Toronto FC allows Columbus Crew to score late goal, settling for tie in home opener

Substitute Jimmy Medranda's 75th-minute goal gave the Columbus Crew a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC in TFC's home opener Saturday night.

Columbus (1-1-1) had a chance to win it in stoppage time but Cucho Herndandez hit the goalpost and Alexandru Matan sent the rebound just wide.

Deandre Kerr had given Toronto the lead in the 25th minute. TFC (0-1-2) was looking for its first win of the Major League Soccer season after opening with a 3-2 loss at D.C. United and 1-1 draw at Atlanta.

It was a depleted TFC attack with Italian star Lorenzo Insigne, the league's highest-paid player, missing a second straight game with a lower body injury. Starting striker Adama Diomande and Ayo Akinola, who replaced him mid-game last weekend, were also unavailable due to tight hamstrings.

Kerr slotted into the starting 11, earning his first minutes of the season.

Whitecaps remain winless

The Vancouver Whitecaps and FC Dallas played to a 1-1 draw in front of 16,780 fans at BC Place on Saturday.

The Texans nearly added a second minutes later but Takaoka stood his ground to deny them.

The Whitecaps (0-2-1) found an equalizer after a deep throw-in filtered through a packed 18 yard box was turned in by Dallas' Paul Arriola in the 34th minute.

Midfielder Ryan Gauld nearly found the lead for the Whitecaps shortly after halftime only to see his shot from seven yards drilled wide.

Venezuelan striker Sergio Cordova, a marquee transfer for Vancouver in the off-season, was inches away from finding the end of a diagonal cross from Ranko Veselinovic just before the end of the match but it just eluded the tip of his boot.

Vancouver has failed to win their first three games of the MLS regular season.

CF Montreal falls to SC Nashville

Jacob Shaffelburg scored a first-half goal and Joe Willis made it stand up without having to make a save as Nashville SC blanked CF Montreal 2-0 on Saturday night.

Montreal (0-3-0) is the only team in Major Soccer League without a goal or a point through the first three matches of the season. Only four other teams in league history have opened a season with three straight shutout defeats — NYCFC (2020), Seattle Sounders (2018), Toronto (record four straight in 2007) and the 1999 Kansas City Wizards.

Nashville improves to 4-0-2 all-time versus Montreal. Nashville hasn't allowed a goal in four straight matches dating to last season, tying the club record. Nashville has seven clean sheets in its last 11 regular-season matches, tops in the league.

Nashville outshot Montreal 12-8 and had a 4-0 advantage in shots on goal

Jonathan Sirois made two saves for Montreal.

Both teams next play Saturday. Nashville travels to play the New England Revolution and Montreal returns home to host the defending Eastern Conference-champion Philadelphia Union.