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MLS Recap: NYCFC, Crew SC Continue Hot Starts to Season

NYCFC is off to its best start in franchise history while the Portland Timbers picked up their first point of the season.  

Associated Press

MLS Recap: NYCFC, Crew SC Continue Hot Starts to Season
MLS Recap: NYCFC, Crew SC Continue Hot Starts to Season /

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP)—Ismael Tajouri scored two goals and Sean Johnson had five saves to help New York City FC play the New England Revolution to a 2-2 draw Saturday.

The 23-year-old Tajouri, who has appeared in four MLS games, has three goals in the last two matches while filling in for the injured David Villa.

Yangel Herrera threaded a pass between two defenders to Tajouri, who turned and blasted a rising left-footer into the net to cap the scoring in the 76th minute.

Diego Fagundez bent a shot from well outside the box off the post to give New England (1-1-1) a 1-0 lead in the 11th. Tajouri tied it early in the second half, first-timing a cross from Saad Abdul-Salaam past a diving Matt Turner from near the penalty spot and Juan Agudelo's header in the 63rd put the Revolution back in front. Cristian Penilla played a perfect cross from the left side to Agudelo who finished from the top of the 6-yard box.

NYCFC (4-0-0) is off to its best start in history and has won a franchise-record five in a row, dating to the 2017 playoffs.

Dallas 1, Portland 1

FRISCO, Texas (AP)—Roland Lamah scored his third goal in two games and Jimmy Maurer had a career-high five saves in FC Dallas' 1-1 tie with the Portland Timbers on Saturday.

Lamah, who had two goals and an assist in FC Dallas' 3-0 win over Seattle on Sunday, opened the scoring in the 36th minute. Jacori Hayes evaded two defenders and then tapped it to Lamah, who rolled a left-footer past a diving Jake Gleeson into the net from the top of the penalty arc.

Sebastian Blanco side-netted a left-footer from the top of the box to tie it in the 47th.

FC Dallas (1-0-2) is unbeaten in its last nine home matches.

Lawrence Olum, who was shown a yellow card for unsporting behavior in the 44th minute, drew a red for a handball in the 75th for Portland (0-2-1).

Columbus 3, D.C. 1

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)—Ricardo Clark scored his first goal for Columbus and Cristian Martinez had two assists to help the Crew beat D.C. United 3-1 on Saturday.

Clark headed home a corner kick by Federico Higuain to give Columbus a 2-1 lead in the 40th minute. Higuain, who scored his 50th MLS regular-season goal on March 10, has 50 career assists to become the 19th player in league history with at least 50 goals and 50 assists.

The Crew's Milton Valenzuela, a 19-year-old defender, scored his first MLS goal to open the scoring in the 20th minute, putting away a cross from Martinez. Yamil Asad tied it 10 minutes later, trapping a cross from Luciano Acosta at the top of the box and blasting it into the net to make it 1-1.

Martinez beat a defender on the left side and fed Pedro Santos for a side-footer that gave Columbus (3-0-1) a 3-1 lead in the 42nd.

United (0-2-2) are winless in their last eight games, dating to last season.

The teams were without seven combined players—five from D.C. United - due to international duties.

New York 3, Minnesota 0

HARRISON, N.J. (AP)—Bradley Wright-Phillips had two goals and Alex Muyl added another to help the New York Red Bulls beat Minnesota United 3-0 on Saturday night.

Wright-Phillips is tied for 11th place on the MLS career list with 89 goals.

Luis Robles had four saves in his second shutout of the season for the Red Bulls (2-1-0), who are unbeaten in their last 10 regular-season home games.

Muyl, a 22-year-old homegrown player, opened the scoring in the 15th minute. He took a feed from Kyle Duncan on the right side, beat one defender and then cut back to evade another before blasting a left-footer just inside the far post from the corner of the box.

Sean Davis played a free kick to Tim Parker in the area and his header was volleyed by Wright-Phillips, over the head of Matt Lampson, into the net late in the first half and capped the scoring in the 78th minute. Muyl, from beyond midfield, bent a pass around a defender to a streaking Wright-Phillips, who flicked it, over the charging Lampson, into the side net.

The Red Bulls outshot Minnesota (2-2-0) 21-10.

Colorado 2, Kansas City 2

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP)—Diego Rubio scored a stoppage-time goal after entering the game in the 88th minute to give Sporting Kansas City a 2-2 tie with the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.

Gerso Fernandes fed Khiry Shelton, who back-heeled it to Rubio for the side-netter in the first minute of stoppage time.

Dominique Badji's volley of a cross by Edgar Castillo opened the scoring for Colorado (0-1-1) and Joe Mason made it 2-0 in the eighth minute. Mason slipped behind the defense, ran onto a long pass from Tommy Smith and shielded a defender before cutting back to evade goalkeeper Tim Melia and roll it into an empty net.

Felipe Gutierrez scored his fourth goal in as many games this season to pull Sporting (2-1-1) within 2-1 in the 57th. Yohan Croizet's header bounced off the post and Gutierrez poked home the rebound from near the penalty spot.

Tim Howard had seven saves for Colorado.

Vancouver 0, L.A. 0

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP)—The Vancouver Whitecaps tied the L.A. Galaxy 0-0 on Saturday night to extend their home undefeated streak to 11 games.

The Whitecaps (2-1-1) are 6-0-5 during the home streak. The Galaxy are 1-1-1.

The Whitecaps controlled the majority of the play. Kei Kamara and Cristian Techera failed to convert good chances, and Alphonso Davies used his speed to move the ball and find openings.

In the 71st minute, Kamara ran down a long ball, sliced between two defenders, then watched goalkeeper David Bingham come out of his net before sending a shot wide. Afterward, Kamara lay on his back on the field, arguing he had been fouled.

Techera threatened on a free kick in the 61st minute. His left-footed shot from just outside the box went wide and high. In the 37th minute he took a long ball from midfielder Efrain Juarez then sent a shot just over top of the Galaxy net.

Emmanuel Boateng had a chance for Los Angeles in the 56th minute. He got behind the defense and waited for goalkeeper Stefan Marinovic to charge out of his net before sending his shot wide of the goal.

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