Category: Soccer

Atlanta United and D.C. United meet Saturday night in what is shaping up as a potential first-round playoff preview.

With both Atlanta (6-4-7, 25 points) and D.C. (6-6-5, 23 points) at the midway point of the season, the teams are fifth and seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, with the top nine to qualify for the MLS Cup Playoffs.

That represents a substantial improvement for both from 2022, when each missed out on the postseason. In particular, D.C. finished last in the East after a miserable start of the campaign that resulted in the firing of former boss Hernan Losada and eventually the appointment of current manager Wayne Rooney.

Rooney’s Black-and-Red enter Saturday’s clash only four points shy of their entire haul from the previous season, though he thinks they perhaps should be even higher.

“I think we’ve done OK,” Rooney said this week. “I think we obviously are where we are, which from the points we’ve picked up, is in the playoff spots, which is good from that point of view. But I really believe that we could certainly have six to nine more points.”

Perhaps Atlanta United also have a similar belief during a campaign in which they’ve been hamstrung by a poor defensive record.

The Five Stripes’ 28 goals conceded is the second-most in the East, behind only Charlotte (30).

But they became the first team on the MLS schedule this season to hold LAFC scoreless at home after eight saves from Brad Guzan in Wednesday night’s scoreless draw. The veteran former U.S. national team goalkeeper had come under fire recently for his play in a 3-3 home draw to the New England Revolution on May 31.

“I understand at times there is criticism to goalkeepers because one mistake and they are killed, but today was a great response by Brad,” Atlanta manager Gonzalo Pineda said after the match. “We know this is the level that he can give us and I’m just happy that he had that performance today.”

Saturday could also feature two golden boot contenders, with Atlanta’s Giorgos Giakoumakis at nine goals and D.C.’s Christian Benteke sitting on eight, two shy of the MLS lead.

Benteke scored his last time out in a 2-1 win at 10-man Inter Miami last weekend. Giakoumakis last scored in the New England draw.

–Field Level Media

With star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso back in the fold, Minnesota United will try for its third consecutive road win over CF Montreal on Saturday night.

The Loons (5-6-5, 20 points) are 3-0-0 all-time against Montreal, including 3-2 road victories in 2017 and 2019. Minnesota has never won three straight road matches against an opponent in its MLS history.

The timing probably couldn’t be better for Adrian Heath’s well-rested squad, which comes in off a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC on Saturday in Saint Paul, Minn.

Reynoso — one of the league’s top playmakers and an MLS All-Star in 2022 who was suspended for the first 11 games of the season for failure to report for training camp — made his season debut in the 65th minute against Toronto. It was his crossing pass to Kervin Arriaga that help set up the tying score in the 89th minute.

“Rey is one of our best players, and he showed that (Saturday night),” Heath said. “He gave everybody a lift. He gave the crowd a lift. His quality was great in the box.”

Heath is still monitoring Reynoso’s minutes as he builds up his fitness.

“He’s still got a long way to go, but I think we saw glimpses of his quality,” the coach said.

Montreal (6-9-1, 19 points), which has won seven of its last eight home games, could be at a scheduling disadvantage after playing at Vancouver on Wednesday night in the Canadian Championship final and losing an emotional 2-1 contest to the Whitecaps. Vancouver qualified for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions League with the win.

Montreal fell behind 2-0 in the first 65 minutes of the contest, cut it to 2-1 in the 83rd minute on a goal by Sunusi Ibrahim and was pressing until the final whistle. Goaltender Jonathan Sirois made several acrobatic saves to keep Montreal — outshot 20-9 overall and 9-5 in shots on target — in the game.

“We really gave it our all,” Montreal coach Hernan Losada said. “It’s a beautiful experience for so many young players on our roster. To be part of a game like that, well not many players have the opportunity to play in a final.”

–Field Level Media

Reigning MVP Hany Mukhtar and red-hot Nashville SC will aim to stretch their unbeaten streak to nine matches when they visit Toronto FC on Saturday night.

Mukhtar has eight goals and four assists during the stretch in which Nashville has gone 6-0-2, including wins in its last four matches.

Nashville (9-3-4, 31 points) resides in second place in the Eastern Conference and has outscored its opponents 17-7 during the stretch.

Mukhtar scored the winning goal in the 77th minute of last Saturday’s 2-1 road win over FC Dallas. Dan Lovitz set up the goal.

“It’s a brilliant goal from Hany,” Lovitz said afterward. “We are seeing it very consistently. … I just see it so often but it is not something we take for granted. It is just a pleasure to play with him and we just have to keep continuing to put him in good spots where he can be a threat and be really devastating to the other team.”

The goal was the 10th of the season for Mukhtar, tying him for the league lead. He has reached double digits for the third straight campaign. He scored 16 in 2021 and set a career high last season when he led MLS with 23.

