Top Things to Watch in MLS this Week
MLS’ Youngest Team is Eyeing the League’s Biggest Prize
It’s a big deal in the Big Apple for the New York Red Bulls, who with an average player age of 23.122 years old, are one of the youngest rosters to enter the MLS postseason in league history. Formerly defined by the likes of Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez, who both joined MLS in their 30s, it’s more than 10 years later, and the Red Bulls are trending 10 years younger. With an average player age exactly three full years below the current league average (26.063), this crop of bright young stars could be on a path to win it all.
The New York Red Bulls are the youngest club team in the world as compared to big five soccer leagues, ahead of La Liga’s Valencia CF (avg. age 23.99) in Spain, the Bundesliga’s VfB Stuttgart (24.22) in Germany, and the English Premier League’s Southampton FC (24.40), and Arsenal FC (24.43) according to CIES Football Observatory. In addition, the Red Bulls are younger than last year’s Memphis Grizzlies, which at 24.3 average years old, were the youngest NBA Playoffs team since 2010-11.
The Red Bulls youthful approach is more than one-size-fits-all, tapping into a variety of mechanisms, including: three international signings in Cristian Cásseres Jr. (age 22), Dru Yearwood (age 22), and Cam Harper (age 20), a pair of incoming trades in Andres Reyes (age 23) and Frankie Amaya (age 22), and a crop of eight Homegrown players that features 20-year-old defender John Tolkin, who has started all 31 of his appearances and added a goal and three assists this season. As these young stars are cutting their teeth for club and country, the fountain of MLS youth will be challenging for a championship.
The No. 4 seeded New York Red Bulls host the No. 5 seeded FC Cincinnati in Round One of the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs on Saturday, Oct. 15 at Red Bull Arena (12 p.m. ET, UniMás / TUDN / MLSsoccer.com / MLS App).
*Averages include only players on current active rosters. Average age is expressed as years.days as of October 10, 2022. Information provided by Elias Sports Bureau.
Luciano Acosta Takes QB Leadership Page from Joe Burrow’s Book
After watching NFL quarterback Joe Burrow bring the Cincinnati Bengals to their first Super Bowl appearance since 1988, MLS midfielder Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta is channeling that same leadership energy for FC Cincinnati’s first-ever Audi MLS Cup Playoffs run, and he’s taking notes from Burrow’s book.
Their similarities as young leaders are genuine, and their respective Year 2 club turnarounds have been game changing. Each player’s second season in Cincinnati resulted in massive performance leaps that included eight more wins and 29 more points for FC Cincinnati (4-22-8 record to 12-9-13) and six more victories for the Bengals (4-11-1 record to 10-7), as well as a coveted spot in each league’s postseason after both teams missed the playoffs in at least the last three consecutive seasons due to losing records, and in some cases, last place finishes.
Just as Burrow passed for 21 more touchdowns in his second season than his first, Acosta went from seven goals and 10 assists in 2021 to putting up 10 goals and a league-leading 19 assists for 29 goal contributions this campaign.
As Acosta admires Burrow’s Super Bowl-winning ways, he too will be orchestrating his club’s offense, creating potential scoring situations, and aiming to lead his teammates to a championship.
The No. 5 seeded FC Cincinnati will travel to No. 4 seeded New York Red Bulls in Round One of the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs on Saturday, Oct. 15 at Red Bull Arena (12 p.m. ET, UniMás / TUDN / MLSsoccer.com / MLS App).
Cincinnati Cinderella Story Continues in Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs
In their first year with the club this season, general manager Chris Albright and head coach Pat Noonan have flipped FC Cincinnati from a three-time wooden spoon winner to a top-three scoring side that’s preparing for its first-ever Audi MLS Cup Playoffs appearance.
A two-time MLS Cup-winning forward himself (Columbus Crew, 2008 and LA Galaxy, 2012), Noonan has coached this season’s FC Cincinnati attack to career-best seasons. Forwards Brandon Vázquez (18 goals, 8 assists) and Brenner (18 goals, 6 assists), and midfielder Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta (10 goals, 19 assists) combined for 46 goals during the 2022 campaign, which surpassed the club’s overall team goal totals from each of the three previous seasons (37 goals, 2021; 12 goals, 2022; 31 goals, 2019).
Albright, a three-time MLS Cup winning defender to his own credit, strengthened Cincinnati’s backline with the introduction of United States Men’s National Team defender Matt Miazga and Newcomer of the Year nominee Obinna Nwobodo, who have helped improve the club’s goals against average from 2.179 to 1.3 goals per game.
During their four seasons together with the Philadelphia Union, Albright and Noonan helped lead the Philadelphia Union to its first-ever playoff win over the New York Red Bulls. Now, they’ll have the opportunity to do the same for Cincinnati against the Red Bulls this Saturday (12 p.m. ET, UniMas / TUDN / MLSsoccer.com / MLS App).
Austin FC Targets First Pro Sports Championship in City History
Alright, alright, alright! In a college town, where American football is traditionally king, Matthew McConaughey’s Major League Soccer team, Austin FC, is chasing MLS Cup in just its second season, which could mark the first professional sports championship in the City of Austin’s182-year history.
