Voting Begins for the 2023 MLS Year-End Awards
Today officially marked the beginning of voting for the 2023 MLS Year-End Awards, a set of honors meant to celebrate the on-field accomplishments of the league’s best players, coaches, and referees, as well as the positive impact they have had on their communities.
A breakdown of the nomination and voting processes and awards can be found here.
A full list of nominees for each Year-End Award can be found here.
With FC Cincinnati claiming the first Year-End Award of 2023 in the Supporters’ Shield, the next award up for grabs is the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi, which is awarded to the player with the most goals during the 2023 regular season after Decision Day (Oct. 21).
Currently leading the pack is Los Angeles Football Club forward Dénis Bouanga, whose five goals across his last two games have rocketed him to the top of the standings with 19 goals. Close behind are FC Cincinnati’s Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta (16 goals) and reigning Golden Boot winner Hany Mukhtar (15 goals), who still has two games left to play in Nashville SC’s regular season. Three other players are tied with Mukhtar in third with 15 goals.
Voting for Year-End Awards will end on Monday, Oct. 23 at 5 p.m. ET and the finalists for each award will be announced on Thursday, Oct. 26. Winners will be announced throughout the month of November and into the week of MLS Cup presented by Audi.
Your Guide to the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs
After 37 MLS matchdays, it all comes down to Decision Day 2023 – the culminating day of the 2023 MLS regular season. Playoff positions, conference seeding, and homefield advantage in the Round One Best-of-3 series are on the line on Oct. 21, as 14 Eastern Conference clubs will kick off games at 6 p.m. ET and all Western Conference clubs will follow at 9 p.m. ET. All of the action will be available on MLS Season Pass.
The Eastern Conference has two spots up for grabs with five teams still alive in the race for an Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs berth while five teams also remain in contention for a playoff spot in the West.
For a full look at the conference tables through Saturday's action, click here.
The Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs will begin with Wild Card games on Wednesday, Oct. 25. Every moment will count as teams win and advance to a new Round One Best-of-3 series. In the home-away-home format, the Best-of-3 series promises fans the opportunity to see their teams play at home in an exciting home playoff atmosphere. With no ties, every Round One game will have a winner. The conference semifinals, conference finals, and MLS Cup presented by Audi include single-elimination games, hosted by the higher seed.
Watch here for more information on the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoff format.
Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs Schedule
After Decision Day on Oct. 21, the playoff schedule will go as follows:
Wild Card games: Oct. 25
Round One Best-of-3 series: Oct. 28-Nov. 12
Conference Semifinals and Conference Finals: Nov. 25-Dec. 3
MLS Cup presented by Audi: Dec. 9
Breakout Stars of the 2023 MLS Season Earn U.S. Men’s Olympic Team Call-ups
The U.S. Olympic Men’s Soccer Team returns to action this month ahead of the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, and the team’s 23-man roster features a host of young MLS talents who earned the call-up after respective break-out seasons in 2023 (full roster).
Orlando City SC forward Duncan McGuire is chief among them as the Creighton University alumnus has scored 11 goals in his first MLS season. McGuire was selected as the No. 6 overall pick in MLS SuperDraft 2023 presented by adidas and is just the fifth MLS draft pick to score double-digit goals in their first year out of college. The forward has now earned his first-ever call-up to a U.S. National Team ahead of the team’s historic return to the Olympics.
Additionally, FC Dallas forward Bernard Kamungo’s rise to prominence as a Tanzanian refugee into a budding MLS star continues to grow with his inclusion on the roster. Kamungo said the call-up is one of his “dreams come true ,” as he’ll have the opportunity to earn his spot on the final Olympic roster for next summer during the team’s upcoming matches against Mexico on Wednesday, Oct. 11 and Japan on Tuesday, Oct. 17.
On the roster are also four teenagers who have played over 1,000 minutes of MLS action this season, including Chicago Fire FC goalkeeper Chris Brady, who leads the quartet with 2,550 minutes played this season and has eight clean sheets in 29 starts. Atlanta United defender Caleb Wiley also earned a spot on the roster as the only teenager in MLS to record at least four goals and four assists so far this season. Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Obed Vargas and Inter Miami CF midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi round out the group.
Win-and-In: FC Dallas Can Punch Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs Ticket
With three MLS matches on Saturday, FC Dallas’ rescheduled home game against the Colorado Rapids (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass) carries the largest Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs implications. If Dallas were to defeat Colorado, they would reach the postseason for the second-straight year under head coach Nico Estévez.
Dallas’ return to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs would also be a historic moment for the club as they can become the third team in league history to make the postseason in 20 different seasons, joining the LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls. In 2023, the team has been led by forward Jesús Ferreira, who scored a third of the team’s goals (12 of 36) with seven of them coming at Toyota Stadium.
In the other two matches on Saturday, the New England Revolution look to keep pace in the race for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference when they travel to take on Nashville SC (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass). Additionally, Real Salt Lake eyes homefield advantage in the Round One Best-of-3 series as they face off against the LA Galaxy on the road (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
MLS NEXT Pro Conference Finals This Weekend
MLS NEXT Pro announced on Monday the schedule for its Conference Finals following another exciting round of the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs. Having successfully emerged from the Conference Semifinals over the weekend, No. 2 New England Revolution II will host No.3 Columbus Crew 2 in the Eastern Conference Finals and No. 1 Colorado Rapids 2 will host No. 4 Austin FC II in the Western Conference Finals.
The 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Conference Finals schedule is as follows, with both matches being broadcast on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV:
Eastern Conference
Saturday, October 14
New England Revolution II (No. 2) vs. Columbus Crew 2 (No. 3) – Gillette Stadium (5 p.m. ET)
Western Conference
Sunday, October 15
Colorado Rapids 2 (No. 1) vs. Austin FC II (No. 4) – DICK’S Sporting Goods Park (9:30 p.m. ET)
The winner of each match will move on to face each other in MLS NEXT Pro Cup. Complete coverage of the MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs is available at mlsnextpro.com.
By the Numbers – October International Window
Below is a selection of statistics on the Major League Soccer participation in the October international window, which will take place between October 9-17.
- 3: Three selections from the MLS SuperDraft 2023 presented by adidas were called into their respective national teams: Orlando City SC’s Duncan McGuire (United States U-23) and Abdi Salim (Somalia) and Colorado Rapids defender Moïse Bombito (Canada).
- 3: Three players were called into the defending World Cup champion Argentine national team for their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, including Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF), Thiago Almada (Atlanta United FC), and first-time senior call-up Facundo Farías (Inter Miami CF).
- 8: Two clubs – Inter Miami CF and Philadelphia Union – had eight players called into international duty for the October window, including three players receiving invitations to the United States U-23 team – Nathan Harriel and Jack McGlynn of Philadelphia and Benjamin Cremaschi of Inter Miami.
- 10: Ten members of the Canadian national team are current MLS players, the most of any senior squad during the October window.
- 28: Twenty-eight clubs had at least one player called up by their respective countries during the October international window.
- 32: Thirty-two different countries and territories are represented among the MLS players called in, including U-23 teams for the United States and Mexico, the U-21 team for Croatia, and the U-19 squad for England.
