KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) - A raucous crowd packed into one of Major League Soccer's glitzy new stadiums to watch a team comprised of its best players in an exhibition game on a picturesque late-summer night.
All that was missing was the outcome fans desired.
Italian powerhouse AS Roma, led by longtime star Francesco Totti, scored 4 minutes into the game Wednesday night, then added two second-half goals to rout a team of MLS All-Stars 3-1 and dampen what had been a festive celebration of soccer in Kansas City.
Kevin Strootman and Alessandro Florenzi each had a goal and an assist, and Junior Tallo also scored for Roma, the three-time Serie A champions.
Omar Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Galaxy scored the only goal for the MLS side in second-half stoppage time.
The MLS had been 7-2-1 against international opponents since the league adopted the current All-Star game format, the only losses coming to English Premier League club Manchester United.