Happy Conference Semifinals to all
Weāre back. And itās win or go home now. The Eastern Conference Semifinals start with Orlando City hosting Columbus at 5:30 pm ET followed by FC Cincinnati hosting Philadelphia at 8 pm ET. The Western Conference joins the party tomorrow. Each game is available on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
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I want to be very clear. I mean this as a compliment. Orlando City are going to try and ruin everyoneās good time tonight. Theyāve spent the last two weeks hearing all about how Columbus play beautiful soccer. āBeautyā and āartā are subjective though, right?
The majority of neutrals are going to tune in to watch the Crew attempt to be on the front foot, pinging the ball around and sending their front three of Cucho HernĆ”ndez, Diego Rossi and Alexandru Matan into space. I get it. Totally fair. But thereās something equally intoxicating in Orlando Cityās quest to bully Columbus into abandoning a pursuit of art.
Orlando have their moments in attack. They do. I donāt want anyone to think Iām trying to portray them as anti-soccer. Itās more that theyāre anti-anything they didnāt explicitly decide to do and theyāre going to be very angry if you disagree with how theyāve determined this match can and should be played. To simplify it a bit: Theyāre freaking mean.
That starts in midfield. A lot has been made of the Lionsā offseason, but donāt overlook a roster move that came in August last season. The Lions got Wilder Cartagena on loan, paired him next to U22 signing CĆ©sar AraĆŗjo and started to take control of games.
Tonight (and really the rest of the way if they advance), theyāll face one of the few midfield pairings that can go blow for blow with them. Darlington Nagbe and Aidan Morris go about their business in a different, but equally effective way that should present a war of contrasting styles in midfield. The Crew skew towards impressionism while Orlando lean towards brutalism. That contrast paints a picture of a match that will likely be decided by whichever pairing has a more noticeable impact.
If itās Orlandoās midfield leading the way as the Lions win 50-50 balls and find ways to punish the Crew for daring to try and get numbers forward, then Orlando will have as good a chance as anyone to make the Crewās attack look plain. That may not be quite as fun for neutrals, but thereās still plenty to appreciate in a collective effort to dictate your own terms.
Thereās a lot of negative space to consider when FC Cincinnati host the Philadelphia Union tonight. Both back lines will be missing key figures. Thatās plural. Cincy will be missing starting defenders Matt Miazga and Nick Hagglund. Philly will (likely) be missing starting defenders Jakob Glesnes (though he's listed as questionable) and Kai Wagner. Thatās about 4,500 total minutes of playing time missing for Cincinnati and 5,200 minutes for Philadelphia.
This always had the makings of a rock fight. Both teams are physical and direct and demand control of the terms of the engagement. But how effectively will they be able to execute without two of their biggest battlers at the back?
Frankly, it seems like the scales are tipped slightly in Philadelphiaās favor here. Cincinnati are going to be rolling with a makeshift back three against a team that constantly asks questions of the opponentās back line. It seems like Cincinnati may have to go with a back three that features 23-year-old Ian Murphy and 33-year-old full back Ray Gaddis next to Yerson Mosquera in the middle. Murphy has been steady when called upon and Gaddis has been an effective MLS player for years now, but thereās a clear drop-off from Miazga, the 2023 Defender of the Year, and Hagglund.
To be fair, thereās a clear drop-off for Philly too, but Nathan Harriel has been asked plenty of times to step in at fullback and Damion Lowe is a solid third option at center back. Like I said, I think itās only a slight advantage to Philly, but still an advantage. Of course, that marginal edge only matters so much when Lucho Acosta is there to tilt things back toward Cincy at any moment.
All considered, weāre looking at a match that never had a chance of being something āprettyā and āeasy on the eye.ā These teams mirror each other too much and that mirror is intentionally scratched and blurry. But the absences present opportunities for both sides to find holes in the armor that werenāt there before. It might mean a few more clear chances than we would have otherwise expected. Whoeverās absences are less notable today will likely find themselves one game away from MLS Cup.
Chicago Fire clear space for 2024: Chicago Fire FC have declined transfer options for defender Alonso Aceves and midfielder Ousmane Doumbia after they were on loan. Aceves, who arrived from Liga MXās Pachuca, held a U22 Initiative slot. Doumbia, a midseason signing from Swiss sister side FC Lugano, was a DP. Additionally, Chicago have exercised their purchase option on winger Maren Haile-Selassie. He joined in preseason from FC Lugano and finished as the Fireās leading scorer with 6g/4a. Check out the full breakdown of the moves here.
- "Aggressive" styles will collide when Columbus and Orlando City meet.
- Cincy and Philly are anticipating a battle.
- Two MLS standard-bearers will meet in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Good luck out there. If you can find a big sword that will probably help. It will at least look cool.