MLS Game Capsules (Week 24)

Friday, August 5

Vancouver Whitecaps FC (7-10-6) vs. Houston Dynamo FC (7-12-4)

(10:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• The Vancouver Whitecaps and Houston Dynamo meet for the 21st time in series history, with the Whitecaps holding a slight 8-7-5 series advantage. Vancouver is unbeaten in 10 home matches against the Dynamo all-time, holding a 7-0-3 record. Houston is unbeaten in their past four against their Canadian foe, recording a 2-0-2 mark over the span, including a 2-1 victory on March 12, 2022.
• The Whitecaps are led by forward Lucas Cavallini, who has a team-high and career-best seven goals this season. Cavallini has scored twice in his past four MLS matches, both of which have been played at home. 
• Javain Brown scored his first MLS goal to earn the Whitecaps a point in a 1-1 draw at Nashville on Saturday. The 87th-minute goal was the sixth time Vancouver has scored a result-changing goal after the 85th minute this season, and its 10 points won on goals scored after 85’ are most in MLS in 2022.
• Houston midfielder Darwin Quintero scored both of the club’s goals in their early-season victory over Vancouver. In seven career games vs. the Whitecaps, Quintero has logged three goals and four assists. Quintero is tied for the club lead with seven goals this season, joining teammate Sebastián Ferreira. Quintero also leads the club with 44 key passes this season, more than twice the total of his next closest teammate.

Saturday, August 6

Atlanta United FC (6-9-7) vs. Seattle Sounders FC (10-11-2)

(3 p.m. ET, ABC / ESPN Deportes)

• The Seattle Sounders trek Southeast for just their fifth-ever meeting with Atlanta United and second at Mercedes Benz Stadium. There have been three draws across the four meetings between these sides since 2017, and the Sounders boast the only win between them when they beat Atlanta 2-1 at Lumen Field.
• Both sides have faced five different opponents from the opposite conference this season, with both currently holding 2-3-0 records across those games. Atlanta is 2-1-0 in the three games they have hosted Western Conference teams, and the Sounders are 1-1-0 in the two away games they have played in against Eastern Conference teams.
• Atlanta United have been elite chance creators despite their low return on goals for so far in 2022. They lead the league in key passes with 244 through 22 games played, with Brooks Lennon (40) and Thiago Almada (38) leading the team individually. Only New York City FC and the San Jose Earthquakes have two players to have contributed more than 35 key passes so far this season.
• With a win over Atlanta, the Sounders will have won back-to-back games for the first time since they did so between May 29 (2-1 vs Charlotte FC) and June 14 (4-0 vs Vancouver Whitecaps).
• If Atlanta United keep a clean sheet against the Sounders, it would be the first time they kept back-to-back clean sheets since September 10, 2021, when they beat Orlando City 3-0 before beating FC Cincinnati 4-0 on September 15, 2021.

Charlotte FC (9-12-2) vs. Chicago Fire FC (7-10-6)

(7 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• This is the inaugural meeting between these two sides as the Chicago Fire look to be just the fourth team to beat Charlotte FC at home this season. The Fire are 2-1-2 over the last five games they have faced expansion sides for the first time, but they are yet to play Austin FC who came into the league last season.
• Last time out, Charlotte came out on top in a 3-0 home win over D.C. United. It was their eighth win of the season at home, putting them tied-second alongside New York City FC for most home wins in 2022. Only Los Angeles FC (9) have won more games at their home stadium this season.
• Last time out, Gabriel “Gaga” Slonina kept his 10th clean sheet of the season in his 23rd game of the season. He is currently tied for 20th most starts by a teenager in MLS history but is seven short of tying Michael Bradley (2005), Eddie Gaven (2006), and Perry Kitchen (2011) for most by a player under the age of 20 in a single MLS season (30).
• With a win against Chicago, Charlotte would join the Chicago Fire (1998) as the only expansion teams in MLS history to win nine of its first 12 games at home.
• With a win against Charlotte, the Chicago Fire would win consecutive away matches for the first time since October 4-12, 2013.

