NEW YORK (AP) Alexander Callens tied it in the 77th minute and New York City FC settled for a 1-1 draw with Atlanta United on Saturday in a matchup of two of the top Eastern Conference teams.

Callens scored on a header to finish David Villa's header flick of Maximiliano Moralez's corner.

NYCFC (8-3-4) had two shots crash off the post after the 80th minute and finished the game with a 10-2 advantage in shots on target.

If a mouth-watering 2-2 draw at Mercedes-Benz Stadium was the appetizer, the main course should be served up Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium as New York City FC hosts Atlanta United in a battle of two of Major League Soccer's top teams.

Atlanta United (9-3-2) sits atop the Eastern Conference with the best record in the league, two points ahead of NYCFC (8-3-3), which is 6-0-0 at Yankee Stadium this season after a 3-0 victory over Orlando City SC last Saturday.

The teams are also both atop the league in goals scored, with Atlanta's 30 one more than NYCFC's.

It was all Red Bulls in the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup, as they took down NYCFC, 4-0, on Wednesday night. 

The Red Bulls got on the board early with Vincent Bezecourt scoring his first career first-team goal in the second minute.

The second half was when the Red Bulls pulled away. Aaron Long tallied a goal in the 52nd minute off a set piece with a beautiful head to the side net.

NEW YORK (AP) Ismael Tajouri-Shradi scored two goals and New York City FC blanked Orlando City SC 3-0 on Saturday night.

The Libyan winger took a pass from Anton Tinnerholm in space, cut the ball to his left foot and tucked the ball inside the far post to make it 1-0 in the 35th minute.

Orlando City had its best chance to even the game minutes into the second half. Chris Mueller was pulled down inside the box by Alex Callens to earn a penalty kick, but Sacha Kljestan caromed his kick off the post.

It goes against conventional wisdom somewhat, but it can be argued that New York City FC has been better away from the Bronx than at Yankee Stadium, certainly in Patrick Vieira's first two years as the club's coach.

In 2016, NYCFC had one more home win than on the road, with their seven away victories the most in MLS. A year ago, they had the second -best road form in the league just behind Toronto FC.

Through eight games in 2018, though, NYCFC has been downright mediocre on the road with a 2-3-3 mark. They are two points behind Atlanta United FC in the Eastern Conference standings, in large part thanks to a sterling 5-0-0 record at Yankee Stadium.

HOUSTON (AP) Alberth Elis scored his seventh goal of the season to help the Houston Dynamo beat New York City FC 3-1 on Friday night.

Houston (5-3-3) won for the third time in four games. NYC (7-3-3) is winless in its last five road games - with three losses.

Houston tied it at 1 in the 21st minute when Alejandro Fuenmayor headed home a free kick from just outside the penalty box. Tomas Martinez made it 2-1 in the 69th after NYC's defensive turnover. Oscar Boniek Garcia intercepted a bad pass and touched it to Martinez at the penalty spot for an easy finish into an empty net.

NEW YORK (AP) David Villa had two goals and an assist on "David Villa Day" and New York City FC beat Colorado 4-0 on Saturday, extending the Rapids' losing streak to five.

New York City FC coach Patrick Vieira got the response he was looking for from his team after a 4-0 thrashing by the rival New York Red Bulls two weeks ago in the Hudson River Derby.

Now, after NYCFC's hard-fought 2-2 draw at LAFC on Sunday night, Vieira is looking for a win against the struggling Colorado Rapids on Saturday night at Yankee Stadium.

"I wanted a response from the team and I think I had it today," Vieira said after Sunday's draw. "We worked hard, we worked well, and we made it really difficult for them, so taking a point in a really difficult place is good, but when you look at the way we played that time, it's really positive for us."

Carlos Vela scored his first goal at home and Los Angeles FC extended its unbeaten run to six matches with a 2-2 draw with New York City FC on Sunday night.

Los Angeles (6-2-2) is 2-0-2 at Banc of California Stadium and hasn't lost since a 5-0 defeat at Atlanta United on April 7.

