Golden Boot leader Hany Mukhtar scored a crucial goal in the 66th minute to give Nashville SC a two-goal lead in a 3-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday in Kansas City, Kan.

Thanks to Mukhtar’s 15th goal of the season, Nashville (12-9-7, 43 points) won for the first time in seven matches to solidify its playoff position in the Eastern Conference. Nashville was 0-4-2 in its previous six matches, scoring just two goals total in that span.

Sporting KC (9-13-8, 35 points) already were in a perilous position, and they ended the night three points below the playoff cutoff line in the Western Conference.

Neither team mounted much of an offensive threat in a cleanly and evenly played first half. Each team had five fouls in the first half, and each side had just one shot on goal.

Sporting controlled most of the possession in the first half, and much of that was in the Nashville end. But they couldn’t penetrate the Nashville defense, which came into the match tied for the fewest goals allowed (27) in MLS.

Nashville got on the board in the 29th minute. Fafa Picault, who came from almost outside the box on a corner kick by Daniel Lovitz, rose above the defense and headed it perfectly past SKC goalie Tim Melia.

Nursing a 1-0 halftime lead, Nashville packed it in on defense even more than in the first half. Sporting spent much of the early part of the second half deep in Nashville territory, while Nashville waited on the occasional counter to penetrate the SKC end.

Following a corner kick by Nashville, Sporting cleared the ball into safety. Nashville midfielder Alex Muyl fed the ball back to his keeper, Joe Willis, near the midfield stripe. He sent it deep into SKC territory, where Walker Zimmerman gathered it to the right of the box. He sent it toward the goal. Sporting’s Andreu Fontas deflected it, but Mukhtar fired it past Melia.

After Mukhtar was fouled in the 76th minute, he sent a low-line drive into the box that was redirected by Jack Maher for the final goal of the night.

–Field Level Media

Hector Herrera and Griffin Dorsey scored first-half goals and Ivan Franco and Ibrahim Aliyu added on in the second half as the Houston Dynamo defeated the visiting Vancouver Whitecaps 4-1 on Wednesday in a key late-season Western Conference match.

The win allowed the Dynamo (12-10-7, 43 points) to leapfrog Vancouver (11-9-8, 41 points) in the West standings, with both teams currently in playoff position. Houston is unbeaten in its past seven league matches (4-0-3) dating back to July 15.

The Whitecaps, playing the fifth match of a club-record, seven-match road trip, fell for the first time after earning three wins and drawing once on their marathon trip.

Herrera got Houston on the board in the 13th minute, converting a free kick from just outside the box after Nelson Quinones drew a foul from Javain Brown. Herrera’s kick bounced off Brian White in the Vancouver wall and wrong-footed Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka before landing in the bottom right corner.

Vancouver had two excellent scoring chances when Ryan Gauld and Ali Ahmed forced saves from Houston keeper Steve Clark in the 16th and 31st minute, respectively. Jose Artur de Lima Junior put a shot on goal for Houston in the 38th minute that was stopped by Takaoka.

That shot on target was countered by one from the Whitecaps’ Pedro Vite a minute later that Clark saved at the top right corner and another by Tristan Blackmon in the 44th minute that was gathered by the Houston keeper.

Dorsey added to the Dynamo lead just before the break when he literally walked into the box and unleashed a shot into the top left corner that Takaoka barely moved on. Corey Baird assisted on the tally that granted Houston a 2-0 advantage.

Franco added to the lead in the 73rd minute, calmly heading home an assist from Brad Smith and all but guaranteeing the Dynamo’s win.

Aliyu was the beneficiary of a sterling pass from Herrera to put away the match in the 84th minute.

Vancouver’s only tally came on an own goal by the Dynamo’s Erik Sviatchenko in the 90th minute that denied Houston and Clark a clean sheet.

Clark was credited with four saves, while Takaoka made one stop.

–Field Level Media

Orlando City clinched a spot in the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs on Wednesday despite falling 2-0 to host New York City FC.

Goals from Mounsef Bakrar and Talles Magno proved the difference for New York (7-10-13, 34 points), as the home side looked the stronger team throughout the night. Orlando City (14-7-8, 50 points) saw their five-game unbeaten run in all competitions end.

Threatening from the early moments, NYCFC nearly found their breakthrough four minutes into the match. Richard Ledezma sent in a cross to Andres Perea at the back post, only for Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese to make a sprawling, one-handed save to force a corner kick.

