SOCCER MLS ARTICLES

It’s been a very nice start to the season for LAFC. Not many expected the expansion club to perform well with the number of question marks it had coming into this campaign, but the team has looked good and is currently in the middle of the pack.... 

After finishing atop the Western Conference in the regular season last year, no one expected this out of the Portland Timbers. Portland has yet to win a match this season, and the club has a long way to go if it wants to reclaim that spot.... 

New York City FC is looking like a potential powerhouse in the East. NYCFC is tied with Columbus atop the Eastern Conference and has showed good form without superstar David Villa in the lineup. That’s great news for manager Patrick Vieira as NYCFC has struggled without Villa available in the past. ... 

FC Dallas is looking to beat another team from the Pacific Northwest this Saturday. After trouncing the Seattle Sounders last week, FC Dallas has its sights set on taking down the Portland Timbers.... 

The Seattle Sounders have not gotten off to the start they wanted this season. Seattle was picked by many pundits to be the best team in the Western Conference, but instead the club finds itself at the bottom of the Western Conference along with rival Portland. ... 

Atlanta United had a ton of success during their MLS debut in 2017. The city fully embraced the team, and they led the MLS in attendance during their first season. Atlanta was the first club to bring more people to their matches than Seattle since the Sounders debuted in 2009, and they did it in two different venues. They started the season playing in Georgia Tech’s football stadium, Bobby Dodd Stadium, and were the first team to play in the Atlanta Falcons’ new stadium, Mercedes-Benz Stadium.... 

Welcome to the MLS, Los Angeles FC! There is plenty of buzz about LA’s second team, especially because they will eventually be playing their games within city limits. LAFC hired a veteran coach in Bob Bradley, and there is enough talent on the roster to ensure that this is not an ordinary expansion team.... 

Last season, Toronto FC supporters had their hearts ripped out in the cruelest way possible when the Reds were beaten in the MLS Cup by the Seattle Sounders in a penalty shootout. Now, TFC is back in the big game again with a chance to avenge last season's defeat against the Sounders. Seattle, who had never won the MLS Cup before last season, are now 90 minutes away from going back-to-back.... 

The Seattle Sounders are very likely effectively already in the MLS Cup Final for a second consecutive season. They've picked up a 2-0 victory on the road in Houston, and they haven't ultimately been beaten by multiple goals at home in a year and a half. The Houston Dynamo are up against it, and they're going to have to believe in Christmas miracles to get through this fixture and overturn that two-goal deficit.... 

This whole season for Toronto FC was about redemption. The team lost the MLS Cup on penalties last year at home to Seattle, and it has spent this year figuring out how to get back to the top of the mountain. The Reds are 90 minutes away from hosting the MLS Cup for the second straight season, but they're going to have a war on their hands to get rid of the Columbus Crew after a gritty, scoreless draw last week in Ohio.... 

It's been a while since the Houston Dynamo have been truly relevant in the MLS playoffs. This is the first time since 2013 that they have reached the Western Conference Finals, and it comes in relative improbable fashion in a crowded West. The Seattle Sounders are no strangers to this big stage, and they're not going to be intimidated going into the Lone Star State on Tuesday night.At 10 p.m. ET, tune into FOX Sports 1 for live television coverage of this MLS match on Tuesday, November 21, 2017, at BBVA Compass Stadium.... 

The Columbus Crew faithful don't want to shut down MAPFRE Stadium quite yet.Amidst reports that the team is set to be moved to Austin, the Crew are improbable participants in the MLS Eastern Conference Finals. The opening leg against Toronto FC will take place on Tuesday night and will surely be a raucous atmosphere in what could be the last home game ever in Columbus for the club.This MLS duel will go down Tuesday, November 21, 2017, at 8 p.m. ET at MAPFRE Stadium. The match will be televised live on ESPN.... 

The season isn't quite over for New York City FC yet, but it's pretty evident that any chance of beating the Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference Semifinals is going to come down to producing a ton of goals in a hurry. Facing a 4-1 deficit, the Sky Blues have no choice but to go for broke early and often against a team that is suddenly playing its best soccer of the season.... 

