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Week after week, Major League Soccer delivers. With six games on the abbreviated schedule, here’s what you need to know about all the excitement on Saturday’s schedule.
What happened
September 7, 2024; Vancouver, BC, CAN; FC Dallas midfielder Asier Illarramendi (14) and Vancouver Whitecaps FC midfielder Sebastian Berhalter (16) battle for the ball in the second half at BC Place. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-Imagn Images
Two major shocks occurred in the Eastern and Western conferences, respectively, as giants Columbus and LAFC both stumbled.
Crew’s 10-man squad was beaten 4-0 by Seattle Sounders, with Sean Zawadzki forced to score following a straight red card from goalkeeper Abraham Romero.
Meanwhile, an undermanned LAFC side failed to close in on rivals LA Galaxy at the top after a 0-0 draw with the Houston Dynamo.
Christian Benteke became the league’s top scorer after helping DC United to a 2-1 win over Chicago Fire. In the other three games, all teams shared the points.
New England and St. Louis finished 2-2 after a back-and-forth affair, Julian Hall rallied late to help New York Red Bulls draw 1-1 with Sporting KC and the late show saw the Whitecaps finish 0-0 against FC Dallas.
Then, after the final whistle, Revolution boss Caleb Porter and Crew manager Wilfried Nancy gave their thoughts on Saturday’s results.
That’s not all, but I went ahead and transcribed part of Wilfried Nancy’s scorching press conference. He didn’t answer questions, he just got up and climbed onto one of the hottest radiators I’ve ever heard. pic.twitter.com/WYSDW1yUUy
— Ari Liljenwall (@AriLiljenwall) September 8, 2024
We’ll see what happens after the shock explosions!
The statistics of the night
Hall was Mr. Clutch for NYRB even though he was underage. What were you doing at 16?
Player of the evening
An easy choice, that honor goes to Albert Rusnák of the Seattle Sounders. After the team put an outfield player in the net, the midfielder recorded his first hat-trick.
He is the third MLS star to finally achieve such a feat after playing 200 or more games, joining Kei Kamara (279) and Mike Magee (226).
What this means
August 24, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; St. Louis CITY SC defender Henry Kessler (5) looks on during the first half against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports
In the Eastern Conference, the Crew missed an opportunity to put pressure on second-place FC Cincinnati. Inter Miami maintains a 10-point lead over Nancy’s men.
Meanwhile, fourth-place NYRB is in the middle of the playoff pack and ninth-place DC United is closing in on the top half. The 12th-place Revolution can still consider themselves in the running for a playoff spot, trailing by just five points and two games in hand.
Chicago Fire currently sits second from bottom, ahead of Nashville.
In the Western Conference, LAFC is four points behind the Galaxy, but has two games in hand. The fifth-place Sounders earned three big points in their loss to Crew and are closing in on a playoff spot.
Just behind Seattle are Vancouver (sixth) and Houston (seventh), both still in the playoff race but not quite safe yet, while FC Dallas (10th) is on the outside looking in.
Further down the standings are Sporting Kansas City and second-last St. Louis, who appear eight points out of a playoff spot.
And then?
The MLS action continues with a staggering 13 matches scheduled for September 14th. We will once again have all the action for you. Stay tuned!
Article photo credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images
