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• 9️⃣ Match Day 9 Recap

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad Update

• ⚫️ What’s Next for LAFC?

• 💭 More MLS News

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Meme of the Week

Match Day 9 Recap

Sporting KC beat San Jose 5-3. Defense was optional in this one (goal highlights here), but that’s two wins in the three games interim manager Kerry Zavagnin has been in charge. KC is playing loose in the attack, but has let in 7 goals in their last two games. I still don’t expect them to contend for anything, but it looks like they’re embracing this new era head-on.

For the second consecutive week, the Seattle Sounders won and kept a clean sheet by beating Nashville 3-0. Pedro de la Vega was phenomenal, scoring his first open-play goal in league play. Jesus Ferreira also had his best game as a Sounder, assisting on the other two goals. If these two can ignite this attack, Seattle will quickly climb back up the West standings.

Charlotte FC continues its dominance at home with a 3-0 win over San Diego. They’ve only lost 9 of the 55 home games since entering the league. Patrick Agyemang did his usual thing, bullying centerbacks with his size and strength, earning San Diego’s Andres Reyes a red card in the 39th minute. Agyemang would then slot home the PK, and after that, San Diego didn’t have a chance.

Inter Miami beat the Crew 1-0 in the marquee game of the week. 60,614 showed up at the Cleveland Browns stadium to set a new Crew “home” attendance record. Benjamin Cremaschi was the difference with his diving header. The Crew had every opportunity to win the game late, with both Diego Rossi and Daniel Gazdag missing good chances. As Matt Doyle said, this was another “We missed Cucho” game for the crew.

Yanks Abroad

A bunch of action from our boys across the pond this week.

Damion Downs scored this stunner, just look at that touch and composure in front of goal. A lot of folks thought we might call him up last window, hopefully he gets the call-up he deserves with 10 goals in 20 games this season in the Bundesliga.

Cameron Carter Vickers was named to the Scottish Premier League Team of the Season for the fourth consecutive year. A move to a bigger club would hugely benefit him before the World Cup. Despite recent links with English side Everton, CCV is expected to stay at Celtic and is considered one of their top priorities to keep at the club.

Johnny Cardoso continues his great form for Real Betis with another goal. If this continues, he’ll be in contention to start in the midfield in the Gold Cup.

Tanner Tessman scored his first goal for Lyon from just inside the box.

Jordan Pekof scored a header for Reims after fellow American Mark McKenzie was red-carded for Toulouse earlier in the game. This is the first time two Americans(Tessman + Pefok) have scored on the same day in French Ligue 1.

Paxten Aaronson had a phenomenal game against Ajax, including a goal. His statline from the game: 1 goal, 3 passes into the final third, 3/3 (100%) tackles won, 7/10 (70%) duels won, and 3 fouls drawn. He also leads the entire Eredivisie in tackles with 104 this season. Hey Pochettino, you watching?

Chris Richards was sent off for this laughable second yellow card. That’s the softest call I’ve seen in a while. It’s gone under the radar just how good of a season Richards has had. His stats are among some of the best center-backs in the Premier League.

What’s Next for LAFC?

On Friday, LAFC announced Steve Cherundolo would step down as head coach following this season. Cherundolo said it was the best decision for him and his family to return to Germany, where he played for 16 years.

He’s 87W-43L-27D across all competitions as LA’s skipper. In 2022, his first season in charge, LAFC won both the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup. Since then, LAFC has gotten to the finals of the 2023 MLS Cup, Concacaf Champions Cup, the one-off Campeones Cup, and the 2024 Leagues Cup but lost all four of them. They won their 3rd major trophy with him in the 2024 US Open Cup. While his tenure should be considered a success, his failure to win more of these finals has been a blemish.

This will be one of the most coveted managerial positions in MLS history. And it will certainly be hard to upgrade over Cherundolo.

LAFC played to a 3-3 draw on the road against the Timbers on Saturday. Cherundolo was shown a red card after stepping out of his box and arguing with the ref about an uncalled penalty. I guess he’s going out with a bang. Olivier Giroud delivered his much overdue first MLS goal with a gorgeous free kick.

More MLS News

The San Jose Earthquakes had a busy week adding reinforcements. They acquired DeJuan Jones from the Columbus Crew for $425k in GAM plus a 2025 roster. Jones joins his former manager, with whom he won the 2021 Supporters Shield. They’ve also reunited midfielder Noel Buck with Arena. Buck struggled to find playing time in New England after Arena’s departure and was loaned to Southampton’s U-21 side, where he’s only played 22 minutes in 2025. The 20-year-old excelled under Arena and will look to restart his development in San Jose.

The Portland Timbers acquire attacker Omir Fernandez from the Colorado Rapids for $200k in GAM plus $50k in add-ons. Fernandez, who’s come off the bench in every game but only has 182 minutes this season, will find more playing time with Portland.

Diego Luna was given a questionable red card against Toronto on Saturday. RSL appealed the card, and after the league reviewed it, they rescinded it. Luna will be available against San Diego this weekend. RSL is also finalizing a deal for new DP forward Robert Bozenik. The Slovakian will join for $2M, but it’s reported there’s a bit of an issue over which currency the agreement is in. Either way, the player is already in Utah and is expected to join the team soon.

Goal of the Week

A bicycle kick to get DC United’s second win of the season.

Meme of the Week

Oh the Haslems

Quick Hits

• Cavan Sullivan among the 10 young players chosen by Messi to wear his Adidas F50s (Link)

• Antoine Griezmann set to stay at Atletico Madrid despite interest from LAFC (Link)

• FC Dallas begin demolitions on their new stadium (Link)

• Ex-FC Cincinnati striker Aaron Boupendza dies in China 😥 (Link)

• Construction underway for $175M soccer stadium in Grand Rapids, MI (Link)

As always, thanks for reading. Give us some feedback below, please and thank you.

Max & Mason

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