MLS Game Capsules (Week 26)

Friday, August 19

LA Galaxy (10-11-3) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (10-13-2)

(10 p.m. ET, ESPN / ESPN Deportes)

• Friday marks the 35th meeting between the Galaxy and Sounders, with Seattle holding a narrow 12-10-12 series advantage. The Sounders are unbeaten in their past eight against the Galaxy, winning five games and drawing three over the span. Seattle took an early-season meeting between the two clubs (March 12), 3-2, at Lumen Field behind goals from Jordan Morris, Fredy Montero, and Xavier Arreaga.
• The Galaxy scored four first-half goals for the first time since 2016 in their 5-2 win over the Whitecaps last week. This was the 32nd time in club history (including playoffs) that they scored at least five goals in a match. The club was led by a brace from Samuel Grandsir – the first of his MLS career – and both a goal and an assist from Javier “Chicharito” Hernández. 
• Chicharito (10 goals) and forward Dejan Joveljic (nine goals) rank first and second on the club in goals, respectively. Chicharito has three goals in his last two matches and sits on 29 career goals in 55 games across his three MLS seasons. For Joveljic, six of his nine goals this season have come as a substitution.
• In 12 career games against the LA Galaxy, Seattle winger Jordan Morris has six goals and three assists, including four goals and three assists in his last six against their Western Conference foe. Morris leads the club with six goals this season.
• Sounders midfielder Nico Lodeiro leads the club with 12 goals contributions (five goals, seven assists) this season and has recorded at least five goals and five assists in five of his seven MLS seasons. He has two goals and two assists across his past five in MLS play.

Saturday, August 20

New York Red Bulls (11-8-7) vs. FC Cincinnati (8-8-9)

(6 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• This is the ninth all-time regular season meeting between the New York Red Bulls and FC Cincinnati, with the last meeting at Red Bull Arena ending in a 0-0 draw. The Red Bulls hold a 4-2-2 advantage in the all-time series between these clubs, but Cincinnati is 2-1-2 in the last five meetings across all competitions between these sides.
• These sides have already faced each other once in 2022, playing the game out to a 1-1 draw with Brandon Vázquez and Lewis Morgan both getting on the scoresheet. Vázquez, who is second in the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi standings with 15 goals, is one goal away from tying Emmanuel Ledesma’s all-time single-season club record 16 goals set in 2018.
• Brenner scored his ninth goal of the season last time out against Atlanta United, surpassing his goal total of eight from last year in 13 fewer games. With another goal against the Red Bulls, Brenner would become the second player two hit double-digit scoring figures for Cincinnati in a single season after Vázquez hit the 10-goal mark back on July 13.
• Luciano Acosta leads the league in assists with 14, which is two more than 2021 Landon Donovan MVP Award winner Carles Gil who is currently second in those standings. With nine games remaining in the regular season, Acosta is six assists away from tying Sacha Kljestan and Maximiliano Moralez for second-most assists in a single season. The current record is held by Carlos Valderrama, who provided 26 helpers in 32 games during the 2000 MLS season.
• Of the top 10 players to play the most minutes for the Red Bulls this season, only three players – Aaron Long, Sean Nealis, and Cristian Cásseres Jr. – have played more than two seasons at the club. Carlos Coronel, John Tolkin, and Lewis Morgan rank first, third, and fourth among the top five, respectively, so far in 2022.

D.C. United (6-15-4) vs. Philadelphia Union (13-4-9)

(7:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• D.C United host the Philadelphia Union in the 32nd meeting between the two clubs and the second this season. Philadelphia have won 10 of the last 12 contests, including a historic 7-0 win at Subaru Park earlier this season on July 8.
• The Union’s 7-0 victory over D.C. earlier this season was their largest margin of victory in club history and tied for the largest in MLS history. Philadelphia was led by a trio of braces from Alejandro Bedoya, Julián Carranza, and Mikael Uhre, becoming the fifth team ever to have three different players score multiple goals in the same match. The Union had previously done this in 2017 with CJ Sapong, Ilsinho, and Fafa Picault.
• Led by head coach Jim Curtin, the club continues to head towards eclipsing their single-season club-record milestones, which they set in 2019. The Union need eight points (55), 14 goals (58), and four wins (16) to set those marks.
• Philadelphia’s Dániel Gazdag extended his strong form in the club’s 4-1 victory over Chicago Fire FC last Saturday with a goal and an assist. The Hungarian international has produced eight goal contributions (five goals, three assists) in his last eight matches. He sits on 18 for the season and is seven shy of tying Sebastien Le Toux (25 in 2010) for the most in a season in club history.
• United’s David Ochoa made his debut for the club at LAFC on Tuesday evening and produced four saves in the club’s 1-0 defeat. It was Ochoa’s first regular season game action since a four-save performance for Real Salt Lake at Sporting Kansas City on November 7, 2021. Ochoa is the fourth different goalkeeper to start in net for D.C. this season, joining Bill Hamid, Jon Kempin, and Rafael Romo.

