Mateusz Bogusz found the net with an unlikely, short-handed goal 15 minutes into second-half stoppage time as the host Houston Dynamo defeated the Portland Timbers 3-2 on Saturday in a wild, early-season Western Conference match.

Bogusz got loose on the counterattack with a run down the left side before taking a pass from Jack McGlynn and beating Portland goalkeeper James Pantemis to the bottom-right corner.

Any chance that the Dynamo (2-1-0, 6 points) had to win seemingly died when Nicholas Markanich was assessed a red card three minutes into the final stoppage time. But Bogusz dispelled that notion, coming up big and lifting Houston to the victory.

Portland (1-3-3, points) dropped its third straight game and has now conceded two or more goals in seven consecutive matches dating back to last year’s opening-round MLS Cup playoff series against San Diego.

The Timbers broke through in the fourth minute of first-half added time after being awarded a penalty kick in a bizarre series of events. Houston’s Diadie Samassekou was booked for holding Portland’s Finn Surman in the box during a shot by Kristoffer Velde off a corner kick but video review showed that as Velde’s attempt flew far over the goal, Samassekou was tugging on the jersey of Surman and pulled him to the ground.

The shot from the spot was taken by Velde but was saved by Houston goalkeeper Jonathan Bond. But the ball bounced right to the foot of the Timbers’ Gage Guerra, who sent a shot just out of the reach of a diving Bond and into the net off the right post.

Guilherme Santos answered for the Dynamo in the 62nd minute, waiting at the far post before leaping over a Portland defender to head home a cross box from Bogusz and tying the game at 1-1.

McGlynn made a bid to put Houston on top in the 65th minute but clanged a shot off the crossbar.

Felipe Andrade gave Houston the lead in the 77th minute with a precise shot from outside the box and into the lower-right corner past Pantemis. Guilherme garnered an assist on the goal.

The lead was short-lived as Velde scored two minutes later off a shot while in traffic in the center of the box after a throw-in by Jimer Fory and an assist from Surman.

That set the stage for the unlikely finish.

–Field Level Media

Boston Legacy FC set an NWSL attendance record for an inaugural game with 30,207 fans filling Gillette Stadium, but Gotham FC played spoiler by notching a 1-0 win over the expansion club Saturday afternoon in Foxborough, Mass.

Esther Gonzalez broke a scoreless draw in the 55th minute when teammate Lilly Reale sent a cross on the ground into the box, and Boston defender Bianca St-Georges accidentally backheeled it to the Gotham star for an easy strike.

Gonzalez had 13 goals last year for the reigning NWSL champion Gotham.

St-Georges later earned her second yellow card in the 77th minute, forcing the Legacy to play with 10 women the rest of the way.

Bay 2, Summit 1

Joelle Anderson’s tiebreaking goal capped off a wild 31 minutes and proved to be the game winner as host Bay FC spoiled the first game in Denver Summit FC history with a win in San Jose.

Alex Pfeiffer got the scoring going in the eighth minute to give Bay a 1-0 lead. Melissa Kossler evened it up in the 20th minute with Denver’s first goal but that momentum was quickly wiped away when Janine Sonis was shown a red card for violent conduct in the 27th minute, leaving the Summit short-handed the rest of the way.

Four minutes later, Pfeiffer struck again, this time dribbling through the Summit defense and finding Anderson just above the center of the box. Anderson immediately sent it to the goal and beat Abby Smith in the bottom-left corner.

Courage 2, Racing 1

Ashley Sanchez netted a brace, her second goal the difference in the game as North Carolina edged Racing Louisville FC in Cary, N.C.

Sanchez’s first goal came in the 29th minute, a right-footed shot off a cross from Payton Linnehan that beat Jordyn Bloomer. Sarah Weber answered in first-half stoppage time when Courage goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan’s clearing pass was instead corralled by Emma Sears just outside the box. Sears charged toward the goal then found Weber standing wide open in front of the net.

Sanchez answered in the 86th minute for the Courage when her ball she sent toward the net was instead immediately deflected by a Racing defender, sending the ball high into the air and over the head of a leaping Bloomer for the goal.

Current 2, Royals 1

Host Kansas City scored twice in the final 33 minutes, once off a back-heel pass and the other on an impressive individual effort, to take down Utah.

