Portland upends L.A. Galaxy, D.C. ties Toronto, LAFC ties Houston in MLS tournament

KISSIMMEE, Fla. (AP) — Jeremy Ebobisse and Sebastián Blanco scored seven minutes apart midway through the second half, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez had a first-half penalty saved, and the Portland Timbers opened the MLS is Back tournament with a 2-1 win over the LA Galaxy on Monday night.

Portland surged into command of Group F in the tournament thanks to its victory and a 3-3 draw earlier on Monday between LAFC and Houston.

Hernandez missed on the penalty in the 12th minute as his attempt was smothered by Portland goalkeeper Steve Clark, who also saved the rebound attempt by Sasha Kljestan. Hernandez also missed an open goal early in the second half sending his shot over the crossbar.

The Mexican star finally scored his first goal for the Galaxy in the 88th minute as the Galaxy took advantage of Portland playing with just 10 men. Dario Zuparic was given a second yellow card in the 75th and the Galaxy had a pair of goals waived off for offside before Hernandez finally scored his first for LA.

The Galaxy (0-2-1) remained winless on the season after opening the year with a draw against Houston and a 1-0 home loss to Vancouver.

The Timbers had limited chances for most of the first hour, but outworked the Galaxy defense for both goals. And both were thanks largely to Blanco's effort.

Blanco assisted on Ebobisse's goal in the 59th, making a smart diagonal run in the penalty area. Yimmi Chara's initial header was saved by Galaxy goalkeeper David Bingham, but LA was unable to clear the ball. Diego Valeri found Blanco on his run, and Blanco's pass was redirected into the net by Ebobisse.

Just a few minutes later, Blanco hustled to keep Ebobisse's shot from going out of bounds, worked his way past defenders Emiliano Insua and Giancarlo Gonzalez and beat Bingham with a left-footed shot.

Portland (2-1-0) began the year with a loss to Minnesota before rebounding with a win over expansion Nashville prior to the league’s shutdown in March.

Diego Rossi and Brian Rodriguez scored six minutes apart midway through the second half, and Los Angeles FC rallied for a 3-3 draw with the Houston Dynamo in the MLS is Back tournament on Monday night.

The opening match of Group F turned into the highest scoring game of the tournament.

LAFC, the reigning Supporters' Shield winners, trailed 3-1 at halftime after Houston took advantage of its counter-attacking opportunities in the first 45 minutes.

Memo Rodríguez scored twice in the first half for Houston. His first goal came in the ninth minute with a right-footed shot that beat LAFC goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer. Rodríguez added his second in the 30th, collecting a perfect pass behind the LAFC defense. Rodríguez's first shot was saved by Vermeer, but the rebound deflected off Rodríguez's leg and into the net.

Alberth Elis added a third for Houston just before halftime with his header off a free kick. The goal was originally waived off as being offside, but video review showed Elis was onside and the goal was allowed.

MLS veteran and LAFC newcomer Bradley Wright-Phillips scored his 109th career regular-season goal in the first half tapping in a cross from Rossi. Wright-Phillips started at the top of LAFC's attack with reigning league MVP Carlos Vela sitting out the tournament. He moved into seventh-place on the league's all-time list for regular season goals.

While Rossi was a distributor in the first half, it was his strike in the 63rd minute that sparked LAFC. The Uruguyan's right-footed shot from 15 yards was no match for Houston goalkeeper Marko Maric.

Just a few minutes later, Latif Blessing found Brian Rodriguez on a run from the wing and scored his first goal after the 22-year-old signed with LAFC last summer.

LAFC (1-0-2) opened the season with a victory over Inter Miami and a draw against Philadelphia prior to the league's stoppage in March.

Houston (0-1-2) is still searching for its first victory under new coach Tab Ramos.

Federico Higuain and Frederic Brillant both scored late in the second half as D.C. United rallied for a 2-2 draw against Toronto FC on Monday in the MLS is Back tournament.

D.C. United played the entire second half with 10 men after Junior Moreno picked up a second yellow card during first-half stoppage time and was sent off. Despite being short-handed, D.C. United finished its two chances in the closing minutes to earn one point.

Higuain, an MLS veteran in his first year with D.C. United after parts of eight seasons with Columbus, got behind the Toronto defense and chipped goalkeeper Quentin Westberg in the 84th minute to cut the deficit to 2-1. Seven minutes later, at the beginning of stoppage time, D.C. United took advantage of a free kick. Steven Birnbaum headed the free kick into the middle of the penalty area and Brillant redirected it past Westberg to pull D.C. United even.

D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid preserved the draw with a sprawling left-handed save while crashing into the goalpost in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Ayo Akinola scored twice in the first half for Toronto, both off assists from Alejandro Pozuelo. His second goal just before halftime came off a defensive blunder by D.C. United and a perfectly chipped cross from Pozuelo.

But despite playing with the man advantage and dominating possession, the Reds couldn't hold off D.C. United's late rally.

The opening match for the two sides in the tournament was delayed twice. The Group C match was originally scheduled for last Friday but was postponed to Sunday after Toronto's delayed arrival in Florida.

Another 24-hour delay occurred Sunday, with the match was called off just before kickoff after coronavirus testing on Saturday revealed an unconfirmed positive test from a D.C. United player and an inconclusive test from a Toronto player. That prompted another round of testing for all players on Sunday, in which all tested negative and allowed the match to finally be played.

D.C. United (2-1-0) opened the season with a loss to Colorado and a win over Inter Miami before the league stopped play in March.

Toronto (1-0-2) earned its second draw on the season after opening with a 2-2 draw against San Jose and a win over NYCFC.