With four games on the schedule, last night was the busiest Wednesday of the year in Major League Soccer, and the action did not disappoint.
There was a five-goal flood in New York, a record-tying tally in Vancouver, and some great goalkeeping all over the map.
It was so good, in fact, that four spots on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays of the Day were occupied by MLS highlights.
Here they are, in the order they were ranked by ESPN:
10. Jeff Cunningham’s record-tying 133rd career goal
It also happened to be a 90th-minute winner for visiting Columbus versus Vancouver:
Final score Columbus 1, Vancouver 0
9. Matt Pickens’s astounding reaction save off a deflection against Sporting Kansas City
This one should have been higher; it’s a truly terrific save and it came in stoppage time, preserving a 1-1 tie for the visitors. Full (and worthwhile) highlights below, but scroll to 5:15 mark for Pickens’ heroics:
Final score: SKC 1, Colorado 1
7. Ben Zemanski’s swerving, 35-yard golazo against San Jose
This high-speed knuckleball broke open a game that seemed destined to become a dreaded 0-0 draw (and be sure to note Busch’s expression afterward. Priceless.):
Final score: Chivas USA 2, San Jose 0
3. This was a twofer: Luke Rodgers’ tremendous volley, and Juan Agudelo’s lethal header for New York against Toronto
Rodgers’ goal signaled the rout:
And Agudelo’s sealed it (and then he added one more):
Final score: New York 5, Toronto 0
ESPN also had a soccer highlight—a goal by Brazil in the Women’s World Cup—as its No. 1 play of the day. Not bad for footy on the WWL today: five out of 10.
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