Bakrar opened the scoring for New York in the 37th minute, heading in a penalty kick rebound after Gallese pushed aside Rodiguez’s spot attempt, following a brief VAR review on a tackle from Orlando’s Ramiro Enrique.

NYCFC extended their lead in the 68th minute as Andres Jasson sent a cross to Magno, who soared over Rodrigo Schlegel to head the ball past Gallese and double the lead.

Ahead of their second goal, NYCFC head coach Nick Cushing was forced to make a change, as Ledezma was taken off on a stretcher due to a tackle on the ankle from Orlando’s Cesar Araujo.

Despite maintaining possession through the later portions of the match, Orlando struggled to string attacks together, finishing the night with just two shots on target and 59.5 possession. In comparison, New York finished with seven shots on target and 40.5 possession.

While Orlando failed to claim any points, DC United’s 1-1 draw against Atlanta United allowed the Lions to clinch a postseason berth with five matches remaining in their regular-season schedule.

Meanwhile, the victory vaulted NYCFC further into playoff contention, bringing them within two points of D.C. United, the ninth-place team in the Eastern Conference and current holder of the final playoff spot.

New York’s Matt Freese made two saves in his clean-sheet victory.

–Field Level Media

The New York Red Bulls and Austin FC played to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday night in Harrison, N.J. An Austin FC own goal got New York on the board in the seventh minute, and Sebastian Driussi equalized in the 44th minute.

New York (7-12-10, 31 points) is now winless in five straight following back-to-back draws. Austin (9-13-7, 34 points) is without a win in eight consecutive games across all competitions, with their last victory coming against Sporting Kansas City on July 15.

Emiliano Rigoni’s own goal put the Red Bulls on the board. New York’s John Tolkin put a cross into the area on a free kick, and teammate Dante Vanzeir’s strike directed off the Austin FC midfielder and past goalkeeper Brad Stuver.

Rigoni redeemed himself with his corner in the final minute of the opening half. Jhojan Valencia headed the corner across to Driussi, and the Argentine put his header past Carlos Coronel for his team-leading 10th goal of the season.

New York had plenty of opportunity to take control of the game in the first 45.

The Red Bulls controlled the first-half possession and had seven shots in the opening 45 while holding Austin to just a single shot on goal.

Elias Manoel had the Red Bulls’ first quality scoring chance in the 2nd minute but put his strike over the bar. Then, late in the first half, Tolkin had a pair of opportunities, putting a shot over the bar in the 37th minute and then putting his strike wide of the goal in the 41st minute.

Austin FC edged the Red Bulls 4-3 in the only other meeting between the two clubs in July 2022.

Up next, the Red Bulls visit D.C. United on Saturday, while Austin FC host the LA Galaxy on Sunday.

–Field Level Media

Luciano Acosta scored on a penalty in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time to help FC Cincinnati secure a 1-1 draw against host CF Montreal on Wednesday.

Cincinnati (17-4-8, 59 points) was awarded the penalty after Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois took out Dominique Badji on an aerial ball at the top of the 18-yard box. Sirois was shown a yellow card.

Montreal (11-14-4, 37 points) settled for a draw for the second straight match.

It was a quiet first half, with the two sides each recording three shot attempts, none of which were on target.

Junior Moreno had a chance to give the visitors the lead in the 14th minute, curling a shot from distance that went wide of the net.

Cincinnati started to find its game as the half progressed but couldn’t break through. In the 24th minute, Brandon Vazquez brought the ball down low to the right of the goal area, but his pass attempt was blocked by Joel Waterman. Sirois came off his line to snare a pass attempt from Santiago Arias for Aaron Boupendza in the 34th minute.

The visitors came close to breaking the ice in the 41st minute when Arias’ header off a corner by Acosta grazed the right post.

Kwadwo Opoku put Montreal ahead 1-0 in the 53rd minute. Lassi Lappalainen sent a short pass up to Opoku just past midfield, and the 22-year-old hustled up the pitch. Cincinnati midfielder Obinna Nwobodo missed on a tackle and Opoku got above the arc before firing a left-footed strike into the left side of the net.

Cincinnati came within inches of netting the equalizer in the minutes that followed.

In the 59th, Boupendza took a pass from Alvaro Barreal for a header that went over the net. Then, a few minutes after Waterman blocked yet another Vazquez attempt, Yuya Kubo took a feed from Barreal at the top of the 6-yard box, but the ball hit Sirois’ outstretched arm and deflected up and into the crossbar in the 68th minute.

