Matchday 14 saw plenty of big matches and results, whether they came from a rivalry or not. Cincinnati remains unbeaten at home this season after beating Columbus 3-2 in the Hell is Real derby, LAFC beat San Jose to go top of the West, Saint Louis City ran a rout on Sporting Kansas City, and Philadelphia haunted New England. Here is a recap of some of the league’s most exciting actions.
Orange is the New Yellow
Cincinnati hosted the Columbus Crew for this year’s first Hell Is Real derby, which saw Cincinnati come out on top with a score of 3-2. Luciano Acosta scored a brace to get the home side up 2-0, but Lucas Zelarayán and Malte Amundsen each scored to tie up the game. Júnior Moreno had other plans though, as he scored in the 67th minute to put FCC back in front. Cincinnati has now pushed ahead of second-place Nashville, creating a five-point gap between the two while FCC still retains a game in hand.
.@JrMoreno8 makes it three. 💪 pic.twitter.com/DZGJ1fZzcD
— FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) May 21, 2023
Carlos Vela Puts LAFC on a Western Pedistal
In a matchup between California’s top two footy teams, Los Angeles FC won 2-1 against the San Jose Earthquakes. Stipe Biuk scored in the third minute for LAFC to go ahead, Miguel Trauco equalized shortly after halftime for San Jose, and Carlos Vela served to be the difference-maker between these sides as he stepped up to score a penalty in the 95th minute of play. With Seattle losing 2-0 to the Vancouver Whitecaps, LAFC has claimed first place in the Western Conference while also holding two games in hand over the second-place Sounders.
Carlos Vela from the spot. Automatic. 🎯#LAFC win it in stoppage time! pic.twitter.com/0y4ljkjH7y
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 21, 2023
Saint Louis Beat Their (Other) Rivals
After losing to a certain Chicago Fire twice last week, Saint Louis took out their frustration on “Soccer Capital of America” title enjoyers and league-labeled rivals Sporting Kansas City by pummeling them 4-0 at home. Quite a close game. Eduard Löwen scored the opener from the spot, Nicholas Gioacchini grabbed a goal, and Indiana Vassilev later nabbed a brace of his own. Interestingly enough, SKC outshot, outpassed, and outpossessed Saint Louis, and dominated a plethora of other major stats. Ultimately though, Saint Louis’ quality shone through in the end.
The assist 😯
The finish 😏3-0 | #STLvSKC | #AllForCITY pic.twitter.com/0GDedpkKJ1
— St Louis CITY SC (@stlCITYsc) May 21, 2023
Philly Hurt New England’s Supporters’ Shield Hopes
The Philadelphia Union got the better of the New England Revolution at home, coming out of their matchup as victors with a scoreline of 3-0. Dániel Gazdag scored in the 56th and 74th minutes and Julián Carranza put the icing on the cake by scoring in the 88th minute. With this result, Nashville capitalized on New England’s loss by swapping places between third and second in the Eastern Conference table, while Philadelphia now finds themselves in fifth.
Uhre ➡️ Gazdag in the 57th minute to put us on the board ⚡️
Watch #PHIvNE with #MLSSeasonPass on @AppleTV: https://t.co/aLiYlvSnrT#DOOP | #PHIvNE 1-0 pic.twitter.com/ZmknrmCBul
— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) May 21, 2023
