What a week in MLS. Ian Fray scored a set-piece goal for Inter Miami, D.C. United blew a late lead and a Timbers DP scored his ninth goal of the season. It was truly a week unlike any other.
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Remember when everyone had concerns about Mateusz Bogusz’s scoring ability?
Bogusz’s hat trick guided LAFC to a 3-0 win over the upstart Rapids and their 25th point in the last nine games. They’re on top of the West and it’s hard to see them anywhere else the rest of the season… unless of course the Galaxy have something to say about that at the Rose Bowl on July 4.
Previous: 3-0 win vs. COL | Next: 7/4 at LA
My goodness, Columbus. My goodness, Max Arfsten.
The Crew absolutely, full-heartedly dump-trucked New England in a 5-1 win that ended the Revs’ four-game winning streak. The Crew are up to fourth in the East and have games in hand on everyone in front of them. They’ll almost certainly bypass the Red Bulls for third place and have a shot at catching up to the folks at the top of the Supporters’ Shield standings.
If they can win their next three games, they’ll be on 42 points after 21 games. Inter Miami are currently on 44 in 21. Even with Aidan Morris gone, are you really going to count them out?
Previous: 5-1 win at NE | Next: 7/3 vs. NSH
All you have to do to win games without Lionel Messi is have Ian Fray score an early goal off a set piece. They probably don’t even need the other guys back from international duty.
Until then, they’re doing just fine. They’ve taken nine points from the first three games of their toughest stretch of the year. A big week that features road trips to Charlotte then Cincinnati could change that, but those teams have to stop Fray first.
Previous: 2-1 win at NSH | Next: 7/3 at CLT
Cincy went to Dallas without Matt Miazga and Miles Robinson and came out with a clean sheet and a win. Luca Orellano continued his stellar first year in MLS, scoring the game’s lone goal. He has five goals and three assists and is a more goal-dangerous player than Álvaro Barreal ever was. It’s worth repeating how remarkable it is the Garys hit on nearly every signing this offseason in what could have been a transition year.
Now, this team has a chance to take a lead atop of the Supporters’ Shield standings if they come out on top in their matchup with Inter Miami this weekend.
Previous: 1-0 win at DAL | Next: 7/3 at DC
RSL had the week off to get healthy after their loss to the Galaxy. Hopefully Chicho Arango’s stitches are healing nicely.
Previous: Bye | Next: 7/3 vs. HOU
The Galaxy avoided any Cali Clásico voodoo with a comfortable 3-0 win over the Quakes at Stanford Stadium.
Riqui Puig made a substitute appearance in this one. Just in time for the Galaxy to jump to second place in the West and set up an El Tráfico for the ages at the Rose Bowl on July 4.
Previous: 3-0 win at SJ | Next: 7/4 vs. LAFC
The Red Bulls looked to be well on their way to win after an early D.C. red card put them equal on goals and up a man. But a free kick from D.C. put them behind and playing catch-up the rest of the way. Cam Harper eventually got them equal, but that’s all they could muster. It’s a bad result all considered. At least Lewis Morgan is back.
Previous: 2-2 draw vs. DC | Next: 7/6 at PHI
The Rapids are a good team that ran into the best team in MLS right now and lost 3-0. They weren’t close to going punch-to-punch with LAFC. Few teams would be.
Previous: 3-0 loss at LAFC | Next: 7/4 vs. SKC
New York City pummeled Orlando in a classic “Welcome to Yankee Stadium, did you know we have a woodshed you can go behind?” kind of game. They needed it after three straight losses.
The Pigeons have probably lost out on their chance at a top-three spot in the East, but now they can focus on what’s always been most important: finishing ahead of the Red Bulls. If they can pull that off, they’ll likely be in a home playoff spot when all is said and done. They’re three points back with a game in hand.
Previous: 4-2 win vs. ORL | Next: 7/3 vs. MTL
Charlotte conceded a rare goal and couldn’t find one of their own in Houston. It’s only their second loss in the last 11 games.
Maybe a familiar face can help keep this good run of form going? It looks like Karol Swiderski is set to return as Charlotte’s second DP. Swiderski has 22 goals and 10 assists in 58 MLS starts.
Previous: 1-0 loss at HOU | Next: 7/3 vs. MIA
Turns out you can forgive mediocre defensive work if all your DPs are firing. And Portland’s attacking trio has been one of the single-best in the league. That’s Jonathan Rodríguez getting on the end of a pass from Dairon Asprilla to seal a 3-2 comeback win and close Asprilla’s likely last game as a Timber in style.
We’ll all miss playoff Dairon, but Rodríguez has nine goals and four assists, Evander has nine goals and 11 assists and Felipe Mora has nine goals and three assists. The Timbers attack should be ok.
Hey, by the way, they’re up to fifth in the West and are one point out of a home playoff spot.
Previous: 3-2 win vs. MIN | Next: 7/4 at DAL
Houston are on a roll here. Ibrahim Aliyu’s early goal against Charlotte earned them three points this weekend to make it six-straight unbeaten with 12 points over that span. Now just imagine when Ezequiel Ponce gets here.
No, really Houston fans, imagine it. You might need to keep your mind on the future over the next three games to cope with a stretch of RSL, LAFC and Minnesota. The schedule gods weren’t kind here.
That being said, the Dynamo are playing well enough to pull out points against the best of the best. A decent run here before the transfer window opens would go a long way toward setting them up for a potential home playoff spot.
Previous: 1-0 win vs. CLT | Next: 7/3 at RSL
Albert Rusnák converted two second-half penalties to save Seattle from a wholly disappointing result against Chicago. In even better news, DP attacker Pedro de la Vega made his fourth appearance of the year. Maybe he’ll make his second start soon. Seattle desperately needs his dynamism on the ball.