–Field Level Media

Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba departed with injuries during what might have been a costly 4-0 win for Inter Miami over Toronto FC on Wednesday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

Robert Taylor recorded a brace and Facundo Farias and Benjamin Cremaschi also had goals as the Herons (9-15-4, 31 points) moved closer to the Eastern Conference playoff line. However, the bigger-picture focus was on the health of Miami’s star players.

Alba was substituted off in the 35th minute, and Messi left the field two minutes later. Neither player had sustained an obvious injury, but both were in discomfort with apparent lower-body ailments.

Inter Miami coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino said the players came out with muscle fatigue — something that kept both players out of the team’s match against Atlanta United last Saturday. He added that neither player would play Sunday against Orlando City, as the club will evaluate them day by day.

The club was trying to manage the two players’ health and minutes through the Herons’ busy schedule, which includes the U.S. Open Cup final on Sept. 27. Martino said he was unsure if they would play in that contest at Fort Lauderdale.

Miami is 8-0-4 in all competitions with Messi in the lineup, including a 3-0-1 mark in regular-season matches.

Toronto FC (4-15-10, 22 points) lost Victor Vazquez and Brandon Servania to injuries in the first 26 minutes.

All the early stoppages led to nine minutes of extra time in the first half, and Farias struck three minutes into the extended period for his third goal of the season.

Taylor entered the match as Messi’s substitute, then dominated the second half for one of the best performances of his two MLS seasons.

In the 54th minute, Taylor displayed excellent ball control in finding space to shoot from the edge of the box. A chip-pass from Farias set up Taylor’s next goal in the 87th minute, with Taylor converting a shot from a tough angle.

Sandwiched between his two goals, Taylor also earned an assist crossing to Cremaschi in the 73rd minute. It was the second tally of the season for the 18-year-old Cremaschi.

Miami’s Drake Callender made two saves for his fifth shutout of the season. Callender got some help from his goalposts, as Toronto FC’s Lorenzo Insigne and Deandre Kerr each hit the iron.

Toronto is the only MLS team with a winless road record (0-10-4) this season.

–Field Level Media

Gabriel Pirani scored in the 80th minute and D.C. United salvaged a 1-1 draw against Atlanta United on Wednesday in Washington to avoid a disastrous result for the hosts’ playoff hopes.

Mateusz Klich contributed his team-leading ninth assist for D.C. (9-12-9, 36 points) on Pirani’s first MLS goal since his arrival on loan from Santos during the secondary transfer window.

The result was D.C.’s third consecutive draw, keeping D.C. narrowly in possession of the ninth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth, two points above New York City FC.

Saba Lobjanidze scored his third goal since his own summer arrival in the game’s early stages early on for Atlanta (12-8-10, 46 points). But the Five Stripes couldn’t build on their early advantage and remained sixth in the East on a night they could have climbed even with New England in fifth.

D.C. thought they would have an opportunity to level the game earlier in the second half when Christian Benteke’s shot struck the triceps of Atlanta defender Luis Abram in the 62nd minute.

But after a lengthy delay, referee Lukasz Szpala overturned the call for an offside violation on D.C. defender Donovan Pines in the buildup.

Instead, Pirani equalized in the 80th minute after Yamil Asad and Klich connected in midfield. Klich’s pass in particular was just a simple square ball, but it played Pirani into space at the top of the 18-yard box where he slotted a low finish past the diving Brad Guzan.

Lobjanidze nearly set up the opener in the 3rd minute when he crossed to Georgios Giakoumakis, whose header struck the near post.

Instead, he was the scorer who put the visitors in front 11 minutes later.

Tyler Wolff did excellent work to press D.C.’s Chris Durkin into a turnover on Atlanta’s left flank, then an early cross into the path of Lobjanidze, The winger hit an excellent first-time shot, opting for precision over power to guide it into the bottom left corner.

Jose Fajardo was involved in most of D.C.’s first-half chances, with his best coming in successive minutes. He skied his 32nd-minute attempt over the bar from a tight angle and then guided an open header wide of the far post in the 33rd.

–Field Level Media

Cucho Hernandez scored the second-fastest hat trick from kickoff in MLS history as the host Columbus Crew defeated the Chicago Fire 3-0 on Wednesday to clinch a playoff berth.

Hernandez converted penalties in the eighth and 16th minutes and a header off a corner kick seven minutes later as the Crew (14-9-6, 48 points) ran their home unbeaten streak to eight wins and two ties.

His official time for the goals was 22:51. The fastest hat trick from the start was 16 minutes by Hany Mukhtar of Nashville SC (in a six-minute span), also against the Fire on July 17, 2021.

