The MLS is heading into a two week break for the CONCACAF Gold Cup, a tournament in which national teams compete to be crowned the best in the region. The final matches before the break took place on Tuesday July 4th and Wednesday July 5th, with one final match between the Philadelphia Union and Sporting Kansas City coming up on Thursday night. Here are some of the key results from this week.
Portland Timbers vs. Chicago Fire
The late match at Providence Park featured two of the best squads in MLS. A back-and-forth of goals resulted in a 2-2 draw, as both teams failed to maintain their leads. Adi opened scoring in the 24th minute off a penalty kick. But Chicago rarely stays quiet when it comes to goals, and they roared back ten minutes later with a goal from Arturo Alvarez and took the lead in the second half with a goal from Brandon Vincent in the 61st minute. The Timbers, hoping not to drop points at home, came back with a goal from Sebastian Blanco in the 70th minute. The draw, combined with a win from Toronto FC in Orlando, puts them tied for points at the top of the league.
Vancouver Whitecaps vs. New York City FC
This match was a wild one in British Columbia. The home team opened scoring in the third minute with a goal by Fredy Montero, but they were unable to hold off the NYCFC offense. Maxime Chanot scored for the Pigeons in the 34th minute and David Villa secured the lead off a PK in the 40th minute. But substitutes changed the game for the Whitecaps, who equalized in the 54th minute and scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute. That last goal came from Yordy Reyna, who came in for Brek Shea in the 65th minute. Aside from a lot of goals, the game also featured a lot of yellow cards: eight to be exact.
New England Revolution vs. New York Red Bulls
Both of these sides have struggled this year, and wanted to head into the Gold Cup break with something to lift them up. The Red Bulls, usually playoff contenders from the start of the season, still sit below the playoff marker in 7th place in the Eastern Conference. And things didn’t look good for them on the road when New England opened up scoring in the 21st minute with a goal from Teal Bunbury. The Red Bulls came right back with a goal from Bradley Wright-Phillips two minutes later, but the score didn’t last long as New England scored again just three minutes after that. The Revolution went to halftime with a 2-1 lead at home, but a 55th minute penalty kick by Daniel Royer changed the momentum of the game. The Revolution had a couple of shots on goal in the second half, but they couldn’t find the back of the net. Gonzalo Vernon would find the game winning goal for the Red Bulls in the 90th minute, giving them a much needed win on the road.
