MLS Matchday 30 Roundup

This weekend there was a reduced MLS matchday, with only six games, where it is noteworthy that the locals did not win and Columbus Crew was crushed by Seattle Sounders.

Taking into account that most leagues around the world did not have action due to the FIFA Date, many MLS players emigrated to play with their countries and, therefore, we had little action, one of the games that surprised us was the Crew against the Sounders, and is that Seattle won by 0-4, partly due to a very curious fact.

Likewise, much was expected of Houston Dynamo vs. Los Angeles FC, but it was a dull 0-0 draw on a day in which four of the six games played were ties.

Matchday 30 Results

New England Revolution 2-2 St. Louis City

NY Red Bulls 1-1 Sporting Kansas City

Columbus Crew 0-4 Seattle Sounders

Chicago Fire 1-2 DC United

Houston Dynamo 0-0 Los Angeles FC

Vancouver Whitecaps 0-0 FC Dallas

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MLS Matchday 30: NY Red Bulls 1-1 Sporting KC

In a game with few emotions, Sporting Kansas City was getting a very important away win in their aspirations to advance to the postseason, but the NY Red Bulls rescued a point in the last minutes.

Kansas City took the lead in the 55th minute after the New York defense failed to clear a ball, and Jacob Davis put a pass over the top to Alan Pulido. The Mexican striker met it with his head and crossed for the 0-1 lead.

The Red Bulls, who, in addition to the injury of Emil Forsberg, had Carlos Coronel, Lewis Morgan, and Noah Elie with their national teams, got the equalizer with a bit of luck after a rebound hit Julian Hall and the 16-year-old eluded two players in the box and scored at the near post, leaving goalkeeper Timothy Melia, who was already at the other post, looking like a statue.

With this draw, the NY Red Bulls remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference, calmly thinking about the playoffs, while Sporting Kansas City is 12th in the West, eight points away from the Wild Card.

MLS Matchday 30: Columbus Crew 0-4 Seattle Sounders

The biggest surprise of the weekend was at Lower.com Field, where the Columbus Crew lost 0-4 to the Seattle Sounders. The Crew, in addition to missing star player Cucho Hernández, were missing five other players who were also on international duty, as well as defender Malte Amundsen, suspended.

Well, what happened is that the Ohio team has four goalkeepers in the squad: the starter is Patrick Schulte, but he was called up with the United States; the substitute is Nicholas Hagen, but he was with the Guatemala National Team, and the veteran Evan Bush has been injured since April. That is why Abraham Romero, who arrived in August precisely to cover Bush’s absence, made his debut this weekend.

The team tried to get the MLS to allow them to register another goalkeeper due to this situation, but it was not possible, and the worst happened. With 0-0 on the scoreboard, Romero came out to cut a long pass and collided with Jordan Morris outside the area. The referee called a foul and red card, so defender Sean Zawadzki had to put on his gloves for the last seconds of the first half and the entire second part.

It was precisely on that free kick that the first goal came with a strong shot by Albert Rusnák, which, without blaming Zawadzki, could have been saved by a goalkeeper. In the second half, it was nothing more than waiting for the goals to keep coming. First, it was Morris, who pushed a pass from Paul Rothtock, while Rusnák was to score a hat-trick with a shot from outside the box and another inside it, where Zawadzki could do nothing.

With this result, Columbus remains third in the Eastern Conference, two points behind Cincinnati, while Seattle is fifth in the West with 43 points in a very tight conference.

MLS Matchday 30: Houston Dynamo 0-0 LAFC

One of the two 0-0 draws of the weekend came in Houston. The Dynamo and LAFC shared points, a result that was better for the Los Angeles team, which is second in the West, while Houston managed to get into direct postseason places, advantaging Portland Timbers by one point.

It was a match with few chances and a lot of fouls and cards. Hugo Lloris was only called upon once, while LAFC had a goal disallowed for an Olivier Giroud offside. The absence of Denis Bouanga from Gabon and Mateusz Bogusz from Poland was undoubtedly noticeable for the Californian team.

MLS Matchday 30: Vancouver 0-0 Dallas

The other 0-0 draw was in Canada between Vancouver and Dallas, but unlike the previous one, in this one, there were many chances, especially for the home team, which made goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer, who had not played an official match since September 2, 2023, a star.

Despite the lack of goals, it was an exciting game with many saves by the goalkeepers, posts, and even a goal disallowed by the visitors for offside. Vancouver came close to taking all three points, but Maurer was wonderful in the final minutes.

This was a key match in the Western Conference. With the draw, the Whitecaps are sixth with 42 points, while Dallas is tenth with 34 and out of the postseason.