Charlotte, Inter Miami play to draw
The Crown took a 2-1 lead early in the second half, but Robbie Robinson’s 84th-minute goal took two critical points away from Charlotte FC. Charlotte are now tied on points with four other teams for ninth place heading into Decision Day. They’ll need a win against Inter Miami on Decision Day plus a little help to make it into the Wild Card spot.
2023 MLS NEXT Pro Cup this Sunday at 5 pm ET: Defending champions Columbus Crew 2 face Austin FC II for all the marbles on MLS Season Pass. Here are the Top 5 things to watch for.
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Yesterday we decided to check in on each conference as we head into Decision Day. Instead of Matt Doyle’s popular “playoff contender tiers” based on pointless things like logic, analytics, critical thinking and evidence, these are the pre-playoff vibe tiers. West yesterday, East today.
There’s no getting around it. It has been a heckuva second half in New England. Losing Bruce Arena is one thing. But even if they still had the manager they started the season with there would be serious concerns.
Losing the best shot-stopper in MLS history would have been enough by itself to raise every single red flag in the area. However, in addition to losing Djordje Petrovic in goal, starting fullback Brandon Bye tore his ACL. That’s all on top of losing their dynamic winger, Dylan Borrero, earlier in the season.
Unsurprisingly, they’ve struggled over the last month. The Revs have just two wins since Leagues Cup. They’ve lost three straight and those three came against Columbus, Orlando and Nashville. They’re set to close the year with one more game against an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs team when they host Philadelphia.
All that being said, they’re walking a fine line right now between “there’s no reason to believe” and “NO ONE BELIEVES IN US.” The latter, when used effectively, can be powerful. I don’t know when and if and how they’ll cross that line, but they could be dangerous if they do. Maybe this newsletter will be what does it? They owe me a ring if this newsletter does it.
I’ll be blunt about it. Whoever gets the last two Wild Card spots should be excited about that. They should not have any reasonable expectation of making a run in the playoffs. Remember, their reward for winning the Wild Card round is a best-of-three series with FC Cincinnati. The only team who might have enough juice to pull off something special there is the Red Bulls, and that would mean they’d suddenly figured out how to put the ball in the back of the net. I’m not holding my breath. Still, there’s something to be said about just being happy to be there.
Both of these teams have been among the best in the league in the last few years. There’s no guarantee things will stay that way. Trophy windows don’t stay open for long. Urgency should be apparent here at least on some level. I’m not saying they’re doomed in 2024 or anything. They’re too well-run and have too many quality pieces to be saying that. I’m saying change is scary. And changes could be on the way for both.
Per FBref, Nashville have been the oldest team on average in MLS this year with an average age of 30. Adding a DP forward in Sam Surridge is a good boost, but his fellow DP attacker, Hany Mukhtar, has merely been great instead of a world-beating, Landon Donovan MLS MVP-caliber player this season. It’s not a given that he’ll ever return to the highs of 2022 and it’s not clear how long an aging roster will stay together and be effective.
Philadelphia are set to enter a new era next season. One possibly without Alejandro Bedoya and Kai Wagner. There might be more changes in the way that we don’t know about yet. But the main thing here is that they’ve continuously come close to lifting a title the last few years and haven’t gotten over the final hump. In sports, it seems like you only get so many chances before things inevitably reset or simply drop off.
Staring mortality in the face can either be exhilarating or demoralizing. We’ll see how both teams handle it. My bet is the Union in particular wake up now that the playoffs have started, but I’m a bit more worried about them than normal.
Calling Atlanta United “ahead of schedule” feels odd, but remember, they’re still in year one under new president and chief executive officer Garth Lagerwey. They were incredibly average by the time Leagues Cup came around. But an outstanding summer transfer window gave them a second and even stronger wind over the last couple of months. They’ve done well to (mostly) handle one of the toughest final stretches in the league, yet it doesn’t feel like there are ultraserious expectations around this particular group. Next year will be a whole different story. This year they can find freedom in a “team before the team” kind of vibe.
That may play to their advantage. Atlanta will need to be at their free-flowing, attacking best to make a run. In part because duh. And in part because they’ve been quietly and genuinely bad defensively since that summer window. Only Toronto have allowed a higher xG per game in that span.
Orlando have been the hottest team in the league in the second half of the season. The Crew have been the best attacking team in the league in Wilfried Nancy’s first season while adding pieces like Diego Rossi and Julian Gressel. Both teams should have extreme confidence in everything they do this postseason.
That’s it. That’s the whole thing. It’s not flashy, but “good team that’s clearly aware it’s good” is all it takes to be dangerous. Always fear the person who’s quietly assured of themself.
Last year, Cincy would have been where Atlanta are. Essentially happy to be there and ready to see how much they can score before they come up short defensively. This year, it’s time to do a job they know they’re more than capable of doing. It’s Tier Two but with the added benefit of everyone already being very, very afraid of you.
New England Revolution sign homegrown forward Fry: The New England Revolution have elevated forward Malcolm Fry from their MLS NEXT Pro team, announcing Wednesday they’ve signed him to a homegrown contract. His deal begins in 2024 and runs through the 2026 MLS season, with an option for 2027.
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Good luck out there. If you can’t be happy, ruin someone else’s day.
