Hey friends,

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

• Conference Semi’s Recap

• Designated Player Changes

• Lucho Acosta Wins MVP

• MLS Best XI

Conference Semi’s Recap

Western Conference Semi’s

LAFC (1) vs (0) Seattle Sounders - MVP runner up Denis Bouanga officially ended the Nico Lodeiro Sounders era on Sunday night. LAFC withstood several waves of attack from Seattle but held strong. Bouanga scored his typical counterattacking goal cutting in from the left wing to bring his season tally to 37 in all comps, one below Carlos Vela’s single-season record.

Houston Dynamo (1) vs (0) Sporting Kansas City - Houston dominated possession and capitalized off a Hector Herrera corner kick for the deciding goal. A controversial VAR no-call that looked like it hit Dynamo defender Sviachenko directly in the arm was deemed okay. Dynamo fans don’t care though, on to Conference Finals.

Eastern Conference Semi’s

Columbus Crew (2) vs (0) Orlando City - Orlando went down to 10-men after Schlegel’s second yellow in the 77th minute. After forcing overtime they weren’t able to overcome the extra pressure and 3 minutes after coming on in the 90th minute, Christian Ramirez scored. Cucho added a second to finalize it but Patrick Schulte, the 22 year-old keeper, was the Crew’s MOTM.

FC Cincinnati (1) vs (0) Philadelphia Union - Another controversial VAR call stands. In the 4th minute of stoppage time, Yerson Mosquera put home a shot off the head of what looked like an offside Ian Murphy. Overall, Cincy was the better team and exposed a Kai Wagner-less Union squad.

Designated Player(DP)…AKA Superstars

There is big uproar coming from MLS team owners regarding the potential and likely DP rule changes. But what is the DP rule anyways?

The Designated Player rule allows MLS teams to sign up to 3 players who will not count against the teams salary cap. The rule was introduced when David Beckham signed for the LA Galaxy. It was implemented to enable teams to pursue better quality talent and compete against bigger European clubs for signatures.

There is a big push to change this from 3 Designated Players per team to 4, and it’s likely to change in early December. Owners from smaller market teams are understandably not for it, while big market teams like Miami are pushing for it for obvious reasons. The current salary cap is just above $5 million, leaving teams with little room to sign top overseas talent.

3 Reasons to Increase to 4 Designated Players

• Higher quality end product

• More star power on the pitch

• Boosts league marketability and revenue

If you’re hoping the MLS continues to grow, adding a 4th DP spot seems like a good idea. The only reason some fans seem against it is that small market teams have difficulty attracting a player for the DP spot. There is definitely more upside in big market teams, but overall a 4th DP spot should further the development of the league.

Here’s a full list of the current Designated Players.

Lucho Acosta Wins MVP

On Monday the MLS announced that the 29-year-old attacking midfielder won MLS MVP. The Argentine deserved it. He scored 17 goals and 14 assists leading all MLS players with with 31 goal contributions. Not only that but he was the best player on the best team in the league. A team that won the Supporters Shield and is hosting the Eastern Conference Finals on Saturday. Besides winning goal of the year with this solo stunner, Lucho was also in the 99th percentile among MLS attacking midfielders in shot-creating actions, 96th in expected assists, and 91st in non-penalty expected goals and assists. He was dominant.

And for DC United Fans… I’m sorry. The club let him go in 2019, only to trade his rights to FC Cincinnati in 2021 for $250k in allocation money.

The voting wasn’t very close either with Lucho taking an overwhelming 60% of the total votes.

MLS Best XI…Largely Uncontroversial

Overall, this is the Best XI most people predicted. Walker Zimmerman is the one exception, having missed 10 games this season.

What is controversial is the makeup of the XI. 3 forwards, 3 central midfielders, and 3 center backs. Where are all the wide players? Not a single fullback or winger was chosen.

One last thing to point out here. Not a single attacking player chosen was American, yet all 3 defenders chosen are. Might this speak to player development in the US? As a country, are we not developing the technical skills needed to be a top attacking MLS player?

Goal of the Week

Bouanga with anothaaaa

Tweet of the Week

Hard agree. This looks like 2007 MLS. It’s 2023, we’ve got to do better.

Quick Hits

• Chicago Fire acquire Tom Barlow from the NY RedBulls (Link)

• MLS could be the first major soccer league to introduce sin bins (Link)

• Ricardo Pepi scores a stoppage time winner in the Champions League (Link)

• MLS Defender of the Year Matt Miazga suspended for 3 games, will miss the Conference Final and MLS Final if Cincy advances (Link)