COLUMBUS (AP) — Diego Valeri scored at the 27-second mark for the fastest goal in MLS Cup history and the Portland Timbers won the league title for the first time, beating the Columbus Crew SC 2-1 on Sunday.
Rodney Wallace made it 2-0 in the seventh minute, and the Crew’s Kei Kamara scored in the 18th off a scramble in front of the goal.
The Crew had barely recovered when a mental gaffe gave Portland a controversial second goal.
Crew midfielder Tony Tchani and several teammates stopped playing when the ball rolled several feet over the right boundary. Instead of a stoppage for a throw-in, Portland’s Darlington Nagbe kept going with the ball and sent a pass wide to Lucas Melano, who found Wallace for the header.
The early deficit was too much for Columbus to overcome.
Just after the opening whistle, Columbus midfielder Wil Trapp sent a back pass to goalkeeper Steve Clark, who tried to move the ball from his right foot to the left for a clearance. But Clark didn’t see Valeri closing and the midfielder poked the ball away from him and into the goal.