David Villa and Ishmael Tajouri-Shradi each scored for New York City (6-2-3), which is 0-2-2 in its last four road games while being outscored 11-4 in that span.

The first meeting between New York City FC and expansion Los Angeles FC on Sunday at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles will feature more than the teams with two of the longest acronyms in MLS.

HARRISON, N.J. (AP) Alejandro Romero "Kaku" Gamarra had a goal and two assists to help the New York Red Bulls dominate crosstown rival New York City FC 4-0 in the NY Derby on Saturday.

The first three years of the Hudson River Derby were about how different the New York Red Bulls and New York City FC were, on and off the field.

The Red Bulls were the Major League Soccer original team, a frugal squad that built from within and played at Red Bull Arena, one of the crown jewels of soccer-specific stadiums in the United States.

NYCFC is the big-spending boys from the Bronx, which play at Yankee Stadium and scour the ends of the earth looking for its talent.

David Villa scored two goals to help New York City FC beat FC Dallas 3-1 on Sunday night.

Villa converted from the spot to give NYCFC (6-1-2) a 2-1 lead in the 36th minute after Reto Ziegler was called - after video review - for a hand ball in the area.

New York City FC's franchise-best, seven-match unbeaten streak is a thing of the past after a 3-0 loss to the Portland Timbers last Sunday.

Now, according to New York City FC coach Patrick Vieira, is the time to learn something about his team, which plays host to undefeated FC Dallas on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

Sebastian Blanco, Fanendo Adi and Larrys Mabiala scored and the Portland Timbers ended New York City FC's season-opening undefeated streak at seven games with a 3-0 victory Sunday.

New York City had won five matches and tied two and was the only Eastern Conference team without a loss going into the weekend.

New York City FC and Portland finished on top of their respective conferences in 2017, but the teams' 2018 campaigns have gotten off to very different starts.

Alexander Ring scored his first MLS goal to help New York City FC to a 2-2 draw with Atlanta United on Sunday night.

David Villa, playing his second match after a three-game absence with a quadriceps injury, had a goal and an assist for New York City (5-0-2).

The two teams on top of the Eastern Conference table will collide when unbeaten New York City FC visits Atlanta United on Sunday for an early season battle between contenders in good form at raucous Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

NEW YORK (AP) Ismael Tajouri, Maximiliano Moralez and Jo Inge Berget scored first-half goals and undefeated New York City FC beat Real Salt Lake for the first time, 4-0 on Wednesday night. >> Read more

<< Read more

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Maximiliano Moralez had a goal and an assist and New York City FC beat the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 on Saturday night.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) Ismael Tajouri scored two goals and Sean Johnson had five saves to help New York City FC play the New England Revolution to a 2-2 draw Saturday.

The New England Revolution haven't lost at home in MLS play since last summer. Coming off a bye week, Brad Friedel's club faces a stiff test.

New England will try to extend an unbeaten streak and deal New York City FC its first loss of the season on Saturday.

The Revolution haven't played since topping the Colorado Rapids, 2-1, on March 10 in Foxborough, Mass. Diego Fagundez scored and Chris Tierney collected the game-winner deep in second-half stoppage time to give Friedel, a rookie coach, his first league win.

NEW YORK (AP) Ismael Tajouri and Maximiliano Moralez scored 12-minutes apart in the second half and New York City FC opened the season with three straight wins for the first time in the club's short history with a 2-0 victory over Orlando City on Saturday.

The record after the first two games of the season is unblemished for the first time in the club's short history, but everything isn't perfect for New York City FC coach Patrick Vieira.

"There are a lot of parts of the game that we need to improve," Vieira said. "If (you ask if) I'm happy with the way we played after two games I would say yes because at times we played some really good football, we had a lot of possession of the ball, we created a lot of situations and we didn't concede much.

"I think that's quite good for only two games into the competition, but we're still a long way to go and some sides of the game we need to improve a lot if we want to do well in this league."

