Breakfast Links - September 11, 2023
(image via Portland Timbers)
International breaks are always boring, but I hope y’all found a way to enjoy your weekend. Here are your links to kick off the new week.
Houston
The only Houston team to play this weekend was Dynamo 2. They traveled to Portland and beat Timbers 2 by a score of 3-1. Diego Gonzalez opened the scoring with an incredible free kick just five minutes into the game. Tate Lampman got the second goal of the game with his first goal for the team. Isaiah LeFlore then scored the third with a great shot on his weak foot. Dynamo 2 have just two games left and are only one point above the playoff line. It’s going to be a tight end of the season.
We want to say a big thanks to Jen and Dustin and Kristen Shelis for helping support Bayou City Soccer buy becoming members. If you want to become a member and help what we do here at BCS, you can do so here.
Major League Soccer
There were not a ton of games this weekend in MLS. The most entertaining match came in Miami where Inter hosted Sporting Kansas City. Miami got the win without Lionel Messi, who was on international duty with Argentina. Daniel Salloi opened the scoring early for Kansas City. Leonardo Campana continued his hot streak scoring another brace and Facundo Farias capped off the night with the third goal for Miami. Alan Pulido got one back for Kansas City, but it was not enough. Miami are now in a great position to get into the playoffs if they keep on winning like this.
Sunday afternoon, the LA Galaxy hosted St. Louis to a 2-2 draw. St Louis got off to a great start through Samuel Adeniran getting on the score sheet. Joao Klauss then went on to make it 2-0 with his first goal back from injury. The second half was a different story where Riqui Puig scored a penalty early in the half and Adeniran got sent off to put St Louis down to ten men. Billy Sharp came off the bench and found the late equalizer for LA to earn them a point against a tough opponent.
Around the World
Not a whole lot is going on around the world with the international break. The European Championship qualifiers continued with Italy failing to beat North Macedonia yet again. They tied 1-1 putting Italy in a must win situation against Ukraine tomorrow. Ukraine also managed to get a tie against England to put them in a great spot if they can beat Italy.
The United States Men’s National Team played a friendly against Uzbekistan in St Louis and beat them 3-0. Tim Weah opened the scoring early with a powerful strike from the edge of the box. Ricardo Pepi made it 2-0 late on with a great shot of his own coming from a Brendan Aaronson layoff. Malik Tillman then won a penalty that Christian Pulisic buried to win the game 3-0. Tomorrow, the USMNT will play Oman in yet another friendly.
