Red Bulls, Charlotte FC clinch Wild Card spots in the East
The New York Red Bulls are headed to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for a league-record 14th straight season and Charlotte FC have qualified for the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time in club history. The Red Bulls picked up a late 1-0 win against Nashville, while Charlotte held onto a 1-0 win against Inter Miami.
FC Dallas, Sporting KC and San Jose clinch playoff spots in the West
will now host No. 9-seed San Jose Earthquakes in Wednesday's single-elimination Wild Card game (9:30 pm ET | MLS Season Pass) for the right to face top-seeded St. Louis CITY SC in a Round One Best-of-3 series. FC Dallas are the Western Conference's No. 7 seed and will meet No. 2 Seattle Sounders FC in a Round One Best-of-3 series.
MartĆnez won't return to Inter Miami for 2024 season
Josef MartĆnez did not take part in Inter Miami CFās season finale and afterward, head coach Gerardo āTataā Martino confirmed the Venezuelanās time with the Herons is almost certainly over.
Vancouver sign Sartini to contract extension
Vancouver Whitecaps FC have signed head coach Vanni Sartini to a two-year contract extension through the 2025 MLS season. Sartini has guided Vancouver to the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs in two of the past three seasons (2021, ā23) since taking over the first team.
2023 MLS NEXT Pro Cup Cup today
The 2023 MLS NEXT Pro Cup will stream exclusively on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV. The action is set to kick off at 5 pm ET. Columbus Crew II will face Austin FC II. Hereās everything you need to know.
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Weāll go ahead and lay it out from the jump before we talk about how we got there. Your playoff matchupsā¦
EASTERN CONFERENCE
- (1) FC Cincinnati vs. Winner of (8) New York Red Bulls vs. (9) Charlotte FC
- (2) Orlando City SC vs. (7) Nashville SC
- (3) Columbus Crew vs. (6) Atlanta United
- (4) Philadelphia Union vs. (5) New England Revolution
WESTERN CONFERENCE
- (1) St. Louis CITY SC vs Winner of (8) Sporting Kansas City vs. (9) San Jose Earthquakes
- (2) Seattle Sounders FC vs. (7) FC Dallas
- (3) LAFC vs. (6) Vancouver Whitecaps FC
- (4) Houston Dynamo FC vs. (5) Real Salt Lake
There you have it. Playoffs start this week. Letās talk it out.
What happened?: Kerwin Vargas opened things up with an excellent finish (and an acrobatic celebration) and Charlotte held on the rest of the way thanks to a handful of last-ditch defensive efforts and outstanding saves from Kristijan Kahlina.Ā
So, did we learn anything?: Charlotte made it. In their second season in MLS, they somehow got the job done. Honestly, itās hard to believe considering the fact they dropped a league-worst 25 points from winning positions this season. That includes a midweek draw against Inter Miami that seemed like it might have doomed them at the time. But they got the job done. And they officially took a step forward in Year Two. Thatās all you can ask for. Maybe next year theyāll hold onto a few more of those leads and it wonāt have to be so stressful.
What happened?: Cincy and Atlanta traded first-half goals, but the biggest news of the night came in the second half. Thiago Almada inexplicably fouled a Cincinnati player off the ball to pick up his second yellow of the night and earned a red card. He will miss the first match of Atlantaās Round One series against Columbus.
So, did we learn anything?: We know who Cincy are at this point. And we have a really good idea who Atlanta are at this point too: Theyāre Cincy. Well, Cincy from last season. The Five Stripes look outstanding in attack one minute and out of control defensively the next. That might be enough to win a playoff game or two in most cases but it just got way, way harder with Almadaās red cardājust one of the worst on-field decisions youāll see.
What happened?: MontrƩal needed to earn their third road win of the season to make the playoffs. Unsurprisingly, they came up short.
