Week 15 MLS Game Capsules

A Snapshot Look at Each of the Weekend's 14 Matchups

Saturday, June 18

Seattle Sounders FC (6-6-1) vs. LAFC (9-3-2)

(3 p.m. ET, ABC / ESPN Deportes)

• The Seattle Sounders and Los Angeles FC meet for the first time in 2022 at Lumen Field for the opening game of the weekend. These sides have played each other 10 times during the regular season with LAFC holding a 5-3-2 record over the reigning Concacaf Champions League winners, with the previous game ending in a 3-0 win for LAFC.
• LAFC leads MLS in goals scored with 29 through 14 games. Though Carlos Vela leads all individual LAFC players with six goals on the season, LAFC have had 13 different players contribute to their free-scoring offense this season – the single most different number of goal scorers in MLS this season for one club.
• Stefan Frei kept his second clean sheet of the season earlier this week in a 4-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps, bringing his career regular season total to 88 clean sheets. He has the most all-time clean sheets of any active goalkeeper in MLS and is third behind Kevin Hartman (112) and Nick Rimando (154) in all-time regular season clean sheets.
• The Sounders have come from behind to win in three games this season, which is tied for most in MLS this season, and they recorded two of those wins at home against Charlotte and Minnesota. LAFC, however, have been dominant regardless of when they score, winning all seven games they scored first in and recovering 11 points from losing positions in 2022.
• Ryan Hollingshead’s California homecoming has gone swimmingly during the 2022 season, and he scored his fourth goal of the season last time out against the San Jose Earthquakes. He leads all MLS defenders in goals scored this season and is just two away from equaling his career-high six goals during the 2019 season.

LA Galaxy (7-5-2) vs. Portland Timbers (3-6-6)

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

• The LA Galaxy and Portland Timbers meet for the 31st time in series history on Saturday with the Galaxy holding a slight 13-11-6 advantage. LA has won each of the last three matches and scored at least two goals in all of those. If the Galaxy were to win, they would win four games in a row against the Timbers for the first time in series history.
• The Timbers and Galaxy met earlier this season on April 3, when LA won 3-1 behind two goals from Javier “Chicharito” Hernández. Chicharito recorded his fifth career multi-goal game against Portland and is one multi-goal game away from tying two players for the sixth-most multi-goal games in Galaxy history.
• Galaxy forward Dejan Joveljić returns to action after being named MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire for his Week 14 performance. Joveljić became the first player to contribute four goals (two goals, two assists) as a substitute after entering the match against Austin FC in the 57th minute. The Serbian was the first Galaxy player with four goal contributions in a game since Zlatan Ibrahimović on July 29, 2018.
• Sacha Kljestan has appeared in 10 games for the Galaxy in 2022 as a substitute, recording a goal and assist in the last two matches. Kljestan is now two assists shy of reaching 100 career regular season MLS assists and he would become the eighth player in MLS history to hit that total.
• Of his 19 career assists, Portland’s Yimmi Chara has totaled eight of those against the LA Galaxy in as many games. Chara does not have more than two assists against any other club in his 66 career matches. The Colombian started and played all 90 minutes versus LA earlier this season.

New York Red Bulls (6-4-5) vs. Toronto FC (4-7-3)

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

• Toronto FC make the trip south of the border on Saturday for their second meeting of the season against the New York Red Bulls and 38th all-time in the regular season. The Red Bulls have an opportunity to claim their 20th regular season win over Toronto at home as they currently hold a 19-9-9 record over their Canadian opponents.
• The Red Bulls are undefeated in their last six games against Toronto, winning four and drawing the other two with the last result ending in a 4-1 away win. Alejandro Pozuelo and Jacob Shaffelburg are the only two current Toronto players who started in their last win over the Red Bulls, a 3-1 home victory in 2019.
• Sean Nealis has been an ever-present figure in the Red Bulls’ backline this season, playing the tied-third most minutes of any player in MLS this season. He is also the only MLS player to play every minute of every game across all competitions for his club, clocking 1,620 minutes played between the regular season and Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup action.
• After a difficult start to their home form, the Red Bulls won their first home game of the season last time out at Red Bull Arena in a 4-1 win over D.C. United. Brazilian midfielder Luquinhas scored twice in that game and improved the Red Bulls’ record when he provided a goal or assist to 6-1-1 on the season.
• Toronto have found success through their own talismanic playmaker, as the Reds are undefeated in the three games Alejandro Pozuelo has scored in this season. The Spanish midfielder’s game-winning goal against the Chicago Fire last time out was also the second game winner he has scored this season, with the first coming against the Philadelphia Union in April.