CF Montréal (13-8-4) vs. New England Revolution (8-7-10)

(7:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• The New England Revolution travel north of the border to face CF Montréal in their first matchup of the season. New England has had their opposition’s number, winning each of the last five games against the Canadian side, dating back to July 9, 2020. In the last two meetings at Stade Saputo, the Revs have scored seven goals with five of them coming in the opening 30 minutes of those contests.
• Montréal will look to ride the momentum of their six-game unbeaten run in order to record their first win against the Revolution since February 29, 2020. Earlier this season Montréal set a club record with an eight-game undefeated streak from March 19 to May 14.
• After losing consecutive games from July 4-9, the return of midfielder Djordje Mihailovic has played a critical role in the current Montréal unbeaten streak. When Mihailovic was injured and out of the lineup this year, Montréal averaged just 1.0 goal per game and posted a 2-3-0 record. In the 18 games he has started, the club has produced 2.0 goals per game and a strong 10-4-4 record.
• New England’s late playoff push has been strengthened by the sensational play of Djordje Petrović, who has totaled five clean sheets in his first 12 MLS matches. Petrović’s 79.4 save percentage is the second best in MLS, only behind the Union’s Andre Blake (80.6%). Additionally, the Serbian has faced a league-high seven penalty kicks this season and is one of three goalkeepers to save multiple of those.
• Revolution head coach Bruce Arena inches closer to MLS history as he sits on 248 wins and is two shy of becoming the first coach to ever reach 250 regular season victories. Arena had won at least 15 games with four different clubs in his career (D.C. United, LA Galaxy, New England Revolution and New York Red Bulls).

Inter Miami CF (9-10-6) vs. Toronto FC (8-12-6)

(8 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• Inter Miami CF hosts Toronto FC on Saturday for the fifth all-time regular season meeting between these two Eastern Conference teams. Though Toronto won the first-ever meeting between them back in 2019, Miami swept the Reds with three wins in three games in 2021 and outscored Toronto 7-1 across those games.
• Last time out, Miami beat New York City FC for the first time in six regular season meetings behind two goals from former Toronto FC midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo. The Spanish midfielder is now on six goals and eight assists for the season, chasing his MLS career-high 12 goals and 12 assists set in his first season in MLS in 2019.
• Gonzalo Higuaín’s assist to Pozuelo’s first goal of that game was his fifth goal contribution in his last four games for Miami. With Higuaín and Leonardo Campana now each on eight goals for the season, two more goals for each before the end of the regular season would ensure Miami finish a regular season with two players scoring double digit goals for the first time ever.
• Jonathan Osorio scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season for Toronto in their 3-1 win over the Portland Timbers last time out. Over his 10-year MLS career, Osorio has only hit 10 goals one other time (2018). He also has 15 combined goals and assists so far this season, which is just two short of tying his career-high 17 (10 goals, 7 assists) set back in 2018.
• Last week’s win over Portland was also the second consecutive game in which Osorio, Lorenzo Insigne, and Federico Bernardeschi all got on the scoresheet for Toronto. The pair of Italy National Team forwards have now combined for five goals and three assists since making their debuts in a 4-0 win over Charlotte FC on July 23. Toronto has yet to lose a game when one of them scores or assists a goal.

Minnesota United FC (11-9-5) vs. Austin FC (14-5-6)

