Major League Soccer started its second week of matches in Chicago as the new look Fire took on Real Salt Lake in their second home match of the season. The Fire won 2-0 after two early goals were scored by Nemanja Nikolic and Arturo Alvarez in the 11th and 15th minutes respectively. Chicago who has been MLS's worst team in the past two seasons looks to be on the rise after two solid home wins to start the season.
The New York Red Bulls also continued their perfect start after beating the Colorado Rapids 1-0 at Red Bull Arena thanks to an own goal by Eric Miller in the 44th minute. The match itself wasn't very entertaining as both teams created very few chances.
Meanwhile NYCFC beat DC United 4-0 in Yankee Stadium as David Villa grabbed a brace. The other two goals came from new signings Rodney Wallace, a Costa Rican midfielder who used to play for the Timbers and Argentinian midfielder Maxi Moralez. NYCFC's attack looks like one of the best in the league, despite last weeks loss in Orlando.
Sporting KC still hasn't got on the scoresheet yet as the tied Dallas 0-0.
Seattle Sounders, the defending champions tied 2-2 in Montreal after defender Will Bruin scored a late equalizer in stoppage time. Seattle was down 2-0 early in the game thanks to great counter attacking Impact play led by Ignacio Piatti and Matteo Mancosu. However, in the 82nd minute Seattle got a penalty after Laurent Ciman fouled Oneil Fisher inside the box. Nickolas Lodiero then scored from the spot, giving Seattle momentum and ultimately the draw.
Philadelphia and Toronto tied 2-2. Jay Simpson scored an early goal, giving the Union a 1-0 lead. Toronto then conceded a penalty in the 31st minute, which US national team midfielder, Alejandro Bedoya couldn't finish. Before halftime, Philadelphia conceded a controversial penalty as Jose Altidore looked to have "flopped" (according to Bedoya). Altidore finished the penalty from the spot tying the game. Toronto then took the lead in the 71st minute thanks to a Justin Morrow goal. However; Toronto couldn't hold on as Union attacker CJ Sapong made a quick run into the box, dribbling past Toronto goalkeeper Clint Irwin to make it 2-2 in the 73rd minute.
Huston meanwhile continued to impress as they beat the Crew 3-1 at home. All three of Huston's attackers got on the scoresheet as Alberth Elias, Eric Torres, and Romell Quioto continue to impress. Wilmer Cabrera's new 4-4-3 system has so far looked lethal in the first two games of the season. The Dynamo like the Fire could be on the up.
San Jose beat Vancouver 3-2 after being down 2-0 early in the game. Vancouver was then down to ten men after Whitecap goalkeeper David Ousted tripped Chris Wondolowski outside the box. From there San Jose scored three goals. One was scored by homegrown defender and rookie Nick Lima. Chris Wondolowski and Angel Godoy got goals as well.
The biggest surprises of the weekend came on Sunday as Atlanta United beat Minnesota United 6-1 in Minneapolis. The weather looked to be on Minnesota's side as the weather was below freezing for the match. However; Atlanta United came out and pressed Minnesota leading to three early goals scored by Josef Martinez and Miguel Almiron. From there, Minnesota got back in the match but only through the spark of Kevin Molino who scored the lone penalty. Atlanta continued to run riot and scored three more goals as Josef Martinez got his hat trick. Minnesota's defense led by Francisco Calvo and Vadim Demidov continues to look disjointed. The team as a whole also lacks a real attacking threat. Adrian Heath looks to have a tough year ahead of him as Minnesota already has a goal differential of -9, just two games in. Despite the tough loss on the field, 35,000 people showed up to support the club in its first home outing in MLS. This was a great sign to see from an expansion club in a new market.
The other surprise came on Sunday night as Portland got the 1-0 in Los Angeles against the LA Galaxy. It is Portland's first win since October 2015 when they beat the Galaxy 5-2. Portland got an 8th minute goal off a lightening quick counter attack off a Galaxy corner, which was tapped in by defensive midfielder Diego Chara. The counter attack only took 17 seconds! Later in the match, Galaxy defender Jelle Van Damme got two yellow cards in three minutes. The first one was for decent after a foul on Chara, the second one was given for Van Damme flying in on Sebastian Blanco as he drove forward in midfield. Both fouls were "soft" as Van Damme looked to have barely touched Blanco and Chara. The LA Galaxy twitter would later make a video making fun of Blanco and Chara's flops.
Despite Portland being up a man, LA Galaxy created more chances but Portland keeper Jake Gleeson came up with a few timely saves to give Portland their first home win and leave the Galaxy surprisingly winless after their first two matches.
Next week, Atlanta takes on Chicago, Vancouver takes on Toronto, DC takes on the Crew, Orlando City hosts Philadelphia, Dallas hosts New England, Colorado hosts Minnesota, Salt Lake hosts the Galaxy,and the Timbers host the Dynamo all on Saturday. While the defending champions Seattle Sounders host the New York Red Bulls on national television on Sunday afternoon.