Columbus Crew (4-5-4) vs. Charlotte FC (6-8-1)

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

• The Columbus Crew and expansion side Charlotte FC meet for the first time in the history of the two clubs.
• The Columbus Crew are looking to win consecutive matches for the first time this season as they welcome Charlotte FC to Lower.com Field. In its last match on May 28 vs. Atlanta United, the Crew rode two first-half goals, including a first-minute score from defender Jonathan Mensah – to a 2-1 victory at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
• Crew midfielders Lucas Zelarayán (4 goals, 3 assists) and Derrick Etienne, Jr. (3 goals, 5 assists) will be looked to to jumpstart the Columbus offense.
• Charlotte FC is still looking for its first road victory in club history, yet despite its road woes, the club currently sits in playoff position in the Eastern Conference with 19 points. The club of the Carolinas was victorious over the New York Red Bulls, 2-0, last week in the first match coached by interim head coach Christian Lattanzio, and have won two of its past three matches.
• Charlotte midfielder Ben Bender, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas, scored the deciding goal last week and has three goals and three assists across 15 games in his debut season. Bender is one of only three No. 1 overall picks to record at least three goals and three assists in his first 15 career games, joining Danny Mwanga (7 goals, 3 assists in 2010) and Jack Harrison (3 goals, 3 assists in 2016).

CF Montréal (7-5-2) vs. Austin FC (7-4-3)

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

• CF Montréal hosts Austin FC in the first-ever matchup between the two teams. Austin has only traveled to play in Canada once in their history, falling to Vancouver 2-1 on September 4, 2021. Montréal also won their first-ever game against Charlotte FC earlier this season on May 14.
• The Canadian side is coming off a 4-3 victory over FC Cincinnati thanks to two goals from Romell Quioto. Quioto has scored at least five times in five of his six MLS seasons and is now three goals shy of his career high (eight in 2020 and 2021).
• Montréal’s 28 goals are the most in club history through the first 14 games of a season and four more than their previous high (24 in 2013). The 28 goals are tied with Austin for the second most in the league and one behind LAFC. Only NYCFC has scored at least four goals in three separate games in 2022.
• Austin looks to bounce back after suffering a 4-1 loss to the LA Galaxy on May 29 and will turn to Diego Fagúndez to spark the offense. Fagúndez scored his 10th career goal with Austin in the matchup with LA and is also tied for the league lead with seven assists this season. In 12 MLS seasons, Fagúndez has only reached 10 helpers in a season once (2018 with the Revolution) and needs three more to reach that number. The Uruguayan has scored six career goals and recorded six career assists against Montréal, both his most against a single opponent in his MLS career
• Sebastián Driussi’s hot start to the season sees him hold the second-most goal contributions in MLS (12), trailing only Dallas’ Jesús Ferreira. Driussi needs just one goal contribution to set the club’s franchise record, and his eight goals on the season are already the most by an Austin player in a single season.

Orlando City SC (6-5-4) vs. Houston Dynamo FC (5-6-3)

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

• Orlando City SC hosts Houston Dynamo FC in the sixth all-time meeting on Saturday with Houston leading the series 2-1-2. The teams last faced off on September 21, 2019, in which the Dynamo won 2-1 thanks to two second half goals in a four-minute span. Both matches played in Orlando have ended in scoreless draws.
• The Dynamo play their third-straight game on the road when they travel to Orlando after splitting the previous two (1W, 1L). Houston’s scoring has been hit or miss away from home, producing three goals in two games and zero goals in three other contests. Of the seven goals away from home, forward Sebastián Ferreira has scored or assisted on four of those. The Paraguayan is tied for the team lead in both goals (five) and assists (three).
• Of Orlando’s six wins this season, five of them have come when they held the opposing team scoreless, and those five shutouts in wins are tied for the second most behind NYCFC. Since April 9, Orlando’s consistent back line of Ruan, Rodrigo Schlegel, Robin Jansson and João Moutinho has played a big role in their strong defensive performances. Ruan has been productive in both defense and attack, logging two goals and two assists in 2022.
• The Lions have turned to midfielder Mauricio Pereyra for attacking creativity as his six assists rank in the top-five of MLS. Earlier this season, Pereyra passed Chris Mueller (23) and Nani (23) for the most assists in Orlando history. With four more assists, he would become the only player in Orlando history to produce consecutive seasons with at least 10 helpers.

