MLS preseason 2023: Earthquakes, Red Bulls win at Coachella Valley Invitational

Preseason recap 2.15.23

Over a dozen MLS teams played preseason scrimmages on Wednesday, including eight in a jam-packed Coachella Valley Invitational slate.

Orlando City SC 5, Stetson University 0

Orlando City SC academy standout Chase Vazquez had a breakout performance with the first team, netting a second-half hat trick that sealed a 5-0 blowout of local NCAA side Stetson University.

Homegrown attacker Wilfredo Rivera and 2023 MLS SuperDraft selection Shakur Mohammed also found the back of the net for the Lions.

Goals

  • 1H - ORL - Wilfredo Rivera
  • 2H - ORL - Shak Mohammed
  • 2H - ORL - Chase Vasquez
  • 2H - ORL - Chase Vasquez
  • 2H - ORL - Chase Vasquez

Lineups

  • ORL starting XI: Mason Stajduhar - Alex Freeman, Thomas Williams, Abdi Salim, Kyle Smith, Rafael Santos, Wilder Cartagena, Felipe Martins, Wilfredo Rivera, Shakur Mohammed, Duncan McGuire
  • ORL second XI: Adam Grinwis - Luca Petrasso, Michael Halliday, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Iván Angulo César Araújo, Mauricio Pereyra, Martin Ojeda, Facundo Torres, Chase Vazquez

Colorado Rapids 3, Miami FC 1

New Designated Player Kévin Cabral showed his scoring touch by spearheading Colorado's 3-1 come-from-behind win over Miami FC in Florida. 

The former LA Galaxy winger struck before the break, while Diego Rubio and Anthony Markanich settled matters in the second half as the Rapids took care of business against the USL Championship side.

Goals

  • 8' - MIA - Ben Mines
  • 20' - COL - Kevin Cabral
  • 78' - COL - Diego Rubio 
  • 81' - COL - Anthony Markanich

Lineups

  • COL starting XI: Abraham Rodriguez - Alex Gersbach, Moise Bombito, Andreas Maxsø, Sebastian Anderson, Bryan Acosta, Ralph Priso, Braian Galván, Max Alves, Kévin Cabral, Darren Yapi

Chicago Fire FC 3, New Mexico United 3

Back-to-back goals from Alex Monis and Mauricio Pineda late in the second half salvaged a 3-3 draw for the Chicago Fire against USL Championship opponent New Mexico United.

Victor Bezerra also got on the scoresheet for the Fire, who remain undefeated in the preseason with a 2W-0L-2D record.

Goals

  • 15' - NMU - Amando Moreno
  • 37' - CHI - Victor Bezerra
  • 53' - NMU - Josh Dolling
  • 61' - NMU - Josh Dolling
  • 76' - CHI - Alex Monis
  • 77' - CHI - Mauricio Pineda

Lineups

  • CHI starting XI: Spencer Richey - Charlie Ostrem, Kendall Burks, Carlos Terán, Justin Reynolds, Fabian Herbers, Javier Casas Jr., Mauricio Pineda, Alex Monis, Sergio Oregel Jr., Victor Bezerra

San Jose Earthquakes 4, Minnesota United FC 1

Cristian Espinoza's first-half brace set the tone as the San Jose Earthquakes handily defeated Minnesota United FC 4-1 at the Coachella Valley Invitational.

Ménder García pulled one back for the Loons from the penalty spot before the break, but the Quakes put the game away in the second half thanks to goals from 17-year-old homegrown Niko Tsakiris and 2023 MLS SuperDraft pick Daniel Munie.

Goals

  • 7' - SJ - Cristian Espinoza
  • 9' - SJ - Cristian Espinoza
  • 14' - MIN - Ménder García (PK)
  • 61' - SJ - Niko Tsakiris
  • 78' - SJ - Daniel Munie

Lineups

  • SJ starting XI: Daniel - Miguel Trauco, Tanner Beason, Rodrigues, Paul Marie - Carlos Gruezo, Jackson Yueill, Jamiro Monteiro -  Cade Cowell, Jeremy Ebobisse, Cristian Espinoza
  • SJ second XI: Daniel - Tommy Thompson, Oskar Agren, Daniel Munie, Carlos Akapo - Judson, Michael Baldisimo, Will Richmond - Niko Tsakiris, Ousseni Bouda, Benji Kikanovic
  • MIN starting XI: Eric Dick - Devin Padelford, Mikael Marques, Brent Kallman, Alan Benítez - Patrick Weah, Carlos Leatherman, Zaydan Bello, Cameron Dunbar - Tani Oluwaseyi, Ménder García

St. Louis CITY SC 3, New York City FC 3

Gabriel Pereira thought he had a late winner for NYCFC against St. Louis City SC at the Coachella Valley Invitational, only for Eduard Löwen to equalize minutes from full-time. Earlier in the match, center back Thiago Martins bagged a brace for the MLS Cup 2021 champions.

