A night cap for the weekend
Cali Clasico tonight! LA host San Jose with both teams trending in very different directions. Coverage is set to begin at 9:30 pm. ET on Apple TV and FS1. The Apple TV broadcast is free.
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Nine red cards! Fights! Late goals! A totally weird weekend! Good MLS! It was… something. And at the end of it, the dust settled and the Eastern Conference ended the weekend with six points separating fourth-place Atlanta from first-place and last place. What a league.
Anyway, here’s what went down.
What happened?: Rafael Czichos found the net off a set piece and St. Louis never got back in it. A 70th-minute red card sealed their fate.
So, did we learn anything?: NEW MANAGER BOUNCE???? Or just a pretty average Chicago team getting a result at home? Either way, they’ll take it. And either way, St. Louis won’t feel great about another less-than-excellent performance. They seriously struggled to create chances. They’ve taken just four points from their last five MLS matches.
What happened?: Justin Meram scored twice against his former team and Karol Swiderski sent home a penalty as The Crown stunned Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
So, did we learn anything?: Atlanta are officially in a tailspin. They totally forgot about Justin Meram on the back post, surrendered a goal against the run of play and were out of it the rest of the way. They’ve won just once in their last six MLS games and were called out after the game for a lack of intensity. If pressure from fans and the rest of the East right below them in the standings doesn’t light a fire under them soon, serious questions will be asked.
Meanwhile, Charlotte got the job done without Enzo Copetti and added to a growing list of big wins as of late. They’ve taken down Columbus, NYCFC and Atlanta over their last four games and are right there with the rest of the East. Throw in the fact their newest player has had a near-immediate impact for the better and things are looking up.
What happened?: Columbus went up 2-0 in the first half, but the Lions clawed their way back into it and Duncan McGuire delivered a stoppage-time equalizer.
So, did we learn anything?: The Ghost of Caleb Porter's past showed up and reminded everyone sometimes it’s hard to hold onto a lead in MLS. Things are not great for the Crew right now. They’re winless in their last four and blowing a lead in the same fashion they tended to (a lot) last season has to have Crew fans stressing out. They’ll be fine, but, I’ll just say again, there’s still work to do with this roster.
For Orlando, it’s a very solid road point and a great sign both Kara and McGuire were able to produce at striker. In the context of an up-and-down early season, it probably doesn’t feel that great, but the Lions are still right there with the rest of the East.
What happened?: Alex Muyl scored a goal with his armpit (no, really, look it up) but D.C. responded to earn a point back.
So, did we learn anything?: I don’t think so. Especially with D.C. missing Christian Benteke and Nashville missing Walker Zimmerman. Just a pretty standard game. Except for the whole “scored with his armpit” thing.
What happened?: Josef Martinez (!!) scored the eventual winner.
So, did we learn anything?: Is Josef back?? He didn’t necessarily do anything spectacular on the goal, but it has to be encouraging for Inter Miami to go with two strikers up top and get a big win over the top team in the conference. I doubt he’s on his way to a Golden Boot or anything, but we all much prefer this Josef compared to the one we saw at the beginning of the year. On a related note, Inter Miami have come out of a six-game losing streak with a three-game winning streak. That’s…weird! But also a great reminder you’re never too far out of it in MLS. We’ll see if Miami can keep it up with their injuries in midfield, but, for now, they can just sit back and enjoy a collection of huge results.
New England are still very good.
What happened?: Almost everything we kind of expected? Montréal went up, there was a red card and some shoving, and CFM took down their biggest rival for the second time in a week.
So, did we learn anything?: It’s time to start paying attention to Montréal again! Things were extremely rough at the start of the year, but a decent but not-as-good-as-last-year roster is starting to look…well, decent. They’ve won four straight MLS games by a 2-0 scoreline and are suddenly right in the middle of the pack in the East. No, they haven’t played the stiffest competition over that stretch, but they’ll get a solid test of their newfound form on Wednesday against Cincy.
Toronto… bad week. Real bad week. It’s time to start having conversations about what the future looks like for this team.
What happened?: Omir Fernandez made the difference with a stunner from distance.