Philadelphia Union (6-1-7) vs. FC Cincinnati (6-7-1)

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

• The Philadelphia Union host FC Cincinnati this weekend in the seventh regular season meeting between these teams and in search of another win to add onto their 5-0-1 record over Cincinnati. Over the last three seasons, Cincinnati have only taken one point in six tries against the Union and look for their first-ever win against their Eastern Conference foe.
• Luciano Acosta contributed a goal and three assists over his last three games for FC Cincinnati before the June international break. He leads the club in assists with six and is four key passes short of tying Carles Gil for the most by any MLS player in 2022. Acosta is also one assist short of tying four players on seven for the most assists in MLS.
• Acosta has had at least one goal or assist in his last seven MLS appearances, which is the longest run of the 2022 season so far. Since the 2020 season, only Johnny Russell’s 10-game stretch (September-November 2021) with a goal or assist was longer than Acosta’s current run of form.
• The Union are one of three MLS teams, and the only Eastern Conference team, yet to lose a home game in 2022. Cincinnati, however, has taken the third-most road points this season with 13 in eight away games. Nashville (14) and the New York Red Bulls (16) are the only teams with more road points in 2022.
• Andre Blake currently sits tied for second for the most clean sheets this season with six, and his goalkeeping heroics have been key to the Union conceding tied for the fewest goals in MLS this season. Philadelphia is also holding opponents to both the lowest shooting accuracy (28.3%) and conversion rate (5.4%) in the league.

Chicago Fire FC (2-7-5) vs. D.C. United (4-7-2)

(8 p.m. ET, Univision / TUDN / Twitter - English audio)

• This is the 66th all-time regular season meeting and the second of the 2022 season between the Chicago Fire and D.C. United. The Fire came out on top when they last met at Audi Field by a 2-0 score line, but D.C. have a slight historical advantage over their opponents with a 25-19-22 record since they first met in 1998.
• With the additions of Chris Mueller and Jairo Torres, the Chicago Fire’s attack was humming in their 3-2 loss against Toronto FC. Despite the loss, the Fire’s 33 shots in that game were the most by a team in a single MLS game since the New England Revolution recorded 33 shots against the Columbus Crew on September 19, 2021.
• Kacper Przybylko has developed a knack for scoring against D.C. United during his tenure in MLS. Since arriving to MLS in 2018, Przybylko has scored six goals against D.C. which is tied for the most against a single team (Orlando City SC) by the Polish striker.
• D.C. United seemed to have unearthed a goal-scoring gem in Taxi Fountas this year with the Greek forward scoring five of D.C. United’s 15 MLS goals this season. He ranks first among MLS players in goals per 90 minutes at 0.96, while his teammate Ola Kamara sits second across the league with 0.89 goals per 90 minutes.
• Xherdan Shaqiri recorded his fifth and sixth assists of the season in the Fire’s last game, putting him tied for fifth among all MLS players and just one off tying the four assist leaders at seven. Shaqiri is also one of four players – Carles Gil, Luciano Acosta, and Julian Gressel – to record at least five assists and 30 key passes this season.

FC Dallas (7-3-4) vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC (5-8-2)

