier. It's great for the morale and the confidence. My dressing room was very vibrant after the game. I don't think I've heard Saputo Stadium that loud in all the years."
Giovani dos Santos and Mike Magee scored for the Galaxy (5-2-5) in their first loss in 10 matches.
Fire 1, Timbers 1
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) — David Accam scored for the first time in more than two months to help the Chicago Fire tie the Portland Timbers 1-1 on Saturday night.
Accam, who missed six games because of a knee injury and was suspended for a seventh, redirected a low cross from Kenney Igboananike into the net to tie it in the 20th minute.
Diego Valeri put the Timbers in front about 2 minutes earlier, side-netting a right footer after winning an errant clearance.
Chicago (2-5-5) hasn't had a multi-goal game since its season-opening, 4-3 loss to NYCFC on March 6. The Fire are last in MLS with 11 points and 10 goals.
Jake Gleeson had five saves for Portland (4-6-4). He has allowed 12 goals in seven starts since replacing injured-starter Adam Kwarasey — who recorded 13 shutouts and helped the Timbers win the MLS Cup last season.
Rapids 1, Union 1
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Brian Carroll tied it in 92nd minute and the Philadelphia Union escaped with a 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids in a showdown of the Western and Eastern conference leaders.
Carroll ran underneath Fabian Herbers' high-arching header and slotted the finish under goalkeeper Zac MacMath from close range.
The Union (5-3-5) responded only 5 minutes after the Rapids (8-2-4) opened the scoring on Sam Cronin's header in the 87th minute. Cronin made a deep run to connect with Marlon Hairston's cross from the right flank, redirecting it into the far corner of the goal.
Both Dillon Powers and Luis Solignac had shots crash off the crossbar for the Rapids after the 70th minute.
The Union extended their unbeaten streak to seven while the Rapids stayed unbeaten in their nine home games this season.
