St. Louis CITY SC Looks to Add Another Chapter to Magical Season-Starting Story
The magical early-season story of expansion club St. Louis CITY SC saw another chapter written on Matchday 4, as the club became the first expansion side in MLS history to win each of their first four games in club history. With expansion history now in hand, the Supporters’ Shield leading St. Louis squad has its sights on making an even greater mark in MLS lore as it travels to face Real Salt Lake on Saturday night (9:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
St. Louis will look to become just the second MLS team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to win each of their first five matches of a season, joining 2012 Sporting Kansas City, who won each of their first seven matches. To do so, the upstart expansion club will look to continue feeding its well-rounded attack, which has scored multiple goals in each of its first four matches of the season. St. Louis has seen a league-leading seven players find the net through four weeks, all of whom have helped the club tie Atlanta United atop MLS with a league-best 11 goals. Designated Player João Klauss has quickly emerged as a hero in his new home, joining Atlanta’s Thiago Almada as the only players in MLS to contribute to a goal in each of his four matches of the season.
On Saturday night in a tough road atmosphere, St. Louis will look to continue to prove that their start is not just a Cinderella story, but rather a clear and early statement that the team is one to be reckoned with in the Western Conference.
Petrović Proving His Worth Among Top Shot-Stoppers in MLS
New England Revolution goalkeeper Djordje Petrović arrived in MLS with the pressure of being 2022 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Matt Turner’s heir-apparent, but his performances since debuting for the club last season have proved he’s shouldered the pressure with ease.
After capping last season as a finalist for the MLS Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year award, Petrović has carried his game-winning shot-stopping performances into 2023. Last weekend’s 1-0 victory over Nashville SC was the Serbian international’s 10th shutout of his MLS career, making him just the fifth goalkeeper to record at least 10 clean sheets in their first 25 MLS appearances.
One of his three saves against Nashville came in the first half when Petrović denied a lasered shot from distance by last season’s Landon Donovan MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar from finding the back of the net. The shutout also came off the back of a career-high eight saves against the Los Angeles Football Club on Matchday 3.
Since making his MLS debut on June 12, 2022, no MLS goalkeeper has recorded more than Petrovic’s 10 clean sheets during the regular season. His 105 saves over that time also leads the league, beating out second-place William Yarbrough of the Colorado Rapids by 24 saves. Petrović now sits tied for first with Seattle Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei and Nashville’s Joe Willis for most shutouts this season with three, and his 20 saves on the season rank second in MLS.
Looking for his fourth clean sheet of the season and to continue building his case for MLS Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 2023, Petrović will face a goal-hungry Christian Benteke when the Revolution travel to D.C. United on Saturday, March 25 (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
MLS NEXT Pro Begins Second Season This Weekend
After a successful inaugural season in 2022 that resulted in Columbus Crew 2 being crowned the league’s first champions, MLS NEXT Pro returns for its second season this weekend. The 2023 season will kick off with 13 matches during Opening Weekend, beginning Friday night in Austin.
The majority of regular season matches in 2023 - including nine of the 13 matches this weekend - plus all Decision Day matches, playoff matches, and MLS NEXT Pro Cup, will be available to watch live and on-demand on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app. The remainder of regular season matches will stream live on mlsnextpro.com.
Seven of the 27 clubs competing in 2023 are new to MLS NEXT Pro: Atlanta United 2, Austin FC II, Crown Legacy FC (Charlotte FC), Huntsville City FC (Nashville SC), LA Galaxy II, Los Angeles Football Club 2, and New York Red Bulls II.
Since the league's inaugural 2022 season, 36 players who spent time in MLS NEXT Pro have gone on to sign MLS first team contracts, including former St. Louis CITY SC 2 defender and Best XI defender Kyle Hiebert. The Canadian defender has played every minute of St. Louis CITY SC's historic 4-0-0 start to their inaugural MLS season and was called up to the Canadian Men's National Team for their upcoming CONCACAF Nations League games in March.
Also new this season: a rule aimed at further increasing effective match time and an expanded playoff format.
The Timed Substitution Rule will allow a maximum of 10 seconds for a player to leave the field when he is substituted. If he does not, the replacement player will only be able to enter after a 60 second holding period, resulting in the offending team playing a man down for a minimum of one minute.
