MLS Matchday 14 provided some excellent drama and one legendary goal celebration.
One of the wilder games from Saturday was between San Diego FC and FC Cincinnati. Two late goals in stoppage time from both sides saw this one end 3-3. San Diego looked like they had three points in the bag, but Cincinnati was leaving without one late punch.
The Philadelphia Union drew 1-1 with the Columbus Crew at Subaru Park. Columbus scored first in the first half, and Milan Iloski brought the match level in the second half. Cavan Sullivan almost scored the winning goal in stoppage time, but Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte got his eyes on the ball just in time from Sullivan's free kick.
The Hudson River Derby also finished 1-1. New York Red Bulls pulled ahead with a 1-0 lead in the 44th minute, but NYCFC leveled things quickly in the second half.
The San Jose Earthquakes lost for the second consecutive match, this time against FC Dallas. But the biggest story from this one was Sam Sarver's game stoppage time goal in the 90+3rd minute to put Dallas in the lead.
Following his goal, Sarver and some of his teammates celebrated with a scuba diving fall off the advertising board, then he followed it up by pouring a beer on his face that was thrown at him by the San Jose fans. This was textbook MLS heritage.
There's just one matchday left before the World Cup break begins. Here are some of the best from MLS Matchday 14.
This was one of the wildest matches of the day. Frequent momentum swings, defensive collapses, and late goals. Cincinnati scored first in the 11th minute from Kenji Mboma Dem to start things off.
San Diego tied it up in the 32nd minute courtesy of Marcus Ingvartsen. Tom Barlow gave Cincy the lead again in the 50th minute until Amahal Pellegrino answered back for San Diego. Second-half stoppage time is when the madness started.
Ingvartsen found the back of the net in the 90+6th minute for San Diego. His brace made it seem as if the game was sealed for San Diego. But then two minutes later, Barlow struck again for Cincy to stun the home San Diego crowd.
This definitely felt more like a loss for San Diego rather than a draw. Neither club is where they want to be in their respective conferences, but both have picked up momentum heading into the World Cup break.
Another wild finish from Saturday night. Another frantic, back-and-forth battle that showcased two talented offenses. Another chaotic ending.
Patrickson Delgado put Dallas ahead in just the 1' to start things off. Beau Leroux evened the match in the 18' with a stunning volley to give San Jose some momentum.
At the start of the second half, Dallas took another early lead. This time from Petar Musa in the 49th minute. The Quakes started to dominate possession as the second half continued, and they once again found an equalizer from Reid Roberts.
Again, it looked like this one was going to finish 2-2 until Sam Sarver took advantage of San Jose's exposed defense. A game-winner, three points, and an iconic celebration for Dallas saw them in headlines for the remainder of the weekend.
The Philadelphia Union will enter the World Cup break with zero home wins. The worst start in the club's history just keeps getting worse. Philly is still dead last in the league and now four points behind Sporting Kansas City.
A 1-1 draw against the Columbus Crew can feel like a win for the Union, I guess, but a win would have made things feel just a little bit better.
Hugo Picard scored in the 10th minute for Columbus, and the Union started another match trailing. Columbus had the momentum in the first half, but Philly started to turn things around in the second. Milan Iloski found the equalizer in the 70th minute, and things started to look promising.
In stoppage time, the Union was given a free kick, and Cavan Sullivan stepped up to take it. Sullivan pulled the ball under Columbus' wall, but Patrick Schulte had eyes on it and made a crucial game-saving save.
Inter Miami finally got their first win at Nu Stadium on Sunday Night Soccer over the Portland Timbers. Everything has been going right for Miami this year, except for the results at home. Now, they finally have their first win in their new home.
Of course, it was no other than Lionel Messi to open the scoring in the 31st minute. Messi started the goal sequence by feeding a pass to Luis Suárez, who then found Telasco Segovia before heel flicking the ball back to Messi, who found the back of the net.
Nine minutes later, Germán Berterame doubled Miami's lead. Another goal set up by Messi: he danced through Portland's defense before setting up Berterame.
Both sides had plenty of scoring opportunities as the match carried on, but Miami held on for the 2-0 win.
The second Sunday Night Soccer match of the evening featured Nashville SC hosting LAFC. Nashville picked up three big points, all thanks to a hat-trick from Hany Mukhtar. Two of three goals came from free kicks, and his second goal of the match was his 100th for Nashville across all competitions.
LAFC's poor stretch continues. They have lost four straight matches, three of them being in MLS play. They have also fallen to seventh in the Western Conference. There's still lots of time left in the season, but nobody expected LAFC to even be outside of the top five in the West this year.
Nashville remains at the top of the East, two points above Miami.
CF Montreal 0-2 Chicago Fire
Charlotte FC 3-1 Toronto FC
DC United 1-1 St. Louis City
New England Revolution 2-1 Minnesota United
Orlando City 1-1 Atlanta United
Philadelphia Union 1-1 Columbus Crew
New York Red Bulls 1-1 NYCFC
Austin FC 1-2 Sporting Kansas City
Houston Dynamo 1-0 Vancouver Whitecaps
Seattle Sounders 0-2 LA Galaxy
Real Salt Lake 2-1 Colorado Rapids
San Diego FC 3-3 FC Cincinnati
San Jose Earthquakes 2-3 FC Dallas
Inter Miami 2-0 Portland Timbers
Nashville SC 3-2 LAFC
Nashville SC - 30 pts
Vancouver Whitecaps - 29 pts
San Jose Earthquakes - 29 pts
Real Salt Lake - 25 pts
Seattle Sounders - 24 pts
FC Dallas - 22 pts
Houston Dynamo - 21 pts
LAFC - 21 pts
Minnesota United - 21 pts
LA Galaxy - 19 pts
San Diego FC - 17 pts
Colorado Rapids - 16 pts
Portland Timbers - 14 pts
Austin FC - 14 pts
St. Louis City - 13 pts
Sporting Kansas City - 11 pts
MORE: Philadelphia Union is winless at home through the World Cup break after a draw vs Columbus
