Thursday's soccer news starts with every team in Major League Soccer set to play their 34th game of the season. The famously unbalanced schedule is now balanced, with more than most expected left to play for on Sunday. Decision Day looms after another midweek matchday in MLS. Montreal shutout Houston 2-0 at home. Rudy Camacho scored in the 58th and Kamal Miller doubled the lead in the 62nd. . . .
MLS bubble teams
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Oct 4, 2021) US Soccer Players – The start of fall brings with it cooler temperatures in most parts of the country. For MLS, things are just starting to heat up. It's the time of year when teams ramp up to the playoffs, jockeying for points on the quest for the Supporters' Shield or a higher place in the table. For teams just outside the top seven in each . . .
The 2020 Thanksgiving soccer guide
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Nov 23, 2020) US Soccer Players – The gridiron version of football is synonymous with Thanksgiving. It's a tradition that dates back to the late 1800s and something the National Football League adopted in 1934. Football, however, isn't the only sport available over the four-day weekend. Streaming services, changing habits, and a global schedule have made soccer . . .
The play-in round and the underdog scenario
By Jason Davis – WASHINGTON, DC (Nov 20, 2020) US Soccer Players - It would be fair to say that it has been a while since a true underdog has lifted the MLS Cup trophy. Last year's champions, the Seattle Sounders, are the model MLS franchise with two MLS Cup titles in the last four seasons. In 2018, an ascendant Atlanta United used its flashy and expensive South American talent and famous coach to . . .
MLS faces a play-in problem
Friday's soccer news starts with reports that Inter Miami is without its star players for tonight's play-in game at Nashville. The Miami Herald's Michelle Kaufman updated earlier stories that five Inter players tested positive for the coronavirus, reporting that Federico Higuain, Gonzalo Higuain, and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez are part of that group. That leaves Inter Miami and MLS facing a playoff . . .
The situation in the Eastern Conference
By J Hutcherson (Nov 19, 2020) US Soccer Players - Coming up with a problem where the only answer was a convoluted solution, Major League Soccer kicks off its Eastern Conference play-in round on Friday. After realigning the conferences to restart the season, MLS felt it had no choice but to reset playoff expectations in the now-14 team Eastern Conference. Instead of advancing the top eight . . .
That extra game in the Western Conference
Wednesday's soccer news starts with the Western Conference. Major League Soccer reset the West when play resumed, shifting Nashville to the Eastern Conference and leaving the West with 12 teams. That meant qualifying eight teams directly to the playoffs rather than needing the East's play-in round. That also means a difference in making the playoffs in the West. That playoff line looms in every . . .
The team with the most to lose this offseason
Tuesday's soccer news starts with a simple question. Of the eight MLS teams that missed the playoffs, which one has the most pressure on them? The easy answer is Atlanta. This season showed what can happen to any team in Major League Soccer when a key player isn't replaceable. That's such an obvious reason for Atlanta's issues that it's almost a given that a healthy Josef Martinez has them in the . . .
5 things from MLS in 2019
By Clemente Lisi – NEW YORK, NY (Nov 11, 2019) US Soccer Players – This is the time of year where the MLS champion, and congratulations to the Seattle Sounders, becomes the center of a debate over whether they are in the conversation for the best team in league history. It's also perhaps the first time in a decade that the post-playoff debate isn't about who's the best ever. MLS revamped the . . .
Seattle wins the 2019 MLS Cup
The Seattle Sounders won the 2019 MLC Cup, beating Toronto FC 3-1 in front of 69,274 fans at CenturyLink Field. Finishing in 2nd-place in the Western Conference, Seattle knocked out top seed LAFC to reach the final. Kelvin Leerdam's deflected shot off of Toronto defender Justin Morrow opened the scoring in the 57th minute. Victor Rodriguez made it 2-0 Seattle in the 76th. Raul Ruidiaz added a goal . . .
