Below is a selection of the notable performances and moments from the 10 matches played on the 25th matchday of the 2023 MLS season, Wednesday, July 12.
Cincinnati Continues to Come Through in the Clutch
Powered by an 80th-minute penalty-kick goal by MLS All-Star captain Luciano Acosta and a game-winning 93rd-minute score by Obinna Nwobodo, FC Cincinnati erased a late-game deficit to defeat the New York Red Bulls, 2-1, at Red Bull Arena. FC Cincinnati (48 points, 14-2-6) remains atop the Supporters’ Shield standings, holding an eight-point advantage over the next-closest team (New England, 40 points).
Success in Cincinnati has been created in the clutch, as the club continues to win close games. FC Cincinnati is just the third team in MLS history (excluding the shootout era) to win 11 of their first 22 matches of a season by a one-goal margin.
Gil Guides New England to Gillette Success
The New England Revolution continued their charge up the standings on Matchday 25, as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead within the first nine minutes of their 2-1 victory over Atlanta United at Gillette Stadium. The club’s second goal, a ninth-minute strike from Giacomo Vrioni, was assisted by MLS All-Star Carles Gil and marked a significant milestone for the former Landon Donovan MLS MVP.
With the helper, Gil reached 10 assists in the 2023 season, marking his third consecutive season and fourth overall in MLS play with at least 10 helpers. The 30-year-old Spaniard has 58 career assists in his five MLS seasons and became just the third active player to register double-digit assists in four individual seasons, joining Nicolás Lodeiro (five) and Luciano Acosta (four).
New England’s victory extended their home unbeaten streak at Gillette Stadium to 12 matches, tying for the second-longest home unbeaten streak in club history (12 matches, 2004-05).
Chicho Providing Early Returns for Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake made their presence felt early during the Secondary Transfer Window, bringing in club-record-signing Cristian ‘Chicho’ Arango to infuse their attack. Through two matches, Chicho has done just that, as the 28-year-old forward scored in his debut performance for RSL and provided an assist in his first minute of play on Wednesday night after entering the game at halftime in the club’s 2-2 draw against Sporting Kansas City.
With his assist, Arango joined current Salt Lake teammate Rubio Rubin as the only players in club history to score or assist in each of their first two games with the club. Chicho will look to tie Rubin’s club record of three consecutive games to start their Real Salt Lake career as the club hosts the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night (9:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass) prior to the MLS regular-season hiatus.
Dániel Gazdag Continues Perfection From the Penalty Spot
In a wild 2-0 victory over Nashville SC, the Philadelphia Union’s star midfielder Dániel Gazdag stepped up once again to help collect all three points. Gazdag scored both goals in the match from the penalty spot, improving his conversion rate to 16-of-16 in his MLS career. His penalty kick conversion streak is now the second-longest in MLS history by a player since the start of his MLS career, behind only Nicolás Lodeiro (18 straight).
The Hungarian now has eight penalty kick goals this season, becoming just the fifth player in MLS history to accomplish this feat, and the first since Ola Kamara in 2021 (nine). Overall, Gazdag is one penalty kick shy of tying the MLS single-season record of nine, which is held by three different players.
Quick Starter: Pedro Vite Does It Again
When starting MLS matches, perhaps no one is more dangerous than Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Pedro Vite. The 21-year-old Ecuadorian quickly opened the scoring for the Whitecaps tonight after just 29 seconds, latching onto a Brian White pass and nutmegging the Austin FC goalkeeper with the finish (Watch Here).
Vite’s goal was his second of the season within the first 30 seconds of a match, joining Yordy Reyna (2022) as the only players in MLS history to accomplish this feat. The Ecuadorian international previously scored just 15 seconds into their match against the Houston Dynamo on May 31, which was the sixth-fastest goal in MLS since 2000 at the time.
