Wallace, Villa lead NYCFC over Atlanta 3-1
NEW YORK — Rodney Wallace scored a goal and had two assists, David Villa added a goal and an assist, and New York City FC pulled away from Atlanta FC in the second half for a 3-1 win on Sunday.
Both teams entered ranked in the top-five in the Eastern Conference in scoring, with Atlanta United (3-4-2) leading the way with 18 goals scored and a plusseven goal differential.
The teams traded goals in the first half for a 1-1 tie.
Villa struck first for New York City, rifling through a goal from the top of the box in the 17th minute.
Atlanta’s Carlos Carmona netted the equalizer late in the half (39th minute).
The goal was Carmona’s first of the season.
New York City (5-3-1) pulled away in the second half, however, scoring two goals within a one-minute span to put the game away.
Wallace found the net first in the 60th minute, sneaking through the center of the box to receive a pass from Ethan White and apply the finishing touch.
Maximiliano Morález added the insurance one minute later, drilling one home from 10 yards out.
This was the first meeting between the two clubs.
Abu Danladi scored his first career MLS goal and added an assist and host Minnesota United stunned Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.
Sporting KC (5-2-3) began the day in a first-place tie atop the Western Conference with FC Dallas while Minnesota has struggled in its expansion season, entering 10 points behind Kansas City.
Dablani struck first for Minnesota United in the 22nd minute.
The rookie forward and first overall selection in the 2017 MLS Draft streaked through the center of the box, took a pass from Miguel Ibarra, and hammered it through.
Christian Ramirez added the insurance goal for Minnesota with a header in the 39th minute, set up by Danladi and Ibarra.
The match is the first time this season Sporting KC has trailed by two goals, and the first time Minnesota United led an opponent at the half.
With the victory, Minnesota United (3-5-2) jumped from 10th to seventh in the conference standings.
Jozy Altidore scored on a penalty kick early in the first half as short-handed Toronto FC beat the host Seattle Sounders on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s MLS Cup final. Altidore was the best player on the field with his side playing without star Sebastian Giovinco and starters Victor Vazquez and Eriq Zavaleta. Even though Seattle dominated possession, Altidore and Toronto had the best chances at goal and earned a minor bit of payback for last year’s cup final. Altidore’s goal came in the 23rd minute after he was chopped down from behind by Seattle defender Roman Torres in the penalty box. Altidore calmly put his shot into the right corner of the net as Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei went the opposite direction. Seattle had a 14-game home unbeaten end. Toronto won its fourth straight match, including a dominant midweek victory over Orlando City at home when Giovinco scored twice.
Maximiliano Urruti scored two goals and 21-year-old Jesse Gonzales had his fourth shutout of the season in FC Dallas’ victory over host Real Salt Lake. FC Dallas moved into a tie with Sporting Kansas City atop the Western Conference standings and is unbeaten in its last 13 regularseason MLS games, dating to Sept. 10, 2016. Gonzalez tied his career high with six saves. Urruti converted from the spot in the third minute after Demar Phillips was called for a handball near the endline. Matt Hedges made it 2-0 in the 67th, and Urruti added another goal — his seventh of the season — in the first minute of stoppage time. Real Salt Lake has lost three in a row.
Giovani dos Santos and Daniel Steres scored second-half goals and host Los Angeles rallied to tie Chicago. Brian Rowe had four saves, including a pair of sprawling stops in the opening minutes and another in the 76th minute, for Los Angeles. Dos Santos tied it in the 65th — tapping in the finish of Dave Romney’s header, off a corner kick by Romain Alessandrini — from point-blank range. David Accam gave Chicago a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute, converting from the spot after Nemanja Nikolic drew a penalty against Jelle Van Damme at the top of the 6-yard box. Nikolic doubled the lead moments later, rolling a feed from Accam past a charging Rowe into the back of the net. Steres, from near the right corner of the 6-yard box, flicked a header — off another corner kick by Alessandrini — inside the far post to make it 2-1 early in the second half.
C.J. Sapong scored three times in 11 minutes late in the second half to help host Philadelphia win for the first time this season. Sapong scored in the 71st, 81st and 85th minutes, completing his first hat trick on a penalty kick. Andre Blake made four saves for the Union for his third shutout. The Red Bulls outshot Philadelphia 14-11, but the Union had a 6-4 advantage in shots on target.
Chris Wondolowski scored two goals, reaching 125 for his career, and host San Jose smothered Portland. David Bingham made four saves in blanking the Timbers, who had a league-leading 20 goals coming into the game. It was Bingham’s fourth shutout, giving him 24 in his career. Florian Jungwirth assisted on both of Wondolowski’s goals. Jahmir Hyka also scored for San Jose.
Ballou Jean-Yves Tabla scored in the 13th minute and Montreal held on to beat D.C. United for its first road victory. The win was the first in six regularseason visits to D.C. for Montreal. D.C. had lost only one of his previous 13 regular-season games at home.
Ola Kamara had a goal and an assist and Zack Steffen made five saves for his third shutout, leading host Columbus past New England. Kamara opened the scoring with his sixth goal in the 13th minute. Federico Higuain added a second goal in the 53rd minute.