(8 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• Minnesota United FC and Austin FC meet for the fifth time with the two clubs splitting the previous four matches with two wins apiece. Austin FC won an earlier meeting this season on April 10, with Maxi Urruti scoring the game-winning goal in the 58th minute of a 1-0 victory.
• Minnesota’s 2-1 victory over Nashville SC last week, strengthened by goals from Franco Fragapane and Alan Benítez, was the club’s sixth win in its last nine matches. The Loons have scored at least twice in eight of those nine matches. 
• Minnesota United midfielder Emanuel Reynoso assisted on both goals against Nashville last week, the sixth time in his career he’s registered multiple assists in a match. Reynoso has at least one goal or an assist in seven of his last nine matches, totaling seven goals and five assists over the span. 
• Reynoso (nine goals, eight assists) is one of just four players in MLS this season with at least eight goals and eight assists, joining Columbus’ Lucas Zelarayán (eight goals, 10 assists), LAFC’s Carlos Vela (eight goals, nine assists) and Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar (14 goals, eight assists). 
• With their 4-3 comeback victory over Sporting Kansas City last week, secured by Sebastián Driussi's league-high 17th goal this season, Austin FC became the first team in MLS history to win two games (in regulation) in a single season in which they trailed by two or more goals in the 60th minute or later. It was also the third time that Austin won a match this season in which it trailed by two goals, and are the first team in MLS history to win three such matches in a single season.
• Driussi, who leads the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi race with 17 goals this season, has scored in four straight regular season matches, totaling six goals over the span. Driussi has contributed a goal and/or an assist in eight consecutive regular season matches, totaling eight goals and three assists over the span. 
• Austin midfielder Diego Fagúndez leads the club with 10 assists this season and is one of only seven players in MLS with double-digit assists in 2022 (and the only player in the Western Conference to accomplish the feat). 

Colorado Rapids (8-10-7) vs. Houston Dynamo FC (7-14-4)

(9 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• The Rapids and Dynamo meet for the 37th time in series history, with Colorado holding a 15-10-11 series advantage. The Rapids have won four of the past five meetings between the two clubs and are unbeaten in their past six against Houston. 
• On March 19, 2022, the two clubs played to a 1-1 draw, with Houston’s Tyler Pasher scoring an equalizer in the 90th minute to secure the tie. 
• The Rapids look to bounce back following a 2-1 loss to Vancouver earlier this week. The club had registered two wins and a draw in their three matches prior to the loss and are 3-2-3 across their past eight overall.
• Rapids forward Diego Rubio leads the club with 12 goals this season and has goals in three of his past four in MLS action. Rubio (12 goals, 32 key passes) is one of only three players in MLS with at least 10 goals and 30 key passes this season, joining FC Dallas’ Jesús Ferreira (15, 37) and Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar (14, 56).  
• For Colorado, Rubio and Michael Barrios have each scored six times against the Dynamo, and for both, it’s the most they have scored against any opponent in the regular season in their MLS careers.
• The Dynamo are looking to snap a four-game losing streak and will look to Sebastián Ferreira to help stop the skid. Ferreira, who scored in the club’s 3-2 loss last week, has scored in three of the club’s six wins this season. He leads the club with eight goals on the year and is tied with Darwin Quintero (seven goals, four assists) for the most goal contributions on the club. 

Real Salt Lake (10-8-7) vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (9-11-6)

(10 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• Meeting for the 29th time in series history, the Whitecaps enter Saturday’s matchup with a 13-11-4 series advantage over Real Salt Lake. Vancouver has won each of the last two meetings between the two clubs, including a 2-1 win on June 4; however, RSL took the two meetings prior to that, scoring seven goals in those two wins.
• None of the last 18 meetings between the two clubs has ended in a draw, with Vancouver winning 11 times and Real Salt Lake seven times over the span. 
• Real Salt Lake forward Sergio Córdova has scored in consecutive matches for the first time in his MLS career and has goals in three of his last five. 
• Since returning to Real Salt Lake on May 28, Jefferson Savarino has been a catalyst for the club’s offense, scoring five times and providing four assists in nine starts. Savarino recorded the assist on the game-winning goal for RSL against Seattle on Saturday.
• Whitecaps midfielder Ryan Gauld scored twice in the first half of the club’s 2-1 victory over Colorado on Wednesday night. Gauld is the first Whitecaps player to score two first-half goals since Alphonso Davies against Portland in October 2018. Gauld aims for his third in a row with a score and has a goal in each of his previous meetings with Real Salt Lake. 

San Jose Earthquakes (5-11-9) vs. LAFC (18-4-3)

