The week in MLS was one for the record books. San Jose Quakes forward Chris Wondolowski broke the MLS record for goals scored, passing Landon Donovan. Wondo, who hadn’t scored a goal all season, went off, scoring all four goals in the Quakes 4-1 rout over the Chicago Fire. This was quite the difference in fortunes for Wondolowoski, who had really not been seeing much time on the field for the Quakes but made an incredible impact. You can watch Wondo break the record here. Wondolowski now stands alone at the top of the charts with 148 goals. The four goal performance earned Wondo MLS Player of the Week honors.
The Portland Timbers made a splash a few weeks ago when they signed Brian Fernandez from Necaxa. Fernandez took very little time in making an impact, scoring a goal 12 minutes after coming on in the Timbers 1-1 draw at Houston. The Dynamo are a tough team to beat at home, so the point was crucial for the Timbers to snag. Fernandez was a dangerous striker in Liga MX, scoring 18 goals in 32 appearances with Necaxa.
The Timbers are close to returning home after playing the first 12 matches on the road. The Timbers will look to make a D.C. United-like run, making a solid push for the playoffs, and Fernandez will be a big part of that.
The Dynamo rebounded with a nice 2-1 victory over D.C. United, who stayed atop the Eastern Conference. Teams who had a double game week had mixed results. D.C. United drew Toronto FC on the road before dropping the decision on the road in Houston. Toronto then headed west to face Real Salt Lake and was subsequently pummeled, 3-0. Defending MLS Cup champion Atlanta United got a goal from Josef Martinez in the 29th minute and held on to a 1-0 victory in Vancouver. The result was flipped on Sunday when they were knocked off by a 10-man New York Red Bulls squad.
The current best team in the league, Los Angeles FC, faced FC Dallas twice during the week. The first match saw LAFC take the first match 2-0 at Banc of California Stadium behind goals from Carlos Vela and Diego Rossi. Vela continues to run away with the golden boot, tallying his 13th goal this season during the match. The return match in Dallas saw Vela score his 14th goal on the season. Vela and LAFC battled back after conceding in the 29th minute to Ryan Hollingshead. With FC Dallas up 1-0, defender Matt Hedges took Vela down, earning an immediate red card and putting FC Dallas down to 10 men. LAFC continued to push forward but was unable to convert chances into goals until Vela converted from the spot. Vela’s goal tied the match and helped LAFC escape Dallas with a valuable point.
Points have been tough to come by for the Colorado Rapids so far in 2019, but the Rapids pulled off a shocking 1-0 victory on the road over the Zlatan-less LA Galaxy. The hero for Colorado was rookie Andre Shinyashiki, who scored again late in a match, giving the Rapids their first win of the season. Shinyashiki scored at the death against the Timbers on the opening weekend, giving them a draw to start the season, and earned all three points with this goal.
The Galaxy, without Zlatan Ibrahimovic, were unable to get much going against the worst team in the league. Ibrahimovic was suspended two games and fined an undisclosed amount by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for violent conduct in his incident with New York City FC goalkeeper Sean Johnson.
Below is the schedule for MLS clubs in action this week.
Upcoming schedule
Wednesday
New York Red Bulls vs. Vancouver Whitecaps – 8 p.m.
Friday
Orlando City vs. LA Galaxy – 7 p.m.
Real Salt Lake vs. Atlanta United – 9 p.m.
Los Angeles FC vs. Montreal Impact – 10:30 p.m.
Saturday
Chicago Fire vs. New York City FC – 3:30 p.m.
Vancouver Whitecaps vs. FC Dallas – 7 p.m.
New England Revolution vs. D.C. United – 7:30 p.m.
FC Cincinnati vs. New York Red Bulls – 7:30 p.m.
Philadelphia Union vs. Portland Timbers – 7:30 p.m.
Minnesota United vs. Houston Dynamo – 8 p.m.
Colorado Rapids vs. Columbus Crew – 9 p.m.
Sunday
Sporting Kansas City vs. Seattle Sounders – 6 p.m. (FS1)
Toronto FC vs. San Jose Quakes – 7:30 p.m.
As always, stay tuned to Cincinnati Soccer Talk for all things FC Cincinnati when return home, to Nippert Stadium to face the New York Red Bulls.
@iamchrisasbrock for @CincySoccerTalk
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