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Union Halt Sounders' MLS-Record Winning Streak With Stoppage Time Goal
SEATTLE — Fafa Picault scored in the third minute of second-half stoppage time Wednesday night, and the Philadelphia Union halted Seattle's MLS-record nine-game winning streak by beating the Sounders 1-0.
Goalkeeper Stefan Frei rolled a soft clearance pass out toward defender Gustav Svensson. But Picault got to the ball an instant before Svensson did and took it into the left side of the penalty area 1-on-1 against Frei. From 8 yards away, he drilled it into the back center of the net for his eighth goal of the season.
The Union (13-12-4) won for the fifth time in six games.
The Sounders (13-10-5) lost for the first time since dropping a 3-2 decision to Portland in Seattle on June 30. In addition to the nine straight wins, they had an overall unbeaten streak of 12 games during that stretch (10-0-2), just one shy of the club record.
Philadelphia thought it had gotten on the board in the 65th minute when a long through ball from Haris Medunjanin found Cory Burke streaking up the right wing side. Burke took the ball to the right side of the 6-yard box and sent a shallow shot across the goalmouth and into the far side of the net.
The Sounders were back at midfield preparing to kick off when the video review was called. After just a few seconds, referee Ismail Elfath walked away from the screen and waved off the goal, ruling that Burke had been offside.
Portland Timbers 3, Columbus Crew 2
Andy Polo's first goal in Major League Soccer put the Timbers in front before the end of the first half and Portland went on to defeat the Columbus Crew 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Polo also had an assist on David Guzman's tying goal after the short-handed Crew went up in the opening minutes.
Niko Hansen scored both goals for the Columbus, including one that narrowed Portland's margin in stoppage time.
Portland, which won the MLS Cup championship in 2015, doesn't have much time to make up ground in the Western Conference with just five games remaining.
The Timbers were coming off a 4-1 loss at Houston, a setback for their playoff position. Going into the match against the Crew, Portland held the sixth and final playoff spot in the Western West.
The Crew have lost four straight road games.
Columbus coach Greg Berhalter did not start top scorer Gyasi Zardes or midfielder Justin Meram. Federico Higuain was left off the roster of players available for the game.
Zardes had made 28 consecutive starts. He leads the Crew with 15 goals, and is one goal shy of matching his previous season high.
The Crew went into the match sitting in fourth in the Eastern Conference, coming off a scoreless draw at Dallas last Saturday. They'll turn around quickly and host Colorado this Saturday.
Niko Hansen's goal in the seventh minute put the Crew in front early, but the Timbers tied it up with David Guzman's goal in the 18th.
Portland went ahead before halftime on Polo's goal. Polo headed a shot which was parried by Columbus defender Milton Valenzuela and the argentine midfielder followed through with a mid-air kick into the goal.
Portland padded the lead in the 48th minute on Samuel Armenteros' shot that deflected off of Lalas Abubakar for an own goal.
It was the first time the Timbers won this season after conceding the first goal.
The last time the two teams met was last year in Columbus, with the Crew coming out ahead 3-2.
Atlanta United 4, San Jose Earthquakes 3
Josef Martinez scored his second goal of the game in stoppage time and Supporters' Shield leader Atlanta United rallied to beat the San Jose Earthquakes 4-3 on Wednesday night, spoiling the debut of interim coach Steve Ralston.
The game changed on a video replay midway through the second half. San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski had a goal reversed - that would have made it 4-1 - due to a handball that wasn't called at the other end.
Atlanta was given a penalty kick and Martinez scored to pull to 3-2 in the 70th minute. Three minutes later, Miguel Almiron tied it by knocking home a loose ball in front of the goal.
Martinez headed home his 30th goal of the season in the 95th, securing Atlanta a home playoff game.
Atlanta (18-5-6) has only lost once in its last 10 games - with seven victories. San Jose (4-17-8) has lost eight of its last 12.
San Jose made a coaching change on Monday, firing first-year head coach Mikael Stahre, after its worst home loss in four years - allowing five goals to Sporting Kansas City.
