Charlotte stay alive, LA advance
Charlotte FC will get one more shot at Orlando City after winning Game 2 in penalties. Game 3 is set for Nov. 9. Meanwhile, the Galaxy moved on to the Western Conference Semifinal with relative ease in a 4-1 win over Colorado. They’ll face the winner of Real Salt Lake-Minnesota United.
Three Game 2s tonight
A whole lot of teams could be going home today. New York City FC need a win when they host FC Cincinnati at Citi Field at 5 pm ET (MLS Season Pass). Then Atlanta United will welcome 70,000 people as they try to stay alive against Inter Miami at 7 pm ET (MLS Season Pass). And the night will end with Minnesota looking to finish off Real Salt Lake at 9 pm ET (MLS Season Pass).
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Charlotte are alive. The Rapids… not so much. Let’s talk it out.
Before this one, we talked about how Charlotte would approach this one in attack without Pep Biel in the lineup. Ultimately, they opted to give Patrick Agyemang the start at striker and place Kerwin Vargas in Biel’s spot out wide. It didn’t really matter much.
In the end, all that mattered was Charlotte are still one of the best defensive teams in the league and Kristijan Kahlina got plenty of votes for Goalkeeper of the Year.
Kahlina didn’t have a ton to do during the game. Charlotte limited Orlando to 0.3 xG on three shots. But when The Crown couldn’t find a breakthrough, Kahlina stepped up and saved the first Orlando penalty to set the tone for a miserable shootout for the Lions. Charlotte are still alive and now get a shot at a win-or-go-home game in Orlando next Saturday. In the meantime, Orlando have some things to figure out in attack.
For a moment it looked like the Rapids might be ready to get back in this series. They recovered nicely considering how the game started.
Gabriel Pec “scored” the opener when Zack Steffen blasted the ball off Pec and into the net from an angle you’ll have to see to truly understand. But then Rapids midfielder Oliver Larraz scored a stunner from outside the box a few moments later to tie things up and give Colorado some life.
It lasted about 30 minutes. Joseph Paintsil responded with a stunner of his own just before halftime, and that was that. Riqui Puig delivered a couple of killing blows to make the final aggregate in this two-game stretch 9-1 in favor of LA.
The Galaxy should take plenty of confidence into the Western Conference Semifinals. The problem (?) is they’ll also be extremely well-rested. Maybe too well-rested. They now have 22 days before their next game. That’s the kind of wait that’s slowed down great teams before.
Three teams could be going home tonight. It will take a couple of upsets, though.
Hey, remind me what happened in Game 1?
FC Cincinnati put up 3.9 xG to NYCFC’s 0.4. It somehow only ended 1-0 in favor of Cincinnati. Don’t be fooled. Cincy thumped them.
Is there a chance for Game 3?
I know it may not seem like it after those xG numbers from Game 1, but NYCFC are a different team at home. Like, even more than your average MLS side. Only Inter Miami won more games at home this year in the Eastern Conference, and only two teams in the East won fewer road games. Odds are this looks like a much different NYCFC side.
Then again, Cincy looked like a team on a mission last week. If you’re asking me to pick against Luciano Acosta in this kind of scenario, I’m not going to do it.
Hey, remind me what happened in Game 1?
In the same way Cincinnati and NYCFC’s scoreline didn’t tell the full story, the 2-1 final in these teams’ first meeting is a bit misleading. Inter Miami piled up 3.4 xG worth of chances while Atlanta United only created 0.8. It could have been so, so much worse. In the weirdest possible way, both teams could have finally reversed the xG overperformance (Miami) and underperformance (Atlanta) that has defined their seasons.
Is there a chance for Game 3?
You probably can’t take too much from Game 1. Yes, Inter Miami are the better team, but Atlanta were playing their third must-win road game in six days. No one is going to look competitive with that kind of run. The fact they even kept it close is a major moral victory.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll get an actual victory tonight, but Atlanta just got a full week of rest and they’re expecting 70,000-plus tonight at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. That might be enough to make this interesting.
Then again, there’s a decent chance Atlanta are missing two starters on the backline tonight. Brooks Lennon is definitely out, and Stian Gregersen might be. That’s not ideal for dealing with Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez.
Hey, remind me what happened in Game 1?
No one could find a breakthrough moment and the Loons won on penalties.
Is there a chance for Game 3?
Definitely. I think it’s fair to say these two are evenly matched and this could swing either way at a moment’s notice. But the narrative isn’t changing right now for RSL. Someone has to step up in attack because it’s apparently not going to be Chicho Arango. His last goal came on July 6. He’s scored one goal since June 15. Someone, whether it’s Diego Luna, Diogo Gonçalves or [insert random player scoring off a set piece here] will have to find the back of the net. If not, the Loons are going to pull off the (not all that surprising) upset.
- Riqui Puig went supernova.
- Kristijan Kahlina kept Charlotte FC's playoff dream alive.
- The Red Bulls are looking to finish off Columbus in a bid for the upset of the season.
Good luck out there. Don’t let the party end early.
