MLS Cup is returning to Portland as the Timbers played spoiler to Real Salt Lake’s incredible Cinderella story with a 2-0 victory in the Western Conference Final on Saturday night. Portland finished the regular season with more points (55) than NYCFC (51) and the Philadelphia Union (54) meaning the final will be hosted in Portland.
MLS needs more David Ochoas. It needs more players that “enjoy being the villain” and who aren’t — in a league that prides itself on providing the joyful unpredictably of parity — afraid of taking the spotlight and shining it firmly on themselves.
It makes the atmosphere in stadiums better. It makes matchups more intriguing. It creates headlines.
You can’t win without scoring. I heard that a few times from Fox announcers on Tuesday night, both in the early match in which Nashville remained unbeaten at home by topping Orlando City and in the later match in which one of the favorites to win the MLS Cup, the Seattle Sounders, hosted Real Salt Lake.
The adage is certainly true in normal contexts, but this is playoff soccer now. Real Salt Lake showed you can survive and advance without even bothering to attempt a shot all game.
After a remarkable Decision Day that ended with Colorado atop the Western Conference and Salt Lake in the postseason at the expense of the LA Galaxy, it’s time to begin our countdown to the Cup final on Dec. 11 with some MLS playoff predictions.
Thankfully, this season’s action begins after the November international break so there’ll be no awkward space between the first round on Nov. 20 and the conference semifinals on Thanksgiving.
Real Salt Lake Academy's Axel Kei made his professional debut at age 13 on Friday night in Herriman, Utah.
The Ivory Coast-born striker was a second-half substitute for the USL Championship side Real Monarchs, entering in the 61st minute of a 0-0 draw against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.
At 13 years, nine months and nine days old, Kei is believed to be the youngest-ever player to make a professional appearance in American team sports.
Hasta el día de hoy se han convertido 198 hat tricks en la historia de la MLS. Reconozco que no los he visto todos, pero tengo la certeza de que el que hizo anoche Javier Eduardo López es el mejor de todos.
Es cierto que el triplete de la Chofis terminó siendo en vano, debido a la derrota 3-4 del San Jose Earthquakes ante Real Salt Lake, sin embargo la calidad de cada una de las anotaciones no hay dudas de que cabe en la categoría de lo sublime.
They say size doesn't matter, but with the modern men's goalkeeping landscape populated by giants like Manuel Neuer (6-4), Gianluigi Donnarumma (6-5) and Thibaut Courtois (6-7), 6-2 is almost considered the minimum height for a professional goalkeeper in the modern age.
A few players, like Yann Sommer (6-0) and Jordan Pickford (6-1) buck this trend, but it is increasingly rare to see a men's keeper under 6-0, much less one who is 5-8 or 5-9.
On Wednesday, Major League Soccer announced its 28-player roster for the 2021 MLS All-Star Game. On Wednesday, Aug. 25, this group will play a highly anticipated match against the Liga MX All-Stars at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.
Some of the players have been here before (LAFC’s Carlos Vela, Orlando City’s Nani, Nashville’s Walker Zimmerman), but a number of players have been selected for the first time, including rising stars like San Jose’s Cade Cowell, Dallas’ Ricardo Pepi and New England’s Tajon Buchanan.
Raúl Ruidíaz scored one of the goals of his life against Austin FC on Thursday with an absolute missile from near midfield. Ruidíaz saw Austin’s goalkeeper off his line and made him pay for it with a sumptuous strike. This is one of the best MLS goals of the season.
Former Argentinian forward Gonzalo Higuaín had low expectations coming to MLS but now is learning to respect the competition. The 33-year-old exclaimed he expected to play with a cigarette in his mouth, it was going to be that easy.
Through seven matches in the 2021 MLS season, Higuaín has four goals and one assist. He was quoted on Christain Vieri's Twitch live stream a few days ago saying, "I thought I would come to MLS and play with a cigarette in my mouth and instead it is difficult."