Toronto FC clinched its spot in the MLS Cup playoffs when Sebastian Giovinco did this ridiculous thing to the East-leading New York Red Bulls.
But just a few days later the Columbus Crew came to town and Federico Higuaín (brother of Napoli and Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain) did this other ridiculous thing to Giovinco’s side.
There’s so much to like about this goal. With his team already leading 1-0, Higuaín, who stands only 5-foot-7, bullied 6-foot-2 Josh Williams off the ball. Then, off balance from the force of his collision with the bigger defender, and with the ball bobbling around at his feet, he flipped a shot up. It had enough height to elude keeper Joe Bendik and enough dip to find the corner of the net. That’s not an easy finish, but the Argentinian made it look effortless.
What a chip from Federico Higuaín to give the Columbus Crew a goal. http://t.co/58SvdTfXUD
— FanSided Soccer (@FanSidedSoccer) October 17, 2015Columbus, with the win, clinched a spot in the MLS Cup playoffs. The Crew now have 50 points through 33 games and moved ahead of Toronto for second in the Eastern Conference.
The American soccer league seems to be heating up at the right time. Giovinco has helped bring some forward momentum to Toronto — its fifth-most valuable franchise — and to the league. The MLS Cup playoffs now feature 12 teams instead of 10, and as of now the playoffs could include Giovinco, Kei Kamara (Columbus), Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane and Giovani dos Santos (Los Angeles) and Didier Drogba (Montreal) as big-name stars who’ve been successful additions to the league. Drogba has nine goals in nine games, Giovinco leads the league with 27, Kamara has 22, and Keane has 17.
So MLS fans and executives should be pretty happy about how their league is shaping up around postseason time. Plus, kudos to the league for smartly deciding not to schedule its championship game opposite the SEC football championship! Lots of things are going MLS’s way right now…if only that NYCFC team hadn’t been a near-complete disaster.
Grant Burkhardt is on Twitter @grantburkhardt and you can email him about the footie at burkhardt@the18.com