Chicago (8-12-9, 33 points) has five losses and a tie in the past six matches. The Fire have been shut out in five straight matches (493 minutes) and have not won in Columbus since June 2013 (10 losses, four ties).

The Crew will return to the playoffs for the first time since winning the 2020 MLS Cup. Columbus’ latest berth was sealed when D.C. United tied Atlanta United 1-1 on Wednesday.

Hernandez produced his second hat trick of the month. He needed 65 minutes at CF Montreal on Sept. 2 to accomplish the feat. Of his 13 goals this season, seven have been in the past three matches.

His outburst was a franchise record for the quickest three goals. Stern John had a hat trick in 28 minutes against Kansas City (now Sporting Kansas City) on Aug. 16, 1998.

Forward Diego Rossi created the first penalty that was given after video review when he made a run toward the left post and was clipped by Chicago goalkeeper Chris Brady, who was cautioned.

Hernandez scored to the left corner. Soon after, Columbus midfielder Yaw Yeboah was tugged by defender Arnaud Souquet on his way through the box for the second penalty kick.

Souquet was yellow-carded and will miss the next match because of yellow-card accumulations.

A snap header by Hernandez from 10 yards of a cross by midfielder Julian Gressel completed the hat trick.

The Fire went to 10 players in the 67th minute when midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri was shown a second yellow for a studs-up challenge.

Chicago had six yellows in addition to the red.

–Field Level Media

Daniel Gazdag scored on a penalty kick in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time as the Philadelphia Union rallied for a 2-2 draw with host Charlotte FC on Wednesday night.

Thanks to the tie, the Union (14-8-6, 48 points) clinched a playoff berth for the sixth consecutive year.

Gazdag’s penalty kick came after Olivier Mbaizo drew a foul from Charlotte’s Brecht Dejaegere in the penalty area.

Charlotte’s Justin Meram and Karol Swiderski scored in the 55th and 61st minute, respectively, for the match’s first goals, and the visitors appeared in position to bolster their playoff hopes.

Quinn Sullivan countered for Philadelphia with a goal in the 70th minute.

Charlotte FC (7-9-12, 33 points) desperately needed three points, but instead they wound up with their fourth consecutive draw. They remain three points below the final Eastern Conference playoff position.

Goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina made three saves for Charlotte, but he couldn’t fully avenge a May 31 loss to the Union, when he was charged with an own goal for the only scoring in the match.

Philadelphia goalkeeper Andre Blake made four saves.

Gazdag has 13 goals, including one in three consecutive matches and six in his last seven league matches. He beat Kahlina on the penalty kick by putting the ball in the bottom right corner of the net.

Meram opened the scoring with an unassisted tally from the box.

Swiderski’s header came on a delivery from Brandt Bronico, with Swiderski cutting in front of Blake to move in better position to convert. Swiderski’s seventh goal of the season came following a five-match stretch without a tally.

Sullivan notched his first goal of the season just four minutes after entering the match as a substitute. The 19-year-old midfielder was set up by Julian Carranza.

Philadelphia forward Tai Baribo made his first MLS start.

Charlotte’s 7-2 advantage in corner kicks mostly went for naught. Charlotte was assessed three second-half yellow cards.

–Field Level Media

Inter Miami star forward Lionel Messi exited the Wednesday match against visiting Toronto FC in the 37th minute due to what coach Gerardo Martino called muscle fatigue.

Jordi Alba also left the match at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., two minutes before Messi while reaching for his hamstring, with Martino calling that muscle fatigue, as well.

The injuries could be carryovers from earlier ailments, as both players sat out Miami’s match against Atlanta United on Saturday with what the team termed at the time muscle fatigue.

Martino added that neither player would play Sunday against Orlando City, as the club will evaluate them day by day.

The injury-filled opening half also saw two Toronto FC players leave with injury — Victor Vazquez in the 12th minute and Brandon Servania in the 26th. Miami won the match 4-0.

Messi had three shots (one on target) prior to exiting and had a sight at goal in the 23rd minute. Facundo Farias sent a cross to Messi at the near post, and Messi’s right-footed touch put the ball over the net.

Playing in his 12th match as a member of Inter Miami, Messi has 11 goals and eight assists in all competitions (regular-season play, U.S. Open Cup, Leagues Cup). Miami is 8-0-4 when he has taken the pitch.

The U.S. Open Cup final is scheduled for Sept. 27 in Fort Lauderdale.

–Field Level Media