By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 20, 2022) US Soccer Players - Inter Miami didn't have much going for it when the 2022 Major League Soccer season began. Off the field, the club was mired in a years-long struggle to push through a stadium plan on the western side of the city it nominally represents. On it, the club was reeling from an 11th-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Add to that the . . .
Philadelphia’s start speaks to what the club does right
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 15, 2022) US Soccer Players - The Philadelphia Union stands alone going into the seventh full weekend of the 2022 MLS season. Jim Curtin's Eastern Conference outfit is the lone remaining unbeaten team heading into a weekend match-up with Toronto FC at BMO Field on Saturday. Philadelphia's success is most often attributed to its smart, team-focused approach . . .
Figuring out the middle of the Eastern Conference
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 13, 2022) US Soccer Players - Forget the top of the table. In Major League Soccer, the action is in the middle. It makes sense if you think about it. By design, the league gives us precisely that. It's a long regular season that delivers the most intrigue at the playoff line. Finishing first is fine and comes with a shiny plate if you end the season with the . . .
Ben Bender, Kipp Keller, and first team minutes for SuperDraft picks
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 8, 2022) US Soccer Players - New teams need players. It's a statement as reductive as it is obvious. If you're building a new soccer team from scratch, the players for your new team have to come from somewhere. You can, of course, sign veteran players domestic and foreign, per the rules of your league. In Major League Soccer, those rules are myriad and . . .
Six games in for six MLS teams
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 5, 2022) US Soccer Players - For a while there, it was easy to judge Major League Soccer teams against one another. With an even number of clubs this season thanks to the addition of Charlotte, the league's weekend schedules had balance. Twenty-eight teams playing fourteen games in a given week means the season creeps along at an equitable clip. When everyone . . .
With the Octagonal over, USMNT players shift focus to MLS
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Apr 1, 2022) US Soccer Players - Concacaf World Cup qualifying is over. After seven months, 56 games, and the ups-and-downs that are always part of the process, three teams booked places in the field for Qatar while a fourth will get a shot to earn a place through the intercontinental playoff. The United States is among the automatic qualifiers. After missing . . .
The Philadelphia Union may already be that team
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 25, 2022) US Soccer Players - Is the Philadelphia Union the best team in Major League Soccer? The club certainly has an argument in the early stages of the 2022 MLS season. Through four weeks, the Union sits atop the standings in the Eastern Conference with an unbeaten record and a +5 goal differential. Only LAFC and Real Salt Lake can match the Union for . . .
The rest of Concacaf as the March window opens
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 23, 2022) US Soccer Players - Concacaf World Cup qualifying enters its final act on Thursday. It's the first of three matchdays to finish off a schedule that began last September. While the pandemic meant eight teams instead of six and a shorter window, the process has still seemed long, hectic, and stressful. That's business as usual in the region, regardless . . .
Nashville SC waits for a unique home field advantage
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 18, 2022) US Soccer Players - Opening a long list of soccer-specific stadiums is one of Major League Soccer's greatest achievements. Control of the schedule depends on control of venues, making MLS teams the primary tenant. The league's latest stadium arrives on May 1 when Nashville SC opens up a 30,000-seat stadium located on the city's fairgrounds. Named . . .
FC Cincinnati’s three points already change things in 2022
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Mar 16, 2022) US Soccer Players - It seems strange to say after just three weeks of the new season, but FC Cincinnati's first win of 2022 was a long time coming. That's how it feels when you haven't won a game in 180 days. FC Cincinnati's 2-1 win over Orlando City in Florida on Saturday ended a losing streak the likes of which MLS had never seen. In the process, . . .
