A dozen games in 12 hours and opening day is in sight. Wednesday was a feverish day in MLS preseason across Arizona, Florida, South Carolina and Oregon -- and that's just where the matches were. Catch all the other news and updates from MLS training camps below. And for the entire February preseason schedule, click here.
WEDNESDAY'S LIVE MATCHES:
11 am ET: Sporting Kansas City 4, Indy Eleven 2 | HIGHLIGHTS
1 pm ET: Toronto FC 0, Philadelphia Union 0 (Disney Pro Soccer Classic) | RECAP
3 pm ET: Chivas USA 0, Colorado Rapids 0 (Desert Diamond Cup) | RECAP
3 pm ET: New York Red Bulls 1, Fluminense U-23s 0 (Disney Pro Soccer Classic) | RECAP
5 pm ET: Seattle Sounders FC 1, Houston Dynamo 1 (Carolina Challenge Cup) | RECAP
5:30 pm ET: New England Revolution 1, Chicago Fire 0 (Desert Diamond Cup) | RECAP
6 pm ET: Columbus Crew 4, Orlando City 4 (Disney Pro Soccer Classic) | RECAP
7:15 pm ET: D.C. United 1, Charleston Battery 1 (Carolina Challenge Cup) | RECAP
8 pm ET: Sporting Kansas City 3, Montreal Impact 2 (Disney Pro Soccer Classic) | RECAP
8 pm ET: San Jose Earthquakes 0, Vancouver Whitecaps 2 (Rose City Invitational) | RECAP
8 pm ET: Real Salt Lake 3, FC Tucson 1 (Desert Diamond Cup) | RECAP
10:30 pm ET: Portland Timbers 1, Portmore United 1 (Rose City Invitational) | RECAP
FIT TO BE TIED:
The Timbers are yet to find win in two games on home turf in the Rose City Invitational after
they were held to a 1-1 tie
by Jamaica's Portmore United.
Fielding a lineup comprised almost entirely of reserves and rookies, the Timbers easily outplayed the visitors, holding most of the possession and outshooting their opponents 22-9. Things were looking up when Michael Nanchoff belted home a goal from just outside the area in the 75th minute after some deft setup play from Frederic Piquionne and Schillo Tshuma, but Portmore leveled the match seven minutes later from the penalty spot after a Jorge Villafaña foul in the box.
The match was a special occasion for the Timbers' Alvas Powell, who got a chance to play against his former club and went the full 90 minutes. He spent much of his time at right wing instead of his normal right back spot and was one of Portland's most active players on the night.
ROSE CITY SHOWDOWN: Besides the good news of Matías Laba landing in Vancouver and perhaps more help to come, the Whitecaps knocked off San Jose 2-0 in both teams' second match at the Rose City Invitational behind strong play from Darren Mattocks and Kekuta Manneh. Kenny Miller opened the scoring for the 'Caps off a feed from Vancouver Homegrown Sam Adekugbe in the 26th minute, and Mattocks bagged the insurance goal with a late penalty kick.
There was a moment of worry for the Quakes over Steven Lenhart, who entered the match as a substitute in the 72nd minute but was forced to leave 15 minutes later after colliding heavily with a Whitecaps player. However, Quakes head coach Mark Watson assuaged any possible fears of a serious injury postgame.
"It’s minor," he explained. "He had a little bruise on his foot that’s been sore and he got kicked on it again."
DOUBLE DAY FOR SPORTING: Sporting Kansas City kicked off a marathon day of preseason action from coast to coast with an AM scrimmage against new NASL side Indy Eleven in Orlando, Fla., winning 4-2 behind a hat trick by Claudio Bieler.
Later Wednesday night, they rallied to victory in a five-goal thriller over the Montreal Impact, 3-2, and clinched a spot in the final of the tournament against Columbus on Saturday. Dom Dwyer scored twice and Sal Zizzo added the capper in the win, while Sanna Nyassi and Felipe tallied for the Impact.
NO CUPPA COFFEE: D.C. United won't be taking home the Coffee Pot Cup after the Charleston Battery scored in the 90th minute for a 1-1 draw in their match at the Carolina Challenge Cup. Battery defender Charles Ruggle headed home a corner at the death to rescue a point for the USL PRO side despite Davy Arnaud's header just 18 minutes earlier that looked like it would stand up as a winner.
SOUNDERS, DYNAMO TRADE GOALS IN CHARLESTON:
Earlier in Charleston, the Seattle Sounders and Houston Dynamo played to
a 1-1 draw in Carolina Challenge Cup action
.
Brad Davis gave the Dynamo the lead in the 14th minute off a pass from Tony Cascio, while Obafemi Martins equalized in the 44th minute on a header from a Lamar Neagle cross.
The match leaves the Sounders unbeaten in the preseason, while Houston have a 6-3-1 record so far.
