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• 3️⃣ 5️⃣ Match Day 35 Recap

• 🇺🇸 Yanks Abroad

• 🏆️ US Open Cup Final Preview

• 🏆️ Supporters Shield Race

• ⚽️ Goal of the Week

• 😂 Tweet of the Week

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Match Day 35 Recap

The Chicago Fire beat the Columbus Crew 2-0 on Saturday and Inter Miami 5-3 last night. With the win, they secured a spot in the dance for the first time since 2017. The Crew have won just 2 of their last 10 games and clinched a playoff spot due to other results, but I have little confidence in their ability to make a deep run this year. Injuries and lack of a true goal-scoring threat have proven too much to overcome.

After a disastrous performance mid-week against Inter Miami, NYCFC got back on track and all but ended the Red Bulls season with their 3-2 derby win. It’s their 4th straight regular-season win against their rivals. Then, with Chicago’s win last night, the Red Bulls season officially ended. The 15-year playoff streak is done.

The dynamic duo of LAFC continued their historic run in their 3-0 win over St. Louis City. Son had a brace, and Bouanga had another long-range strike. The duo has scored the last 17 goals for LAFC, an MLS record for consecutive goals by a twosome. That’s 8 goals in 8 games for Son. It’s clear he’s going to end up being one of the best signings in league history.

Colorado and Minnesota drew 1-1 in a game that was more important for the Rapids, as the bottom of the Western Conference playoff table is still up for grabs. The Pids only have one win in their last 5 and are 4 points behind Portland to escape the play-in round. Minnesota sit comfortably in 3rd after Nectarios Triantis salvaged a point with this beautiful strike.

Yanks Abroad

Another week, another Christian Pulisic goal. He’s scored 6 goals and 2 assists in 7 games so far, leading Serie A in goals scored. His goal and assist against Napoli over the weekend sees AC Milan return to the top of the table. Since Pulisic’s Serie A debut in 2023/2024, no player has been involved in more goals (46). This season, he’s 5th across Europe’s top 5 leagues for most goal contributions with 8. A sensational start to the year once again.

Tanner Tessman scored a Europa League banger (scroll down) for his first-ever European goal from way outside the box. Lyon went on to win 1-0 over FC Utrecht. That’s back-to-back game winners for Tanner Tessman.

Tyler Adams took on Brenden Aaronson and his old side, Leeds United, making this tackle against his fellow USMNT teammate. Adam’s was booed on almost every touch throughout the game by his old fans. The game ended 2-2.

Alejandro Zendejas scored a brace in Club America’s 4-1 win over Pumas, including this cheeky chip over Keylor Navas. He has 5 goals and 2 assists in 11 games this season.

US Open Cup Final Preview

Austin FC and Nashville SC face off in the US Open Cup final tonight at 8 pm ET in Austin. Both teams are looking to secure their first trophy in franchise history.

After a stretch of three straight league losses, Nashville got back to form this weekend with a 3-1 win over Houston. They’ve adopted the new “boot it out of bounds to apply pressure in the final third“ tactic that’s been gaining steam around the football world. And it worked! Hany Mukhtar scored off of it.

As for Austin, they’ll be at home where they’re 6W-2L-6D this season. They lost 3-1 over the weekend to Real Salt Lake with a heavily rotated squad that clearly looked focused on tonight’s matchup.

Besides the hardware, prize money, and a spot in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup are at stake. Simply put, it’s the biggest game in club history for both franchises. This should be fun.

Shield Race a Wrap?

Leading up to last weekend, it was shaping up to be the best Shield Race in years. But San Diego, Inter Miami, Vancouver, and Cincinnati all dropped points, and now the Philadelphia Union have one hand on the trophy.

Inter Miami, who have two games in hand on the Union, may have the best chances of stealing the trophy for a second straight season, but the uncharacteristic draw against Toronto makes it difficult.

San Diego had their grasp on the trophy for a bit, but only have one win in their last 5 games. The player who decided this Shield race may have just been Milan Iloski. The Union striker had a goal and two assists on Saturday night and has 7 goal contributions in just 464 minutes since joining Philadelphia. In San Diego’s last 5 games before letting Iloski go, they had 17 goals. In the 11 games since, they’ve had 13. Would San Diego have won it if they had kept Iloski? We’ll never know, but they sure could’ve used his help.

FC Cincinnati, just four points behind Philadelphia, will require a Union slip-up. With all the talent this team has, it will be a disappointment if they don’t end the season with hardware.

Two straight draws for Vancouver, and that’s just about enough to put the Shield out of reach. The injuries piled up after a congested schedule, and they couldn’t keep up. Regardless of the result, it’s been a phenomenal season.

While the Union are inches from their first trophy since 2020, I’m less confident in their chances for MLS Cup, especially after losing Quinn Sullivan with an ACL tear 😥. They’re 7W-6L-3D with a +1 goal differential against teams above the playoff line and 12W-1L-3D with a +22 goal differential against teams below. They’ll have to beat multiple good teams in a row to lock in both.

Goal of the Week

Certified banger.

Tweet of the Week

The ref cam is giving us some gems 😆 

Quick Hits

• How to win free World Cup tickets from Verizon (Link)

• Austin FC signs goalkeeper Brad Stuver to a contract extension (Link)

• Sergio Busquets to retire at the end of the season (Link)

• Columbus Crew signs Max Arfsten to a contract extension (Link)

• Jurgen Klopp with high praise for MLS (Link)

• USYNT wins first U20 World Cup game 9-1 (Link)

• Sporting KC signs NYCFC’s sporting director David Lee, as new CSO (Link)

Give us some love below. Thanks everyone!

Max & Mason