Soccer <\/p>\n
Charlotte FC<\/a> won, Minnesota United<\/a> frustrated a possession-based team, Evander<\/a> scored a match-winner, and the Columbus Crew<\/a> and Atlanta United<\/a> played a wild game. It was truly a week unlike any other.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n As always: The Power Rankings are voted on by, give or take, 15 people associated with MLSsoccer.com. The author does get a little rush out of moving your team down a few spots, though.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Idan Toklomati<\/a> delivered a hat trick in front of a raucous Bank of America Stadium crowd and Charlotte cruised past Inter Miami<\/a> to make it NINE. STRAIGHT. WINS.<\/em> One more win and they\u2019ll have the MLS record streak outright.<\/p>\n Just before starting this torrid run, they\u2019d only won twice in 12 games. Since then, the ball hasn\u2019t stopped bouncing their way. Statistically, they\u2019ve actually been\u2026 well, slightly worse, according to the advanced metrics.<\/p>\n The counter-point, as always, is: \u201cWho cares?\u201d Charlotte are on an all-time heater.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Sometimes you get Looned. It is what it is.<\/p>\n But now San Diego<\/a> are in real danger of missing out on the Supporters’ Shield and<\/em> a first-place finish in the Western Conference. The Loons are lurking, and Vancouver<\/a> are thriving. There\u2019s plenty of work to do over the final four games.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n We could all use a little more rest, right?<\/p>\n Vancouver’s 7-0 demolition of the Union<\/a> is proof positive of that. In their first game since Aug. 23, Vancouver clobbered Philadelphia to earn maybe the most impressive result of the year, given the circumstances. The Whitecaps are now five points back of the Shield-leading Union with two games in hand on everyone in front of them.<\/p>\n They have six games left to earn their first major trophy, and the schedule is relatively favorable. Matches against Sporting KC<\/a>, Portland<\/a>, San Jose<\/a> and Dallas<\/a> are must-wins. Based on how they played on Saturday and how well Thomas M\u00fcller<\/a> has fit into this side, they’ll certainly like their odds.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Uhhh\u2026 well\u2026 that was\u2026<\/p>\n Anyway, Philly have a US Open Cup<\/a> semifinal against Nashville<\/a> on Tuesday, and they\u2019re still on top of the Shield standings thanks to nearly everyone else showing a similar amount of disinterest in winning this thing. There are four MLS games left and multiple trophies on the line. Best to move on quickly.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Only the Loons could turn a match in which they were outshot 28-6 and outpossessed 67% to 33% into a 3-1 win over the conference leaders, where absolutely no one is surprised at the outcome. They opened the scoring with, what else, a goal off a corner, and then got increasingly spectacular from there. They capped their late charge with this.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Minnesota are now two points behind San Diego and just three points behind Philadelphia in the Shield race. Their methods have been\u2026unconventional, but, clearly, they\u2019ve gotten the job done. We\u2019re watching one of the more remarkable MLS seasons in recent memory here. If they can turn \u201cwe counter and score from set-pieces\u201d into a Shield, it’ll be an all-timer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Seattle<\/a> were on their way to a 2-1 win over the bottom-dwelling Galaxy<\/a> before allowing a late equalizer. They might be regretting that one on Decision Day if they miss out on a home playoff spot.<\/p>\n Maybe a trip to see their good friends at Inter Miami Tuesday can get them refocused and back on track.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The theme of Cincy<\/a>\u2019s season has been continuous rescue efforts from their match winners when the team isn\u2019t at their best. Against Nashville on Saturday night, with their Shield hopes potentially hanging in the balance, they weren\u2019t at their best.<\/p>\n Enter Evander.<\/p>\n He\u2019s at 17 goals and 10 assists on the season. And Cincy are within two points of the league\u2019s top spot with four games to go.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Stoppage time hero! ???? pic.twitter.com\/vqJmWDixZ4<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) September 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Dropping points to D.C. United<\/a>, despite being up a man from the 57th minute onward, is no way to thrive in a playoff race. To be fair, Orlando<\/a> peppered the D.C. goal for most of the game and just couldn\u2019t find a break.<\/p>\n Regardless, they\u2019re sixth in the crowded East with five games to go. The next four are against Nashville, Cincinnati, Columbus and Vancouver. Should they grab a home playoff spot, they\u2019ll certainly have earned it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s tough to assess exactly where the Herons stand right now. They\u2019re sitting eight in the East after a disastrous 3-0 loss to Charlotte, but they still have four games in hand on Shield-leading Philadelphia. Wins in those four games would place them at the top of the league standings. Still, they were off the level against Charlotte, and the matches are coming at speed now.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll face Seattle Tuesday in a Leagues Cup<\/a> 2025 final rematch and will have two games a week for the next three weeks.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Son Heung-Min<\/a> scored inside the first minute and LAFC<\/a> were off and running to a 4-2 win over San Jose in front of a record crowd at Levi\u2019s Stadium.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Denis Bouanga<\/a> followed up Son\u2019s opener with a hat trick to make it 18 goals on the season. He\u2019s two away from matching his career high and average. He\u2019s scored exactly 20 goals in each of his two full seasons in MLS.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n NYCFC<\/a> keep creeping up the standings. After a 3-1 win over Chicago<\/a>, they\u2019re sitting seventh in the East with a game in hand on the two teams in front of them and two games in hand on the four teams at the top of the conference. Only six points separate them and third-place Charlotte.