Goals

  • 10' - STL - Akil Watts
  • 34' - STL - Indiana Vassilev
  • 40' - NYC - Thiago Martins
  • 69' - NYC - Thiago Martins
  • 88' - NYC - Gabriel Pereira
  • 89' - STL - Eduard Löwen

Lineups

  • STL starting XI: Ben Lundt - Owen O’Malley, Joshua Yaro, Lucas Bartlett, Selmir Pidro, Akil Watts, Miguel Perez, Célio Pompeu, Indiana Vassilev, Isak Jensen, Nicholas Gioacchini
  • NYC starting XI: Luis Barraza - Kevin O'Toole, Maxime Chanot, Thiago Martins, Tayvon Gray - Alfredo Morales, Justin Haak, Keaton Parks - Talles Magno, Thiago Andrade, Andres Jasson

Portland Timbers 2, Toronto FC 2

Evander scored for Portland in a second straight preseason game, earning a 2-2 comeback draw against Toronto at the Coachella Valley Invitational in a match that began with Federico Bernardeschi's penalty kick for the Reds.

Goals

  • 2' - TOR - Federico Bernardeschi (PK)
  • 33' - TOR - Jonathan Osorio
  • 68' - POR - Nathan Fogaça
  • 76' - POR - Evander

Lineups

  • POR starting XI: Hunter Sulte - Pablo Bonilla, Larrys Mabiala, Zac McGraw, Julian Bravo, Adrian Pelayo, Noel Caliskan, Cristhian Paredes, Dawson McCartney, Jaroslaw Niezgoda, Diego Gutierrez
  • TOR starting XI: Sean Johnson - Raoul Petretta, Sigurd Rosted, Matt Hedges, Richie Laryea, Michael Bradley, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Jonathan Osorio, Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Bernardeschi, Adama Diomande

Columbus Crew 1, Houston Dynamo FC 1

Neither club shared lineup information from their scrimmage in Florida, which ended in a 1-1 draw. But they did disclose that Cucho Hernandez opened the scoring for Columbus before Corey Baird equalized for Houston from the spot.

Goals

  • CLB - Cucho Hernandez
  • HOU - Corey Baird (PK)

Lineups

  • Columbus starting XI: Not available
  • Houston starting XI: Not available

New York Red Bulls 1, LA Galaxy 0

The New York Red Bulls downed LA Galaxy by a 1-0 scoreline at the Coachella Valley Invitational, lifted by Cameron Harper's 50th-minute goal off Tom Barlow's assist.

Goals

  • 50' - RBNY - Cameron Harper

Lineups

  • RBNY starting XI: Ryan Meara - Kyle Duncan, Sean Nealis, Andres Reyes, John Tolkin, Frankie Amaya, Cristian Casseres Jr., Luquinhas, Lewis Morgan, Elias Manoel, Tom Barlow
  • LA starting XI: Jonathan Klinsmann - Séga Coulibaly, Eriq Zavaleta, Jalen Neal, Chase Gasper - Adrián González, Adam Saldaña, Gino Vivi, Efraín Álvarez, Tyler Boyd - Preston Judd
  • LA second XI: Jonathan Klinsmann - Kelvin Leerdam, Martín Cáceres, Chris Mavinga, Raheem Edwards - Riqui Puig, Mark Delgado, Gastón Brugman, Efraín Álvarez, Memo Rodríguez - Dejan Joveljić

Atlanta United 3, Toluca FC 4

A late winner from former Vancouver Whitecaps striker Camilo Sanvezzo won Liga MX's Toluca FC this year's American Family Insurance Cup, securing a 4-3 win over Atlanta United at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The sides went into the halftime locker room knotted at 2-2, with Atlanta's first-choice lineup getting goals from Brooks Lennon and Luiz Araújo before head coach Gonzalo Pineda brought in a new second-half group.

Newcomers Luis Abram and Giorgos Giakoumakis weren't available for Atlanta as they await the proper paperwork.

Goals

  • 15' - ATL - Brooks Lennon
  • 17' - ATL - Luiz Araújo
  • 19' - TOL - Iván López
  • 45+4' - TOL - Sebastián Saucedo
  • 52' - ATL - Luke Brennan
  • 62' - TOL - Maxi Araújo
  • 80' - TOL - Camilo Sanvezzo

Lineups

  • ATL starting XI: Quentin Westberg - Andrew Gutman, Juanjo Purata, Noah Cobb, Brooks Lennon, Franco Ibarra, Matheus Rossetto, Thiago Almada, Luiz Araújo, Caleb Wiley, Machop Chol
  • ATL second XI: Clément Diop - Noah Cobb, Aiden McFadden, Kofi Twumasi, Ronald Hernández, Nick Firmino, Alan Carleton, Ajani Fortune, Luke Brennan, Tyler Young, Jackson Conway

Austin FC 1, Sacramento Republic FC 1

An 86th-minute equalizer from DP winger Emiliano Rigoni gave Austin FC a 1-1 draw against USL Championship side Sacramento Republic FC at Q2 Stadium.

Rigoni was part of a second-half lineup shift from Austin, who brought on starters in chase of a result.

Goals

  • 32' - SAC - Douglas Martínez (PK)
  • 86' - ATX - Emiliano Rigoni

Lineups

  • ATX starting XI: Matt Bersano - Adam Lundkvist, Amro Tarek, Kipp Keller, Jon Gallagher - Alex Ring, Sofiane Djeffal, Jhojan Valencia - Rodney Redes, Maxi Urruti, Ethan Finlay