|
Sebastian Giovinco scored on an early highlight-reel goal and Toronto FC beat the Portland Timbers 1-0 on Saturday night. The 5-foot-4 Italian forward scored in the fifth minute with a spectacular left-footed shot from 25 yards out that beat diving goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey. Giovinco has five goals in 10 MLS games to tie the injured Jozy Altidore for the team lead. Giovinco has six goals in his last nine games in all competitions. Toronto had other chances to add to its total, but failed to beat Kwarasey, who made a number of spectacular saves. Portland's Diego Valeri limped off in the 25th minute after turning an ankle. The Argentine player was making his third start since returning from knee surgery. Jairo Arrieta scored in the 80th minute and D.C. United rallied to tie the nine-man New England Revolution 1-1. D.C. remained atop the Eastern Conference -- two points ahead of New England, which was down two players for 32 minutes and played solid defense until Taylor Kemp's cross connected with the unmarked Arrieta in front of goal for the equalizer. Chris Tierney was given a red card in the 52nd minute after a studs-up tackle of Chris Pontius just outside the penalty area. Six minutes later, Lee Nguyen was sent off after receiving his second yellow card. Charlie Davies gave New England a 1-0 lead in the first minute of stoppage time before the intermission. Juan Agudelo had his header blocked by goalkeeper Bill Hamid, but Davies pounced on the rebound for an easy tap in. Midfielder Ignacio Piatti had a goal and an assist to help the Montreal Impact beat FC Dallas 2-1. Piatti scored from the penalty spot in the 25th minute, and Jack McInerney added a second shortly after halftime for Montreal's second straight victory. Montreal won consecutive games for the first time since August 2013. Defender Matt Hedges scored for Dallas late in the second half, but it wasn't enough to keep the team's five-game unbeaten run alive. Tim Melia needed to make just one save, but it came late in the game as Sporting Kansas City played to a 0-0 tie with the Seattle Sounders. SKC scratched second-leading scorer Dom Dwyer just moments before the game because of a neck injury. Dwyer had four goals while starting and playing in all but 19 minutes of Kansas City's first 11 games. Melia picked up his second shutout in just his fourth game of the season for Kansas City. His only save came late in the 82nd minute on a 10-yard shot by Chad Barrett. Stefan Frei made his biggest save for the Sounders midway through the 3 minutes of stoppage time when he tipped a rising 25-yard shot by Benny Feilhaber. Lucas Pittinari scored his first MLS goal as the Colorado Rapids beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 to end an 11-game home winless streak. Colorado won for the first time at home since July 25, 2014, against Chivas USA. Vancouver lost consecutive matches for the first time this season. Pittinari's volley finish came in the 51st minute after a cleaver flick by Gabriel Torres. It was the first time this season Colorado has scored the initial goal at home. Meanwhile in Utha, John Stertzer and Alvaro Saborio scored as Real Salt Lake beat New York City FC 2-0 to extend the expansion team's winless streak to 10 games. Real Salt Lake spoiled the homecoming of NYC coach Jason Kreis, who led RSL from 2007-13. New York City has lost five of its last six games. Stertzer scored his first MLS goal in the 25th minute after Devon Sandoval's glancing header was misplayed by the defense. Stertzer was first to the ball and he sent in a well-angled shot. Saborio headed in Luke Mulholland's cross in the 49th minute. Nick Rimando recorded his 120th career shutout.
|
