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US Open Cup's Cinderella Story
And Match Week 8 Recap
Max Palmer
April 10, 2024
Good morning everyone,
Max, here! The leader of this circus.
I have one small ask of you — if you’re enjoying this newsletter can you forward it to another soccer fan in your life? My brother and I work hard each week to create this and we’d love your help sharing it with the soccer world ❤️
Appreciate it, now on to the good stuff.
8️⃣ Match Week 8 Recap
❓️ Bogert’s AMA
🌯 US Open Cup featuring a burrito shop
⚽️ Goal of the Week
🤣 Meme of the Week
Match Week 8 Recap
El Trafico
The MLS’s best rivalry, averaging a crazy 4.3 goals/game over their first 21 matchups, lived up to the hype once again, albeit with less goals. The hosts cooled off a hot Galaxy attack with a compact low block that left Paintsil and co without much room to attack. LAFC had eight blocked shots, 20 fouls, including seven on Riqui Puig and five on Paintsil, and four yellow cards. It was an uncharacteristically ugly battle compared to the flash that LAFC typically provide. Tactically brilliant from Cherundolo’s squad however.
The big call in the game was a penalty on Denis Bouanga that led to the game winning goal. In my book, that’s not a penalty. Bouanga did a really good job of selling it and there was slight contact but you can see below he started his fall before the contact was there. I’m not a Galaxy homer at all, just a bit soft for me.
The 4th of July rematch at the Coliseum will be one of the games of the year. The MLS has it’s premier rivalry and it seems to never disappoint.
Bounce Back Win for the Sounders
In last week’s newsletter we were wondering what’s happened with the winless Seattle Sounders. Looks like they were reading because they responded with a resounding 5-0 thumping of CF Montreal.
The Sounder’s played with an ultra high-line that suffocated Montreal and led to a barrage of goals. This is just what this team needed to get them back on track.
Cucho is back… well, kinda
Crew fans were in the dark all week after their star missed two important matches due to “Team Policy”. We still don’t know what that means. He was back in the lineup this week but was dismissed with a straight red in the Crew’s 1-1 tie to D.C. United. Nancy wouldn’t even look at him when he exited the pitch. This saga is clearly not over.
Christian Benteke scored his 5th goal of the year and is firmly in the Golden Boot race.
Austin FC & San Jose Thriller
The wildest game of the week ended with a 101st minute volley from Sebastian Driussi to win it 4-3. Austin scored their first 3 goals in a five minute span for the fastest three consecutive goals in club history. It’s not perfect but that’s two straight wins for Los Verdes.
San Jose look bound for the Wooden Spoon award. They need a true goal scoring #10 like a fat kid needs cake.
Bogert’s AMA
When Tom Bogert’s not dropping news bombs he’s satisfying MLS sicko’s like you and I with Twitter AMA’s. He did one last week and of course we’re summarizing the best questions and answers because that’s how we roll 🧵
Should Nashville fans be hopeless? Nah, it’s been an injury riddled start to the year. But there seems to be more wrong than that.
Would it be insanely fun if MLS just said “F*ck it” and let loose on roster and salary cap restrictions? Yes, of course. But Tom has a point. Obviously, there are reasons this hasn’t and may never happen.
We asked Twitter last week who the best goalie in the MLS was and got over 100 responses. Burki, Patrick Shulte, and Andre Blake were the three most common answers. Burki is clearly the best right now.
Burrito Biz Wipes Timbers II from the Open
The US Open Cup is in its third round and we already have a Cinderella story. And my golly do we love a cinderella story.
El Farolito, a semi-pro club named after a burrito chain beat the Timbers II in the first round, then beat USL’s Fuego in the second round.
…and if you didn’t know, retired USMNT star Jermaine Jones now coaches the Fuego. I’m sure he wasn’t too happy 😂.
Here’s a brief look at the history of El Farolito:
Founded in 1985 after Salvador “Don Chava” López, an avid Cruz Azul fan, wanted to start a soccer team, after opening his restaurant El Farolito 2 years earlier.
El Farolito's current coach Santiago López is the son of Don Chava.
The team operations manager is also the bar manager 😂.
El Farolito has a history of soccer excellence, famously winning the US Open Cup in 1993. Up next they will face USL side Oakland Roots.
All of us bandwagoning for the El Farolito cupset right now.
#USOC2024
— Mudpuppy Ultras (@MudpuppyUltras)
Apr 3, 2024
Goal of the Week
That’s what we call a SCREAMER
Take a bow, Aidan Morris! 😮💨
Columbus find their equalizer at home.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS)
Apr 7, 2024
Meme of the Week
A BRUTAL three game stretch for Sporting Kansas City.
Watch the latest second-half collapse unfold from a friend of the newsletter and Sporting KC superfan, Kevincho 🤣
Quick Hits
See ya next week.