Columbus Crew 1, Sporting KC 1
Eddie Gaven's header in the first minute of stoppage time gave the Crew a 1-1 draw with Sporting Kansas City on Sunday, salvaging an important point for Columbus as it tries to land a playoff spot.
With 49 points, the Crew are one out of playoff position. Houston is fifth in the Eastern Conference on 50 points, and each has two games left to play.
Gaven scored to the near right post off a pass from Emilio Renteria to continue a trend of late dramatics. The Crew's past five winning goals have come in the 86th minute or later. Sporting Kansas City (17-7-7) took the lead in the 10th minute when C.J. Sapong headed home his own rebound.
Kansas City has clinched a spot and opened a three-point lead over second-place Chicago in the East but is five back of San Jose for the overall points lead and home-field throughout the postseason.
Seattle Sounders 3, Portland Timbers 0
Eddie Johnson scored his 14th goal of the season just minutes after an own goal gave Seattle the lead, Fredy Montero added another in the 62nd minute, and the Sounders raced past Cascadia rival Portland 3-0 on Sunday night before a record crowd of more than 66,000.
Johnson's goal in the 28th minute gave Seattle a 2-0 lead and helped the Sounders move into third-place in the Western Conference, two points clear of fourth-place Los Angeles. The fourth-place team in each conference must play an extra playoff game against the fifth-place team in the final regular season standings. Seattle is two points ahead of the Galaxy and three points behind second-place Real Salt Lake with games still remaining against Los Angeles and Salt Lake.
The official attendance of 66,452 was the second largest for a stand-alone match in league history.
Seattle got the benefit of an own goal from Portland to take the lead when Mamadou Danso stepped in front of a cross intended for Montero in the 25th minute. Portland originally was charged with a second own-goal, this one by Jack Jewsbury, to give Seattle a 3-0 lead. But that goal was later changed and given to Montero with persistence likely the reason Montero earned his career-best 13th goal of the season. Montero was originally stopped twice by Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts and appeared to barely get his toe on the ball at the same moment Jewsbury got to it.
The result was the same, though; a three-goal lead in a match Seattle mostly dominated.
While two Seattle goals at least had the Timbers help, there was nothing but skill on Johnson's finish. Johnson made a quick cut to the middle of the penalty area where he was waiting for a long pass from Brad Evans on the wing. The pass was on target and Johnson took the short-hop and guided it past Ricketts with his left foot.
Johnson, who tweeted on Friday night he had received a call-up to the U.S. national team, ran over near a section of Portland supporters holding a finger over his lips while the remaining 65,000-plus fans erupted in celebration.
Seattle put itself in position to retain the Cascadia Cup as well. The Sounders said this week that avoiding the No. 4 seed in the playoffs was the priority, but claiming bragging rights over the Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps is nearly as important. Seattle now has nine points to lead the competition between the three teams and thanks goal differential, Portland must win at Vancouver later this month to claim the cup. A draw or a Vancouver victory would keep the regional trophy in Seattle.
Los Angeles 1, Real Salt Lake 2
Los Angeles star Landon Donovan limped off with a knee injury with about 10 minutes left in the Galaxy's 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on Saturday night, creating doubt whether he will be available for the United States' upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Antigua and Barbuda, and Guatemala.
The 30-year-old midfielder, who missed last month's qualifiers against Jamaica because of a hamstring injury, hurt his left knee after contact with Real Salt Lake defender Jamison Olave in the RSL box in the 81st minute. He required medical attention on the field, then limped off and walked gingerly to the Galaxy bench.
Donovan said he did not hear a pop, which frequently accompanies a ligament tears, but that the extent of the damage wasn't known.
''We have no idea,'' he said. ''We have to get it worked out. ... It didn't feel good.''
The Americans figure to need at least a win and a tie when they play at Antigua on Friday and host Guatemala on Oct. 16 at Kansas City, Kan. Those are the final two games in the semifinal round of qualifying in North and Central America and the Caribbean.