The Portland Timbers might have walked out of the Lone Star State with a scoreless draw in the first leg of the Western Conference Semifinals, but there has to be a huge concern coming back home against the Houston Dynamo on Sunday with a slew of injury questions.At 5 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this MLS match on Sunday, November 5, 2017, at Providence Park.... 

New York Red Bulls' coach Jesse Marsch came up with as good of a quote as possible after his team's 2-1 loss to Toronto FC in the first leg of the Eastern Conference Semifinals."It's only halftime."Too bad for the Red Bulls that it may as well be fulltime considering the fact that the only way they'll keep their season alive is if they score at least two goals and beat the best team in the MLS on its home pitch on Sunday.... 

After playing to a scoreless draw up in British Columbia, the Seattle Sounders have to feel pretty good about themselves. They're unbeaten in 13 straight matches at CenturyLink Field, and a win over the Vancouver Whitecaps would put them into the Western Conference Finals. That said, with neither team scoring at B.C. Place, we're one moment of brilliance from Vancouver away from Seattle being forced to scramble for goals.... 

The Portland Timbers had to scratch and claw to ultimately win the Western Conference regular season title. Seeding means virtually nothing in the MLS playoffs, though, and the argument could be made that the teams that get out of the knockout round are at a bit of an advantage. The Houston Dynamo might have needed to play 120 minutes to see out Sporting Kansas City from the playoffs, but at least they're going to be staying at home and needn't worry about traveling all the way from the Pacific Northwest.... 

When the Columbus Crew left for Atlanta for the first round of the MLS playoffs, they didn't know if they were ever going to get a chance to come back to MAPFRE Stadium. Alas, after upsetting the best expansion team in MLS history, the Crew are going to get at least one more home game before their presumptive move to Austin becomes official. New York City FC is going to be in for a war in its first match of the conference semifinals.... 

With as tight as the Western Conference was this year in the MLS, literally every single match may as well have been worth the entire season. There were just eight points separating the first eight teams. Just because the Seattle Sounders finished No. 2, while the Vancouver Whitecaps finished No. 3 means nothing now. This home-and-home series is going to be spectacular starting on Tuesday night.... 

The New York Red Bulls sure don't look like a No. 6 seed. RBNY became the first ever No. 6 seed to advance out of the knockout round of the MLS Cup playoff. Now, it's going to have a shot at slaying the giants of the MLS in the conference semifinals starting with Monday night's home affair with Toronto FC.... 

Decision Day in the MLS was a big one, as there was a ton of jockeying for positioning in the playoffs. The moment was stolen by San Jose at the death, as the Earthquakes pounded home a goal in stoppage time that put them into the postseason and ripped the hearts out of FC Dallas. All that earned the Quakes for the time being was one more game, though, as eight teams will enter play on Tuesday and Wednesday with just four surviving to get into the home-and-home quarterfinals.These MLS Cup Playoff duels will go down on Wednesday, October 25 and Thursday, October 26. The matches will be seen on FOX Sports 1 and UniMas.... 

Sporting Kansas City has been one of the most accomplished teams in the history of the U.S. Open Cup. The club has three championships to its honor and is going to be hoping to snare a fourth on Wednesday night. If SKC beats the New York Red Bulls, it'll become the third team in the MLS to win the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup four times.... 

The 22nd edition of the MLS All-Star Game promises to be one of the most thrilling we've ever seen for American soccer fans. The mere fact that Real Madrid is going to be the team that the MLS All-Stars are hosting is exciting for sure. The fact that the MLS All-Stars figure to at least be in it with a chance against a team that just won the Champions League last season should flat out make American soccer fans giddy.... 

There wasn't really a lot in the way of expectation this season at Sporting Kansas City. Most at Children's Mercy Park assumed SKC would be a playoff team and maybe catch some fire when it got there. It surely didn't suspect this club would be in first place in the West 14 matches into the season. Sporting will take on Minnesota United at home this weekend with a shot to extend what currently sits as a two-point lead in the conference.... 

For the second straight season, the Seattle Sounders have really gotten off to a slower start than they should. They can only hope this second straight sluggish starts turns out as well as last year's MLS Cup campaign. The Sounders have a derby on deck against the Portland Timbers in a duel of the last two MLS Cup champs....