Soccer <\/p>\n
Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/a> are on an 80-point pace, the New England Revolution<\/a> have won four games in a row and the reigning champs just lost without conceding a shot<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s exactly like we all predicted!<\/p>\n Let’s look back at the latest slate of MLS matches to examine some of the most interesting things we\u2019ve learned. And if you want to read up on the rest of Matchday 11 in detail, check out Matt Doyle\u2019s column<\/a>.<\/p>\n Onwards.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Columbus Crew<\/a> are handling just about everything thrown at them this season. The biggest object hurled their way, of course, was Cucho Hern\u00e1ndez\u2019s transfer to Spain before the season\u2019s start. No problem,<\/em> said the Crew, we\u2019ll go the first eight games of the regular season undefeated with a 5W-0L-3D record.<\/em><\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just the big things Columbus are dealing with expertly. It\u2019s the little things, too, like on Saturday when D\u00e1niel Gazdag<\/a> had to be withdrawn from Wilfried Nancy\u2019s starting lineup during warmups. Jacen Russell-Rowe<\/a> stepped in for Gazdag\u2026 and proceeded to get on the scoresheet in a 4-2 win<\/a> over Charlotte FC<\/a>. With each team missing a playmaker \u2013 Gazdag for the Crew and Pep Biel<\/a> for Charlotte \u2013 Columbus\u2019 impressive home display was their best win of the season.<\/p>\n It was rinse-and-repeat stuff for the Crew, even against a legitimate Eastern Conference threat:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n 17-pass build-up over 70 seconds, back to front, up and down, left to right and back again… just the Crew doing Crew things. pic.twitter.com\/ZQIF83oeBq<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) May 4, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n That Columbus can still create the kinds of chances they did on Saturday without Gazdag is a testament to how seamless things have become on the field during Nancy\u2019s third season in charge. Now firmly past the soft underbelly of their 2025 schedule, don\u2019t expect the Crew to slow down much. They certainly didn\u2019t against Charlotte.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Raise your hand if you had the Revs going on a four-game winning streak after the way they started the season. No one? That\u2019s what I thought.<\/p>\n Despite a difficult beginning to 2025 with four losses in their first six games, the Revs have completely turned things around over their last four matches, all wins.<\/p>\n Most recently, New England traveled up to Toronto<\/a> and topped the Reds, 2-0<\/a>, via goals from Carles Gil<\/a> and striker Leo Campana<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The brilliance of Caleb Porter\u2019s 3-4-1-2 setup, one that\u2019s featured at the start of every game on this winning streak, is that it fits basically every Revs player into their best position. Campana and Ignatius Ganago<\/a> are both fluid forwards who can flex from the central vertical channel into the halfspaces, Gil thrives in a free No. 10 role, Alhassan Yusuf<\/a> has the tools to be one of the best box-to-box No. 8s in MLS, Peyton Miller<\/a> looks better every game in his left outside back spot, and the list goes on and on.<\/p>\n New England\u2019s winning streak won\u2019t last forever, but their ceiling sure looks a heck of a lot higher now than it did a month ago.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n No team in MLS has become more synonymous with a single scoreline this year than Orlando City<\/a> have with a 0-0 draw. Four of their last five games have ended in scoreless ties, including Saturday\u2019s matchup<\/a> with the Chicago Fire<\/a> in which the Lions played up a man for an hour following Chris Brady<\/a>\u2019s red card.<\/p>\n What\u2019s up in the attack for a team that bagged 15 goals through their first six games of 2025? My strong suspicion is that it has less to do with the attack itself and more to do with the lack of support for that attack.<\/p>\n With Oscar Pareja\u2019s first-choice midfield pairing of C\u00e9sar Ara\u00fajo<\/a> and Eduard Atuesta<\/a> not having started together in a single one of those scoreless draws due to injury, Orlando City\u2019s attacking foursome has been hurting for service more than normal. The Lions have struggled to move the ball close to goal for long stretches, as shown by how four of their five games with the longest average shot distance have come without that Ara\u00fajo-Atuesta pairing in the lineup, as per FBref.<\/p>\n As much of the rest of the East rounds into form, Orlando City could do with simply rounding into health. Once the midfield stabilizes, goals will follow.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Allow me, if you will, to quote the excellent Jeremiah Oshan over at Sounder at Heart<\/a>:<\/p>\n There are a lot of adjectives that can describe the Seattle Sounders during Brian Schmetzer\u2019s tenure in charge. Successful, stout, hard-working, industrious, relatable, reliable. They all work. One word I\u2019m not sure many would use is \u201cfun.\u201d Winning is obviously fun, but that\u2019s not so much about process and something that can only really be appreciated after the fact. \u201cFun\u201d is something that is almost immediate, that can be witnessed in real-time. For the first time in a long time, that\u2019s the word I\u2019d use to describe Saturday\u2019s performance.<\/em><\/p>\n The Seattle Sounders<\/a> haven\u2019t always done a great job breaking down deep defensive blocks under Schmetzer. They certainly didn\u2019t last season. But in their last two home games? The Sounders have been downright clinical against deeper defensive outfits.<\/p>\n There was that 3-0 win<\/a> over Nashville SC<\/a> back on Matchday 9, and then came a 4-1 demolition<\/a> of St. Louis CITY<\/a> on Saturday, which featured 31 shots and more xG than in any other Seattle game in American Soccer Analysis\u2019 database. The chemistry that\u2019s developed between Obed Vargas<\/a> and Cristian Roldan<\/a> is off the charts, Ryan Kent<\/a> looked ready to break into the lineup with his two-assist showing off the bench, and Danny Musovski<\/a> can\u2019t stop scoring goals.<\/p>\n You sure wouldn\u2019t know the Sounders were missing several starters due to injury. They ran right over St. Louis with a level of attacking precision that\u2019s starting to look more like a trend than a fluke.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Name a pair of wingers you\u2019d rather have on your team than Anders Dreyer<\/a> and Chucky Lozano<\/a>. I\u2019ll wait. And while I do, I might as well watch those two combine on San Diego FC<\/a>\u2019s second goal from their 5-0 win<\/a> over FC Dallas<\/a>:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n