RUDE GUESTS: Real Salt Lake were hardly in a giving mood against the hosts of the Desert Diamond Cup, battering FC Tucson 3-1 behind a brace from Álvaro Saborío. The World Cup-bound Costa Rican star scored in the 24th and 45th minute, while Aaron Maund assisted on the first goal and added one of his own just before halftime. RSL wrap the tournament on Saturday against unbeaten Chivas USA.
Check out Sabo's redirect of Luke Mulholland's free kick for his second strike:
CREW, ORLANDO CITY IN 4-4 THRILLER: If Orlando City SC can play in high-scoring affairs when they start play in MLS next year, they could be the neutrals' favorite. As it is, maybe the Columbus Crew can take that mantle, if they play in more 4-4 games, their result against Orlando in Disney Classic action.
It was just 1-1 through the first 45, as Darwin Cerén gave the hosts the lead in the 31st minute, before Ryan Finley tied it up for the Crew ahead in the 43rd minute.
From there, it got crazy, as after the break Kevin Molino put Orlando ahead again in the 52nd minute. Following a host of changes for Columbus, they converted a penalty via Ethan Finlay in the 77th minute, but OCSC went ahead a third time through an Adama Mbengue goal in the 83rd minute. Justin Meram equalized three minutes later, then Dennis Chin scored another go-ahead goal in the 88th minute. That final lead was canceled out with Finlay's second goal of the match in second-half stoppage time.
ROWE'S STUNNER GIVES REVS DRAMATIC 1-0 WIN:
Kelyn Rowe scored the winner in second-half stoppage time as the New England Revolution
beat the Chicago Fire 1-0 in Desert Diamond Cup
play.
The goal (video below) featured both good teamwork in moving the ball through the midfield by the Revs as well as terrific skill by Rowe to stay with the play and finish the chance.
Quincy Amarikwa nearly gave the Fire an immediate response, but his chance went off the crossbar. The loss is Chicago's first of the preseason tournament in Tucson.
SOUNDERS ROOKIE OCKFORD LOANED TO COSMOS:
Following a trend in recent seasons to give young players some experience at the professional level in a lower division, Seattle Sounders defender
Jimmy Ockford
is going to the New York Cosmos on loan,
the NASL side announced
on Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Ockford was a 2014 draft pick of the Sounders out of Louisville, and will be joining a Cosmos side looking to defend their 2013 NASL Soccer Bowl title.
“James is a promising young defender who will provide competition and depth on our back line,” Cosmos head coach Giovanni Savarese said in a statement.
Last year, Sounders' forward/defender Eriq Zavaleta went on loan to another NASL team, the San Antonio Scorpions.
TFC, UNION PLAY SCORELESS DRAW:
Toronto FC and the Philadelphia Union squared off Wednesday afternoon in the Disney Classic, but there was no breakthrough for either side
as the game ended 0-0
. Incumbent Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath featured the full match.
The game marked the debut for defender Austin Berry in a Union kit, who just arrived in a trade with the Chicago Fire. Berry entered the game as a second half substitute, playing the final 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, TFC are one of many MLS clubs set to debut new kits for the upcoming season:
RED BULLS DOWN FLUMINENSE 1-0: In more Disney Classic action, the New York Red Bulls beat Fluminense's U-23 squad 1-0 in rainy conditions in Florida.
Ruben Bover scored the lone goal of the game for New York, on a free kick in the 74th minute to top the Brazilian club. It is the Spaniard's second goal in as many preseason games.
In goal, Ryan Meara had a strong performance for the Red Bulls, while young Homegrown goalkeeper Santiago Castano played the final 20 minutes of the game.
GOATS, RAPIDS PLAY TO 0-0 DRAW: TFC and Philly weren't the only MLS clubs playing to scoreless draws Wednesday, as Chivas USA and the Colorado Rapids played to a 0-0 tie themselves in Desert Diamond Cup action in Tucson.
Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy got low on a free kick from Rapids DP Gabriel Torres midway through the first half to keep the teams on level terms. Both sides used mostly second team players for the game, though Rapids interim head coach Pablo Mastroeni opted to play more starters overall than his counterpart and former Rapids assistant Wilmer Cabrera.
FCD PART WITH THREE: This is one of those "ICYMI" moves, as the club didn't announce it, but it looks as if Oscar Pareja cut ties with three players from the Schellas Hyndman era as he continues to carve out the FC Dallas roster to his liking.
In addition to waiving Homegrown forward Bradlee Baladez and former Supplemental Draft pick and backup goalkeeper Kyle Zobeck, Dallas also transferred midfielder Bobby Warshaw to Swedish club GAIS.
Warshaw was a useful player for Hyndman as a multi-dimensional utility man, but his playing time diminished last season and the Stanford alum was loaned out last August to Swedish side Ängelholms FF. No word on what kind of fee FCD got for permanently moving Warshaw to GAIS.
