The 2022 US Open Cup third round goes down Tuesday and Wednesday with things getting serious as 17 MLS sides join the competition (the remaining eight enter in the fourth round). You'll need an ESPN+ subscription to watch, but the good news is that all 24 matches will be broadcast with no local blackouts.
Coming off a disappointing 2021 season in which Minnesota United clearly took a step backward, there wasn't much joy to be found among Loons fans at the start of the offseason.
One of the great Thanksgiving traditions — other than your annual Turkey Derby — is watching American football teams you don’t care about. Typically, you couldn’t pay someone to watch a Detroit Lions game, but on Turkey Day it just hits different. This year the Lions are so horrendous that we at The18 recommend these soccer games on Thanksgiving instead.
After a remarkable Decision Day that ended with Colorado atop the Western Conference and Salt Lake in the postseason at the expense of the LA Galaxy, it’s time to begin our countdown to the Cup final on Dec. 11 with some MLS playoff predictions.
Thankfully, this season’s action begins after the November international break so there’ll be no awkward space between the first round on Nov. 20 and the conference semifinals on Thanksgiving.
On Wednesday, Major League Soccer announced its 28-player roster for the 2021 MLS All-Star Game. On Wednesday, Aug. 25, this group will play a highly anticipated match against the Liga MX All-Stars at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles.
Some of the players have been here before (LAFC’s Carlos Vela, Orlando City’s Nani, Nashville’s Walker Zimmerman), but a number of players have been selected for the first time, including rising stars like San Jose’s Cade Cowell, Dallas’ Ricardo Pepi and New England’s Tajon Buchanan.
Cristian Dájome drew a penalty in stoppage-time of the second half, then calmly stepped to the spot and drove home the penalty kick to keep the Vancouver Whitecaps from a defeat in Saturday night's 2-2 draw with Minnesota United at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.
Dájome appeared to suffer a leg injury on the kick, but he converted. He got the chance when Minnesota's Ethan Finlay made contact with the hard-charging Dájome in the box, and, after a short video review, the call was upheld.
Any MLS club in Seattle’s shoes gets blown away on Sunday against Minnesota United at Allianz Field.
It’s an away day in mid-July with the temperature at 90 degrees. Minnesota is strong at home and hungry for a first-ever win over the Sounders at the ninth time of asking. Seattle, on the other hand, has nine players listed as “out” and has to call up two players from the Tacoma Defiance reserve team, including 15-year-old Alaskan Obed Vargas.
This is a recipe for disaster in America’s top division.
The year that was 2020 disrupted a lot of the financial models for Major League Soccer and resulted in a new Collective Bargaining Agreement ratified back in February, but the 26th season of MLS is now underway while looking largely similar to previous editions, particularly with regards to the MLS Designated Players list 2021.
It’s a situation we’ve all seen countless times: The visiting team, playing the role of underdog, takes an early lead in front of a charged crowd and spends the remainder of the match attempting to disrupt the rhythm of the game to secure the three points; the end justifies the means, no matter how it’s achieved.
But you’ve never seen it play out quite like last night’s MLS meeting between Minnesota United and Real Salt Lake at Allianz Field in Saint Paul.
Last year, Darlington Nagbe flicked the ball up to himself and smashed a gorgeous volleyed goal that easily won 2020 MLS Goal of the Year honors. On the first day of the 2021 MLS season, João Paulo one-upped Nagbe with an even better version of the move, a stunning strike that will take some doing to prevent from being the 2021 MLS Goal of the Year.
The Seattle Sounders thrashed Minnesota United 4-0 on opening night in Seattle. The result was surprising given the intensity of the Sounders’ 3-2 stoppage-time win over United in the Western Conference Finals just a few months ago.