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

• After suffering a 2-1 defeat in Vancouver on May 18, FC Dallas will look to avenge their loss to the Whitecaps in the 26th all-time meeting. The Whitecaps have won each of the last two matchups against Dallas and aim to win three straight games versus the Texas side for the first time in their club history.
• Dallas has won three of their last five matches with help from Paul Arriola, who has scored in all five of those games. It is the first time in his career that he has posted a goal in five-straight and looks to become the first FC Dallas player to score in six-consecutive contests since Jeff Cunningham from September 5, 2009 - October 7, 2009. Arriola’s seven goals on the season are tied for a career-high, which he set with D.C. United in 2018.
• Fresh off scoring four goals for the U.S. Men’s National Team against Grenada on June 10, Jesús Ferreira needs one goal to reach 10 in the regular season for the first time in his career. Ferreira had his best goal contribution season in 2021 with 17 goals and assists and he now is just four shy of tying that total. The forward assisted Arriola’s goal in the first meeting against the Whitecaps earlier this season.
• Vancouver suffered a 4-0 defeat to Seattle on Tuesday but will attempt to bounce back with international players returning like Javain Brown (Jamaica) and Lucas Cavallini (Canada). Cavallini returns from national team duty to a streak of three-straight games in MLS play with a goal. He has never scored in four-consecutive games and would become the third player in Whitecaps history to do so, joining Erik Hurtado (May 10 - June 7, 2014) and Camilo Sanvezzo (June 8 - July 3, 2013).

Real Salt Lake (7-4-4) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (3-6-6)

(9:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• After a scoreless draw in Nashville, the San Jose Earthquakes go on the road for their third-straight game against Real Salt Lake. The Earthquakes are 14-12-11 all-time versus Salt Lake and won each of the two matchups at Rio Tinto Stadium in 2021; 4-3 on October 30 and 2-1 on May 7. San Jose will look to win three-straight matches in Utah for the first time in club history.
• RSL is one of three clubs in MLS to hold an undefeated record (5-0-1) at home in 2022, having sold out all six games at Rio Tinto Stadium. Salt Lake have only conceded four goals at home this season, which is tied for the second fewest in MLS. In the last match at home, RSL shut out the Houston Dynamo 3-0, with goals from Bobby Wood, Sergio Córdova and Justen Glad.
• In Salt Lake’s last match against the Vancouver Whitecaps, Justin Meram scored his 50th career MLS goal and seventh for the club. Meram is now just two assists shy of totaling at least 50 goals and 50 assists in his MLS career and he would become the 24th player in MLS history to do so.
• San Jose will hope that MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi leader Jeremy Ebobisse can continue to score goals in bunches on Saturday. Ebobisse has scored nine goals this season and produced multi-goal games in four separate matches. The forward needs two multi-goal games to tie Chris Wondolowski (six in 2012) for the most multi-goal games in a single season by an Earthquake.
• Providing the assists for the Earthquakes has been Cristian Espinoza, who is tied for the league lead with seven. Espinoza has 37 assists since entering MLS in 2019, which is tied for the second most behind only New England’s Carles Gil (41). With one assist, he would become the first Earthquake in club history to post at least eight assists in four-consecutive seasons.

Sunday, June 19

Atlanta United FC (4-5-4) vs. Inter Miami CF (5-6-3)

(3 p.m. ET, ESPN2 / ESPN Deportes)

• Inter Miami CF travel across the state border to face Atlanta United FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Miami won the first game between the two sides this year on April 24, thanks to a goal and an assist from Leonardo Campana. The Herons lead the series 3-2-3, which includes one win in Atlanta on September 19, 2020.
• Miami comes into the matchup unbeaten in their last four games (2W, 2D), which is their longest unbeaten run since August 21 – September 14, 2021. The club has only allowed three goals during the stretch, including shutouts against the Philadelphia Union (May 18) and New York Red Bulls (May 22).
• The strong Miami defense has been led by goalkeeper Drake Callender who has started each of the last five matches in net. Among qualifying goalkeepers, Callender’s 80.0 save percentage is second in the league behind only Philadelphia’s Andre Blake. Since returning to the starting lineup on May 7, he leads the league in saves (25) and is third in save percentage (85.71).
• Atlanta forward Dom Dwyer has proven a successful substitute in 2022 after scoring in each of the last two minutes off the bench. Dwyer’s stoppage time bicycle kick goal against Columbus in their last match was the 84th of his career, which is the fifth-most among active players.
• Josef Martínez returned to action after suffering an injury on April 2 when he was substituted on at halftime and played 45 minutes versus the Crew. The Venezuelan is on the hunt for 100 career MLS regular season goals as he currently sits nine shy (91) of that total. If Martínez reaches 100 goals this season, he would become the fastest player in league history to do so and the 12th overall.