FC Cincinnati (7-8-8) vs. Philadelphia Union (12-2-9)

(7:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• FC Cincinnati welcome the Philadelphia Union to TQL Stadium looking for their first-ever win against them. Cincinnati is 0-5-2 in their previous seven matches but did record a 1-1 draw earlier in the season on June 18. The Union have only conceded two goals in the seven all-time meetings.
• After scoring a brace at Inter Miami CF on July 30, forward Brandon Vázquez was rewarded with the first MLS All-Star selection of his career, replacing Valentín “Taty” Castellanos. Vázquez has produced five goals in his last five matches and now sits tied for second in the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi race. With one goal contribution, he would set the new single-season club record and eclipse Luciano Acosta’s 17 in 2021.
• Vázquez has been a key reason why Cincinnati has equaled their best scoring season and doing so in 11 fewer games (37 goals in 2021). The club’s 37 goals are the eighth most in MLS and the fifth most in the Eastern Conference. The Orange and Blue have three different players with at least six goals in 2022 – Vázquez (13), Brenner (seven) and Acosta (six).
• Despite playing in just 867 minutes this season, Union forward Mikael Uhre has scored eight goals, which is tied for the second most on the team. The Danish striker has been efficient in front of goal with eight of his 24 shots landing in the back of the net. Among players with eight goals, only the LA Galaxy’s Dejan Joveljic (23) has taken fewer shots to get to that mark.
• Uhre is one of three Union players with at least eight goals on the season, joining Dániel Gazdag (11) and Julián Carranza (eight). If Uhre and Carranza each add two goals, Philadelphia would become the first team since New York City FC in 2019 to have three different players produce at least 10 goals in the same season. The last time the Union had two players score 10 times in a season was in 2018 with Cory Burke and Fafa Picault.

Columbus Crew (7-6-9) vs. New York City FC (12-4-6)

(7:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• The Columbus Crew and New York City FC meet for the 19th time in a deadlocked series at 7-7-4. NYCFC have won each of the last two games, which included a 2-0 win on May 14 at Yankee Stadium. Columbus won the previous matchup between the teams at Lower.com Field, 2-1, on July 17, 2021.
• Columbus’ Lucas Zelarayán has been in terrific form since the arrival of Juan “Cucho” Hernández. Zelarayán has produced two goals and five assists in his last five games. The dynamic midfielder’s five assists in the month of July were tied for the second most in the league behind Philadelphia’s Kai Wagner. With his goal on Wednesday against CF Montréal, he became the first Crew player with consecutive seasons of at least 15 goal contributions since Gyasi Zardes in 2019-20.
• NYCFC enter the matchup on their second lengthy shutout streak of 2022, having gone four games without allowing a goal. The man in net for both of those streaks has been first-time All-Star selection Sean Johnson. Johnson became the first goalkeeper in MLS history to record multiple shutout streaks of four-plus games in a single season after he previously recorded six straight clean sheets in the month of May.
• In his second MLS season, NYCFC’s Santiago Rodríguez has stepped up as the key provider for the Bronx side. Rodríguez leads the team in both key passes (45) and assists (nine). If the midfielder adds one more assist, he will become the third player (Maxi Moralez and Andrea Pirlo) in club history with double-digit assists in a single season.

D.C. United (6-13-3) vs. New York Red Bulls (10-7-6)

(7:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• In a clash of MLS originals, the age-old rivalry between D.C. United and the New York Red Bulls takes center stage during the regular season for the 86th time since their first-ever meeting on May 12, 1996. United lead the all-time series record at 37-32-16 and have won two of the last three meetings between these sides at Audi Field since last year.
• Having scored four goals in each of their last two regular season games, the Red Bulls are on track to score at least three goals in three-consecutive games for the first time since March 24 - April 14, 2018. Likewise, if they score four against D.C. United, it’ll be just the second time in club history since they did so between March 25 – April 7, 2012.
• Carlos Coronel is the only Red Bulls player to play every minute of their 2022 regular season so far, playing 1,980 minutes and keeping five clean sheets. With a win over D.C. United, Coronel would draw level with Jon Conway (23) for the fourth-most goalkeeper wins in franchise history.
• Tom Barlow scored from the penalty spot against the Colorado Rapids after coming into the game off the bench, marking a second consecutive game with a goal for the Red Bulls forward. It was the first time in his MLS career that he had scored in consecutive games and the fourth time in his overall career. With a goal against D.C., Barlow will have recorded a goal in three consecutive appearances for the third time in his career across MLS and USL.
• With a goal against the Red Bulls, Taxiarchis “Taxi” Fountas would bring his season total up to 12. The Greek striker would also become just the fifth D.C. player to reach the 12-goal mark during the regular season since the 2008 regular season.