Tatumn Milazzo got the visitors on the board in the 35th minute with a header from a pass from Cloe Lacasse off a corner kick. Utah then stood tall on defense, but the Royals could not keep the Current out of the net for long.

Croix Bethune, playing her first game with Kansas City after two seasons with Washington, evened the match in the 57th minute when Kayla Sharples set found her in front of the net with a one-touch heel kick off a pass from just inside midfield.

Ally Sentnor then netted the winner in the 69th minute when she dribbled from just outside the top-left corner of the goal box to the middle of the penalty area, then sent a right-footed kick to the right of a diving Mia Justus and into the net.

Dash 1, Wave 0

Makenzy Robbe, who spent the previous four seasons with San Diego, scored in her first game against her former team and Houston weathered 18 minutes of total stoppage time to win on the road.

Robbe’s goal was itself in stoppage time, as she took a pass from Maggie Graham in the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time, then sent the ball across the goal box and past DiDi Haracic into the bottom-left corner of the net.

The Wave had 19 shots to the Dash’s five — and held a 9-2 advantage in shots on goal — but Houston goalie Jane Campbell made numerous big saves, including a leaping punch that sent a shot over the crossbar in the 63rd minute.

–Field Level Media

Argentina’s Kevin Vallejos officially established himself as a featherweight contender to watch, swarming Josh Emmett for a first-round TKO (strikes, 3:33) in the main event of UFC Vegas 114 from the Meta APEX Saturday night.

Vallejos (18-1 MMA) remained unbeaten in the UFC at 4-0, sending a message to his native fans of what’s to come. The 24-year-old called his shot, persuading the UFC to return to Buenos Aires for an event soon.

“Argentina, keep dreaming,” Vallejos said through an interpreter. “Because you’re going to have a world champion.”

Emmett (19-7 MMA), 41, has lost his last three fights and is now at 27 months since his last win in December of 2023.

The co-main event saw Canadian strawweight Gillian Robertson earn a unanimous decision against Amanda Lemos of Brazil to move one step closer to a title shot, taking all three judges’ scorecards 29-28, 29-28, 29-28. Robertson (17-8 MMA) has won five fights in a row, sending Lemos (15-6-1 MMA) back to the drawing board as she’s dropped three of her last four fights.

The card began to wind down with a precursor to the co-main and main event, as featherweights Andre Fili and Mexico’s Jose Miguel Delgado left it all out in the Octagon during a way-too-early Fight of the Year candidate as Delgado earned a split decision, taking the scorecards 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.

Delgado (11-2 MMA) went for the finish on several occasions in Round 2, while also surviving a Fili (25-13 MMA) rally in the third round after a slow-paced opening frame.

At featherweight, Marwan Rahiki (8-0 MMA) of Morocco won his UFC debut against a former Cage Warriors champion in England’s Harry Hardwick (13-5-1 MMA) after Hardwick’s corner was forced to stop the fight at the start of Round 3, where it was discovered Hardwick had a broken jaw caused by a flurry of punches, highlighted by a massive left hook.

Rahiki was awarded the TKO win, leaving Hardwick winless in the promotion through two fights. The bout was called after Hardwick verbalized noticeable pain in his jaw before his corner and UFC medical staff knew the fight was over.

In the light heavyweight division, Moldova’s Ion Cutelaba made short work of Frenchman Oumar Sy with a first-round mounted guillotine choke at 4:24. Cutelaba was able to stop a Sy takedown before securing the finish after reversing position. Cutelaba (20-11-1 MMA) has now won three of his last four fights, securing his second UFC submission win and fourth of his MMA career. Sy (12-2 MMA) had won three of his last four coming in to begin his UFC tenure.

Ranked flyweights Bruno Silva of Brazil and Charles Johnson began the six-fight main card in exciting fashion. Johnson edged Silva by split decision with crisp boxing and an overall balanced skillset, taking the cards 29-28, 28-29, 30-27.

Johnson (19-8 MMA) had lost two of his last three fights entering Saturday night’s clash. Meanwhile, Silva (15-8-2 MMA) has lost three of his last four fights after stringing together a four-fight UFC winning streak from March 2021 through July 2024.

-Field Level Media