Need to Know: Round One Best-of-3 Series Game 2 Action

Home-field a Crucial Advantage in Round One Best-of-3 Series

In the Round One Best-of-3 Series, every club hosts at least one match at home and through the first game of each series, the team playing in front of their home fans took full advantage, winning six of eight matches. Since the new playoff format was introduced ahead of the 2023 postseason, the home team has won 20 of 27 matches (74.1 percent) of all Round One matches.

Now, as the series turns, the lower seeded clubs will have a chance to strike back in front of their supporters, including the clubs below.

• At Mercedes-Benz Stadium, No. 9 seed Atlanta United anticipates a raucous crowd of an anticipated 70,000 fans on Saturday as they aim to level the series against Supporters’ Shield winners Inter Miami CF (7 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
• Just up I-85, No. 5 seed Charlotte FC will host the first Audi MLS Cup Playoffs match in club history as they look to draw even against fourth-seeded Orlando City SC at Bank of America Stadium (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
• In the West, the No. 7 seed Colorado Rapids, one of only five teams in the conference to win at least 10 home matches this year, will look to rebound after a 5-0 loss at the No. 2 seed LA Galaxy – the most dominant home side in MLS this season (Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
• Real Salt Lake, the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference, fell to No. 6 Minnesota United FC in penalty kicks in Game 1 and will look to rebound at Allianz Field on Saturday night (9 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV / TSN / RDS), a site where they haven’t won since 2021.

The lone higher-seeded team to lose Game 1 in regulation was the defending MLS Cup presented by Audi champion Columbus Crew, who fell 1-0 to the No. 7 seed New York Red Bulls behind a sensational performance from goalkeeper Carlos Colonel (eight saves). However, the Crew, who lost their first home postseason match since 2015, were road warriors en route to their MLS Cup title in 2023, winning away from home in both the Conference Semifinals and Conference Final. They’ll look to recapture that magic to keep their back-to-back title hopes alive as they enter a hostile Red Bull Arena on Sunday (4:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

LA Galaxy Reset and Dominate in Decisive Game 1 Win

After sitting atop the Western Conference for much of the 2024 regular season, a stunning turn of events on Decision Day saw crosstown rival LAFC leap the LA Galaxy in the standings on the season’s final day. In the opening game of their Round One Best-of-3 Series, the Galaxy looked like a team out for immediate revenge as they let loose a cascade of goals in a 5-0 win over the Colorado Rapids. Now, the club will look to punch their ticket to the Conference Semifinals as they travel to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

A two-time MLS All-Star, Riqui Puig made the most of his Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs debut, scoring twice and adding an assist in the victory. Puig, who was among the best offensive performers in MLS this season, has the platform to elevate to superstar status in the league and is looking to further etch his name into Galaxy lore as an MLS Cup winner alongside club legends David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Cobi Jones, and Robbie Keane.

The Galaxy has both the most MLS Cup victories (five) and appearances (nine) but haven’t accomplished either since they last hoisted the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy in 2014. Puig, along with formidable offensive counterparts in Dejan Joveljić (two goals in Game 1), MLS Newcomer of the Year finalist Gabriel Pec, and Joseph Paintsil, is looking to add to both of those totals while writing his own chapter in the club’s storied history.

Bouanga Building Playoff Legend

Perhaps no player has had a better start to their Audi MLS Cup Playoffs career than LAFC’s Denis Bouanga, who scored in the club’s Game 1 victory against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Bouanga has eight goals in his first nine postseason games and is looking to make more history in Game 2 on Sunday night (8:45 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV / FS1), as only Carlos Ruiz (11) and Raúl Ruidíaz (nine) have scored at least nine times in their first 10 playoff appearances.

The Gabonese forward has proven that in knockout competitions, he is up for the task, whether it is in MLS or international tournaments. In MLS regular-season action, Bouanga has scored 0.58 times per game (41 goals in 70 games), but in knockout competitions for LAFC, he averages a remarkable 0.85 goals per game (28 goals in 33 games). His tendency to elevate when fighting for trophies is one of the key reasons LAFC has made six different finals since he joined the club.

With his clutch goal scoring in key moments, Bouanga and LAFC are a threat to make it to their third-straight MLS Cup presented by Audi as they look to wrap up their Best-of-3 Series this weekend.

Mykhi Joyner Emerging as a Young Star in MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs

The leading goal scorer in the MLS NEXT Pro playoffs is 18-year-old Mykhi Joyner for St Louis CITY2, who has three goals, including a brace in the Conference Semifinals last weekend. Joyner is coming off a season in which he hit the back of the net 16 times in the regular season, en route to earning MLS NEXT Pro Best XI honors and his first U.S. Youth National Team call-up with the U19s.

As a teenager, Joyner’s 19 goals in the regular season and postseason are an impressive feat in both North American and global soccer. According to FBref and across nearly 65 different leagues, the last 18-year-old to score at least 19 goals in a single season was Andreas Skov Olsen in 2018-19 . Adding one year to that, notable recent teenagers (19 year olds) to accomplish the feat in global soccer include Xavi Simons (2022-23), Erling Haaland (2019-20), and Kylian Mbappe (2018-19). For Joyner to be a part of this group after turning 18 in August is indicative of the homegrown’s immense talent and development in MLS NEXT Pro.

Joyner and St Louis CITY2 will look to punch their ticket to MLS NEXT Pro Cup by taking down top-seeded North Texas SC in the Western Conference Final on Saturday, November 2 on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV (8:30 p.m. ET). With a win, St Louis CITY2 would face the winner of the Eastern Conference Final between Columbus Crew 2 and Philadelphia Union II (6 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).