CF Montréal (12-8-3) vs. Inter Miami CF (8-10-5)

(7:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• In their first meeting of the season, Inter Miami CF travel north of the border to face CF Montréal at Stade Saputo. In the four previous contests, Montréal has won three of those with two of them coming at home. Miami did win the most recent meeting between the clubs on July 31, 2021 by a score of 2-1.
• The 2-1 victory over Montréal last season was guided by forward Gonzalo Higuaín, who scored both goals in the match. The Argentine international is coming off being named the MLS Player of the Week presented by Continental Tire for Week 23 after scoring his first career hat trick against Cincinnati last Saturday. Higuaín joined Leonardo Campana as the only players in club history to score a hat trick and became the first Miami player to score three goals in the first half of a match.
• On Higuaín’s second goal of his hat trick last weekend, midfielder Alejandro Pozuelo contributed his first assist in an Inter Miami jersey. Pozuelo has had success against Montréal when he was with Toronto from 2019-21, scoring two goals and adding three assists.
• Montréal produced a terrific come from behind victory over the Columbus Crew on Wednesday night. After a weather delay paused the game in the 75th minute, Montréal came out of the restart and scored two goals in the 88th and 94th minute to give them the win. It was the first time in club history that they had won a match in which they trailed in the 87th minute or later.
• The man who scored the game-tying goal against the Crew was forward Kei Kamara, which was his fourth of the season. With the goal, Kamara tied Jeff Cunningham (134) for the third most goals in MLS history. The strike was also his seventh against his former club.

Orlando City SC (8-9-6) vs. New England Revolution (6-7-9)

(7:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• The New England Revolution travel to Orlando City SC this weekend for the 15th all-time regular season meeting between these two teams. There have been equal number of draws as there have been wins in this series, but the Revolution boast a stronger 5-2-7 record over Orlando since they first met in 2015. The Revolution are also riding a seven-game unbeaten run against Orlando dating back to August 4, 2018 (3-0-4).
• Each of New England’s last two matches have ended in scoreless draws. The only time in MLS history a team has played three straight regular season matches without scoring or conceding was Colorado in the opening three games of the 2015 season.
• Despite playing just nine games so far this season, Djordje Petrovic has kept more clean sheets than (3) four goalkeepers who have played more than his 810 minutes this season. His 78% save percentage this season is also only second to Andre Blake’s 82.1% among goalkeepers to have played at least 810 minutes this season.
• Carles Gil continues to dominate the chance creation and assist charts in MLS this season as he leads the league with 73 key passes – 15 more than second-place Emanuel Reynoso – and his tied-first with FC Cincinnati’s Luciano “Lucho” Acosta and Philadelphia Union defender Kai Wagner for most assists this season with 11.
• With one assist, Mauricio Pereyra (nine) would become the first player in club history to record multiple double-digit assist seasons.

Nashville SC (8-7-9) vs. Toronto FC (6-12-5)

(8 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• Nashville SC hosts Toronto FC for the fourth all-time regular season meeting this season, with all three of their previous meetings happening throughout the 2021 regular season. These sides first met during the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs where Nashville came out on top in a 1-0 win, but they split their three-game series throughout 2021 with one win each and a draw.
• Teal Bunbury scored Nashville’s lone goal against Portland on Wednesday, his third straight match with a goal after scoring just twice in his previous 34 MLS appearances. This is the third time Bunbury has scored in at least three straight MLS matches after runs of four straight games with a goal in 2018 and 2019.
• Hany Mukhtar needs three goals to become the first player with consecutive 15-goal seasons since Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Josef Martinez from 2018-19.
• With a pair of assists against Nashville, Jonathan Osorio would set a new career-high for single season assists with eight. They would also put him within three goal contributions of tying his career-high of 17 (10g7a) back in 2018.
• Alex Bono ended Toronto’s 29-game streak without a clean sheet in their 4-0 win over Charlotte FC on July 23 and followed that up with his second clean sheet of the season last time out in a scoreless draw against the New England Revolution. It was the first time Toronto had recorded consecutive clean sheets since back-to-back 1-0 wins over New England and Cincinnati between October 7 and October 11, 2020.

