MLS Morning Espresso 9/15

The warm aroma...

Welcome back for another cup of MLS Morning Espresso, the sure-fire way to get that early-morning MLS fix you’ve been craving since hitting the snooze button for the fifth and final time.

Speaking of hitting, Columbus spanked Joe Public FC to a three-nil annihilation at Crew Stadium. After a surprisingly quiet first half, Leandre Griffit (47′) and Jason Garey (51′) quickly made it a two-goal contest before the hour. Steven Lenhart’s 79th minute strike furthered the Columbus cause, as they clinched a convincing victory over the Trinidadian side.

A few thousand miles south in San Jose, Costa Rica, the Sounders were silenced by Saprissa 2-0. David Guzman scored a goal in the 56th, while Seattle squandered an opportunity to equalize when Osvaldo Alonso’s penalty kick was blocked by Fausto Gonzalez in the 68th minute. Allan Aleman added a second Saprissa score in the 81st to give the home side the victory.

The final gulp goes to the friendly between Chivas USA and CD Guadalajara at Petco Park in San Diego. While the stadium is typically reserved for Major League Baseball, the footballers took it over and used it to stage the big brother/little brother showdown known as ChivaClasico. After the regulation ended with the “friendly” score of 0-0, PKs were artificially administered to decide a victor, and the little brother – Chivas USA – bested the bigger one, 4-2, after Michael Lahoud’s decisive penalty.