Saturday, September 20, 2014

MLS: Timbers, Crew, Red Bulls, Impact (Who Were Still Eliminated), Galaxy (Who Clinch Playoff Berth) Gather Saturday Wins; Fire and DCU Draw

Seven games were played in Major League Soccer on Saturday.

At Portland, Oregon:

With Diego Valeri (28') and Fanendo Adi (66', 69') delivering the scoring, the Portland Timbers took over the fifth and final Western Conference playoff berth with a 3-0 Cascadia Cup home domination of the Vancouver Whitecaps.

At Chester, Pennsylvania:

The Houston Dynamo and home-standing Philadelphia Union, in a contest that really helped neither club's playoff chances, battled to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Columbus, Ohio:

Federico Higuain scored the only goal of the match in the 48th minute as the Columbus Crew moved into sole possession of the Eastern Conference's final playoff berth with a 1-0 home win over the New England Revolution.

At Montreal:

Jack McInerney (81') and Dilly Duka (88') provided the scoring as the Montreal Impact delivered a crippling blow to San Jose's playoff chances by blanking the visiting Earthquakes 2-0.  Despite the victory, thanks to home wins by Columbus and New York, the Impact became the first club to be eliminated from MLS Cup playoff contention.

At Harrison, New Jersey:

Bradley Wright-Phillips produced a natural hat trick (1', PK-54', 56'; his third hat trick of the season) as the New York Red Bulls dominated the visiting Seattle Sounders 4-1.

At Bridgeview, Illinois:

Matt Watson's equalizer in the 78th minute enabled the Chicago Fire to salvage a 3-3 home draw with DC United.  Quincy Amarikwa (16') and Jeff Larentowicz (32') also scored for the Fire while Luis Silva scored twice (PK-39', 54') and Perry Kitchen once (68') for the Eastern Conference leaders.

At Carson, California:

Alan Gordon scored the winning goal in the 84th minute as the Los Angeles Galaxy locked up a playoff berth with a 2-1 home win over FC Dallas.  The Galaxy now are level on points with Seattle atop the Western Conference standings, though the Sounders, with more wins (17 to 15) hold the first tiebreaker.


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