This year’s expanded playoff format includes a pick-your-opponent element in the first two rounds. Seven clubs from each conference will qualify for the 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Playoffs (14 clubs total), including the two division champions and the five clubs with the next highest points. The playoffs will consist of three rounds, beginning the weekend of September 29, followed by MLS NEXT Pro Cup.
Women’s History Month Spotlight: Meghan Cameron
To celebrate Women’s History Month, Major League Soccer is highlighting women who are making an impact across the league through coaching, soccer administration, broadcasting or, at the executive level.
As Inter Miami CF’s Director of Player Personnel since 2021, Meghan Cameron earns the spotlight this week. For the past year and a half, Cameron has been one of the highest-ranking women in soccer operations across MLS, as she ensures compliance with all roster rules and regulations. Cameron works closely with Miami Sporting Director and Chief Soccer Officer Chris Henderson and provides guidance on daily matters impacting soccer operations.
A graduate of Rutgers University, Cameron has spent over a decade within MLS working in a variety of soccer operations positions. Before joining the Herons, she worked for Sporting Kansas City, where she served as an Assistant Director of Player Personnel from December 2017 to September 2021, helping the team finish first in the Western Conference twice (2018 and 2020). In addition to working for Sporting, she was also a Senior Manager of Player Personnel & Competition for the league office, which was a position she held since July of 2010.
By the Numbers
From a sensational start by a young Atlanta duo and unbeaten clubs to newcomers on the rise and exciting finishes, below is a sampling of notable stats and figures from Matchday 4 of the 2023 Major League Soccer season:
- 5: Five teams remain unbeaten through Matchday 4 of the MLS regular season – Atlanta United, FC Cincinnati, LAFC, Minnesota United FC, and St. Louis CITY SC. Four of the five remaining unbeatens hit the road this week, with LAFC the lone home host this weekend as they welcome FC Dallas to BMO Stadium.
- 6: Through the first four matches, the New York Red Bulls stingy defense has allowed just six shots on target, the fewest through four matches of an MLS season since the LA Galaxy (six) in 2010.
- 8: Eight goals on Matchday 4 were scored by players in their first season in MLS, including Designated Players Giorgos Giakoumakis (Atlanta United), Dante Vanzeir (New York Red Bulls), João Klauss (St. Louis CITY SC), Martín Ojeda (Orlando City SC), and Enzo Copetti (Charlotte FC).
- 12: Twelve of the 44 goals scored on Matchday 4 came in or after the 80th minute, including the game-tying and game-winning goals for CF Montréal, game-winning goals for the New York Red Bulls, FC Dallas, and Minnesota United FC, and the equalizer for FC Cincinnati.
- 13: The dynamic Atlanta United duo of 21-year-old Thiago Almada (four goals, four assists) and 18-year-old Caleb Wiley (three goals, two assists) have 13 combined goal contributions this season and rank first and second, respectively, in MLS in combined goals and assists. The St. Louis combo of João Klauss (three goals, one assist) and Eduard Löwen (one goal, three assists) are the second-ranking duo in MLS with eight contributions.
- 61: With his game-winning goal in the 84th minute of FC Dallas’ 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City last week, FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira (61 career goal contributions) tied MLS legend Landon Donovan (61) for the third-most goal contributions in league history by a player aged 22 or younger. Ferreira, who turns 23 years old on December 24, has recorded 39 goals and 22 assists in 118 career regular season matches and will look to continue moving up the goal contribution leaderboard.
Tap-Ins: Matchday 5
A look at other headlines and activity around Major League Soccer ahead of Matchday 5:
- MLS All-Stars to face Arsenal FC at Audi Field in the 2023 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target (MLSsoccer.com)
- 2023 Generation adidas Cup to feature record 49 clubs from 12 countries (MLSsoccer.com)
- Don Garber, Janeicia Neely and Lesle Gallimore honored at U.S. Soccer's AGM (Soccer America)
- March international window: Which MLS players were called up? (MLSsoccer.com)
- Who were the best young-player performers in MLS Matchday 4? (MLSsoccer.com)
MLS Season Pass Broadcast Schedule: Matchday 5
Below is the MLS Season Pass broadcast schedule for Matchday 5, including English-language commentators for each match with the play-by-play talent listed first, followed by the match analyst.
How to Cover MLS in 2023
To assist in your coverage of the 2023 MLS season, the MLS Communications staff has provided the following media resources, all of which are available on MLSSoccer.com/Media-Resources.
