MLS’s 20th season had no shortage of memorable matches, with plenty of rivalry contests, battles between big stars and amped-up crowds making for an unforgettable campaign.
With 340 games played in the regular season – many of them barnburners and a few even entering “instant classic” territory – picking the best of the bunch is a pretty daunting task. But we gave it a shot.
Here’s a look at three of the best games from the 2015 regular season, as voted on by the MLSsoccer.com editorial staff.
MLSsoccer.com's Best Games of 2015
Game of the Year: D.C. United 6, Real Salt Lake 4
How do you turn a relatively anonymous inter-conference matchup in the dog days of summer into the Game of the Year?
Easy: Add 10 goals.
Not many would’ve predicted it entering the season, but the August 1 meeting between D.C. United and Real Salt Lake was an absolute barnburner, with D.C. outgunning RSL 6-4 at RFK Stadium. It was a comeback effort for United, who gave up two early goals – first to Joao Plata in the second minute, then on a Kyle Beckerman rocket in the 21st – before firing their way back into the match. Chris Rolfe scored in the 42nd and 54th to bring things level, with Taylor Kemp smashing in an absolute stunner in the 59th to give D.C. the lead.
Kemp’s goal kicked off a nine-minute stretch in which both teams scored twice. RSL’s Aaron Maund made it 3-3 in the 62nd, Fabian Espindola gave D.C. a 4-3 lead one minute later and Salt Lake’s Abdoulie Mansally made it 4-4 in the 68th. Perry Kitchen scored the winner in the 79th, heading home a set piece to give United a 5-4 advantage. Nick DeLeon scored the capper six minutes later, driving one home from distance for the 10th goal of the match – the highest total in RFK’s 20-year MLS history.
Honorable Mention: New York City FC 1, New York Red Bulls 3
On the morning of June 28, New York City FC were still in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race, at a time when the New York Red Bulls – who would go on to win the Supporters' Shield – were mired at .500 and losers of four of five. The King of New York had yet to be crowned.
By the end of the night, things were looking far different in the Big Apple.
The Red Bulls went into the Bronx and took all three points from their New York rivals, coming back after giving up an early Thomas McNamara goal to win 3-1 in front of nearly 50,000 at a sold-out Yankee Stadium. Bradley Wright-Phillips, Chris Duvall and local boy Matt Miazga had the goals for RBNY, with Miazga, a Red Bulls academy product, turning in one of the celebrations of the year following his 73rd minute finish, mocking NYCFC and their fans with a home-run swing.
Honorable Mention: Montreal Impact 4, Chicago Fire 3
Didier Drogba wasted no time laying waste to MLS.
The legendary striker scored a hat trick in his first MLS start, bagging three of Montreal’s four goals to power the Impact to a dramatic 4-3 home win against the Chicago Fire on Sept. 5.
The Ivorian got things started in the 27th minute, expertly collecting a Nigel Reo-Coker cross before pirouetting a shot past Chicago ‘keeper Sean Johnson. He scored two more in the second half, erasing a 3-2 Impact deficit with goals in the 61st and 65th minutes to electrify the sold out Stade Saputo crowd and vault Montreal above the red line in the Eastern Conference. They’d stay there for the remainder of the regular season, with Drogba’s tour de force powering Montreal to a Knockout Round win against Toronto FC before they eventually bowed out to Columbus Crew SC in the conference semifinals.
