MLS ROUNDUP: Lucas Zelarayan’s injury-time goal from the HALFWAY LINE gives Columbus Crew road win

Lucas Zelarayan scored an outrageous long-range goal in the 93rd minute to give the Columbus Crew a 2-1 victory against the hosts Chicago Fire on Saturday.

Xherdan Shaqiri’s goal in the 88th minute had put the Fire on a 1–1 draw after Cucho Hernandez put the Crew ahead in the 59th.

But Zelarayan saw goalkeeper Spencer Richey off his line minutes later and fired the ball into the open net.

The attacking midfielder then ripped off his shirt and held it up to the Chicago crowd, mimicking future MLS star Lionel Messi’s iconic goal celebration against Real Madrid in 2017.

It was Zelarayan’s eighth goal in 16 games this season.

The Crew has won three in a row, while the Fire saw their winless streak stretch to six games. It was also their first home defeat of the season.

Hernandez needed a lucky bounce to tie the team record by contributing a goal or an assist in eight games in a row. He has four goals and six assists on the streak.

Columbus is now in sixth place with 27 points on the season.

ATLANTA 3, DC 1

Giorgos Giakoumakis scored his 10th goal of the season, Andrew Gutman had a goal and an assist, and Atlanta United pulled away to a 3-1 victory over visiting DC United on Saturday night.

Substitute Tyler Wolff also scored an insurance goal for Atlanta (7-4-7, 28 points), extending the undefeated streak to six games, although the previous four had been tied.

Giakoumakis’ early tally helps him keep pace in the MLS Golden Boot pursuit. He started the day with a goal behind three players for the scoring lead.

MONTREAL 4, MINNESOTA 0

Mason Toye scored his first two goals of the season – both unassisted – to lead CF Montreal to a 4-0 victory over Minnesota United on Saturday night.

Montreal (7-9-1) became the fifth team in league history to record five straight shutouts at home, getting four saves from Jonathan Sirois to extend the club’s record.

Dayne St. Clair had four saves for Minnesota United (5-7-5), which had won all three previous games against Montreal. Minnesota had won two games in a row with Montreal and attempted to beat a single opponent on the road three times in a row for the first time.

ORLANDO 2, COLORADO 0

Facundo Torres and Ramiro Enrique scored goals in the second half as Orlando City beat Colorado 2-0 on Saturday night in a game where the Rapids lost two players to red cards.

Neither team scored in the first half and Colorado had to play a man down after Braian Galván was shown a red card in the 39th minute.

Torres scored the only goal Orlando City (7-4-5) would need when he took a pass from Mauricio Pereyra in the 56th minute to find the net for the fifth time this season.

CHARLOTTE 3, SEATTLE 3

Patrick Agyemang scored his first goal of his career as he came off the bench in the 89th minute and found the net to take FC Charlotte to a 3-3 draw against the Seattle Sounders on Saturday night.

Cristian Roldan put Seattle (8-6-4) ahead in the 11th minute when he took a pass from Jackson Ragen to score his second goal of the season.

Defender Jaylin Lindsey scored the equalizer for Charlotte in the 17th minute (6-8-4).

Seattle took a 2–1 lead at the break on a goal from Raúl Ruidíaz in the 36th minute.

Charlotte made the score in the 53rd minute as Westwood took a pass from Benjamin Bender to score his first career goal.

The Sounders retook the lead in the 70th minute on another Ruidíaz goal – his fourth – with assists from João Paulo and Roldan.

HOUSTON 4, LAFC 0

Houston scored three goals in the second half and the Dynamo pulled away on Saturday night for a 4-0 victory over Los Angeles FC to give the defending champions just their second loss of the season.

The Dynamo (6-7-3) took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute and went into half time when Nelson Quiñónes took a pass from Adalberto Carrasquilla to score his first career goal. The 20-year-old was making his third career start.

Houston extended the lead to 2-0 just five minutes into the second half on an Amine Bassi penalty – his seventh goal this season.

Corey Baird came on and scored for the second time this season. He took a pass from Aliyu Ibrahim in the 69th minute and found the net just six minutes after entering. Franco Escobar, who played for LAFC last season, used a Héctor Herrera assist in the 89th minute to score his first goal for the Dynamo, completing the scoring.

Steve Clark saved two shots to get his sixth clean sheet of the season for the Dynamo. It was both sides’ first clean sheet in 11 all-time match-ups. John McCarthy finished with one save for LAFC (7-2-5).

Houston beat LAFC 2-1 last August after going 0-5-4 in their first nine games. The Dynamo improves to 6-1-1 at home this season.

SALT LAKE 0, NEW YORK CITY 0

Luis Barraza made four saves and New York City FC escaped their trip to Real Salt Lake on Saturday night with a 0-0 draw.

Barraza’s performance was more about quality than quantity for NYCFC, who remain winless in nine road games this season, but have drawn four of them.

It was Barraza’s third clean sheet of the season and fifth of his MLS career, having earned the starting job following the transfer of veteran Sean Johnson as a free agent to Toronto FC last off-season.

The Cityzens pulled off a difficult road result despite continued offensive struggles. They have scored 17 goals in 17 games and are on track to score 19 fewer than their 2022 season tally of 53.

Real Salt Lake were held scoreless at home for the fifth time this season as they continue to struggle in front of goal.

RSL will add former LAFC striker Cristian Arango as an international signing when the summer transfer window opens next month. This game emphasized the need for him.

TORONTO 1, NASHVILLE 1

Randall Leal scored a second-half goal to help Nashville draw Toronto 1-1 on Saturday night and tie the team’s record nine-game undefeated streak.

Leal’s first goal of the season came unassisted in the 69th minute to help Nashville (9-3-5) earn a point.

Lorenzo Insigne scored in the 38th minute to give Toronto a half-time lead. Insigne’s third goal of the season came with an assist from defender Raoul Petretta.

KANSAS CITY 4, AUSTIN 1

Alan Pulido scored a goal in each half as Sporting Kansas City continued their rise in the Western Conference with an impressive 4-1 victory over visiting Austin FC on Saturday night.

Sporting (5-8-5, 20 points) was winless in the first 10 games (0-7-3) with a total of three goals. The Wizards have now scored 17 goals in their last eight games.

Austin FC (5-8-4, 19 points) dropped below the playoff position to 11th with the loss, their fourth in the last five games.

SAN JOSE 2, PHILADELPHIA 1

The San Jose Earthquakes remained undefeated in their last four games with a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night, as Miguel Trauco’s 57th-minute goal proved to be the deciding goal.

Jeremy Ebobisse opened the scoring in the eighth minute after a pull-back from Cade Cowell down the left.

Damion Lowe equalized just nine minutes later, but Philly went on to lose the game, remaining third in the East behind Nashville.