Toronto FC Wins MLS Supporters' Shield Behind Justin Morrow's Hat Trick
A roundup of Saturday's MLS action.
Toronto 4, New York 2
TORONTO (AP) — Victor Vazquez broke a tie in the 80th minute on a penalty kick and Toronto FC became the first Canadian team to win the Supporters' Shield as the MLS regular-season champion, beating the New York Red Bulls 4-2 on Saturday night.
Toronto wingback Justin Morrow sealed it in stoppage time with his third goal of the night before a sellout crowd of 28,979 at BMO Field.
Toronto players mobbed goalkeeper Alex Bono when the final whistle blew, marking TFC's official rise from league doormat to the MLS's best. They then posed for a photo in front of the south stand fans.
Toronto (19-5-8) has assured itself home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, including the MLS Cup Final if it gets back there. The Supporters Shield also means $130,000 will be deposited in the Toronto players' bonus pool.
New York's Daniel Royer tied it at 2-all with a 77th-minute penalty after defender Drew Moor scythed down New York striker Gonzalo Veron in the box. But referee Allen Chapman pointed to the spot again minutes later when Aaron Long was caught all over Jozy Altidore in the box.
New York (12-12-7) is 0-3-5 in its last eight games.
Columbus 2, D.C. 0
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Josh Williams and Justin Meram scored and the Columbus Crew clinched an Eastern Conference playoff spot with a 2-0 victory over D.C. United on Saturday night.
Williams opened the scoring in the 14th minute, finishing Federico Higuain's corner with a header from the middle of the area. Meram scored in the 56th with a blast from the left corner of the 18-yard box that hit under the crossbar.
The Crew (15-12-5) improved their unbeaten streak to eight games and finished the night alone in fifth place in the East. With two games remaining, they have an outside chance to move up into the top four and host a knockout round match.
D.C. United fell to 9-18-5.
Orlando 1, Dallas 1
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jesse Gonzalez made two of his four saves in second-half stoppage time to preserve FC Dallas' scoreless draw with Orlando City on Saturday.
Gonzalez closed out his ninth shutout of the season, stopping Yoshimar Yotun's close-range attempt in the 94th minute and Yotun's right-footed shot from outside the box in the 96th. Gonzalez also dived and punched away Seb Hines' point-blank header in the 76th minute.
Orlando City goalkeeper Joe Bendik had all five of his saves in the first 53 minutes for his seventh shutout of the year.
The draw did little to help the postseason chances of FC Dallas (10-9-12), which remained in a three-way battle with Real Salt Lake and the Houston Dynamo for the last two playoff positions in the Western Conference.
Orlando City (10-13-9) is on the brink of elimination in the East.
Atlanta 0, New England 0
FOXBORO, Mass. (AP) — Brad Guzan made five saves, barely deflecting Lee Nguyen's free kick in the 87th minute, to give Atlanta United a 0-0 draw with the New England Revolution on Saturday night.
Nguyen's long kick from the left side curved left, almost fooling Guzan, but the goalkeeper was able to leap and barely punch it into the crossbar. He made another save off a set piece in stoppage time.
New England (11-15-6), clinging to very slim playoff hopes, controlled possession but couldn't break through against Guzan, who recorded his seventh shutout of the season.
Brad Knighton made two saves and picked up his first shutout in three starts this season.
Atlanta United (15-8-8), which clinched a playoff berth with a win over Philadelphia on Wednesday, picked up a point in its bid to climb the standings and claim a first-round bye. United ran its unbeaten streak to eight while the draw ended the Revolution's six-game home win streak.
Chicago 1, NYCFC 1
BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) — David Villa tied it in the 43rd minute with his 20th goal of the season and New York City FC held on for a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire on Saturday night.
Villa settled Maximiliano Moralez's chip pass at the top of the box and maneuvered to his right around goalkeeper Matt Lampson for the finish.
Nemanja Nikolic gave the Fire the lead in the 20th minute, pouncing on NYCFC's Moralez defensive miscue. Moralez dribbled backward into the 6-yard box and, when he lost control, Nikolic buried it for his 21st goal of the season.
City (16-8-8) stayed in second place in the Eastern Conference but was the last team eliminated from the Supporters' Shield race with Toronto FC clinching on Saturday. The Fire (15-10-7) remained in fourth.