Nashville has allowed just 11 goals, second-fewest in the league, entering its second matchup of the season against Toronto FC (3-5-9, 18 points). The teams played to a scoreless tie on April 8 in Nashville.

Toronto is unbeaten in its last three matches (1-0-2) and is a solid 3-1-5 at home this season. It played Minnesota United to a 1-1 road tie last Saturday.

The club knows it will be a challenging matchup against Nashville.

“They’re on a great run. They’ve been one of the better teams in the league,” Toronto defender Aime Mabika said. “Really good players, they have the reigning MVP. They have really good players, but so do we. We expect a really good game, we’re at home.”

Lorenzo Insigne scored Toronto’s goal against Minnesota.

Both teams had players called up for upcoming national team duty. Toronto defender Richie Laryea and midfielder Jonathan Osorio were called up by Canada, while goalkeepers Sean Johnson (United States) and Tomas Romero (El Salavdor) also were recalled.

For Nashville, defender Walker Zimmerman (United States) and midfielder Anibal Godoy (Panama) were recalled.

The teams have met six previous times. Nashville and Toronto have each won twice with the other two matches ending in ties.

–Field Level Media

The New England Revolution will seek their first win in more than a month when they host reeling Inter Miami CF on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.

The Revolution (7-3-6, 27 points), who haven’t won since a 2-0 victory over Toronto FC on May 6, are coming off a 0-0 draw against the host New York City FC last Saturday.

Djordje Petrovic saw 17 shots and stopped all five that were on target to record his six shutout of the season and his 13th in the past two seasons. New England put two shots on goal all game.

“He was steady throughout the game with good distribution, and it was good to get a clean sheet again,” Revolution coach Bruce Arena said. “Djordje has been punished by some poor defending in front of him the last couple of games, so it was good to see him get a clean sheet.”

It was New England’s third straight draw in a span of eight days and dropped the Revs to fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

The Revolution have been struggling since seeing their eight-game unbeaten streak end with a loss to host Inter Miami in the teams’ first meeting on May 13.

After David Ruiz gave Miami a 1-0 lead, New England’s Carles Gil tied the game in the 26th minute before Josef Martinez’s strike in the 44th minute proved to be the difference.

Miami has been in a tailspin since that game, having dropped its past five league games and getting outscored 9-3 in those matches.

The Herons (5-11-0, 15 points), who are last in the 15-team Eastern Conference, are making much bigger news off the field. Megastar Lionel Messi, who captained the Argentine national team to a World Cup title this past fall, announced he plans to sign with Miami after leaving French powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain.

Messi is expected to join The Herons in July once the deal is finalized.

Miami is coming off a 1-0 win over Birmingham Legion FC, a second-tier professional team, in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday. It was the Herons’ second game and first win under interim coach Javier Morales, who took over for the fired Phil Neville last week.

“This win is very important, not just for us as a team, but for the whole organization,” Morales said. “We made history today — it’s the first time that the team made the semifinals.”

But in their most recent MLS game, the Herons surrendered two goals in the final 20-plus minutes in a 2-1 loss to visiting D.C. United last Saturday.

Ian Fray’s goal in the second minute of stoppage time prevented Inter Miami CF from being blanked for the third straight MLS game.

–Field Level Media

Los Angeles Galaxy forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez will miss the remainder of the MLS season after sustaining a torn ACL in his right knee.

Hernandez, 35, was injured while receiving a pass from Riqui Puig in the 24th minute of the club’s 3-2 setback to Real Salt Lake in a U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match on Wednesday. Hernandez will undergo surgery on a date to be determined, the Galaxy announced Friday.

He has recorded one goal and one assist through nine league games (seven starts) this season. He missed Los Angeles’ first five matches while recovering from a hamstring injury.

Hernandez led the Galaxy last season with 18 goals in 32 regular-season games and had a pair of assists. The Mexican national team star has 38 goals and six assists in 74 matches (65 starts) since joining Los Angeles in 2020.

–Field Level Media

The Columbus Crew acquired Ukrainian defender Yevhen Cheberko from Croatian club NK Osijek.

The deal announced Friday begins when the MLS secondary transfer window opens on July 5 and runs through 2026.

Cheberko, 25, will occupy an international roster slot.

“Yevhen is a talented player with a high ceiling who will help solidify the core of our backline and provide more tactical flexibility,” Crew president and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko said in a news release. “Yevhen has a nice balance of defensive and offensive attributes in his game and will be a welcomed addition during the summer transfer window.”

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The Columbus Crew have signed center back Yevhen Cheberko from NK Osijek.#Crew96 | #VamosColumbushttps://t.co/PoD7iQqlSQ

— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) June 9, 2023

Cheberko appeared in 58 matches with NK Osijek in Croatia’s first division from 2021-23. He made his pro debut with Ukraine’s Dnipro (2015-17) and also played with Zorya Luhansk (2017-20) in his native country before joining Austria’s LASK in 2020.

–Field Level Media