Toronto FC 4-0 San Jose Earthquakes
The game in 100 words (or less): TFC have taken all the excitement out of the final days and weeks of the regular season… with two months of the regular season still to go. Saturday’s 4-0 victory, their fifth straight win, over San Jose not only sent a(nother) clear message to the rest of the league that 1) they’re hellbent on MLS Cup vengeance, and 2) they might just be the best team in league history, but also re-established Greg Vanney’s side’s nine-point lead atop the Eastern Conference and in the Supporters’ Shield race (with thanks to results elsewhere — see below). Jozy Altidore bagged a pair of second-half goal, doubling and tripling the lead established by league-leading assist man Victor Vazquez. Jonathan Osorio competed the scoring with TFC’s third in 21 minutes to start the second half. Sebastian Giovinco left the contest at halftime with tightness in his quad.
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Three moments that mattered
26' — Vazquez fills an empty net after Tarbell’s blunder — Andrew Tarbell made every effort imaginable in an attempt to get a touch on Steven Beitashour’s cross, but the second-year ‘keeper only wound up looking a fool as Vazquez bagged his sixth goal of the season (to go with 14 assists).
The breakthrough for the league leaders. 1-0 @TorontoFC. #TORvSJ https://t.co/UPC8p9Kniz
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 9, 2017
48' — Altidore slots home for 2-0 — Goals don’t come much easier than this one, for which all Altidore had to do was not send his shot 20 rows into the stands, and he’d make it an even dozen on the season. (Scratch that earlier note — 15 assists for Vazquez)
Guess who?@JozyAltidore doubles the @torontofc lead. #TORvSJ https://t.co/BWDi9rkoav
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 9, 2017
64' — Altidore heads past Tarbell for 3-0 — So it’s a baker’s dozen for Altidore, and four goals in TFC’s last three games.
#51 for @JozyAltidore.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 9, 2017
#3 on the day for @torontofc. #TORvSJ https://t.co/Wbt5Cg2lCH
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Man of the match: Victor Vazquez
Goalscorers: Vazquez (26'), Altidore (48', 64'), Osorio (66')
New York City FC 0-1 Portland Timbers
The game in 100 words (or less): Three short days after cutting TFC’s lead to six points, NYCFC crashed and burned their own Shield dreams as they lost at Yankee Stadium for just the second time all season, falling to Portland, 1-0. Diego Valeri scored the game’s only goal and made a bit of history in the process (see below). The victory pushes Caleb Porter’s side two points clear of the Seattle Sounders for the Western Conference’s top spot (though Seattle now have two games in hand). Portland become the first West side to reach a dozen wins on the season, and extend their current unbeaten run to four games (three wins). TFC are the only side to beat Portland in the Timbers’ last eight games.
[ MORE: MLS Power Rankings — Week 26 | Weekend preview ]
Three moments that mattered
44' — Valeri hammers past Johnson for 1-0 — No one pressured Valeri and he fired past Sean Johnson to give himself a goal in seven straight games, which ties the Argentine for the all-time record in MLS history.
17th of the season for @DiegoDv8 puts #RCTID up 1-0. #NYCvPOR https://t.co/Dqy5pKeDyD
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 9, 2017
47' — Brilliant nearly scores from his stomach — Frederic Brilliant so nearly scored the weirdest goal of the 2017 season, a pool-ball tap-in from his belly, but the Frenchman couldn’t quite hit the corner pocket.
47. CLOSE!@Pirlo_official links up with @BrillantFred13 on a nearly perfect set piece but an even better save keeps us down one... #NYCFC pic.twitter.com/L9zyaVadEK
— New York City Football Club (@NYCFC) September 9, 2017
84' — Johnson makes a spectacular save to keep NYCFC in it — This is just absolutely ridiculous from Johnson, who’ll very likely ride this one to Save of the Year glory.
😑 @SeanJohnGK come on, man. 😑 #RCTID #NYCvPOR pic.twitter.com/XOo3tLw7UC
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) September 9, 2017
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Man of the match: Diego Valeri
Goalscorers: Valeri (44')
Chicago Fire 1-1 New York Red Bulls
The game in 100 words (or less): Chicago’s tailspin might very well be over, but Veljko Paunovic’s side still dropped a pair of points at home on Saturday, in a 1-1 draw with New York. After putting a four-game losing skid to bed last weekend, Chicago were made to scrap their way to a point against a side four points (and two spot) below them in the East. Now 14 points back of TFC (they were the only side within three of the Reds a month and a half ago) and five back of NYCFC for second, the dreaded knockout round is looking a likelier destination everyday for Chicago. Two positives for Chicago: a loss would have meant just one point stood between themselves and New York (and three from falling out of the top-four, thus the right to host the knockout round game), and Nemanja Nikolic scored his first goal since July 1, a stretch of 10 games without the Hungarian finding the back of the net.
[ MORE: MLS Power Rankings — Week 26 | Weekend preview ]
Three Two moments that mattered
8' — BWP’s in the right place at the right time, and it’s 1-0 — That describes, what, roughly 80 percent of BWP’s goal in MLS. That’s not a slight on the Englishman, because always popping up in the right spot is 99 percent skill and 1 percent luck.
66' — Nikolic breaks his drought, makes it 1-1 — Nikolic gets the goal, but Michael de Leeuw should get all the attention for this delicate touch. As the ball came falling out of the sky, the Dutchman so carefully laid it across the face of goal and gifted Nikolic a chance he couldn’t miss.
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Man of the match: Sacha Kljestan
Goalscorers: Wright-Phillips (8'), Nikolic (66')