MLS Is Back Tournament: Orlando City SC, Philadelphia Advance to Quarterfinals

The first two matches of the MLS Is Back tournament knockout stage saw the top two clubs in Group A each advance with 1-0 victories Saturday night. 

Orlando City SC took down the Montreal Impact, while the Philadelphia Union defeated the New England Revolution at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Florida. Tesho Akindele and Sergio Santos scored the only goals on the night.

Both games featured a scoreless first half and an opening goal after the 59th minute, but that's where the similarities stop.  

Only 14 teams remain in the bracket.

Here's a look at how Saturday's action unfolded.  

Round of 16 Saturday Results

Orlando City SC def. Montreal Impact, 1-0 (Akindele 60')

Philadelphia Union def. New England Revolution, 1-0 (Santos 63')

Akindele leads Orlando City SC to Quarterfinals 

Orlando advanced through Group A play without any losses and proved once again it can win the MLS Is Back Tournament with an elimination victory over Montreal. 

The third-place finisher in Group C was shut out by the Lions on Saturday night, ending the Impact's run after four matches. 

A beautiful passing play in the 60th minute produced the game's lone goal on a misplayed defensive stand by Montreal. The highlight more than made up for the lack of scoring. 

With Orlando in transition, a touch pass off the heel of Nani sailed past the back line of Montreal and onto the foot of Jhegson Mendez in the box. Mendez barely had control of the ball before he flipped it over to Akindele, who had nothing but an open net in front of him for an easy tap in. 

It was a tough look for Montreal's Rod Fanni, as the defender was pulled out of position on the attack, opening up a gap for Nani's pass.

Orlando City retained possession for 56.6 percent of the match, outshooting Montreal 10-7 (2-1 on target) and notching 20 clearances to just nine by the Impact. For as close as the game was throughout, there was hardly a moment after Akindele's opener when it felt like the Lions were in danger of losing the lead.  

Even with six minutes of extra time, Orlando controlled the play and kept Montreal from finding any sort of rhythm on offense. 

The Lions will now wait to face the winner of Monday's match between the Seattle Sounders and LAFC.

Santos' late score seals Union win 

Santos may still be dancing. His team certainly is. 

After netting a rocket of a goal in the 63rd minute, Santos busted out his second-best move of the evening, celebrating with a little jig that's going to be remembered in Philadelphia. 

The best move of Santos' night came only seconds before, when he found himself alone inside the box and put a shot from the left post into the top right corner off his left foot. 

New England and Philly seemed to trade chances nonstop for the full 90 minutes. The two clubs combined for 30 total shots, with each side landing five on target. The possession time was essentially split down the middle, with the Union holding just a 1.7 percent edge.

Even after Santos' goal, nothing seemed secure.

The Revolution were relentless, pushing the pace over the final stretch and forcing a make-or-break free kick at the start of extra time. 

In the 93rd minute, the Revs' Gustavo Bou had a perfect opportunity at an equalizer, only to put the free kick directly in the hands of Philadelphia keeper Andre Blake. New England would get a final corner attempt in the 95th minute, but the shot had little chance of breaking through the Union defense. 

Instead, it'll be Philadelphia playing the winner of Sunday's knockout game between Sporting Kansas City and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.

SKC enter as heavy favorites after winning Group D with six goals for in three matches. Vancouver, meanwhile, has a minus-two goal differential following Group B play. 

The action begins with Toronto FC and NYCFC at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1 followed by SKC vs. Vancouver at 10 p.m. ET on the same channel.