Second-year Austin FC, the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference, is in the midst of a monumental sophomore season that has been nothing short of historic. They are surging through one of the most dramatic improvements from Year 1 to Year 2 in MLS history, earning seven more wins (nine in 2021, 16 in 2022) and tying the greatest points increase from an inaugural season to second season in league history - recording a record 25 more total points in the standings (56 points) than they achieved last year (31 points). The club also registered 30 more goals from Year 1 to Year 2, thanks to 22 finishes from star forward Sebastián Driussi, who tied for second in the Golden Boot presented by Audi standings.
Now interwoven into the fabric of the city, the ‘Verde y Black’ are reaching all sides of the community, as Austin FC reigns among the fiercest home stadium environments in the entire league, with firmly-rooted traditions and unwavering supporters groups.
The No. 2 seeded Austin FC begin their Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs run against No. 7 seed Real Salt Lake this Sunday, Oct. 15 on ABC and ESPN Deportes at 3 p.m. ET.
Montréal’s Nancy Chases Historic Postseason After Record-Breaking Regular Season
As one of three Black head coaches in MLS, Wilfried Nancy continues to trailblaze the coaching pathway. After rising through the ranks from youth level to the MLS first team, his journey has lifted CF Montréal to their best regular season of all-time, and it’s not over yet.
Nancy began as a CF Montréal academy coach in 2011 before later serving under Thierry Henry as an MLS assistant. Following Henry’s departure, Nancy assumed the head coaching position in March 2021, and now after only two seasons in charge, his leadership has produced Montréal’s highest Eastern Conference finish in club history in addition to club records for both points (65) and goals scored (63), as well as the league record for most away wins (11) in a single season.
In leading MLS All-Star defender Kamal Miller and defender Alistair Johnston among the club’s five World-Cup bound Canadians, Nancy has made a direct impact on the Canada National Team, which qualified for the Word Cup for the first time in 26 years.
Sunday’s Round One match of the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs against Orlando City (8 p.m., ET, ESPN / ESPN Deportes) will be the first playoff match of Nancy’s career as a head coach, and it marks the first step to him becoming the first Black coach to reach an MLS Cup.
Chicharito To Make MLS Postseason Debut on Saturday
In the opening Western Conference match of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, LA Galaxy superstar Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernández will make his first-ever MLS postseason appearance after declaring in February that making the playoffs was a clear and present goal for his club.
In those preseason remarks, Hernández said: “The main objective here is getting the sixth [title]. We want to be champions. I want to be a champion. And then, of course, we need to win as many games as we can, getting as many points as we can. If I need to score as many goals as I can, help my teammates with assists, goals, good performances, whatever. We all as an organization need to do to get to the playoffs and then try to gain the sixth championship.”
Hernández is the all-time leading scorer for the Mexican National Team, and his MLS postseason debut will come against MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi winner Hany Mukhtar and a dynamic Nashville SC squad at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday, Oct. 15 (3 p.m. ET, Univision / TUDN / TSN / TVA Sports / local English-language broadcast / MLSSoccer.com / MLS App).
The Galaxy will look for Chicharito to extend his fantastic run of form as the club returns to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2019. Chicharito has scored 11 goals since the start of August, tied for the most in the league over the span, and was a key figure in the club’s push to the postseason, scoring four goals in the Galaxy’s final four matches of the season in which they secured 10 points and clinched a berth in the playoffs.
As LA begins their push to secure their MLS-best sixth MLS Cup title, a win could line up a postseason edition of El Tráfico against crosstown rivals, the Western Conference top seed, and Supporters’ Shield winner Los Angeles Football Club. For Nashville SC, they will look to Mukhtar to continue his sensational run of form to extend their postseason stay.
Columbus Crew 2 Win First MLS NEXT Pro Cup
Columbus Crew 2 topped off their remarkable season by winning the first-ever MLS NEXT Pro Cup on Saturday, October 8. The hometown crowd cheered Crew 2 on to a 4-1 win over St Louis CITY2 at Lower.com Field.
The victory came behind goals by Isaiah Parente (45’ PK), Marco Micaletto (45’+3’), Jacen Russell-Rowe (58’ PK), and Ryan Telfer (83’). Micaletto, the team’s captain, was named Cup MVP at the conclusion of the match. WATCH HIGHLIGHTS
Columbus finished the regular season with the best record in the League (55 points, 16-3-5) and the number one seed in the Eastern Conference. Crew 2 was rewarded for their successful first season with a multitude of individual awards, including League MVP.
Russell-Rowe Crowned First-Ever MLS NEXT Pro MVP
One day before leading his team to the first-ever MLS NEXT Pro Cup championship, Columbus Crew 2 forward Jacen Russell-Rowe added another individual award to his name.
Having already won Golden Boot and been named to the League’s Best XI in 2022, Russell-Rowe was crowned the first-ever MLS NEXT Pro MVP presented by adidas last Friday. Russell-Rowe led the League with 21 goals in the regular season and led his team to the best record in MLS NEXT Pro, playing a key role in Crew 2 eventually winning it all in their inaugural season.
