With February around the corner, MLS teams continued the preseason grind with closed-door matches on Friday. Here's what went down in warm-weather locales.
Minnesota United FC 2, Philadelphia Union 2
The Philadelphia Union were held to a 2-2 draw by Minnesota United during a closed-door scrimmage in Florida, with the Loons equalizing both times after striker Julián Carranza and midfielder Dániel Gazdag found the back of the net.
Minnesota first punched back via midfielder Robin Lod, then MNUFC2 (MLS NEXT Pro affiliate) attacker Diogo Pacheco scored the final leveler.
Joaquín Torres, who just joined Philadelphia in a trade from CF Montréal, featured off the bench.
Goals
- 40' - PHI - Julian Carranza
- 1H - MIN - Robin Lod
- 52' - PHI - Daniel Gazdag
- 77' - MIN - Diogo Pacheco
Lineups
- MIN starting XI: Not available
- PHI starting XI: Andre Blake - Matt Real, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel - José Martínez, Jesús Bueno, Andrés Perea, Dániel Gazdag - Mikael Uhre, Julián Carranza
- PHI second XI: Joe Bendik - Kai Wagner, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Olivier Mbaizo - José Martínez, Leon Flach, Andrés Perea, Dániel Gazdag - Chris Donovan, Julián Carranza.
Austin FC 2, FC Cincinnati 3
Playing four 30-minute periods during a closed-door match in Florida, FC Cincinnati got the better of Austin FC in a 3-2 result that was sealed by a slick finish from striker Dom Badji.
The Orange & Blue, a breakout squad in 2022, also found goals from striker Brenner (breakaway) and center back Nick Hagglund (header) during the victory.
Austin FC II (MLS NEXT Pro) winger David Rodríguez opened the scoring early on, and striker Gyasi Zardes dunked home midfielder Sebastián Driussi's clipped-in cross as full-time neared. Zardes joined the Verde & Black this offseason in free agency, while Driussi was the 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP runner-up.
Goals
- 11' - ATX - David Rodríguez
- 20' - CIN - Nick Hagglund
- 33' - CIN - Brenner
- 83' - ATX - Gyasi Zardes
- 91' - CIN - Dom Badji
Lineups
- ATX starting XI: Not available
- CIN starting XI: Alec Kann - Alvaro Barreal, Ray Gaddis, Nick Hagglund, Ian Murphy, Alvas Powell, Obinna Nwobodo, Junior Moreno, Luciano Acosta, Sergio Santos, Brenner
San Jose Earthquakes 1, Toronto FC 0
Both clubs were light on information from Friday's California-based friendly, though the San Jose Earthquakes divulged they earned a 1-0 win over Toronto FC.
San Jose's goal came from homegrown midfielder Will Richmond, who's hoping for a bigger role in 2023 under new head coach Luchi Gonzalez. As a rookie last year, the Stanford University product played just 43 minutes off the bench.
Goals
- 2H - SJ - Will Richmond
Lineups
Not available for San Jose or Toronto
