Sensational Cincinnati Chasing Home Record Glory
With the Supporters’ Shield secured, FC Cincinnati will turn its attention toward yet another milestone as they look to tie the 2018 New York Red Bulls for the most points won in a single season at home.
Ironically, Cincinnati will have the opportunity to do so on Wednesday, October 4 (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass) when they host the Red Bulls for Matchday 36. The Orange and Blue have dropped points at home just twice this season, putting together a 13-1-1 regular season home record at TQL Stadium in 2023.
In addition to posting the best home record in MLS so far this season, Cincinnati is one of two teams (Nashville SC) yet to concede at least 10 goals at home this season, with eight of their 11 clean sheets coming at TQL Stadium. They will look to make it nine from 12 and come within a point of setting a new regular season record this Wednesday against a Red Bulls side that is fighting for their postseason lives.
The most home points in a single season in MLS history:
Lucho Eyes Rare 15-15 Milestone in Quest for MLS MVP
While helping FC Cincinnati secure their first trophy in club history – the MLS Supporters’ Shield – midfielder Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta has been building a strong case for the 2023 Landon Donovan MLS MVP award. The crafty midfielder sits tied atop the race for the Golden Boot presented by Audi with 15 goals this season and has been just as dynamic in providing support to his teammates, adding 13 assists in 2023.
With two assists across the club’s final three games of the season, Acosta would join an elite group of well-rounded superstars who have recorded at least 15 goals and 15 assists in a single season in MLS history. Only four different players have accomplished the feat, with LAFC’s Carlos Vela (34 goals, 15 assists) the last to do so during his 2019 MVP campaign. In the five seasons in which a player accomplished this feat, three took home the league’s most valuable player honors – Vela in 2019, Sebastian Giovinco (22 goals, 16 assists) in 2015, and Jason Kreis (18 goals, 15 assists) in 1999. Giovinco holds the distinction of the only MLS player to accomplish the feat in multiple seasons, doing so in both 2015 and 2016.
Acosta will look to join this legion of legends and further build his case for MVP on Wednesday night as the club welcomes the New York Red Bulls to TQL Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
The players with at least 15 goals and 15 assists in a single season in MLS history:
Inter Miami and LA Galaxy Getting Goals from Everywhere
Over the weekend, Inter Miami CF and the LA Galaxy earned crucial goals from unlikely sources in their push for the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. Defenders Tomás Avilés (one, Inter Miami) and Eriq Zavaleta (two, LA Galaxy) each scored their first goals of the season to help earn draws for both sides. In 2023, Miami and the Galaxy have each had 18 different players score a goal, tying the MLS single-season record held by six different teams.
On Matchday 36, the two sides can make history by becoming the first club in MLS history to have 19 players score at least once in a season. For Miami, who travel to face Chicago Fire FC (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass), multiple big names could get on the scoresheet for the first time – Sergio Busquets, Kamal Miller, and Jean Mota. On the west coast, the Galaxy head to Seattle (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass), where new starters Edwin Cerillo and Mauricio Cuevas could become the 19th different player to hit the back of the net in 2023.
The most individual goal scorers on one team in a single season in MLS history:
White Continues Climb Up Whitecaps Leaderboard
With goals in four of his past five matches – including a score in three straight games – Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Brian White has emerged as a dark horse candidate for the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi. The sixth-year striker has been a revelation for a Whitecaps team looking to secure a berth in the postseason, as he sits just one goal off the Golden Boot lead with a career-best 14 goals this season.
White has the chance to climb up the club record books with his next score, as he can eclipse Kei Kamara (14 goals in 2018) for the second-most goals in a single season in club history. Only Camilo Sanvezzo, who scored 22 goals in 2013 en route to winning the Golden Boot, has scored more than White and Kamara in team annals.
With a playoff berth on the line, White will look to continue his run of strong play on Wednesday night as the Whitecaps welcome Western Conference top seed St. Louis CITY SC to BC Place (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
The most goals in a single season in Vancouver Whitecaps FC history:
