There was some tight competition this past weekend in Major League Soccer. Three games were scheduled over the two-day span.
All three games were decided by two goals or less.
Saturday: Charlotte 2, N.Y. Red Bulls 0
Charlotte F.C., in their inaugural season, defeated the New York Red Bulls by a final score of 2-0 in the Queen City.
Charlotte was on the attack early. But New York’s defense held strong.
In the waning moments of the first half, New York found themselves on the counterattack. Lewis Morgan had his low driven, left footed shot parried away by Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.
Right before the intermission, Charlotte pressed with one more opportunity to score. They finally were able to capitalize.
Midfielder Ben Bender drove home a left-footed missile to give Charlotte a 1-0 lead at the half.
New York opened the second half more urgently, creating an early opportunity with John Tolkin. But he shanked the ball well wide.
In the 58th minute, the Red Bulls were given a tremendous chance to equalize after a penalty call.
But the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) provided enough evidence for referee Guido Gonzales Jr. to overturn his original call and Charlotte held on to its narrow one-goal lead.
Seven minutes of stoppage time were added to the game. Charlotte continued to press on New York, especially on the counterattack. And they broke through once again in the closing moments.
Second-year youngster Derrick Jones slotted home the nail in the coffin. With just six minutes to play, Charlotte led New York 2-0.
That would be the final score when Guido Gonzalez Jr. blew the final whistle.
Saturday: Nashville 0, San Jose 0
Goals were hard to come by at GEODIS Park in northern Tennessee on Saturday as Nashville F.C. and San Jose Earthquakes finished in a goalless draw.
That is not to say neither team had its chances.
Just nine minutes into the game, Nashville’s Luke Haakenson looked like he had an open goal to shoot at when he maneuvered his way around San Jose goalkeeper J.T. Marcinkowski.
But Paul Marie, one of the Earthquake’s most capped players, came out of nowhere and laid his entire body out to deflect Haakenson’s attempt at goal.
Rather than taking a 1-0 lead, all Nashville could settle for was a corner kick.
That was the best chance Nashville had to get on the board. Despite continuing to attack, the home team were unable to break through San Jose’s stringent defense.
The second half saw the Earthquakes gain some confidence on the offensive side of the pitch. They began to possess the ball and created opportunities to score.
It was also a much chippier 45 minutes of play, as four yellow cards were assessed in the second half.
Nashville and San Jose each finished with six shots on target. Despite outshooting San Jose (14 to 11), Nashville F.C. could never find the back of the net.
Despite the disappointing outcome, each team secured one point in the MLS standings.
Sunday: Sporting K.C. 1, New England 2
It was a cloudy day in Kansas City on Sunday. Sporting K.C. fans were hoping their team could bring a little sunshine into their day with a win against the visiting New England Revolution.
Unfortunately for them, that was not the case.
New England struck first in the 30th minute of the match. Midfielder Dylan Borrero chipped a beautiful ball right to the feet of Argentine forward Gustavo Bou.
With his back facing the goal, Bou made a 360-degree turn and smashed the ball into the left corner of the goal.
Bou and New England retained that lead heading into the halftime break.
Things didn’t get better for the home team. In the 48th minute, Sporting K.C. midfielder Oriol Rossell was assessed his second yellow card of the game. He was ejected and his team was forced to play down one player for the rest of the game.
But Sporting K.C. did not let that interfere with their will to continue battling. Their efforts paid off just four minutes later with a goal from Johnny Russell to tie the game.
Just like that, Kansas City fans had hope.
The exhaustion of both teams became visible as the final minutes of the game approached. It seemed there was only one more chance for either team to break the deadlock.
That opportunity came for New England in the 87th minute.
Gustavo Bou had a right footed shot deflected by Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia. But that deflection found its way right into the path of incoming Revolution midfielder Emmanuel Boateng.
Although he did not produce the cleanest of strikes, Boateng’s attempt found the back of the net and provided New England with a 2-1 lead.
Despite seven minutes of stoppage time added to the end of the game, Sporting K.C. could not make a comeback.
New England secured its fifth win of the season. The team sits in eighth place in the MLS Eastern Conference.
Upcoming MLS Schedule
There will be two MLS games before the weekend.
The Seattle Sounders face off against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. EST. New England will host Orlando City F.C. on Wednesday with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. EST.
This upcoming weekend will be a busy one in the MLS. There are 10 games scheduled for Saturday and four scheduled for Sunday.