(10 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• LAFC has won seven of 11 all-time meetings against San Jose, including both of the last two matches. LAFC won each of the first five meetings between the two clubs, a streak that San Jose followed with four consecutive victories.
• On May 28, 2022, San Jose received two goals from forward Jeremy Ebobisse, but a second-half score from LAFC’s Brian Rodriguez proved the difference-maker in LAFC’s 3-2 victory at Banc of California Stadium.
• LAFC has the opportunity to be the first club in MLS to clinch a position in the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs via a variety of scenarios (click here for all potential clinching scenarios). 
• LAFC leads the MLS Supporters’ Shield standings with 57 points (18-4-3) and are winners of seven straight matches, including a 1-0 victory over D.C. United on Tuesday evening courtesy of a Kwadwo Opoku score - his sixth of the season. The club is one of only six teams in MLS history to win at least seven straight games (excl. shootout wins). Only five of those clubs won eight or more consecutive matches, most recently the 2018-19 Seattle Sounders (eight matches, Sept. 29, 2018 - March 16, 2019).
• Cristian Arango, who scored in the club’s last meeting against San Jose, leads LAFC with 12 goals this season. Arango has scored in nine of the club’s last 12 matches, totaling 10 goals over the span in addition to three assists. The forward has three goals and an assist in four career meetings against the Earthquakes.
• San Jose’s Jeremy Ebobisse enters the match tied for fourth in the race for the Golden Boot presented by Audi with 14 goals this season. Ebobisse, who has scored in consecutive matches and three of his past four, has scored six goals against LAFC in his MLS career, including his brace earlier this season. Only Zlatan Ibrahimovic (nine goals, including playoffs) has scored more goals against LAFC. 

Sunday, August 2

Columbus Crew (8-6-10) vs. Atlanta United FC (7-10-8)

(5:30 p.m. ET, FS1 / FOX Deportes)

• Atlanta United will travel to Ohio for a weekend match against the Columbus Crew. These sides have met 11 times during the regular season since Atlanta’s inaugural 2017 season, and they have never drawn against one another. The Crew hold a slight lead in this series, though, going 6-5-0 against the Five Stripes over the last five-and-a-half seasons.
• These teams already met in 2022 back in May when two first half goals from the Crew were enough for them to snag three road points from Atlanta. Their win in Atlanta was the third consecutive game between these sides in which the away team won and the seventh time in this series overall.
• Juan “Cucho” Hernández and Lucas Zelarayán have hit their stride over the last seven games for the Columbus Crew, combining for 10 goals and six assists over that stretch. Zelarayán, who has eight goals and 10 assists in 2022, is now just one goal contribution away from tying his career-high 19 set during the 2021 regular season.
• Hernández, who scored his sixth goal of the season last time out, is enjoying the second-best goal scoring season of his professional career. The only time the Colombian forward has scored more than six goals in one season is when he scored 16 for S.D. Huesca in LaLiga 2 during the 2017-18 season.
• Andrew Gutman scored the 20,000th regular season goal in MLS history last time out with an equalizer against FC Cincinnati. With two goals on the season, Gutman has tied his MLS career-high of two goals set during the 2021 season and is two goal contributions away from tying his career-high for combined goals and assists also set during the 2021 season.

Chicago Fire FC (8-11-6) vs. New York City FC (12-7-6)

(6 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• Chicago Fire FC will look to get back on track against New York City FC after their five-game unbeaten run was snapped by the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. The two clubs met earlier this season with NYCFC winning 1-0 at home on May 22. Since entering the league in 2015, NYCFC have had Chicago’s number, either winning or tying 14 of the 17 all-time matchups in the series.
• The Fire’s recent run up the Eastern Conference standings has seen Xherdan Shaqiri flourish with the club’s attacking pieces in place. The Swiss international has one goal and four assists in his last four contests and is now at 11 on the season. Shaqiri’s 11 assists are tied for the third most in MLS, behind FC Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta (14) and New England’s Carles Gil (13).
• In net, Gabriel Slonina’s 10 clean sheets are tied with Philadelphia’s Andre Blake for the second-most in MLS, trailing only NYCFC’s Sean Johnson (12). Slonina, who was recently signed by Chelsea FC, has also been one of the best goalkeepers in dealing with crosses as he leads the league with 31 clearances.
• After going 19 games with only three defeats in the middle of the season, NYCFC have lost three in a row for the first time since March 7 – July 14, 2020. The club will rely on Maximiliano Moralez to turn their fortunes around, who has been stellar against Chicago throughout his career. Moralez has nine assists versus the Fire, which is the most among active MLS players and tied for third most in MLS history.
• In New York City’s 3-1 defeat to Charlotte FC on Wednesday, defender Maxime Chanot scored a terrific goal from outside of the box, which was his first in MLS since October 28, 2018. The Luxembourg international now has a goal contribution in consecutive games for the first time in his 138-game MLS career.