So, did we learn anything?: NEW MANAGER BOUNCE??? Or maybe just the East’s best team defensively by expected goals allowed finally caught a break in a game where both teams created hilariously little. Who’s to say…
Anyway, that’s three straight losses for NYCFC in MLS. It’s also three straight road games, but still, not fun. Especially not with a stretch of Orlando, Philly, Cincy and New England coming up. It might get worse before it gets better. But it will get better. They’re too good for it not to.
What happened?: Jesus Ferreira, who seems to really dislike Austin, gave Dallas another win with what was, per MLS PR, his fifth regular season goal against Austin. No one has scored more times against Los Verdes.
So, did we learn anything?: Nah. These teams are what they are at this point, I think. Although it is fair to worry about Dallas if the quad injury Paul Arriola appeared to sustain in this one has a long timeline.
What happened?: A player you’ve very, very likely never heard of won the game for Seattle after Houston went down to 10, then nine men thanks to two red cards. Hello and welcome to Paul Rothrock, a Sounders academy product making his MLS debut last night and who has now scored in three straight appearances for Seattle counting the US Open Cup.
So, did we learn anything?: Paul Rothrock! Feels like some pretty classic Sounders to just plug a guy in and have him make an impact like that out of nowhere. Seattle needed that moment too. It would have been a frustrating one, even on the road, to follow up their loss to SKC with a draw to a Houston team that played most of the game down a man and then lost another.
What happened?: An early goal had SKC off and running as they picked up their second straight win in impressive fashion.
So, did we learn anything?: Well, that’s more like it. I’m not sure everything is fixed, but it’s at least starting to regress back to the mean. SKC’s underlying numbers aren’t good, but they were never a “historically bad start.” They’re now technically just three points below the playoff line in the West. I’ll say it again: What a league.
I should also add the Loons haven’t won since April 1. They’ve lost five of their last six. And suddenly they aren’t even putting together the defensive performances that kept them in games early in the year. Uh oh.
What happened?: The Union fought their way back into the game, then back into the lead. Then, at the end of the match, there was an actual fight. A very soccery pushing and shoving kind of fight, but still, enough to earn a red card for a player on each team.
So, did we learn anything?: That’s the first Rapids loss in a minute and it caps off a pretty strange week in Colorado. There are worse things than losing to a Philadelphia team that’s finding its groove again though. With the East tightening up in the middle, I feel confident the Union are set to break out in front of the pack in the coming weeks. New England and Cincy beware.
What happened?: Pretty much exactly what you think happened by looking at who scored and when. You should really check out that Denis Bouanga goal though, it’s like his fifth-best of the year, which means it’s like the fifth-best goal in MLS this year.
So, did we learn anything?: No.
What happened?: The fastest goal in MLS this season and a brace from Evander led the way for the Timbers.
So, did we learn anything?: Evander in a more advanced position seems to be finding his groove in MLS. And the Timbers are getting results because of that. They’ve suddenly won three of their last five despite receiving more bad injury news along the way.
Martínez makes more MLS history with Inter Miami: A week after netting a brace that made him the fastest player in Major League Soccer history to reach 100 regular-season goals, Inter Miami CF's Venezuelan forward hit another scoring landmark in Matchday 12. He's now tied for 10th all-time in MLS along with former Revs striker and current MLS Season Pass broadcaster Taylor Twellman.
- Evander showed what "he's capable of" in Portland’s Cascadia Cup win.
- Jesús Ferreira lifted FC Dallas to another rivalry win over Austin.
- New York Red Bulls made New York City FC "shut up" in their derby victory.
- Adrian Heath slammed "criminal" mistakes from Minnesota United after their latest loss.
- Peter Vermes believes Sporting KC are quieting some doubters after their second straight win.
- Gonzalo Pineda said Atlanta United must have more "intensity" to stop their losing skid.
- Toronto FC are searching for a "positive light" after another Canadian Classique defeat.
- Xherdan Shaqiri and Brian Gutierrez received praise as Chicago Fire FC found solutions against St. Louis.
Good luck out there. You are incredibly old.