So, did we learn anything? The general consensus in MLS is that if you win your home games and draw your road games youāll be just fine. MontrĆ©al got one part of that right, finishing with 10 home wins on the season. But you just canāt come up short like that on the road all year. You can come up kind of short. Not that short.
Anyway, the Crew did Crew things. Theyāre the third seed and they have the best attack in the league heading into the playoffs. Theyāll be very, very dangerous against whoever they face throughout the postseason. Simply put: Theyāre an MLS Cup-caliber team.
What happened?: JuliƔn FernƔndez thumped a stunner from distance and NYCFC took the mutually assured destruction route. Both teams missed out on the playoffs.
So, did we learn anything?: It will never make much sense that NYCFC waited so long this season to bring in a starting-caliber striker. Their slow start and lackluster attack doomed them in the end. Itās pretty shocking they didnāt even make a Wild Card spot.
Itās much less shocking that Chicago had a shot at the playoffs and came up short. Theyāve made the postseason twice since 2009. Twice. In MLS. Iāve got nothing nice to say to anyone here. Letās just move on.
What happened?: New York needed a win to make the Wild Card round. Things crept along at a stalemate until we reached stoppage time. The Red Bulls earned a penalty and in the single biggest moment of the season turned toā¦ 21-year-old fullback John Tolkin. He buried it. It ruled. Tolkin rules. The Red Bulls will host the Wild Card round against Charlotte and have now made the playoffs for 14 straight seasons.
So, did we learn anything?: THE RED BULLS CURSE LIVVVVVVEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSS.
They will forever be doomed to make the playoffs whether they want to or not. Maybe one day a postseason appearance will mean a title, but I donāt think itās this year. Still, 14 years! Thatās the longest streak in major American professional sports right now. Even if theyāre forever trapped in a cycle of coming agonizingly close year after year, itās better than never coming close. Right?........right?
Anyway, Iāll remind everyone the Red Bulls were one of the single-best teams in the league according to the underlying numbers. We here at The Daily Kickoff have been waiting (very, very, very patiently) for them to come good all season. They finally put it together late. Donāt count them out in this thing.
What happened?: A first-half brace from Gustavo Bou gave New England the win. These two will see each other next week for Round One of the playoffs.
So, did we learn anything?: Iām not sure if we can really take too much from this one, but it has to be a solid confidence boost for the Revs as they head to Philly. They should, in theory, be facing a Union team hitting a different and better gear next week, however, the Union have been sputtering lately. Neither team has been setting the world on fire since Leagues Cup. Basically, I have no idea whatās going to happen in this series and will continue to be vague about it going forward. Your guess is as good as mine.
What happened?: Duncan McGuire happened. What a season for him. He ended the regular season with 13 goals in 17 starts.
So, did we learn anything?: Nope! Toronto have to be happy itās all over and Orlando have to be elated theyāve found yet another elite striker in the SuperDraft. McGuire is as good as they come and the Lions will be leaning on him as they go up against Nashvilleās stout defense in Round One.
What happened?: Diego Lunaās outstanding solo goal cutting in from the left gave RSL a 1-0 win over the Rapids. It wasnāt enough to jump into the top four though. RSL ended the night in fifth place.
So, did we learn anything?: If Chicho Arnago is going to miss any amount of time in the playoffs, then theyāll need players like Luna to step up and make something special happen. Saturday was encouraging in that regard. Otherwise, no, we learned nothing. The Houston series is gonna be fun.
What happened?: Johnny Russell opened things up early, added another late and SKC were in control of this one for pretty much the entire night. Meanwhile, Portland were floundering against Houston. SKC are rolling into the Wild Card round as one of the hottest teams in the league.Ā
So, did we learn anything?: Apparently you donāt have to win any of your first 10 games to make the playoffs? Seems like a weird lesson, but we donāt make the wheel of morality, we just spin it and see where it lands.Ā
I think the actual lesson here is that having your DPs available and thriving is important. Theyāve been a totally different team with Alan Pulido back in the lineup. Like, one of the hottest teams in the league. Theyāve pulled off something remarkable here and everyone involved should be ecstatic. Now, theyāre carrying a little momentum into a highly winnable bracket. It wouldnāt be all that wild to think SKC could make a dark horse run.
