Top Things to Watch in MLS this Week
Stalwarts and Upstart Newcomers Comprise Conference Semifinals of Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs
Welcome No. 1 Seeds
After a sensational start to the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs, the Conference Semifinals are set in both the East and the West, as the No. 1 seeds in each conference – Philadelphia Union and the Los Angeles Football Club – enter the postseason with strong backing at home.
Will Debutants Continue to Dance?
Austin FC and FC Cincinnati emerged victorious in their debut playoff matches to advance out of Round One, and the clubs look to continue making noise in their first-ever Conference Semifinals appearances.
Home-field Advantage
Homefield advantage continues to be critical in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, as five of the six teams to host a playoff game in Round One advanced to the Conference Semifinals. In the straight single-elimination bracket format that has existed since 2019, 31 of 47 (66 percent) postseason matches have been won by the home team, and over the last two seasons, the home team has won in Round One on 10 of 12 occasions (83.3 percent). Three of the winners from Round One – FC Dallas, the LA Galaxy, and New York City FC – will hit the road this week for the first time this postseason.
Previous MLS Cup Champions Still in the Running
Two of the teams dancing into the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs Conference Semifinals have previously won MLS Cup. The LA Galaxy have won an MLS-best five MLS Cup titles, most recently in 2014, and New York City FC are the reigning MLS Cup champions. For the rest, club history is in the crosshairs as they look to become the 15th different team in MLS history to hoist the MLS Cup. Three clubs still in the hunt for the title have appeared in at least one MLS Cup – the Galaxy (nine appearances), FC Dallas (one), and New York City FC (one).
Postseason regulars LA Galaxy and FC Dallas will be making their 19th and 16th appearances, respectively, in the Conference Semifinals. The trio of Austin FC, FC Cincinnati, and Inter Miami will each be making their debuts in the Conference Semifinals.
The battle to reach the final four of the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs will be fierce and the only thing that can be expected is the unexpected. Each of the remaining eight teams are looking to write another chapter in their histories and will look to take the next step towards glory this week.
El Tráfico Returns to the Postseason for First Time Since Historic 2019 Conference Semifinal
Bragging rights in the city of Los Angeles are on the line for the final and most heightened El Tráfico match of 2022, as LAFC host cross-town rivals the LA Galaxy on Thursday evening in the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs Western Conference Semifinals (10 p.m. ET, FS1 / FOX Deportes).
The last time these two teams met in the playoffs, fans witnessed an eight-goal thriller, the highest scoring game in MLS postseason history, when LAFC pulled out a remarkable 5-3 victory on October 24, 2019, also in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The star power in the 2019 matchup was on display early as LAFC’s Carlos Vela scored twice in the first 41 minutes, only for then-LA Galaxy striker Zlatan Ibrahimović to produce a goal and assist for to tie it up with a half hour left. In front of the 3252, LAFC’s three-goal second half sealed the victory in 2019 and the club will look to their incredible supporters group in 2022 to help knock out their rivals again.
Three years later, the Galaxy’s new dynamic tandem of Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández and Riqui Puig will take on Vela, Gareth Bale, and Kellyn Acosta, with the Supporters’ Shield winners preparing for homefield fireworks at Banc of California Stadium.
Cincy’s Pat Noonan Returns for Another Philly Upset
FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan is looking to write another chapter in the No. 5 seed’s Cinderella story this season, as he prepares to face his former club, the No. 1 seeded Philadelphia Union and his head coaching mentor Jim Curtin, in the Eastern Conference Semifinals this Thursday (8 p.m. ET, FS1 / FOX Deportes).
In their two previous meeting this season, these sides played to a 1-1 draw at Subaru Park on June 18 before Cincinnati snapped the Union’s five-game winning streak with a 3-1 victory at TQL Stadium on Aug. 6. Cincinnati forward Brandon Vázquez, who scored the game-winner against the New York Red Bulls in Round One, scored goals in both regular season meetings against the Union this season. While Curtin has yet to beat his former assistant coach this season, he has a secret weapon in Paxten Aaronson, who has scored a goal in all three of his appearances against Cincinnati, waiting in the wings.
Will it be another feather in the cap of Noonan’s hat over his former boss, or will the third time be the charm for Curtin and the Union to get a win over Cincinnati?
NYCFC’s Title Defense Continues in Montréal
With a 3-0 win over Inter Miami CF on Monday night, the reigning MLS Cup champions New York City FC are one step closer in their quest to become New York’s first back-to-back champion in one of the five major North American men’s sports leagues since the New York Yankees accomplished the feat in three consecutive years from 1998-2000
The reigning MLS Cup champions were lifted to victory by a pair of assists from 22-year-old Santiago Rodríguez, with the first creating 21-year-old Gabriel Pereira’s game-winning goal. Pereira’s goal was his third in three games for NYCFC and the fifth consecutive match with a goal or assist for the Brazilian midfielder. With the win, NYCFC sealed a date with CF Montréal in the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, ESPN / ESPN3).
With a win and a draw over Montréal during the regular season, NYCFC and their sharp-shooting South American duo will be confident about getting the job done on the road and moving one step closer to ending New York’s 22-year hunt for a back-to-back champion.
Montréal’s Young Midfielder Proving Clutch in the Postseason
There’s a 20-year-old owning the CF Montréal midfield, and his breakout 2022 campaign has now extended into the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Ismaël Koné – who scored two goals and dished out five assists in the regular season – scored his first career postseason goal on a 68th-minute game-winner during Montreal’s 2-0 win over Orlando City SC on Sunday.
As Montréal now advances to the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Koné will have sights set on postseason performances that will help play his way onto the Canadian National Team roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar this November. Earlier this year, he earned his first two caps and played in a role in Canada qualifying for the world’s biggest sporting event for the first time since 1986.
Montréal next faces reigning MLS Cup champions New York City FC at Stade Saputo on Sunday, Oct. 23 (1 p.m. ET, ESPN / ESPN3).
Lone Star Showdown Awaits as Austin FC Host FC Dallas in Western Conference Semifinal
There’s a battle for Lone Star State in the Western Conference Semifinal match between Austin FC and FC Dallas, as the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs present an all-Texas affair for the first time since 2007. The two clubs will meet at Austin’s Q2 Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 23 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN / ESPN Deportes) for a berth in the Western Conference Final. Both teams advanced to the Conference Semifinals following Round One penalty kick shootouts.
Both 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP finalist Sebastián Driussi (Austin) and 2022 MLS Young Player of the Year Jesús Ferreira Dallas) notched assists when the two clubs played to a 1-1 draw in their last meeting on July 16.
With two of the league’s most prolific scorers in 2022 on the hunt for goals in this first-ever postseason meeting between the two rivals, can Driussi build upon his two-goal game in the Round One and push Austin into the Western Conference Final, or will Ferreira and Dallas spoil the fun and extend their unbeaten streak against their in-state rivals to five wins in five meetings?
