Hey friends,

Hope your week is going well. Here’s what we’ve got kicking around today…

• 7️⃣ MLS Match Day 7 Recap

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad

• 👶 Kids Taking MLS by Storm

• 🔢 MLS Stats to Know

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Tweet of the Week

MLS Match Day 7 Recap

The Vancouver Whitecaps continue to be one of the most impressive teams in MLS. They beat NYCFC 2-0 for their 6th win of the season to take the lead for the Supporters Shield. It’s their best start in club history. They lead MLS in expected goal differential and are doing that with several key players out injured.

The Colorado Rapids dismantled Houston 6-2 (goal highlights here). Rafa Navarro had a brace and an assist. The Rapids are playing a very entertaining brand of soccer. It’s physical (they’re tied for second in fouls committed), yet pragmatic in possession (they’re 10th in possession at 53%). And they can score. Their 19 goals are tied for first in the league with Vancouver and are the most by a first-year head coach through seven games in league history. Matt Wells has done an incredible job so far. They are absolutely a threat in the West.

Minnesota United beat San Diego FC 2-1 on the road. That’s 7 points for the Loons in their last three games, two of which were road games in California. It’s the fourth straight game San Diego has gotten a red card, and the sixth in 11 games this season in all comps.

The kids continue to cook for the NY RedBulls. They went into Miami and secured an important road point with a 2-2 draw against Messi and co. Julian Hall (18) assisted Jorge Ruvalcaba and then assisted Adri Mehmeti (17) for his first MLS goal. More on these kids below. Now, for Inter Miami, in a shocking move, Javier Mascherano has resigned as head coach. Just 15 months after taking charge, he’s out. Another leadership change coming in the Messi era. At least German Berterame finally got on the score sheet.

The Portland Timbers handed LAFC their first loss of the season on Kevin Kelsey’s first goal of the season in the final seconds of stoppage time. It’s a massive win for Portland, who had gone 5 straight winless, albeit it was a heavily rotated LAFC team without Son Heung-min and Hugo Lloris. They ended the Black & Gold’s 571-minute streak without conceding a goal, the fourth longest in MLS history. LAFC’s bright spot on the day was 17-year-old Jude Terry introducing himself to the world with an absolute beauty of a goal in his first MLS start.

Yanks Abroad

Folarin Balogun is in the form of his life, scoring 9 goals in his last 9 games for Monaco, including 7 straight Ligue 1 games after scoring again in their 4-1 loss to Paris FC.

Mark McKenzie had a rough go this weekend with a 48th-minute red card that contributed to a goal in Toulouse’s 4-0 loss against Lille.

Alex Zendejas ended his 6-game goal contribution drought with a dime of an assist in Club America’s 1-1 draw against Cruz Azul. He now has 14 goal contributions on the season.

Tyler Adams returned from injury, playing the final 25 minutes in a massive 2-1 win against Arsenal. It shows how much trust his manager has in him to toss him in after returning from an injury, up 1 goal with 20 minutes left. He won two duels and one tackle in his short time on the pitch.

Brendan Aaronson grabbed an assist against Manchester United in Leeds 2-1 upset win. It’s Leeds first win at Old Trafford in 45 years.

Ricardo Pepi scored his 11th league goal of the Eredivisie season in PSV’s 2-0 win over Sparta Rotterdam.

Kids Taking MLS by Storm

One of the biggest storylines to start this MLS season is the emergence of young players making a huge impact across the league. MLS has never been known as the best at developing young talent but we’re seeing new kids blossom every week this year and it’s a joy to watch.

Julian Hall has 7 goal contributions in 7 games this season and Adri Mehmeti looks like a young Sergio Busquets, dare I say. Matthew Dos Santos is getting plenty of minutes, too. They’re not just contributors, they’re key cogs in Michael Bradley’s squad.

It’s not just the RedBulls getting big minutes from the youth. 18 players aged 18 or younger on opening day have started at least one game this season. 59 players who were still teenagers on opening day have featured in MLS games this season.

Niko Tsakiris (20) has turned into San Jose’s full-blown number 10. Zavier Gozo (19) is probably the most impressive teenager in MLS right now. Luca Bombino (19) scored a sick volley to open the scoring against Minnesota this weekend. Manu Duah (20) is already one of the most composed center-backs in MLS. And you saw what Jude Terry (17) did in his first MLS start. These are all home grown kids who came up through MLS academies or the collegiate system. It’s happening folks. MLS is finally developing more youth talent.

What’s particularly exciting is that all but one of these players (Duah) are American and will be representing the USMNT soon enough.

The league is in good hands.

MLS Stats to Know

Here’s some fun ones for ya.

0 - The number of goal contributions DC United’s club record signing, Louis Munteanu, has through 7 games. He still hasn’t started a game and has only played 120 minutes. And boy, do they need him. They only have 6 goals this year.

.45 - Inter Miami’s expected goal difference this season, 15th in MLS. Their actual goal difference is +1, which aligns with the underlying numbers. Interim coach, Guillermo Hoyas has his work cut out for him.

1 - Cavan Sullivan is 1st in MLS in big chances created per 90 minutes (minimum 100 minutes played). It’s a small sample size as he’s only played 104 minutes, but it’s a clear sign they need to give him more playing time.

2 - The number of pieces Columbus Crew fans’ hearts are in after seeing their star striker go down with a season-ending non-contact ACL injury. He was just starting to find his form, too. A devastating blow for the Crew. 💔 

10 - CF Montreal are the first team in MLS history to fire a coach within the first 10 matches of two consecutive seasons. They relieved Marco Donadel of his duties after just 3 points from 7 matches.

23 - Austin FC sit 23rd in MLS in expected goals per game, behind Atlanta and Montreal. They’re also 24th in open play expected goals. They’ve struggled to create quality changes and only have one win on the year to show for it.

112 - The number of goals Orlando City is on pace to concede, which would shatter the previous record of 78 held by the San Jose Earthquakes in 2024. The Houston Dynamo are also on pace to concede 111. Ugly, ugly, ugly.

Goal of the Week

From wayyyy downtown.

Tweet of the Week

Is this World Cup going to be one big money grab? Because it sure seems like it. Sigh. I guess we can’t be that surprised.

Quick Hits

• FC Cincinnati engages in talks with Neymar (Link)

• US Soccer Sporting Director leaving his role before the World Cup for a similar role with Saudi Arabia (Link)

Give us some feedback below. Thank you!

Max & Mason