Anton Tinnerholm had his first MLS goal and David Villa scored another to help New York City FC beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 on Sunday.

Tinnerholm blasted a left-footed volley to give NYCFC (2-0-0) the lead in the 22nd minute. Villa's cross, off a feed from Jesus Medina, deflected high off Michael Ciani and Tinnerholm, a 27-year-old defender from Sweden, rifled it off the crossbar.

In Year Three of Patrick Vieira's reign as head coach -- and the club's fourth overall -- NYCFC is considered a strong contender to capture MLS Cup in December.

Jesus Medina scored in his MLS debut, Maximiliano Moralez had a goal and New York City FC beat Sporting Kansas City 2-0 on Sunday night in a season opener for both clubs.

NYC handed Sporting KC its first home-opening defeat since 2009 in front of a crowd of 20,831.

Two clubs that probably felt like they left something on the pitch last year open the 2018 season, as New York City FC travels to play Sporting Kansas City on Sunday afternoon at Children's Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan.

The Columbus Crew advanced to the Eastern Conference finals, winning the two-leg series 4-3 after falling 2-0 in the second game Sunday night.

The Crew will host the Supporters Shield winner Toronto FC in Game 1 of the conference finals Nov. 21. Toronto will be without stars Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco. Altidore and New York Red Bulls captain Sacha Kljestan were sent off after a tunnel melee at halftime in the other semifinal game earlier Sunday and Giovinco received his second yellow card in two games.

NYC's David Villa opened the scoring in the 16th minute on a penalty kick as Zack Steffen dove the wrong way. It came after Josh Williams tripped Rodney Wallace in a non-threatening position at the corner of the 18-yard box. >> Read more

Copyright 2017 by The Associated Press

After fighting so hard for the right to have a first-round bye in the MLS playoffs, New York City FC could see it all go for naught if it cannot pull off a blowout victory against Columbus Crew SC on Sunday.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Artur started a three-goal outburst in the second half shortly after New York City FC went down a man and the Columbus Crew won the first leg of the Eastern Conference semifinals 4-1 on Tuesday night.

Columbus Crew SC will be riding the emotion of a dramatic knockout round victory against Atlanta United and the passion of their fans when they play New York City FC on Tuesday in the first leg of Eastern Conference semifinals.

David Villa scored two goals and New York City FC tied the Columbus Crew 2-2 on Sunday in the first regular-season match at Citi Field to secure the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. >> Read more

Copyright 2017 by The Associated Press

Columbus and New York City try to overcome distractions as they jockey for playoff positioning on the final day of the MLS season Sunday.

Diego Fagundez scored two goals in the second half and the New England Revolution beat 10-man New York City FC 2-1 on Sunday.

New England (12-15-6) set a club record with 12 wins at home. NYC (16-9-8) had several possibilities to clinch a bye in the playoffs but needed at least a draw. >> Read more

Copyright 2017 by the Associated Press

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (AP) David Villa tied it in the 43rd minute with his 20th goal of the season and New York City FC held on for a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire on Saturday night.

The Chicago Fire will play in Major League Soccer's postseason for the first time since 2012, but they don't plan to coast through the final three regular season games.

Chicago (15-10-6, 51 points) is currently fourth in the Eastern Conference standings heading into Saturday's game against the New York City FC at Toyota Park in Chicago.

In the teams' second meeting this season, the Fire hope to make up ground on New York City as they shoot for a higher seed in the upcoming MLS playoffs.

MONTREAL (AP) Jack Harrison scored in the 10th minute and New York City FC held on to beat the Montreal Impact 1-0 on Wednesday night.

The 20-year-old Harrison fired a bouncing ball past Evan Bush into the top corner from a tricky angle for his 10th goal.

New York City FC is locked in for the MLS playoffs. The Montreal Impact are still holding out hope that they can sneak in.

To do so, it's three points or bust for the Impact when they host NYCFC on Wednesday night at Saputo Stadium.

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) New York's Maximiliano Moralez and Houston's Mauro Manotas scored early goals and the Dynamo and NYCFC battled to a 1-1 draw on Saturday.

