Winners and Losers from MLS Week 13
It was another exciting week of Major League Soccer action in Week 13, highlighted by stunning goals from Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi and Will Johnson, as well as another tally for the league's all-time goal scorer Landon Donovan.
Check out all the action along with plenty of highlights in this week's edition of MLS Winners and Losers.
Winner: Antonio Dovale
1 of 13In Sporting KC's midweek 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls, Dovale scored his first-ever MLS goal with this well-taken strike from outside the area.
Winner: Bradley Wright-Phillips
2 of 13Also from the midweek match between Sporting and New York, Bradley Wright-Phillips notched another goal. He currently leads MLS with 11 goals.
Winner: Fanendo Adi
3 of 13Fanendo Adi scored both goals in the Portland Timbers' 2-0 win over Chivas USA, the second one coming off a Diego Valeri pass that beat six Chivas defenders.
The win brought Portland's unbeaten streak to six games.
Winner: Seattle Sounders
4 of 13No Clint Dempsey—check. No DeAndre Yedlin—check. Any worries? Nope.
Even without two of their key players, Seattle cruised to a 4-0 win over the defending Western Conference champions. To be fair, Real Salt Lake were also missing several key players due to World Cup duties and injury.
Make sure to check out Marco Pappa's beautiful free-kick at the 2:48 mark of the video.
Winner: Toronto FC
5 of 13Down not once, but twice, Toronto FC battled back to tie their game against the Columbus Crew in the 81st minute on a terrific strike from Jermain Defoe, before winning the game 3-2 in stoppage time.
Winner: Fabian Espindola
6 of 13
It's an age-old question when a ball like that goes in the net—was that a shot, or a cross?
Fabian Espindola's cross/shot drifted over the head of Sporting keeper Eric Kronberg and into the net to help D.C. United to a 1-0 win over the defending champs.
Winner: Kamani Hill
7 of 13In a 3-0 drubbing of the Houston Dynamo, Colorado Rapids' Kamani Hill scored a brace, including this lovely little flick off a corner kick.
Winner: Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi
8 of 13Jean-Baptiste Pierazzi scored a golazo from 40 yards out in the San Jose Earthquakes' 2-1 win over FC Dallas.
Blas Perez, who scored the opener for FC Dallas, also scored in fine fashion in the same game.
Winner: Jon Busch
9 of 13
MLS stalwart Jon Busch helped preserve the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 lead over FC Dallas on Saturday night with a fine save on a penalty kick just before the half.
The game finished 2-1.
Winner: Landon Donovan
10 of 13
A week after being left off the U.S. World Cup roster by head coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Landon Donovan continued his hot streak into this week. Last week, Donovan set the MLS all-time goal record when he scored twice and added an assist.
This week, Donovan tallied the LA Galaxy's lone goal in a 1-1 draw with Chicago.
Also in the winner category was Robbie Rogers, who assisted on the goal—a rare contribution from Rogers over the past two seasons.
Winner: The Fans
11 of 13
On Sunday night, MLS fans were treated to a spectacular match between the Portland Timbers and the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Highlights included a fantastic opening goal from Maximiliano Urruti, seven goals and a thrilling combination between Fanendo Adi and Will Johnson.
Loser: Adam Moffat
12 of 13
Adam Moffat received two first-half yellow cards (both well deserved) and left his team down a man for the remaining 54 minutes.
FC Dallas couldn't hold on and lost to the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1.
Loser: Chivas USA
13 of 13
It was a rough week for Western Conference bottom-dwellers Chivas USA. After losing 2-0 midweek to the Portland Timbers, Chivas lost 3-0 on the weekend to the Philadelphia Union.
They certainly weren't helped by a number of "interesting" calls by the referee.
Follow me on Twitter @JohnDHalloran
Follow me on Facebook www.facebook.com/AmericanTouchline