Asked if he would miss the games, Donovan replied: ''TBD.''
The U.S. also could be missing Dallas midfielder Brek Shea, who left his team's game against San Jose on Sept. 29 in the 69th minute.
Fabian Espindola scored in the 25th and 28th minutes to help Real Salt Lake (17-11-4) overcome an early deficit to pull five points ahead of the Galaxy (15-12-5) and six in front of Seattle in the battle for second place in the Western Conference. RSL and L.A. have two games remaining; Seattle, which plays Portland on Sunday, has four left.
The fourth-place team must win a wild-card game to enter the playoff bracket.
Chivas USA 1, D.C. United 1
Jorge Villafana's goal in the 69th minute snapped a 600-minute scoreless streak and also dealt a blow to FC Dallas' playoff hopes as Chivas USA forged a 1-1 draw Sunday.
With the point earned, FC Dallas sits four points behind Vancouver for the fifth and final Western Conference playoff spot, and each team has two games remaining. Vancouver would secure the playoff spot with a victory or an FC Dallas loss.
Villafana's goal tied the game and ended the second longest drought in league history.
FC Dallas Blas Perez opened the scoring in the eighth minute when Perez finished off a rebound from a shot by David Ferreira. Meanwhile, Villafana's tally came off a feed from Miller Bolanos.
New York Red Bulls 0, Chicago Fire 2
Sherjill MacDonald has played in only 12 games with the Chicago Fire, and still isn't feeling 100 percent.
The New York Red Bulls would never believe it.
MacDonald scored two second-half goals and led the Fire to a crucial 2-0 win over the Red Bulls on Saturday.
''I hadn't played for a few games there, but I feel my stamina is getting better,'' said MacDonald, who doubled his scoring production of the season on Saturday. ''I think it's all been about going back to basics and doing what we do best.''
The Fire (17-10-5) jumped three points ahead of the Red Bulls (15-9-8) in the Eastern Conference, with two games remaining, and moved closer to earning a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs. Chicago can get in if Columbus loses to Sporting Kansas City on Sunday.
New York, which fell to fourth in the East, dropped to 11-2-3 at home. The Red Bulls still haven't secured a playoff spot.
Colorado Rapids 1, San Jose Earthquakes 4
Chris Wondolowski scored three goals and added an assist to help the San Jose Earthquakes clinch the Western Conference title with a 4-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids on Saturday night.
Marvin Chavez added his second goal of the season 95 seconds into the game for San Jose (19-6-7). The Earthquakes hold a six-point lead over idle Sporting Kansas City for the Supporters' Shield.
San Jose tied a club with 64 points in a season.
Andre Akpan scored on a penlty kick in the 90th minute for the Rapids.
Colorado (9-19-4) has won only twice in its last 16 games, going 2-11-3 in that span. The Rapids will miss the playoffs for first time since 2009.
Houston Dynamo 1, Montreal Impact 1
Sanna Nyassi scored in the second half and the Montreal Impact tied the Houston Dynamo 1-1 Saturday night.
Despite the tie, Montreal (12-15-5, 41 points) was eliminated from MLS playoff contention, while Houston (13-8-11, 50 points) extends its lead over Columbus for fifth place in the Eastern Conference and the final playoff spot to two points.
Toronto FC 0, DC United 1
Hamdi Salihi scored a late goal to give D.C. United a 1-0 victory over Toronto FC on Saturday.
Last-place Toronto (5-20-7) stretched its winless streak to 12 games since beating Colorado on July 18.
Conceding late goals has been recurring issue all season for the Reds. Former Toronto player Maicon Santos sent a cross from the right side in the 88th minute that TFC goalkeeper Milos Kocic mishandled.
Salihi was in the right place to tap in the goal from close range for United (16-10-6).
The announced attendance was 15,281 on a chilly, blustery day at BMO Field alongside Lake Ontario. However, swaths of seats remained empty as Toronto played its second to last home game of the season.
