MLS Opening Day: NYCFC, Toronto lock in wins; Orlando stage stoppage-time comeback
Sebastian Giovinco scored on a penalty kick and had an assist in the second half, and Toronto FC beat the New York Red Bulls 2-0 on Sunday in the MLS season openers for both teams.
Toronto FC, which reached the postseason last season for the first time since the club's inception, beat the Red Bulls for the first time in seven matches at Red Bull Arena.
Giovinco scored off a penalty kick in the 82nd minute before getting a yellow card six minutes later. His left-footed shot in the 90th minute from outside the box was too high, but he had the assist on Marco Delgado's goal in the first minute of stoppage time.
The Red Bulls are coming off a Supporters' Shield campaign -- the second time in three years they've recorded the best regular-season record in MLS.
The Red Bulls are 9-2-1 all-time at home against Toronto FC.
NYCFC 4-3 Chicago Fire
Mix Diskerud scored the eventual game winner in the 63rd minute and NYCFC beat the Chicago Fire 4-3 on Sunday in a wild affair in the MLS season opener for both sides.
NYCFC's Thomas McNamara scored the first goal of the new season in spectacular fashion in the 10th minute, taking a feed from Khiry Shelton at the top of the penalty area and curling it into the upper corner. Nine minutes later, Razvan Cocis evened it on a brilliant run, and the Romanian midfielder almost registered again a few moments later.
Tony Taylor and Shelton both added goals to give NYCFC a 3-1 advantage at the break.
The scoring picked back up after intermission. Chicago's Kennedy Igboananike scored off a turnover and pass from David Accam in the 49th minute. But Diskerud, who was left unmarked, restored the two-goal advantage in the 63rd beating Matt Lampson near-post.
Chicago wasn't done though, as Accam scored on a penalty kick following a hand ball on Shelton, but the Fire couldn't find the equalizer.
Orlando City 2-2 Real Salt Lake
Orlando City's Cyle Larin and Adrian Winter scored in the final 30 seconds of stoppage time to give the Lions a dramatic 2-2 tie with Real Salt Lake in the MLS season opener for both teams before an opening day record crowd of 60,147.
Salt Lake's Joao Plata had scored twice, once in each half, to give the visitors a 2-0 lead going into four minutes of stoppage time.
However, Larin took a feed from Brek Shea and redirected it past Salt Lake keeper Nick Rimando for a goal in the 94th minute.
Just 30 seconds later, Larin was behind the Salt Lake defense again and pushed the ball to Winter, who blasted a shot past a stunned Rimando to tie the game.
RSL lost defender Demar Phillips in the 20th minute when he received his second yellow card and Orlando City midfield Darwin Ceren was given a red card and ejected in the 45th minute.
Portland Timbers 2-1 Columbus Crew SC
Fanendo Adi scored in the 79th minute and the defending champion Portland Timbers defeated the Columbus Crew 2-1 on Sunday in a rematch of last year's MLS Cup final.
All 20 MLS teams opened the league's 21st season on Soccer Sunday. Portland kicked off the season by unveiling a championship banner hung in the rafters of the north end of Providence Park.
Diego Valeri's first-half goal gave the Timbers the early lead until Federico Higuain's highlight-worthy bicycle kick drew the Crew even in the 68th minute.
Last season, the Timbers defeated the Crew 2-1 in Columbus for the title. Valeri scored in the opening 27 seconds, Rodney Wallace added a second goal some 7 minutes later and Portland held on for the win.
It was Portland's first title since joining the league in 2011.
San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 Colorado Rapids
Chris Wondolowski scored in the opening seconds of the second half and the San Jose Earthquakes edged the Colorado Rapids 1-0 on Sunday in an MLS season opener.
Wondolowski headed in his 110th MLS goal from the penalty spot past goaltender Zac MacMath off a cross from Alberto Quintero just 19 seconds into the second half. He is four goals shy of tying Ante Razov for fourth-most MLS career goals. Quintero joined the Quakes this season from Mexico's Lobos BUAP.
In the 72nd minute, Wondolowski had another header from nearly the same spot but it was grabbed by a diving MacMath.
The Rapids outshot the Quakes 18-7 but San Jose goaltender David Bingham was solid with five saves.
