Morning everyone,

An awesome week of footy we had. We’re here to recap for ya!

• 1️⃣ MLS Playoffs Round 1 Update

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad

• 💰️ 2025 MLS Salary Data

• 👨 USL Makes a Big Hire

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Tweet of the Week

MLS Playoffs Round 1 Update

Charlotte FC evened the series with their PK shootout win over NYCFC (shootout highlights here). Kristijan Kahlina made 5 saves in regulation and the game-winning PK save to send this back to Charlotte. Charlotte is yet to score in this series, which will have to change on Friday in order for them to advance.

The Portland Timbers saved their season in the last seconds of stoppage time with Gage Guerra’s header to send the game to PKs. This game was intense. They then prevailed in penalties (shootout highlights here).

It was once again the Bouanga and Son show for LAFC, who beat Austin 4-1 to advance. Bouanga had a brace, and Son scored a solo goal. They also assisted each other. They’re the most dangerous attacking duo this league has ever seen. I would not be surprised if this team wins it all. Next up is a date with Vancouver.

The Columbus Crew dismantled their rivals 4-0 to take the series to a winner-take-all game 3 in Cincinnati (goal highlights here). Yuya Kubo’s 38th-minute red card proved too much to overcome for Cincy. Columbus outshot them 20-1, had 3.1 expected goals to Cincy’s 0.1, and had 62% of possession.

The Seattle Sounders evened the series with their 4-2 win over Minnesota United. Obed Vargas scored a brace, and Seattle controlled the vast majority of the game. The Sounders proved they’re the better team, but Minnesota has figured out how to win games they don’t deserve to win. Game 3 will be fun.

The Vancouver Whitecaps beat FC Dallas in penalties to advance after drawing 1-1 in regulation(shootout highlights here). The better team won here. The Whitecaps will now have 3 weeks to prepare for LAFC. The MLS playoff schedule is whack.

The Philadelphia Union advanced to the Eastern Conference semi-final after beating the Chicago Fire 3-0 in game two. Tai Baribo scored a brace. The difference in this one was Chicago’s backup keeper, Jeffrey Gal, who filled in after Chris Brady got injured in practice. Gal made two big mistakes (one, two) in the back that led to two of the goals. The season can be deemed a success for the Fire, however. They had not been to the playoffs since 2017, had not scored in the playoffs since 2012, and had not won a playoff game since 2009. They did all three this year.

Nashville SC beat Inter Miami for the first time in the Messi era. The 2-1 win sends the series to a third game in Miami. After giving up 8 goals in their last two games against Messi and friends, Nashville held the GOAT to one goal, albeit a certified BANGER. According to Ben Wright, they held Messi to 9 progressive actions compared to 19 on Decision Day.

Yanks Abroad

Auston Trusty was awarded Man of the Match in the Scottish Derby with Celtic beating Rangers 3-1. Trusty grabbed an assist and has gotten high praise from his coach for his form in recent games.

Ricardo Pepi chipped the keeper to score on a breakaway in the Eredivisie over the weekend. He then scored another to equalize in stoppage time in the Champions League yesterday. Per OptaJack, it’s his 3rd result-changing goal in the second half or stoppage time of a Champions League game, tying Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Aguero for most in the competition’s history. That’s some special company.

Folarin Balogun scored his 3rd goal of the season against Nantes over the weekend. Monaco went on to win this 5-3. Then he followed it up with his first ever Champions League goal from the craziest of angles.

Josh Sargent hasn’t scored in the past 9 league games for Norwich, and Norwich currently sit in a relegation position. If Norwich ends up getting relegated, there’s a good chance Sargent looks to the MLS as his next destination.

Tyler Adams scored his first-ever Premier League Goal, and he did it against Manchester City. Adams was the top-rated Bournemouth player against City, but they unfortunately lost 3-1.

MLS Salaries Revealed

It’s always fun to see how much money pro footballers make. The fantastic Ben Wright put together these graphs to help us understand how teams spend. Full salary guide here.

To nobody’s surprise, Messi is still king, earning just over $20 million, almost double the next closest player. Son, who sits in second at $11 million already has earned his salary with 9 goals, 3 assists, and the Goal of the Year.

Inter Miami spent over $18M more than the second closest team, LAFC. That difference is more than the total roster spend of 17 teams. 72% of Inter Miami’s spending is for their 3 star players, who collectively make more than every other individual roster.

The graph below shows dollars spent per goal scored (x-axis) with dollars spent per point (y-axis).

And boy, does it make Atlanta’s season look even worse. They’re the only team in the top 5 of spenders to not make the playoffs. After a massive few transfer windows, they now have 3 of the top 16 highest-paid players in the league, with nothing to show for it.

On the opposite end of the spectrum sit the Union, who won the Supporters Shield with the 3rd lowest payroll. They’ve been the gold standard for years on how to get the most out of their limited spend.

A Big Hire for the USL

The USL made one of the biggest moves in its history this week. They’ve hired Tony Scholes, the Chief Football Officer of the Premier League, to join the USL as president of its new first division league.

The USL voted to adopt promotion/relegation in March and will launch its new league with US Soccer’s Division One sanctioning in 2028. Scholes will spearhead the league’s launch, shape its structure, and be an important voice as the US adopts promotion and relegation for the first time ever. Scholes comes with a plethora of experience running many key operations of the world’s biggest league. Before that, he spent 17 years as chief executive at Stoke City, where he oversaw their promotion to the Premier League.

This is a big step for USL in its goal to compete with MLS. But just days after the announcement, USL side North Carolina FC informed its players that they wouldn’t be fielding a team in 2026. They host a playoff game on Saturday against Rhode Island FC, but once the season concludes, the players will be released and free to sign elsewhere.

The team plans to regroup and apply for membership into USL’s new League One in 2028, but ownership isn’t able to keep the team afloat right now. This goes to show just how difficult it can be to keep some of these lower division teams alive. Let’s hope the new league changes that.

Goal of the Week

College soccer is in full swing, and we’re getting some awesome goals from the young lads.

Tweet of the Week

Take a listen at the end 😆 

Quick Hits

• St. Louis City is hiring Corey Wray as its next sporting director (Link)

• LAFC assistant Marc de Santos is the frontrunner to take over for Steve Cherundolo (Link)

• Orlando City’s Alex Freeman wins Young Player of the Year (Link)

• Minnesota United’s Dayne St. Clair wins Goalkeeper of the Year (Link)

• San Diego’s Anders Dreyer wins Newcomer of the Year (Link)

• FC Cincinnati’s Nick Hagglund named Comeback Player of the Year (Link)

• New England Revolution set to name Marko Mitrovic as next head coach (Link)

Alright, we’re out. Thanks for reading!

Max & Mason