The Crew were the only Supporters’ Shield contender interested in points last night. Let’s talk it out.
DID EVERYONE GET THE MESSAGE?
Columbus absolutely mollywhopped LAFC in an MLS Cup rematch that didn’t feel like much of a match by the end. The Crew carved LAFC up over and over and rolled to a statement win thanks to goals from Christian Ramírez, Cucho Hernández, Diego Rossi and Alexandru Mățan.
Columbus are now up to 42 points in 21 games. They’re six points behind first-place Cincinnati and have two games in hand. This is their fifth straight win since their 2-1 loss to Inter Miami. They’ve taken six wins from their last seven games since the Champions Cup final. And, right now, they’ve seemed to find an immediate short-term replacement for Aidan Morris thanks to the performance of Sean Zawadski. They could be even better once Dylan Chambost arrives as their newest transfer. The Crew are good enough to insert themselves into the Shield race and win the whole thing while they’re at it.
LAFC… man, sometimes it’s just not your night. This is their first loss since May 4. They’ll be fine. But this could be a bit of a wake-up call. Columbus seem to have their number. It should certainly be a wake-up call for the rest of the league.
I think we can go ahead and call it the biggest win in Charlotte FC history. The Crown went up to TQL Stadium, scored twice early and pulled away for a huge win over the reigning Supporters’ Shield winners and current Shield leaders. Iuri Tavares, Liel Abada and Kerwin Vargas all found the net for Charlotte and Ashley Westwood picked up three assists.
The win puts Charlotte on 1.52 points per game and gives them 10 wins on the season. They won 10 games over the entirety of the 2023 season. And there’s still plenty of room to improve. DP Karol Swiderski will be available next week and they still have a third DP spot open. We’ve been saying for a while now this team could be very dangerous down the stretch and in the playoffs. This is clear proof of concept. If one of the best defenses in the league starts scoring in bunches, the East will have another contender.
For Cincy, this could potentially be a canary in a coal mine moment for their makeshift backline. They’d been holding steady the last few games, but there are clear issues that will only get worse with Miles Robinson’s absence due to last night’s red card and his upcoming trip to the Olympics. It won’t be enough to keep them from being an MLS Cup contender. It might be enough to keep them from winning the Supporters’ Shield.
Felipe Mora found the net three minutes in and Portland stayed hot with their biggest win of the season. The Timbers have won five of their last six and are within two points of fourth place Colorado. They still aren’t elite defensively or anything, but they’re finding ways to put solid performances together. And when their attack clicks, they’re one of the most exciting teams in the league. It’s been clicking a lot lately.
That attack handed RSL their second loss in four games. Fortunately for them, they were far from the only Shield contender to face plant last night. Unfortunately, they missed a huge opportunity to gain ground.
It was about the time Logan Farrington put Dallas up 2-0 that we realized last night would be the night for Supporters’ Shield contenders to face plant. The Galaxy have lost two of their last three and missed out on an opportunity to gain some ground in the Shield race.
Dallas are technically just four points out of a playoff spot. It’s not a great spot or anything, but they’ve at least shown some progress in the middle of a highly disappointing year. Petar Musa in particular looks like a genuine success. He’s up to 12 goals and two assists on the season.
Seattle have won five of their last six and are all the way up to 1.48 points per game and seventh in the standings. Pedro de la Vega made his second start of the season in this one. Jordan Morris is up to nine goals on the season after scoring his eighth goal in his last 10 appearances. Things kind of couldn’t be going better. Don’t ever count out the Sounders, right?
Maybe count out Austin. At least a little. They’re still below the playoff line after the loss.
Are the Lions starting to pull away from the bottom of the pack? Orlando are up to seventh in the East and are three points ahead of eighth-place Toronto with a game in hand. They’ve won three in a row and four of their last five. All of those wins have come against teams below the playoff line, but still, this real progress.
In particular, Facundo Torres has taken a step forward as of late. His brace in this one gave him six goals in his last six games.
The Revs are still pretty not great. Their -20 goal differential is the worst mark in the East.
D.C. United flipped the script here. Instead of blowing a lead, the Black & Red rode a brace from Cristian Dájome to a second-half comeback win against Nashville. It’s their first win since May 11.
Nashville have lost four in a row.
CF Montréal picked up a headed goal from Ruan and Atlanta’s Stian Gregersen picked up a red card moments later. That was that. Montréal are equal on points with ninth-place Nashville. Atlanta are dropping in the standings with New York City FC and Columbus on the way next week.
Toronto scored twice deep into the second half to snap a six-game losing streak and earn their first win since May 18.
Totally out of things to say about Philly’s collapse and the performance of their center backs at this point. Everything has fallen off a cliff and exploded like a car in an 80s action movie.
Brian White and Ryan Gauld stayed hot as the Whitecaps rolled to a 4-1 road win. With last night’s brace, White is up to seven goals in five games and 12 goals on the season. He’s been one of the most productive strikers in MLS for a while now. And the Caps are starting to reap the benefits. They’re up to 1.59 points per game on the season and in position to seriously challenge for a home playoff spot down the stretch. They’ll probably need to find some help besides White going nuclear the rest of the way, but for now, they can look to him whenever they need him.
St. Louis’ season is practically over. They’re sitting on 0.96 points per game and would need a special run (plus some help from the teams in front of them) to even make a Wild Card spot at this point. It feels like they used up all their luck last year.
An own goal rescued a point for Colorado at home. New York stayed in front of NYCFC in the standings and in a home playoff spot. Colorado stayed in fourth too.
Sebas Ferreira keeps showing he’s not all that interested in losing his starting job. His late goal salvaged a point for Houston. Minnesota haven’t won since June 1.
SKC pulled away from the Quakes in the second half. The Quakes seem like a lock for the Wooden Spoon at this point. Neither team seems like a lock for the playoffs.
Gonna assume some folks ran around and kicked a ball for a while. No real evidence of it though.
Charlotte FC loan defender Diop to Serbian team: Charlotte FC have loaned defender Hamady Diop to Serbian top-flight side FK Čukarički. The deal lasts through Jan. 15, 2025. Diop went No. 1 overall to Charlotte in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas. The Senegal native has played in just three MLS matches, accruing 35 minutes off the bench.
- Columbus made it “disgusting to play against” in Los Angeles.
- Jordan Morris' red-hot form kept Seattle rolling.
- Charlotte FC pulled off a shock win at FC Cincinnati.
Good luck out there. Make sure folks know it wasn’t a fluke.