New England Revolution (5-5-5) vs. Minnesota United FC (5-6-3)

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

• The New England Revolution host Minnesota United FC at Gillette Stadium for the fourth game in series history. New England has won each of the two meetings against Minnesota at home by a combined 7-3 margin. The last meeting between the teams was a 2-1 victory by the Revolution on March 30, 2019.
• The Revolution are coming off a 1-1 draw with Orlando City SC on Wednesday, in which Carles Gil scored his fourth goal of the season. Gil now has 11 goal contributions this season (four goals, seven assists) and has recorded at least one in six of the last eight matches. Since entering MLS in 2019, the Spaniard leads all players with 41 assists during that span.
• With the departure of Adam Buksa, New England’s Gustavo Bou has stepped into the starting lineup and made an immediate impact. Bou has a goal contribution in each of his last three starts (two goals, one assist) with a helper coming on Gil’s goal versus Orlando. Bou averages 0.53 goals per 90 minutes, which ranks third in franchise history, behind Taylor Twellman (0.60) and Buksa (0.59).
• Minnesota travels on the road again after previously winning in Dallas on May 22 by a score of 2-1. The Loons will look to win consecutive games on the road for the first time since they won three in a row from March 1 to July 12, 2020.
• After playing in four games and logging 266 minutes for Finland during the international window, Minnesota’s Robin Lod returns to MLS play where he has scored in five of his last seven matches. Lod leads the team with six goals this season and is three shy of tying his career high of nine, which he set in 2021.

NYCFC (8-3-2) vs. Colorado Rapids (5-6-3)

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

• New York City FC and the Colorado Rapids meet for the sixth time in series history, with NYCFC holding an unbeaten 3-0-2 mark against their Western Conference foe. NYCFC has won both of the past two meetings vs. the Rapids and have scored 12 goals in their last four matches against Colorado.
• NYCFC enters Sunday’s match on a historic shutout streak, having held six consecutive opponents without a score dating back to May 1. NYCFC is one of just four teams in MLS history to record six consecutive clean sheets and the first since the 2009-10 LA Galaxy.
• NYCFC’s Santiago Rodríguez has played a key role in leading the defending MLS Cup champions NYCFC on an eight-game unbeaten run and back into the driver’s seat atop the Eastern Conference standings (26 points, 8-3-2). Rodríguez is tied for the MLS lead with seven assists this season.
• The defending champs lead MLS with a plus-15 goal differential and are tied with Philadelphia Union for the fewest goals allowed this season (10), a figure aided by six consecutive shutouts. Goalkeeper Sean Johnson paces the league with eight clean sheets, two more than the next closest contender.
• The Rapids will hit the road for the first time in a month as they look to bounce back from a May 28th 3-1 loss to Nashville SC, which snapped the Rapids’ club-best 23-match home unbeaten streak.
• Colorado is led offensively by forward Diego Rubio, who has a team-high seven goals this season, and midfielder Jack Price, who has a club-best 27 key passes this season, nearly double his next closest teammate.

Nashville SC (6-4-5) vs. Sporting Kansas City (3-9-4)

(6 p.m. ET, FS1 / FOX Deportes)

• This is the second meeting of 2022 and third all-time between Nashville and Sporting Kansas City, with Nashville earning a 2-1 win in Kansas City back in April. Kansas City won the first meeting between these sides in 2020 and will look to take the series lead after Sunday’s game.
• After a scoreless draw with the San Jose Earthquakes last weekend, Nashville improved their undefeated run at home to 22 MLS regular season games without a defeat. With another win or draw against Kansas City this weekend, Nashville would tie for the fourth-longest home unbeaten run alongside the LA Galaxy (April 12, 2104 - May 27, 2015) and the Colorado Rapids (May 8, 2021 - May 22, 2022). Coincidentally, Nashville ended Colorado’s unbeaten run when they won 3-1 on May 28 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
• Hany Mukhtar (6) and CJ Sapong (5) have combined for 11 of Nashville’s 18 goals this season, with six of those 11 goals coming at GEODIS Park. However, both players have only contributed a combined one goal and one assist against Kansas City during their MLS careers.
• Johnny Russell scored Kansas City’s lone goal against New England last weekend from a direct free kick, which was his fifth direct free-kick goal since the 2019 season. Russell has the second-most direct free kick goals over that period among active MLS players, trailing only the Columbus Crew’s Lucas Zelarayán with seven.