Fanendo Adi scored twice to give the Portland Timbers a 2-0 victory over FC Dallas on Saturday night.
The first goal came in the 32nd minute, when a Dallas pass was blocked and the ball bounced right to Sebastian Blanco. The Timbers midfielder dribbled 10 yards, then dished a pass to his left.
Adi collected it at the top of the penalty area and took a couple of strides forward, when he was knocked off balance by a challenge from defender Hernan Grana. As he fell to the ground, Adi knocked the ball toward goal with the outside of his right foot, past goalkeeper Jesse Gonzalez and into the net.
The Timbers doubled their lead in the 72nd minute. Breaking quickly out of the defensive end, Diego Chara carried the ball to midfield and passed to Diego Valeri, who moved the ball up the right wing to Dairon Asprilla. Asprilla darted into the Dallas area, then rolled a pass across goal in the direction of Chara, who had continued his run into the box.
But Chara let the ball keep rolling, and it reached Adi, who paused a moment as Gonzalez dove across, expecting a first-time shot. Adi then calmly switched the ball to his right foot and blasted a shot into the open net from four yards away.
Adi has eight goals on the season and broke a five-game goalless streak. His last strike came was also against FC Dallas, in a 2-2 draw in Texas in April.
The win moves Portland over Dallas in the Western Conference table, with the Timbers now in second place at 24 points, two points behind first place Sporting KC. FC Dallas drops to third, level with Houston on 23 points.
Nemanja Nikolic scored his MLS-best 12th goal of the season to help the red-hot Chicago Fire beat Atlanta United 2-0.
Luis Solignac opened the scoring for Chicago in the 29th minute after David Accam, got in behind the Atlanta defense and held up the ball long enough to set up his teammate.
And after Atlanta's Tryone Means handled the ball in the box following a corner kick, Nikolic scored from the penalty spot in the 70th minute to double Chicago's lead.
Atlanta sent on attackers Josef Martinez and Miguel Almiron in the 64th to no avail. It was Martinez's first game since the designated player suffered a leg injury in March. Almiron, the team's leading scorer, was returning after international duty with Paraguay.
After finishing with the lowest point total in MLS the past two seasons, Chicago stretched its unbeaten streak to seven games and moved one point behind Eastern Conference leaders Toronto FC, while expansion Atlanta is eighth.
Matteo Mancosu scored in the 82nd minute to help the Montreal Impact earn a 1-1 draw at Western Conference-leading Sporting Kansas City.
After Dom Dwyer struck the bar for Sporting KC, Gerso Fernandes controlled a long ball over the top and held off a defender to supply the hosts the lead in the 24th minute.
But Montreal looked better in the second half as SKC keeper Tim Melia had to deflect Ignacio Piatti's shot off the underside of the bar.
With eight minutes to play, Mancosu pounced on a horrible back-pass from SKC defender Soni Mustivar and chipped Melia to equalize.
With emotions rising, the Impact's Chris Duvall was sent off for shouldering Roger Espinoza, but the visitors held on for a point.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.