Charlotte FC (10-14-2) vs. Orlando City SC (9-10-6)

(7 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• Charlotte FC and Orlando City SC face off for the second time this season and the second time in the history of this series between the clubs. They met earlier in 2022 when a pair of first half goals helped Orlando ward off any second-half comeback from Charlotte.
• Facundo Torres recorded his second MLS goal for Orlando against Charlotte. The Uruguayan winger now has five goals and six assists through 24 regular season games played with two goals and four assists coming at home in 2022. The only first-year MLS players to produce more combined goals and assists than Torres’s 11 in 2022 so far are Chicago Fire FC’s Xherdan Shaqiri (4 goals, 11 assists) and D.C United’s Taxiarchis “Taxi” Fountas (11 goals, 3 assists).
• Charlotte have won eight of their 12 home games this season which is only behind Los Angeles FC’s 11 home wins for most this season. Against Eastern Conference opposition, Charlotte is 6-1-0 at home with their only loss to one of their conference rivals at home coming against CF Montréal.
• Orlando ranks fourth among Eastern Conference teams in away points and eighth overall across the league with 18 points from a 4-3-6 road record. Against their regional rivals in Miami, Atlanta, and Charlotte, Orlando is yet to lose a game this season (2-0-1).
• Brandt Bronico and Júnior Urso are the only two players to feature in every game for Charlotte and Orlando, respectively, this season. Bronico, who’s started 25 of his 26 appearances this season, has played 2,164 minutes this season, blowing his previous career high of 1,864 minutes during the 2019 season for the Chicago Fire out of the water. Urso is also having a career-year for Orlando, contributing three goals and five assists in his 25 appearances.

Sporting Kansas City (6-15-5) vs. Portland Timbers (7-7-12)

(7:30 p.m. ET, FS1 / FOX Deportes)

• The Portland Timbers head to Children’s Mercy Park where they aim to tie the all-time series with Sporting Kansas City, which sits at 7-6-6. Portland is unbeaten in their previous five matches against Sporting, including a dominant 7-2 win earlier this season on May 14. Kansas City last defeated Portland at home in a 3-0 shutout on August 18, 2018.
• Kansas City has struggled to score this season but have turned it around in the past two matches with seven goals combined. Sporting have only produced seven scores in a two-match span one other time in the past two seasons (September 29 – August 3, 2021).
• Two of SKC’s newest signings have been the primary contributors to the club’s scoring outbreak in the previous two matches. Midfielder Erik Thommy (one goal) and forward William Agada (three goals) have contributed to four of the seven scores. Each have played in their first four MLS games for the club after joining during the summer transfer window.
• Portland’s 10-game unbeaten run was snapped on Saturday at the hands of Toronto FC, who scored two late goals in a 3-1 victory. However, the Timbers’ attack has maintained its strong form after being shutout in three-consecutive matches from April 16-30. In Portland’s 16 games since those shutouts, they have scored 32 goals, which is tied for the second most in MLS. Of the 32 goals, there have been 11 different goal scorers for the Timbers, including three with at least five.
• One of those players with at least five goals since April 30 is midfielder Sebastián Blanco who added an assist on the Timbers’ lone goal scored against Toronto. The assist was Blanco’s 50th of his career, joining Diego Valeri as the only players in club history to hit that milestone. He is also the 15th active player with at least 50 assists.

Nashville SC (8-9-9) vs. FC Dallas (11-7-9)

(8:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• Nashville SC host FC Dallas for the first time at GEODIS Park in a series that is deadlocked at 2-2-1. The two clubs met earlier this season, in which Dallas pulled out a 2-0 victory after scoring both goals in the 85th minute or later. Dallas has won each of the last two contests between the teams.
• Dallas’ Alan Velasco played a crucial role in their 4-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes last Saturday. The Argentine assisted the first goal and scored the last one, marking his first career game with multiple goal contributions. When Velasco performs well, Dallas rides that momentum as the club is undefeated (5-0-4) in the nine games that he has a goal or an assist in.
• New midfield acquisition Sebastian Lletget has made an immediate impact for Dallas in his first three games with the club. Lletget has three assists in his last two matches with all of them coming at Toyota Stadium. Combined with his five from his time in New England earlier this season, Lletget’s eight assists are tied for a career high, which he set in 2016 with the LA Galaxy.
• The Earthquakes have relied on Jeremy Ebobisse to score the goals for the club as he has a career-high 14 in 2022. Ebobisse’s 14 goals are tied for the fourth most in the league and he looks to join current Quakes assistant coach Chris Wondolowski and Brian Ching as the only players in club history to win the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi.
• Since entering the starting lineup consistently on June 18, Benji Kikanovic has helped provide a creative spark, adding four goals and three assists in that span. When the 22-year-old has scored or assisted, the Earthquakes are 2-2-2 in those six matches.