Bastian Schweinsteiger made his first appearance for Chicago since Sept. 2, entering as a substitute in the 71st minute.
Houston 2, Minnesota 1
HOUSTON (AP) — Alberth Elis and Romell Quioto scored second-half goals and the Houston Dynamo beat the Minnesota United 2-1 on Saturday night.
The Dynamo (11-10-10) snapped a six-game (0-3-3) winless streak to remain in playoff contention in the Western Conference with three games left.
Elis scored a header from close range that just beat goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth in the 69th minute. Quioto scored another header from the center of the six-yard box in the 85th. Vicente Sanchez assisted on both goals. Elis and Quioto each took six shots. Elis missed a headed shot and Quioto sailed a shot over the crossbar in the second half.
Sam Nicholson scored in the first minute of second-half stoppage time for Minnesota (9-16-5). Shuttleworth made five saves for the Loons, who had won two consecutive games.
Colorado 2, Montreal 1
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Alan Gordon finished Dominique Badji's low cross for the go-ahead goal in the 81st minute and the 10-man Colorado Rapids beat the 10-man Montreal Impact 2-1 on Saturday night.
Referee Jorge Gonzalez, after video review, issued a straight red card to Rapids midfielder Jared Watts in the 12th minute for a studs-up challenge. Montreal lost the man advantage in the 32nd when Daniel Lovitz was sent off for a late knee.
Stefan Aigner gave the Rapids (8-18-5) the early lead in the third minute of first-half stoppage time with his first career MLS goal—a header from the middle of the box to finish Mekeil Williams' deep diagonal cross.
Matteo Mancosu's long-range blast into the top right corner tied it for Montreal (11-15-6) in the 62nd minute.
The Impact have lost three straight and seven of their last eight.
Vancouver 1, Kansas City 0
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Erik Hurtado scored in the 53rd minute and the Vancouver Whitecaps beat Sporting Kansas City 1-0 on Saturday night to clinch a playoff spot.
Vancouver (15-10-6) bounced back from a 3-0 loss to the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday night. Sporting KC (12-7-11) had won three straight and had its 24-game home win streak snapped.
Jordan Harvey sailed the ball across midfield and over three defenders to Hurtado, who flicked the ball past diving goalkeeper Tim Melia.
Diego Rubio took five first-half shots for Sporting KC. Rubio's penalty kick attempt beat goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic, but his shot hit the post in the tenth minute. Marinovic stopped Rubio's diving header attempt four minutes later. Rubio tried another header off a corner kick, but he bounced the ball right into Marinovic's stomach just before the break.
Marinovic finished with seven saves.
San Jose 2, Portland 1
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Valeri Qazaishvili had a goal and an assist to lead the San Jose Earthquakes to a 2-1 victory over the Portland Timbers on Saturday night.
The Earthquakes (12-14-6) bounced back from two consecutive blowout losses (4-0 to D.C. United and 4-1 to the Chicago Fire) to keep their playoff hopes alive.
Portland (13-11-8) has lost two of its last three games and is four points back of the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Whitecaps.
Qazaishvili bent his shot to the right post and past diving goalkeeper Jeff Attinella in the 16th minute. Danny Hoesen shot between a defender's legs and into the bottom left corner of the net in the 49th minute. Chris Wondolowski and Qazaishvili assisted on the goal.
The Timbers' Sebastian Blanco scored in the 87th minute for his sixth goal of the season.
Salt Lake 1, Los Angeles 1
CARSON, Calif. (AP) — Kyle Beckerman tied it in the 95th minute and 10-man Real Salt Lake escaped with a 1-1 draw against the LA Galaxy on Saturday night.
Goalkeeper Clement Diop punched away Joao Plata's free kick, but David Horst gathered the rebound and fed it out to Beckerman for the equalizer.
RSL's Marcelo Silva was sent off in the 14th minute after he hooked the arm of Giovani Dos Santos 20 yards from goal. Referee Rubiel Vazquez determined it was the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity after video review.
Bradford Jamieson scored for the Galaxy (7-17-8) in the 41st minute, letting Jermaine Jones' pass run by him and flicking it home with a right-footed finish.
Gyasi Zardes left due to a groin injury in the 33rd minute and Jefferson Savarino suffered a leg injury in the 69th.
Real Salt Lake (12-14-6) is sixth in the West.