The game was moved to Pratt & Whitney Stadium because of a scheduling conflict at Yankee Stadium.

Moralez picked up his fifth goal in the sixth minute when he flicked a header inside the near post off a perfect service from the right side by Andraz Struna. Just 10 minutes later Manotas tallied his ninth after a quick restart just outside the top of the box, chipping the ball past New York keeper Sean Johnson.

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) Dominique Badji scored in the 88th minute to give the Colorado Rapids a 1-1 tie with New York City FC on Saturday night.

Thomas McNamara opened the scoring for NYC (15-8-6) in the 19th minute. He slipped past a defender after receiving Andrea Pirlo's pass near midfield and smashed a driving blast into the top right corner from 25 yards.

New York City FC may be without David Villa, their leading scorer and the reigning MLS MVP, for a third straight match when they meet the Colorado Rapids on Saturday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado.

Villa, who owns a league-leading 19 goals, has been out with an abductor irritation he suffered while training with the Spanish National Team. NYCFC (15-8-5) is 1-1 without him, but scored just once in those matches.

Diego Valeri scored in his seventh straight game to tie the MLS record and help the Portland Timbers beat New York City FC 1-0 on Saturday.

Valeri tied the goal mark set by Raul Diaz Arce in 1997 and matched by Wolde Harris in 2000 and Carlos Ruiz in 2006.

Valeri scored in the 44th minute. He has 17 goals this season.

Jack Harrison scored his ninth goal of the season in the 84th minute, helping New York City FC beat Sporting Kansas City 1-0 on a rainy Wednesday night.

New York City (15-7-5) is 8-0-2 in its last 10 home games. Kansas City (10-6-10) has only won once in its last 10 regular-season road games.

Earlier in NYC's winning possession, Tim Melia punched away Thomas McNamara's shot and RJ Allen tracked down the loose ball near the sideline. Harrison chested down Allen's cross near the penalty spot and volleyed it home.

New York City FC couldn't secure a victory as they played the New York Red Bulls to a draw in the NY Derby, 1-1, at Red Bull Arena Friday night. 

NYCFC got on the scoreboard first as David Villa found Maxi Moralez in the box to score in the 56th minute. It was Moralez's fourth goal of the year. 

However, the Red Bulls would tie things up after Sacha Kljestan earned a penalty kick in the 70th minute. Gonzalo Veron would convert the shot to tie the game up. 

Jonathan Lewis scored in stoppage time to help New York City FC beat the New England Revolution 2-1 on Sunday for its third straight victory.

The 20-year-old rookie has scored his only two MLS goals in back-to-back games.

David Villa trapped a long cross from RJ Allen on the left side and dropped it to Ben Sweat, who first-timed a left footer to Lewis at the top of the 6-yard box for the finish in the fourth minute of injury time. >> Read more

Copyright 2017 by the Associated Press

New York City FC will look to continue a late push toward the top of the Eastern Conference standings when it welcomes the New England Revolution to Yankee Stadium on Sunday evening.

New York City (13-7-4, 43 points) is arguably the hottest team in the league after winning their seventh match in 10 games last weekend, a 2-0 victory at the Los Angeles Galaxy that included a sparkling first goal from 20-year-old rookie Jonathan Lewis.

David Villa had his first MLS hat trick to help New York City FC beat the New York Red Bulls 3-2 on Sunday night.

Villa's third goal gave New York City (12-7-4) the lead for good in the 75th minute. He drew a foul in the area when Sal Zizzo was shown a yellow card for a high boot and then converted from the spot.

Villa opened the scoring in the 28th, beating a charging Luis Robles 1-on-1 and tapping a left-footer into the open net.

Bradley Wright-Phillips took a pass Sean Davis cut left and scored from top of the box in 41st minute and rolled in a perfectly placed cross from Tyler Adams from just outside the 6-yard box to give the Red Bulls (11-9-2) a 2-1 lead in the 64th.