MLS Roundup: Jermain Defoe strikes again for Toronto FC, Seattle wins at Montréal

Published Mar. 22, 2014 10:38 p.m. ET

Kyle McCarthy

Toronto FC 1 - D.C. United 0

All three Toronto FC Designated Players combined for the winner as the Reds made it two wins from two to start the season. Michael Bradley started the sequence with a sumptuous pass over the top. Gilberto - effective in his first appearance for the club - forced Bill Hamid into a good save to thwart the resulting chance, but Defoe collected deftly and finished ruthlessly to snatch his third goal in two matches. United enjoyed plenty of possession on the day, but it could not find a way produce an equalizer.

Colorado 2 - Portland 0

Rapids coach Pablo Mastroeni collected his first victory in charge of the club after a pair of second-half penalties handed the home side the points. The trouble for Portland started when Donovan Ricketts' ill-advised lunge speared Deshorn Brown in the stomach to yield a penalty award and a red card. Vicente Sánchez converted his second penalty in as many weeks to open the scoring. Substitute goalkeeper Andrew Weber then hauled down Sánchez moments later to give away a second penalty. Brown finished his spot kick at the second attempt to seal the Rapids' victory, though José Mari's late dismissal for a second bookable offense concluded the match on a discordant note.

Columbus 2 - Philadelphia 1

Bernardo Anor's stunning 35-yard drive eventually settled this engaging affair between two sides determined to play tidily in the middle third. Anor opened the scoring by nodding home Federico Higuaín's corner kick after 25 minutes. He doubled the lead in stunning fashion after Philadephia turned the ball over inside its own half. Leo Fernandes pulled a goal back with his first MLS strike after 62 minutes, but the Union could not produce the equalizer necessary to atone for its first-half wastefulness.

FC Dallas 3 - Chivas USA 1

Mauro Díaz sparkled again to continue FC Dallas' unbeaten run to start the season. Díaz curled in the free kick to catch out the Red-and-White rearguard (flirting with danger much of the night with a high line) and prompted Fabián Castillo's opener after 71 minutes. Je-Vaughn Watson doubled the advantage seven minutes later when Díaz's long diagonal caught out the Chivas USA defense. Erick Torres pulled a goal back in the 81st minute by rounding off a tidy buildup at the near post, but he diverted Michel's free kick past Dan Kennedy five minutes later to condemn his side to its first defeat of the season. Hendry Thomas exacerbated FCD's emerging central midfield crisis - Andrew Jacobson (ankle) and Adam Moffat (hamstring) both departed this match through injury - by procuring a red card for his injury-time tackle on Bofo Bautista.

Real Salt Lake 1 - LA Galaxy 1

These two sides shared the spoils in a ragged and ill-tempered affair at Rio Tinto Stadium. Álvaro Saborío opened his 2014 account after 19 minutes with a sidefooted finish after Joao Plata picked him out wonderfully at the back post. Robbie Keane drew his side level before the break after he completed a lengthy run with a rasping shot inside the near post. Neither side could engineer a winner in the second half to decide the second meeting between the team in as many league matches.

Sporting Kansas City 1 - San Jose 0

Sporting recovered from its midweek humbling at Cruz Azul by dispatching fellow CCL participant San Jose. Dom Dwyer converted from the spot just before the hour mark to separate the sides at Sporting Park. Dwyer made no mistake after Steven Lenhart handled inside the area and provoked the penalty award to decide an affair noticeably influenced by the midweek CCL exertions.

New England 0 - Vancouver 0