Previous: 2-1 win vs. CHI | Next: 7/6 vs. NE
Well sure seems like another home game without a win for little ol’ Atlanta UniOHMYGOD LOOKOUT BEHIND YOU.
Atlanta were mostly very not good on the night. But who cares, what an all-timer of a moment.
It’s a bizarre sendoff for Thiago Almada, who’s reportedly set to join Lyon by way of Botafogo for a $21 million transfer fee. Atlanta are set to spend big to replace him and Giorgos Giakoumakis this summer. They may even need to replace Caleb Wiley too.
Previous: 2-1 win vs. TOR | Next: 7/3 at NE
Jonathan Rodríguez’s late winner doomed the Loons in Portland and handed them their fourth-straight loss. A disastrous June has them all the way down to seventh in the West. With Tani Oluwaseyi and Dayne St. Clair gone on international duty they could only outrun the lack of top-end quality on their roster for so long. They have room to add a DP (maybe two) this summer and they really need to do it. A once-promising year is getting away from them.
Previous: 3-2 loss at POR | Next: 7/3 vs. VAN
They probably aren’t thrilled about needing four goals to do it, but they earned three points against St. Louis over the weekend. It snapped a two-game losing streak and gives them three wins in their last five. It’s all kind of underwhelming, but things are at least more good than bad right now.
Previous: 4-3 win vs. STL | Next: 7/3 at MIN
Over the past year it feels like Nashville have played 20 games against Inter Miami and lost roughly 15 of them. This weekend gave us one of the 15.
It doesn’t get any easier for Rumba Munthali’s group going forward. They’re taking road trips to Columbus and Portland this week.
Previous: 2-1 loss vs. MIA | Next: 7/3 at CLB
Austin followed an impressive four-point week against LAFC and Minnesota with a mud crawl of a 2-0 loss to Sporting KC. They’ve lost four of their last six and are at the bottom of the pile-up in the West. They’re also second to last in the league in expected goal differential per game. Don’t expect things to get much better before the transfer window.
Previous: 2-0 loss at SKC | Next: 7/6 vs. NYC
The Crew did not let the Revs stay hot.
A 5-1 loss ended a four-game winning streak and sent New England back down to 14th in the East. It was fun while it lasted though, right? And it at least feels like “Worst team in MLS history” is off the board. So… hang the banner?
That being said, the Revs still have a long way to go before they’re back among the East’s best. That’s especially true with the news DP forward Tomás Chancalay is out for the rest of the season with an ACL tear.
Previous: 5-1 loss vs. CLB | Next: 7/3 vs. ATL
What’s left to say? The Union lost 4-2 in Montréal this week and it’s hard to feel anything but apathy.
Previous: 4-2 loss at MTL | Next: 7/3 at CHI
Orlando went up to Yankee Stadium and got waxed. It happens. It doesn’t make this season any more or less disappointing. So far, it’s pretty much stuck in a perpetual state of disappointment with very slight variations. That being said, the Lions are only three points out of a playoff spot.
Previous: 4-2 loss at NYC | Next: 7/3 at TOR
Whoo boy. The flip side of a moment like Jamal Thiare’s game-winning goal is Luka Gavran facing the most difficult moment of his professional career. Full credit to his teammates though. It seemed like every single one of them came over to pick him up after that. This group is, at the very least, together. That hasn’t been a given in Toronto.
That isn’t changing the results right now though. They’re winless in their last six.
Previous: 2-1 loss at ATL | Next: 7/3 vs. ORL
Well, this is the most “2017” Josef Martinez has looked in a long time.
His 108th MLS goal set the tone for what would become a 4-2 win over Philadelphia. Montréal are quietly getting healthy and have quietly snuck up to 10th in the East. When their international duty folks get back, they’ll have something close to a full-strength team for the first time in months. We might be talking about a playoff team here. Just something to consider.
Previous: 4-2 win vs. PHI | Next: 7/3 at NYC
Dallas had their chances against FC Cincinnati’s depleted back line, but couldn’t find the back of the net. They’ve followed up a two-game winning streak with back-to-back losses.
Previous: 1-0 loss vs. CIN | Next: 7/4 vs. POR
D.C. continued their whole “most frustrating team in the league” deal this week by getting an early red card against New York, going ahead anyway, and then blowing yet another lead in a 2-2 draw. They just don’t have the quality on their roster to see games out.
Previous: 2-2 draw at RBNY | Next: 7/3 vs. CIN
St. Louis put three on the board on their trip to Vancouver but still couldn’t pull out a result. They’re nine points below the playoff line, tied for the fewest wins in MLS, and nothing is getting better.
That blurb got written just before this happened…
Regardless of who’s in charge next, the roster needs to improve before the results will.
Previous: 4-3 loss at VAN | Next: 7/3 vs. SJ
Well, for one weekend, things felt pretty ok for SKC. They pulled out a 2-0 win over Austin to curb a three-game losing streak. They also brought in a new sporting director.
Burns was general manager of the Revs from 2011 to 2019.
Previous: 2-0 win vs. ATX | Next: 7/4 at COL
Chicago beat LA and Toronto to kick off June and then ended the month with a 4-2 loss to Orlando and a 2-1 defeat to Seattle that featured the Fire surrendering two penalties in the second half. That included Seattle’s stoppage-time winner.
Related: Chicago are in last place in the East.
Previous: 2-1 loss at SEA | Next: 7/3 vs. PHI
Not even Stanford Stadium could bring out the best in the Quakes. They’re six points ahead (behind?) in the Wooden Spoon race.
Previous: 3-0 loss vs. LA | Next: 7/3 at STL
