MLS: Late goal keeps Sounders’ playoff hopes alive; NYCFC and FC Dallas draw
SEATTLE (AP) — By his own admission, Jordan Morris didn't know if he would have scored that kind of a goal early in the season.
All that mattered to the Seattle Sounders; rookie forward is he scored one on Saturday afternoon.
Morris tallied in the 81st minute, and the Sounders beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 1–0 to keep their MLS playoff hopes alive.
Nicolas Lodeiro set up the goal by floating a target ball into the penalty area toward the top of goalkeeper David Ousted's 6-yard box. Morris ran onto it through traffic and sent a diving header into the net.
Vancouver (9-14-7), also trying to stay in the playoff picture, has just two wins in its last 11 games.
Up to the time of Morris' goal, the Sounders (10-13-5), who won for the first time since Aug. 21 and snapped a three-game winless streak, had the clear run of play. But they had nothing to show for it.
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Lodeiro, the Uruguayan international who joined the Sounders at the end of July and has played every minute of the eight games since then, has factored into the scoring into the last seven of those games. He has seven assists, along with three goals.
Goalkeeper Stefan Frei had his sixth shutout of the season, and came up big twice during the first half to preserve it.
NEW YORK CITY FC 2, FC DALLAS 2
NEW YORK (AP) — Khiry Shelton finished Jack Harrison's diagonal cross with a header in the 78th minute and New York City FC tied MLS-leading FC Dallas 2–2 on Saturday night.
Michael Barrios scored his ninth goal of the season in the 52nd minute to give FC Dallas (15-8-7) a 2–1 lead. Maximiliano Urruti slotted one into the top netting from a narrow angle to make it 1-all in the 20th. Mauro Rosales assisted both FC Dallas goals.
Thomas McNamara opened the scoring in the eighth minute for NYCFC (12-9-9) with a right-footed shot from the center of the box.
Both teams had late opportunities to score one-on-one against the goalkeepers. But NYCFC goalkeeper Josh Saunders deflected Tesho Akindele's attempt in the 90th and NYCFC's Steven Mendoza pulled his shot wide right in the 93rd.
Frank Lampard left in the 42nd minute after going to the turf and holding his left calf.
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TIMBERS 2, UNION 1
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Diego Valeri and Fanendo Adi scored second-half goals to give the Portland Timbers a 2–1 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday
The victory gave Portland (11-11-8) 41 points and moved it ahead of Sporting Kansas City for fifth place in the Western Conference. The loss kept Philadelphia (11-11-8) at 41 points. The Union are fourth in the Eastern Conference.
In the first minute of the half, Portland's Darren Mattocks turned past defender Keegan Rosenberry on the Philadelphia end line, then delivered a driven pass to Valeri a couple yards from goal. From that close, it was a simple task for the forward to redirect the ball past goalkeeper Andre Blake for his 12th goal of the season.
Less than a minute later, Philadelphia evened the score. Fabian Herbers drove toward the edge of the Portland penalty area, where two defenders forced him into overrunning the ball. Fortunately for the Union, Chris Pontius was following the play and jumped on the stationary ball, slamming a left-footed shot past Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson for his 11th goal.
Portland regained the lead in the 53rd minute, with Mattocks again setting things up. After collecting a poor clearance by Rosenberry, Mattocks attempted a 12-yard shot, which deflected off Adi standing on the 6-yard line and into the goal for his 15th goal of the year.
Valeri and Adi have scored 27 of Portland's 45 goals this season. The next highest scorer on the team is Jack McInerney with five, the last on July 13.
CREW 4, ORLANDO CITY FC 1
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Ola Kamara had two goals and an assist and the Columbus Crew beat Orlando City 4–1 on Saturday night to end a two-game losing streak.
The Crew (6-11-11) opened the scoring in the sixth minute when Justin Meram's pass from the midfield circle split the Orlando City defense. Kamara took it first and laid it off to Ethan Finlay for the open-net finish.
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Finlay and Kamara ran behind the Orlando defense again in the 44th minute, this time with Finlay setting up an easy finish for Kamara.
Kamara capped the scoring in the 95th minute with his 13th goal of the season.
Cyle Larin scored his 14th of the year for Orlando City (7-9-13) on a right-footed shot from behind the penalty arc in the 79th minute. Seb Hines scored an own goal in the 22nd minute to make it 2-0 for Columbus.
REVOLUTION 3, IMPACT 1
MONTREAL (AP) — Kai Kamara scored in the first minute and Kelyn Rowe added two goals to help the New England Revolution beat the Montreal Impact 3–1 on Saturday night.
The Revolution (9-12-9), who lost to Dallas in the U.S. Open Cup final this week, posted a third straight win in Major League Soccer play with only their second road victory of the season. New England moved two points behind fifth-place Montreal in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Didier Drogba scored on a penalty for Montreal (9-9-4), which has only one win in seven games. Perhaps more alarmingly, the Impact are 0-3-1 and have conceded 11 goals in their last four home games.
RAPIDS 0, EARTHQUAKES 0
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Colorado's Tim Howard made a highlight save in the first half, San Jose's David Bingham added his own after the break and the Rapids and Earthquakes played to a scoreless draw Saturday night.
The Rapids (12-5-11) stayed undefeated at home and moved into second place in the overall standings, tied with the Los Angeles Galaxy and five points behind FC Dallas. The Quakes (7-8-13) tied the Vancouver Whitecaps for eighth place in the West, five points out of the playoffs.
Howard got caught leaning the wrong way in the 42nd minute but managed to kick away Fatai Alashe's close-range shot and pounced on the deflection in time as it rolled near to the goal line.
Bingham closed out Dominique Badji, who had run behind the San Jose defense, and blocked the shot attempt safely to near midfield in the 68th.
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DYNAMO 1, REAL SALT LAKE 0
SANDY, Utah (AP) — Alex scored off a defensive miscue in the first half and Houston held off Real Salt Lake for the Utah club's first home loss of the season.
Real Salt Lake (12-10-8) midfielder John Stertzer turned it over deep in his own end as a result of Ricardo Clark's pressure. Alex pounced on the loose ball and free path at goal, slotting a toe punch past goalkeeper Nick Rimando in the 36th minute.
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RSL have gone winless in its last three and dropped to 8-1-6 at home in 2016.
The Dynamo (6-11-11) ended a three-game winless streak and moved out of last place in the overall standings. Houston is 10 points below the Western Conference red line with six games left.
