With the clock ticking down on the season, Major League Soccer had an (almost) full slate of matches on Wednesday night. Colorado’s trip to Dallas was postponed due to the weather, but the other eleven matches took place, with plenty of action, from a hat trick out west to a late, late equalizer north of the border.
FC Cincinnati 1-2 New York Red Bulls
Alvas Powell was sent off late on, and Cincinnati played a rotated team which couldn’t come back from two early goals by a New York side who are still firmly in the playoff mix.
New England Revolution 1-2 Columbus Crew
Malte Amundsen came off the bench to score a late winner for the visitors, who slipped a point ahead of the Revs with the result.
Philadelphia Union 3-2 Atlanta United
The hosts’ vaunted attacking trio of Daniel Gazdag, Julián Carranza and Mikael Uhre all netted in the space of six first half minutes as the Union snapped a run of five draws.
Charlotte FC 3-0 Toronto FC
Charlotte were all too happy to extend hapless Toronto’s five-match losing run as Karol Swiderski scored twice from the penalty spot and set up Brecht Dejaegere to keep their faint playoff hopes alive.
CF Montréal 1-1 Houston Dynamo FC
Lassi Lappalainen scored in the fifth minute of added time as Montréal saw their seven-match winless run extended but kept hold of the second play-in spot with the point.
Nashville SC 0-1 Orlando City
Duncan McGuire scored his tenth goal of the season to hand Nashville a rare home loss, with the hosts having Daniel Lovitz sent off late on.
Austin FC 3-0 D.C. United
Brad Stuver made eight saves in goal and Sebastián Driussi had a goal and an assist to help Austin snap an eight-match winless run and keep their playoff hopes alive in the process.
Chicago Fire FC 4-1 Inter Miami CF
The Fire won their second straight match to move into the play-in positions. Xherdan Shaqiri and substitute Maren Haile-Selassie both had a brace as Miami, still playing without Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba, failed to find the net from open play, Josef Martínez’s second half penalty their only goal.
Los Angeles Football Club 5-1 Minnesota United FC
Dénis Bouanga scored a hat trick to go top of the MLS scoring charts, helping the defending MLS Cup champions shake off a frustrating loss on Sunday against Real Salt Lake.
Seattle Sounders FC 2-1 LA Galaxy
The hosts all but ended the Galaxy’s fading play-off hopes as they kept pace in a tight race for second place in the Western Conference thanks to goals from Jordan Morris and Cristian Roldan.
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 3-0 St. Louis CITY SC
The Whitecaps used second-half goals from Richie Laryea, Brian White and Sebastian Berhalter to clinch at least a play-in spot in the Western Conference, beating a St. Louis side who rested several key players.