Sporting Kansas City (5-14-5) vs. LA Galaxy (9-10-3)

(8:30 p.m. ET, UniMás / TUDN / Twitter - English audio)

• Two of the original MLS clubs, Sporting Kansas City and the LA Galaxy will meet for the 67th time in series history, with the Galaxy holding a slim 26-25-15 series advantage. Sporting won both of the last two matches against the Galaxy by a 2-0 margin during the 2021 season, with SKC’s Johnny Russell scoring three of the club’s four goals in those matches. 
• Sporting is looking to snap a three-game losing streak, which has also seen the club shutout in each of the three matches. Russell leads the club with six goals this season and has scored at least five goals in each of his five MLS seasons. 
• In the first game of a Leagues Cup Showcase doubleheader at SoFi Stadium, the Galaxy defeated Chivas of LIGA MX, 2-0, on Wednesday night. LA forward Dejan Joveljic scored the club’s opening goal in the match and has 10 goals in his last 12 matches across all competitions. Jovelic paces the Galaxy with nine goals in MLS play this season, despite only starting five matches this season, and has three goals in his last four MLS matches. 
• The Galaxy will be well represented at the 2022 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target, as forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernández and defender Julián Araujo will represent MLS against LIGA MX. Chicharito will also be competing in the 2022 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge presented by AT&T 5G on Tuesday, August 9. Chicharito ranks second on the club with seven goals and has appeared in 20 matches this season.

Austin FC (13-5-5) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (5-10-8)

(9 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• Austin FC and San Jose meet for the fifth time overall and the second time during the 2022 season, with the Earthquakes going unbeaten in the previous four meetings (2-0-2). The two clubs played to a 2-2 draw in an early-season meeting (April 2, 2022), and San Jose recorded a win and a draw in two meetings at Q2 Stadium last season. 
• Austin (44 points, 13-5-5) ranks second in the Western Conference, behind only LAFC, and third in the MLS Supporters’ Shield standings, trailing only LAFC and Philadelphia Union, this season. The club leads MLS with 47 goals scored, including 14 by MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi leader Sebastián Driussi. 
• Driussi was named the MLS Player of the Month for the month of July after leading the league with eight goal contributions (five goals, three assists) in the month for an Austin team that tied for the second-most goals (15) over the span. Driussi, an MLS All-Star selection and Skills Challenge participant, leads MLS in both goal contributions (21) and goals (14) in 2022, while also appearing in every match for the Verde and Black. His 21 goal contributions are three more than the next-closest player and are already a single-season club record. In 23 games played this season, Driussi has at least one goal contribution in 15 of those and multiple goal contributions in four of those contests.
• Austin’s Alex Ring scored his fourth goal of the season in last week’s 2-0 win over Sporting Kansas City. Ring has scored at least four goals in each of his last four seasons, and his eight goal contributions this year (four goals, four assists) are tied for the second-most in his six-year MLS career. 
• San Jose will look to snap a four-game winless streak and will turn to the duo of Cristian Espinoza and Jeremy Ebobisse to help break through. Espinoza leads the club with eight assists – his fourth consecutive season with at least eight assists – while Ebobisse is tied for this among active MLS players with a career-high 12 goals this season. Ebobisse scored in the last meeting between the two clubs earlier this year. 

Colorado Rapids (7-9-6) vs. Minnesota United FC (10-8-5)

