Despite defending champion Inter Miami sitting several of its regulars including Lionel Messi, host Charlotte FC couldn’t take advantage, with both sides dueling to a 0-0 draw on Saturday night.

Inter Miami (2-1-1, 7 points) had won back-to-back league matches, but played to their second consecutive scoreless draw after an identical scoreless stalemate at Nashville SC Wednesday in the first leg of their Round of 16 series of the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Neither Messi nor Rodrigo De Paul made the trip, and 10 starters from Miami’s previous match, including goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, sat out Saturday as the club prepared for the decisive Champions Cup match with Nashville this upcoming Wednesday.

Charlotte (1-1-2, 5 points) played its full lineup, which carried it to a 3-1 win last weekend against Austin. But despite mustering 10 shots, including five on target, Charlotte could not find the mark against Miami goalkeeper Rocco Rios Novo, who made his first start of the season and finished with five saves.

Inter Miami’s revamped lineup, which included Luis Suarez making his first start of the season and Sergio Reguilon, who recently recovered from a knee sprain.. But Miami also couldn’t get a ball past Charlotte keeper Kristijan Kahlina, who made three saves.

Ian Fray had one of Miami’s best chances in the 34th minute as he headed a ball right in front of Kahlina, who stretched and dove to his left and blocked the ball, denying Miami a score.

Liel Abada had a great chance of his own in the 44th minute, but Rios Novo was up to the task, stopping the quality chance.

The game was very chippy on both sides in the first half as the teams drew a combined five yellow cards, including three in the first half.

Inter Miami coach Javier Mascherano was dealt a yellow card and a subsequent red card for arguing with officials in the second minute of second-half stoppage time. Mascherano will have to sit out Inter Miami’s next MLS match on March 22nd at NYCFC.

–Field Level Media

Macklin Celebrini had two goals and an assist as the San Jose Sharks held on for a 4-2 victory against the host Montreal Canadiens on Saturday.

Mario Ferraro scored, Colin Graf had a goal and two assists, and John Klingberg had two assists for the Sharks, who have won two straight. Alex Nedeljkovic made 25 saves for his third win in four starts.

Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki scored, and Noah Dobson had two assists for the Canadiens, who had won three straight games. Jakub Dobes made 17 saves.

Sharks forward Igor Chernyshov exited the game after the first shift of the first period with an apparent upper-body injury. He did not return.

Caufield put Montreal ahead 1-0 at 7:21 of the opening period. Sharks forward Kiefer Sherwood gave up the puck at the other end of the ice, and Juraj Slafkovsky set up Caufield with a cross-ice pass heading into the offensive zone.

Celebrini tied it 1-1 at 13:12 when Graf set him up with a no-look pass along the boards. Celebrini scored on a snap shot for his sixth goal in nine games after the Olympic break.

Celebrini appeared to score again at 1:07 of the second period, but the goal was successfully challenged for being offside.

Ferraro put San Jose ahead 2-1 at 11:56 with a snap shot through traffic. It was the veteran defenseman’s fifth goal of the season.

Graf made it 3-1 at 16:20 when he got a piece of Celebrini’s snapshot. Suzuki closed the deficit to 3-2 on his score with 2:22 left in the second period.

Celebrini scored into an empty net with 2:04 remaining in regulation for the 4-2 final.

–Field Level Media

Martin Ojeda scored the decisive goal in the 31st minute and Orlando City SC defeated visiting CF Montreal on Saturday night in Orlando’s first match since the departure of manager Oscar Pareja.

Duncan McGuire also scored early for Orlando (1-3-0, 3 points), which broke through three days after Pareja parted with the club by mutual consent three matches into the manager’s seventh season with the club. Martín Perelman is working as the interim manager.

Pareja guided the Lions to the MLS Cup Playoffs in all six of his previous campaigns after they failed to reach the postseason in any of their first five in MLS.

But before Saturday, Orlando had won only once in its last 14 matches dating back to last August.

Prince Owusu scored for the second time in as many games for Montreal (1-3-0, 3 points), which has two matches remaining in its extended, season-opening road trip.

The visitors outshot the hosts 22-16 but trailed 6-5 in efforts on target on a night the final score accurately reflected the quality of each side’s attacks.

Marco Pasalic helped create McGuire’s 19th-minute opening goal when he slalomed in from the right and unleashed a left-footed shot from the edge of the penalty area that deflected off multiple players in the box.

Ivan Angulo eventually reached the rebound and directed a low effort off the near left post. That rebound fell kindly to McGuire, who was able to tap it into an open net from close range.

Montreal leveled five minutes later on a straightforward goal from a corner kick.

Wiki Carmona, who scored twice in his side’s 3-0 win at the New York Red Bulls last week, served the ball to the back post where Owusu met it with a powerful header past goalkeeper Javier Otero from close range.

But Orlando went back in front following more promising play from Angulo. Initially, the wide man turned his defender at midfield, got down the left and then played a ball for McGuire further up the pitch.

The pass was slightly short, but Angulo followed the play and reached the loose ball following a defensive deflection, played a give-and-go with Pasalic into the left side of the penalty area, and then fed Ojeda for the finish from about 15 yards out.

–Field Level Media