<\/p>\n It seems official: They\u2019ve earned the coveted \u201cno one wants to see them in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs\u201d tag as we head towards the postseason.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Crew were on track to hand out an all-time beatdown in Atlanta and then nearly squandered a 5-0 lead. A win is a win, though. And they really needed that one. They\u2019re in fifth place for now, but they have a game in hand on everyone they\u2019re chasing.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, the task at hand got a whole lot harder with the news that Diego Rossi<\/a> will miss the next 3-4 weeks with a hamstring injury.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Little is going right for Nashville at the moment. They were just fine against Cincy for most of the match, but forgot to keep an eye on Evander in stoppage time, resulting in a 2-1 loss. They\u2019ve won just once in their last six MLS games and have watched their Shield hopes evaporate. They\u2019re in real trouble of missing out on a home playoff spot now.<\/p>\n They also have to regroup quickly. A US Open Cup semifinal against Philadelphia awaits them Tuesday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Portland earned a 2-1 win over the New York Red Bulls<\/a> and pulled themselves to within three points of fourth-place Seattle. The Sounders have a game in hand (and fifth-place LAFC have two games in hand), but the Timbers still have a real shot of at least jumping ahead of their biggest rival.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n All Angles on Ant ???? pic.twitter.com\/wKvhY3kWcf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) September 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n With a chance to put five points between themselves and the playoff line (with a game in hand by the way), the Fire did\u2026not do that in a 3-1 loss to NYCFC.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve got five games to end their playoff drought. The next three are against Minnesota, Columbus and Inter Miami in that order. Tough sledding.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A 2-0 loss against Dallas didn\u2019t make for an ideal weekend. They can erase that from their minds pretty quickly, though, if they make their way to the US Open Cup final. They face Minnesota in the semifinal Wednesday night.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A stoppage-time own goal may have sent the Rapids<\/a> to the playoffs. They didn\u2019t earn a conventional 2-1 win against Houston<\/a>, but they did earn a 2-1 win. With four games left, they’ve opened up a four-point gap between them and ninth place.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Chicago keep leaving the window open for the Red Bulls and the Red Bulls insist on keeping it closed. They had a chance to jump back into a playoff spot, but allowed a 73rd-minute winner to Portland\u2019s Antony<\/a> instead.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Quakes came out in front of a packed house and immediately went down 1-0. It got worse from there in a 4-2 loss to LAFC, which put San Jose\u2019s playoff hopes in danger.<\/p>\n Their defensive issues have played a serious role in their inability to leap up the Western Conference standings and it may likely be what keeps them from securing a spot in the postseason.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n RSL<\/a> took care of business against SKC<\/a> while San Jose got carved up by LAFC. They\u2019re now officially in \u201ccontrol of their own\u201d destiny territory. There\u2019s just one point between them and the ninth-place Quakes and RSL have two games in hand.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n we\u2019re gonna keep on dancing at the PINK PONY CLUB#RSLvSKC<\/a> | @GreatClips<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/AiEYl4Gxzb<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) September 14, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n If you\u2019re going to potentially save your season, you might as well do it against a rival. A 2-0 win over Austin has Dallas one point below the line with five games remaining. They still have to jump RSL and San Jose to get in, but they\u2019re in position to make this interesting.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A stoppage-time own goal could very well end up being the difference between making and missing the playoffs. Their 2-1 loss to Colorado put Houston in 12th place to end the weekend. They\u2019re only two points below the line, but they have three teams ahead of them. Two of those teams have games in hand.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n They rescued a point with a 90th-minute goal against Toronto<\/a>. That wasn\u2019t enough to rescue Caleb Porter\u2019s job. The Revs parted ways with Porter<\/a> after nearly two full seasons in New England<\/a>. They remade the team in his image this offseason, and, well, here we are.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It may not keep them from earning the Wooden Spoon, but a 2-2 draw against Seattle is a solid point. Stealing it with a late goal had to feel pretty good, too.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A 1-1 draw with New England this weekend. It could have been a 1-0 win if not for a late equalizer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Their 2-0 win over CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a> very likely puts St. Louis<\/a> out of Wooden Spoon contention for good. It\u2019s the little things.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A 2-1 loss to RSL made SKC the first team to allow 60 goals this season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n They got to play spoiler against Orlando despite allowing 26 shots to their six in a 1-1 draw.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Atlanta went down 5-0 in the first half at home and somehow worked their way back to a more respectable 5-4 loss. Respectability didn\u2019t keep them from being eliminated from playoff contention, though.<\/p>\n Has anyone had a more disappointing year?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
\n
\n