What happened?: The Galaxy were awfully kind and, with nothing to play for, graciously allowed FC Dallas to avoid the Wild Card round and jump into seventh place in the West. Most importantly though, Bernard Kamungo, who is awesome, added a brace in this one. Heās easily a top-three story in MLS this season and I hope it continues in the playoffs. He went off injured in this one unfortunately. Thereās no update as of yet.
So, did we learn anything?: Full credit to Dallas for jumping on an LA Galaxy team going through the motions early. They got the job done. I donāt think it means theyāve found that higher gear weāve been hoping for, but still, itās a healthy dose of good feelings heading into the playoffs against a gettable Seattle side. It already feels like we should be preparing for a couple of penalty shootouts in that series.
What happened?: As generous as the Galaxy were to Dallas, Houston were the opposite for Portland. The Timbers needed a point. Instead, they got thumped by one of the best teams in the league.
So, did we learn anything?: Houston just donāt mess around these day, do they? They earned a top-four spot and have continued to stay hot since winning the US Open Cup. Iād be terrified to face them in the postseason.Ā
On the Portland side, itās fair to wonder what this means for the long-term future of the club. It felt like interim manager Miles Joseph had a decent shot at holding onto the job if the Timbers made a run.
What happened?: The Quakes went up early thanks to Cristian Espinoza (who else?) and were largely content to take a draw into the playoffs the rest of the way.
So, did we learn anything?: They gotĀ the job done! But they arenāt coming into the Wild Card round on a roll. SKC are. Itās going to be a tough one. They made it though! And crazier things have happened. At the very least, theyāve taken a notable step forward in Luchi Gonzalezās first year. Thatās all you can really ask for, right?
What happened?: Seattle rolled over St. Louis again here. They might have a bit of a psychological edge if the two meet in the playoffs.
So, did we learn anything?: If they do meet in the playoffs, it will be in the Western Conference Final. Seattle ended the night in second place. That meeting feels relatively plausible. Seattle have been the best defensive team in the conference all year and appear to be mostly healthy even if they arenāt high-flying in attack.
What happened?: DĆ©nis Bouanga clinched the Golden Boot in style, but Ali Ahmed canceled his opener and the Whitecaps earned a draw.
So, did we learn anything?: It feels like weāve come a long way since these two met in CCL. The Whitecaps felt more prepared to go toe-to-toe with LAFC and now theyāll get another shot at them in the playoffs. Other than a potential St. Louis-SKC matchup, this is likely the most exciting matchup in the West by a significant margin.
LAFC's Bouanga wins 2023 MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi: LAFC forward DĆ©nis Bouanga has won the 2023 MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi after scoring 20 goals, using a late-season surge to become the leagueās top scorer.
Kamara to leave Fire: Kei Kamara isnāt ready to hang up his cleats just yet. The 39-year-old striker, whoās third all-time in the MLS scoring chart (144 goals), expressed as much after Chicago Fire FCās season ended with a 1-0 Decision Day defeat Saturday evening at New York City FC. āI'm going to play another season in the MLS,ā Kamara declared. āI'm not done yet, definitely. I think this is my last game for the club, so I'll be moving on. I'll play another season."
- Sporting KC silenced some critics with their Decision Day playoff berth.
- Charlotte FC are savoring a "really special moment" with their historic playoff berth.Ā
- FC Dallas declared their Decision Day push a "testament to who we are."
- The New York Red Bulls were defiant after clinching a playoff spot.
- CF MontrƩal suffered a moment of Decision Day heartbreak.
- Take a look at the MLS Cup 2023 hosting scenarios.
Good luck out there. Make every rep count.