Yellow cards were given to the Rapids' Micheal Azira and Dillon Powers and to the Quakes' Quintero and Anibal Godoy.
The Quakes ran their undefeated streak against Colorado to 13 games.
Houston Dynamo 3-3 New England Revolution
Daigo Kobayashi scored on a header in the final seconds of second-half stoppage time and the New England Revolution tied the Houston Dynamo 3-3 on Sunday in an MLS season opener.
Diego Fagundez scored the opening goal in the third minute and had two second-half assists for the Revs, who are 3-0-1 all-time against the Dynamo.
Cristian Maidana, Andrew Wenger and Giles Barnes scored for Houston. Will Bruin had two assists.
Maidana scored just before the break to tie it at 1. Wenger put the Dynamo up 2-1 with his goal in the 50th minute with an assist from Bruin. Charlie Davies scored two minutes later, with an assist from Fagundez, that tied it at 2.
Barnes, the Dynamo's captain, put Houston up 3-2 when he fired his shot from just outside the 18-yard box and into the back of the net, with goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth unable to get a hand on it.
Fagundez crossed the ball to Kobayashi to end it.
It the only meeting between the teams this season.
FC Dallas 2-0 Philadelphia Union
Mauro Diaz assisted on goals by Fabian Castillo and Maximiliano Urruti and FC Dallas topped the Philadelphia Union 2-0 in the MLS season opener for both sides on Sunday.
Dallas dominated the match, generating 18 total shots, with 10 on target. Dallas keeper Jesse Gonzalez made two saves for his sixth career shutout in just his 12 career regular-season start.
Castillo opened the scoring in the 22nd minute, taking a through ball by Diaz on the run and putting it under keeper Andre Blake, who came out to challenge.
Urruti made it 2-0 in the 79th minute. Diaz corralled a loose ball after Philadelphia turned it over in its own end and fed Urruti at the 6-yard line, who flicked it past Blake with his left foot.
Castillo had another quality chance late, but his shot was just wide of frame.
Sporting KC 1-0 Seattle Sounders
Nuno Andre Coelho scored in the 73rd minute and goalkeeper Tim Melia came up with saves on three dangerous chances to help Sporting Kansas City beat the Seattle Sounders 1-0 on Sunday in the opener for both teams.
Coelho fired his goal from 25 yards out. Goalkeeper Stefan Frei dove and got a hand on the shot at the left post, but it rolled off him and into the net.
Melia stopped consecutive chances in the 15th minute -- first a free kick by Clint Dempsey from 26 yards away, then a header by Chad Marshall from inside the 6-yard box.
In the 53rd minute, Seattle's Andreas Ivanschitz fired from the top left side of the penalty area, and Melia leaped to deflect it. The ball went off the crossbar and to Seattle's Nelson Valdez, but his bicycle kick from inside the 6 went over the top.
Montreal Impact 3-2 Vancouver Whitecaps
Ignacio Piatti scored twice as the Montreal Impact beat the Vancouver Whitecaps 3-2 in the MLS season opener for both clubs on Sunday.
Dominic Oduro had the other goal for the Impact. Jordan Harvey and Kendall Waston scored for the Whitecaps.
Piatti put Montreal ahead in the 19th minute when he dribbled through Vancouver's defense with ease and fired a shot past Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted.
Vancouver nearly got even when Octavio Rivero hit the crossbar seconds after the restart before Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush stopped the Whitecaps striker on another good chance 10 minutes later after a ball over the top from Pedro Morales.
LA Galaxy 4-1 D.C. United
Halftime substitute Mike McGee had two goals and an assist and the LA Galaxy beat DC United 4-1 in the season-opener for both clubs Sunday night.
With the score tied at 1 in the 65th minute, Sebastian Lletget's crossing feed found McGee wide open 20 yards to the left of the goal, and McGee softly chipped the ball over goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra and into the net.
Robbie Keane's penalty kick in the 83rd minute put the Galaxy up 3-1. The penalty was awarded when Dykstra tripped McGee on a breakaway off a long lead pass from Ashley Cole.
McGee finished off the scoring in the 87th minute when he headed home a free kick.
This was the 43rd meeting between these two teams, the league's longest-running rivalry. The Galaxy lead the series 20-14-9 and are 5-0-2 in home games against United since 2008.
