Twelve MLS teams are participating in the Coachella Valley Invitational as February gets underway, and three – Charlotte FC, D.C. United and Vancouver Whitecaps FC – started the competition on Wednesday.
Down in Florida, Orlando City SC and Minnesota United FC squared off. FC Cincinnati also played a Division 1 college team in the Sunshine State.
Charlotte FC 3, D.C. United 2
Goals from star strikers bookended a five-goal match between Eastern Conference foes, as D.C. United earned an early lead through Christian Benteke before Karol Świderski secured the victory for Charlotte FC.
Goals
- 3' - DCU - Christian Benteke
- 5' - CLT - Kerwin Vargas
- 39' - CLT - McKinze Gaines
- 42' - DCU - Chris Durkin
- 54' - CLT - Karol Świderski
Lineups
- CLT starting XI: Pablo Sisniega, Jaylin Lindsey, Jack Neeley, Derrick Jones, Joseph Mora, Ben Bender, Chris Hegardt, McKinze Gaines, Vinicius Mello, Kerwin Vargas, Andre Shinyashiki
- CLT second XI: Pablo Sisniega, Nathan Byrne, Adilson Malanda, Hamady Diop, Jan Sobociński, Harrison Afful, Brandt Bronico, Nuno Santos, Karol Świderski, Kamil Józwiak, Enzo Copetti
- DCU starting XI: Not available
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1, D.C. United 1
Vancouver spoiled D.C.'s second game of the day at the Coachella Valley Invitational, as wintertime addition Mathías Laborda headed home a corner kick that canceled out an early lead SuperDraft pick Aidan Rocha afforded manager Wayne Rooney's side.
Goals
- 29' - DCU - Aidan Rocha
- 37' - VAN - Mathías Laborda
Lineups
- VAN starting XI: Isaac Boehmer - Javain Brown, Mathías Laborda, Ranko Veselinović, Ryan Raposo, Julian Gressel, Sebastian Berhalter, Alessandro Schöpf, Pedro Vite, Ryan Gauld, Brian White
- DCU starting XI: Not available
Orlando City SC 2, Minnesota United FC 0
Icelandic international midfielder Dagur Dan Thórhallsson celebrated his official signing for Orlando City SC with a preseason golazo against Minnesota.
Aside from Thórhallsson's dipping second-half effort, DP striker Ercan Kara opened the scoring in 2-0 victory and new DP attacker Martín Ojeda featured from the jump.
Goals
- 1H - ORL - Ercan Kara
- 2H - ORL - Dagur Dan Thórhallsson
Lineups
- ORL starting XI: Pedro Gallese - Luca Petrasso, Rodrigo Schlegel, Wilder Cartagena, Abdi Salim, César Araújo, Mauricio Pereyra, Martín Ojeda, Iván Angulo, Ercan Kara, Facundo Torres
- MIN starting XI: Not available
FC Cincinnati 3, University of South Florida 0
Three second-half goals were the difference for FC Cincinnati against NCAA opposition, including one apiece from academy products Arquimides Ordoñez and Stiven Jimenez.
Goals
- 49' - CIN - Álvaro Barreal
- 77' - CIN - Arquimides Ordoñez
- 85' - CIN - Stiven Jimenez
Lineups
- CIN starting XI: Alec Kann - Luciano Acosta, Joey Akpunonu, Santiago Arias, Dominique Badji, Bret Halsey, Yuya Kubo, Júnior Moreno, Ian Murphy, Brandon Vazquez, Trialist
- CIN second XI: Roman Celentano - Marco Angulo, Álvaro Barreal, Ray Gaddis, Nick Hagglund, Stiven Jimenez, Obinna Nwobodo, Arquimides Ordoñez, Malik Pinto, Alvas Powell, Sérgio Santos