(9 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• This is the 13th meeting between Colorado and Minnesota, with the Rapids holding a 6-4-2 series advantage. Colorado has won three of the last four meetings between the clubs, though Minnesota took the lone meeting this year – a 3-1 victory at Allianz Field on April 16.
• Colorado enters the week after recording their first road victory of the season on Tuesday in the form of a 5-4 offensive explosion against the New York Red Bulls. Five different players scored for the Rapids in the contest – Diego Rubio, Keegan Rosenberry, Collen Warner, Michael Barrios, and Dantouma “Yaya” Toure. Colorado has scored at least five goals in a match four times since the start of the 2020 season – tied for the third-most such games in MLS over the span. 
• Rubio leads the club with 10 goals and 16 goal contributions this season. His 10 scores are tied for the second-most in his career, while his 16 goal contributions are tied for his career-best. 17-year-old Dantouma “Yaya” Toure scored his first career MLS goal in the Rapids’ victory over the Red Bulls, his fifth career game. 
• Minnesota United’s 4-4 draw with Portland last week equaled the highest scoring game in the club’s MLS history. The draw also extended Minnesota’s unbeaten run to seven games (5-0-2), one shy of the longest regular season unbeaten run in club history (8 straight in September-November 2020).
• MLS All-Star Emanuel Reynoso leads the Loons in both goals (nine) and assists (six) and has three multi-goal games in his past six MLS contests. Reynoso, who is participating in both the All-Star Game and Skills Competition, will be joined in both events by teammate Dayne St. Clair. St. Clair (74) is one of only four MLS goalkeepers with at least 70 saves this season.

Real Salt Lake (9-7-7) vs. LAFC (15-4-3)

(10 p.m. ET, UniMás / TUDN / Twitter - English audio)

• MLS Supporters’ Shield leaders LAFC head to Rio Tinto Stadium with wins in their last four matches. LAFC have dominated the nine all-time matches against RSL, winning eight of them and each of the last four. The lone win for Salt Lake in the series came on September 9, 2020 in a 3-0 shutout win.
• Salt Lake’s Jefferson Savarino salvaged a 2-2 draw with a 90’+5’ equalizer against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday. Since returning to the club this season, Savarino has found form immediately, totaling five goals and three assists in his first nine games. His eight goal contributions are the second most on the team despite only playing in 659 minutes.
• In defense, Andrew Brody had a productive month of July with three assists in five matches for the club. His three helpers during the month were the second most by a defender, trailing only the Union’s Kai Wagner with six. His three assists and one goal on the season are already career bests.
• At just 21-years-old, Kwadwo Opoku’s development in the second half of the season has been important for the best team in the league. Opoku has a goal or an assist in three of his last four matches and scored the game-tying goal in their previous match against Seattle Sounders FC. He joins FC Dallas’ Jesús Ferreira and NYCFC’s Talles Magno as the only players 21 or younger with at least five goals this season.
• Each week LAFC continue to rely on midfielder José Cifuentes who has produced six goals and five assists during his 21 appearances. The Ecuadorian international provided the crucial assist on Carlos Vela’s game-winning goal versus Seattle last Friday. His 11 goal contributions are tied for a career high and the third most on the team.

Portland Timbers (7-6-11) vs. FC Dallas (9-7-8)

(10:30 p.m. ET, MLS LIVE on ESPN+)

• FC Dallas travel to Providence Park aiming to sweep the season series against the Portland Timbers for the first time in club history. Dallas won the first match between the teams this season on March 19, with a 4-1 victory at Toyota Stadium. In the 28 all-time meetings, Dallas owns a 10-8-7 advantage.
• In the 4-1 win on March 19, Dallas’ Jesús Ferreira produced his first career hat trick, scoring all three of his goals in the first half. If Ferreira were to score three goals against the Timbers on Saturday evening, he would become the fifth player in MLS history to score multiple hat tricks against the same team. The MLS All-Star now has 12 goals on the season, which is tied for fourth in the league.
• Dallas’ key man in the midfield has been Paxton Pomykal who has completed the most accurate forward zone passes (339) on the team in 2022. Pomykal has started 22 games this season with Dallas posting a 9-8-5 record. In the games he hasn’t started, Dallas were shutout in each and lost both contests.
• On Saturday vs. Minnesota United FC, Diego Chara played in his 350th match for the club in both the regular season and postseason. Chara became the seventh player in MLS history to hit that mark with a single club. Earlier this season, he and his brother Yimmi set the record for the most combined appearances by a pair of brothers in league history.
• After scoring his fifth goal of the season on Wednesday against Nashville SC, Santiago Moreno has now provided at least one goal or an assist in four of the past five games. The Colombian’s 12 goal contributions (five goals, seven assists) are already a career high and tied for the most on the team with Sebastián Blanco and Yimmi Chara.