Morning everyone,

Welcome to the 89 new readers joining us this week. We’ve got a ton to unpack for you. Let’s get right to it.

• ⏯️ Match Day 35 & 36 Recap

• 🇺🇸 Poch’s First Camp

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad Update

• 🎠 MLS Coaching Carousel

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Tweet of the Week

Match Day 35 & 36

Two playoff spots remain up for grabs in the East. Plus more jockeying for home playoff spots on Decision Day.

Orlando City proved they are for real. Another late-season run has put them in the elite tier in the Eastern Conference. They beat FC Cincinnati 3-1 to get their 6th win in their last 7 games and their first signature win of the year. With 58 goals this season they beat their previous club record of 55 in 2016/23.

Meanwhile, FC Cincinnati have just 2 wins in their last 11. Not exactly the form you want heading into the playoffs.

Charlotte have won 3 out of their last 4 and have allowed the third fewest goals (37) all year. Patrick Agyemang secured three points on Saturday night over Montreal with his 9th goal of the season. The 2023 SuperDraft pick is one of the league’s bright young stars. Regardless of how they do in the playoffs, this first season under Dean Smith was a success.

It’s been a wild season in Seattle. After a horrid start, the Sounders have looked like one of the league’s best in the second half. They’ve won 11 out of their last 14 and have clinched a home playoff spot. A win on Decision Day would get them to 59 points for the 5th time in club history. Albert Rusnak scored his 10th goal of the season to be the 12th player in MLS this season to eclipse 10g/10a.

Inter Miami keep figuring out ways to win. They were outshot 15-4 and had just .3 xG to Toronto’s 1.5. But again… it didn’t matter. A Leo Campana volley in stoppage time sealed the three points. It’s games like this why they are 29.10 points above their expected points this season, 14 more than the next highest club (LA Galaxy). If they beat the Revolution in their final game they’ll break the Revolution’s all-time points record of 73.

Poch’s First Camp

Mauricio Pochettino’s first roster for this October international window is out. There aren’t too many surprises. Zack Steffen might be the biggest one. He hasn’t exactly been stellar this year for the Rapids aside for the Leagues Cup run. Steffen ranks last in MLS in Post Shot Expected Goals minus Goals Allowed with -9. Poch recently mentioned that he would strongly favor a GK getting club minutes over one that isn’t…cough cough, Matt Turner. Schulte would be my guess as to who gets the nod to start.

Other notable injuries include Gio Reyna, Tim Weah, and Jonny Cardoso forcing these guys out of the October camp. They’ve been replaced by Tanner Tessmann, Brandon Vazquez, and Alex Zendejas.

So far reviews from Poch’s first camp are exactly what we expected — an uptick in intensity. Here’s what Tim Ream had to say:

We take on Panama on Saturday at 6 pm PST in Austin, Texas. Then we face Mexico on Tuesday at 7:30 pm PST in Guadalajara.

Yanks Abroad Update

Folarin Balogun dislocated his shoulder over the weekend and will miss his first USMNT camp with Poch. It’s unfortunate timing as he notched his third goal in as many games for Monaco.

Josh Sargent scored again! With Balogun out Sargent has a big chance to show out in the October camp. He has 7 goal contributions in his last 9 league games. An EFL pundit even tweeted that our American might be the top striker in the league this season.

Paxton Aaronson scored for the second game in a row. He’s appeared in all 7 games helping FC Utrecht to the second place spot in the Eredivisie.

Christian Pulisic keeps making headlines for all the right reasons. This weekend he scored his best goal of the season with a flying volley.

Pulisic is 10/10 on penalty kicks for club and country and is the designated PK taker for Milan but somehow both of Milan’s two PKs over the weekend were taken and missed by other players. Milan’s Coach Fonseca after the game: “The penalty taker is Pulisic, I don't know why the players changed their minds. I spoke to him and said it must never happen again".  

MLS Coaching Carousel

Six MLS coaches have been fired this season. And the carnage is likely not done.

Josh Wolff is the latest to be relieved of his duties. He led Austin FC since their 2021 expansion season and had a 45W-60L-30D total record. He took them to their only playoff appearance in 2022 but Austin were the only Western Conference team to fail to make the playoffs in either 2023 or 24.

Fans have begged for his dismissal for months and now former players are liking the club’s Instagram post announcing the move. Change was needed and change is coming. In his press conference, sporting director Rodolfo Borrell claimed “at least 25 coaches” have registered their serious interest in the role.

The Chicago Fire have hired Gregg Berhalter as Head Coach and Director of Football. It’s a safe hire for the Fire who need stability after missing the playoffs 7 years in a row and 14 out of the last 15 years. Matthew Doyle tweeted he would not be surprised if the Fire made a serious run for Weston McKennie.

Of the five openings that haven’t been filled here’s how we’d rank the attractiveness of each:

1. Atlanta United - With an ownership group willing to spend and a new #10 that has made an immediate impact this a highly sought after role.

2. FC Dallas - Petar Musa is the real deal and they’ll get back Alan Velasco and Jesus Ferreira who couldn’t stay healthy all year.

3. St. Louis City SC - The Marcel Hartel and Cedric Teuchert signings looks great and Burki remains a brick wall in goal.

4. Austin FC - One open DP spot and young talents like Owen Wolff and Dani Pereira make it an intriguing but difficult project.

5. San Jose Earthquakes - Let’s be honest, this isn’t an attractive job. It will take a herculean effort from the right person.

Goal of the Week

He’s been better than last year which is crazy.

Tweet of the Week

Damn right.

Quick Hits

• The Orlando Pride win the NWSL Supporter’s Shield (Link)

• MLS set a new regular season record with over 11M fans in attendance this season, breaking the previous record in 2023 (Link)

• MLS announces nominees and opens voting for year-end awards (Link)

• Paul Pogba could make a move to MLS (Link)

Let’s chat again next week.

Max & Mason