Routs, stunners and barnburners \u2013 Matchday 22 served up all sorts of drama, some of it prompting notable movement in the standings as well.<\/p>\n
From superstar surprises in Florida to some explosive blowouts on the West Coast, the goals and plotlines rolled in thick and fast over the weekend.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s sift through the milestones and moments that rang out the loudest, starting with a ferocious late rally in Music City.<\/p>\n
A memorable Nashville night<\/p>\n
It was, in the words of my superb colleague Jaime Uribarri, like something out of a movie.<\/p>\n
League-leading Nashville SC<\/a> were up against it at GEODIS Park as injury time arrived in their clash with the Columbus Crew<\/a>, who\u2019d painstakingly battled back from a halftime deficit to seize a 2-1 lead, looking like the world\u2019s best 14th-place team in the process. NSC\u2019s first home loss of the season was looming, a setback that would surely represent an opening for Inter Miami CF<\/a> and Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/a>, their nearest pursuers in the Supporters\u2019 Shield race.<\/p>\n Then they went and did this.<\/p>\n We\u2019re accustomed to magic like that from Hany Mukhtar<\/a>, Sam Surridge<\/a> and Cristian Espinoza<\/a>. This time it was the Coyotes\u2019 fullbacks who stepped up, Reed Baker-Whiting<\/a> and Andy N\u00e1jar<\/a> scoring improbable last-gasp goals to snatch a 3-2 victory<\/a> from the jaws of defeat, keep NSC on pace for the Shield, home-field advantage throughout the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and a historic<\/a> single-season points total (79) to boot.<\/p>\n With 49 points to date, Nashville are now 10 clear of Miami, and even with a game in hand, it\u2019ll take an unreal surge from the \u2018Caps (40 points) to make the Shield run-in a contest.<\/p>\n Speaking of Vancouver, the reigning Western Conference champs have been limping through a dog-days swoon lately.<\/p>\n With just two wins in 10 games across all competitions since MLS’s FIFA World Cup<\/a> pause, the most recent a frustrating midweek home loss<\/a> to Houston<\/a> that dislodged them from first place in the West, the \u2018Caps have clearly missed Middlesbrough-bound midfield linchpin Sebastian Berhalter, and struggled to find attacking rhythm in the injury-imposed absence of target man Brian White<\/a>.<\/p>\n Perhaps Saturday\u2019s 5-0 trouncing<\/a> of FC Dallas<\/a> will turn out to be their \u2018get right\u2019 game.<\/p>\n The British Columbians were magisterial, even when allowing for the fact FCD had rotated their lineup significantly after a Wednesday trip to Real Salt Lake<\/a> before their trek to the Pacific Northwest.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll cut Eric Quill\u2019s side some slack considering they\u2019re still fifth in the table and haven\u2019t played a home match at under-renovation Toyota Stadium since the last time their last meeting with Vancouver<\/a> way back in mid-May. The North Texans are surely eager to reopen the place on Labor Day Weekend.<\/p>\n Cavan strikes again; USMNT ahoy?<\/p>\n It\u2019s quite possible no one in MLS has drawn more attention over the past month than Cavan Sullivan<\/a>, the Philadelphia Union<\/a> wunderkind who\u2019s leveling up into a true difference-maker before our eyes.<\/p>\n After the Independent Review Panel rescinded<\/a> the red card he picked up on Wednesday in a chaotic tussle involving his brother Quinn<\/a> and several Inter Miami players, the 16-year-old homegrown sniffed out Philly\u2019s equalizer in a \u00a01-1 draw<\/a>\u00a0at\u00a0Austin FC<\/a> to keep the DOOP squad unbeaten in league play since the World Cup (4W-0L-2D).<\/p>\n That\u2019s Cavan\u2019s sixth goal contribution in Philly\u2019s last five games, and it brings his season total to 5g\/11a in 25 games across all competitions. Can the teenage attacker pilot the Union to a place in the playoffs this fall? Will Mauricio Pochettino reward his performances with a call-up to the\u00a0US men\u2019s national team<\/a> next month? We can\u2019t wait to find out.<\/p>\n Toronto stun Messi and Miami<\/p>\n For sheer shock value, Toronto FC<\/a>\u2019s 2-1 upset of Inter Miami at Nu Stadium is the result of the weekend.<\/p>\n A sharp left-footed strike from club-record signing Josh Sargent<\/a> and a tidy Derrick Etienne Jr.<\/a> finish after some sloppy Herons defending propelled the Reds into the catbird seat, and even a trademark Lionel Messi<\/a> tally<\/a> wasn\u2019t enough as the defending MLS Cup presented by Audi champions suddenly find themselves mired in a slump.<\/p>\n The Herons are now winless in their last four, and have banked just one victory in seven matches across a busy August \u2013 with one fixture still to play this month. They look tired, even with the injection of Brazilian star Casemiro<\/a>, and those familiar defensive bugaboos are back, as indicated by just one solitary clean sheet since the World Cup break.<\/p>\n TFC, for their part, are on the up. This was their first-ever win at IMCF, and they\u2019ve now taken eight points from a possible 12 over their past four to climb to the doorstep of the playoff places in the East table, despite showpiece summer reinforcement Niklas Dorsch<\/a> being sidelined by a facial fracture just three games into his Reds career.<\/p>\n \u201cIncredible diligence and awareness and effort,\u201d said head coach Robin Fraser<\/a> postgame. \u201cThe conditions were quite miserable, quite hot, extremely humid, and guys just dug in, so I\u2019m really proud of the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n Toronto remain below the playoff line in large part because Orlando City<\/a> have finally, after many difficult months at the start of the season, clambered above it. The Lions\u2019 2-1 win<\/a> over Real Salt Lake pushes them into ninth place, a nose ahead of TFC and D.C. United<\/a> thanks to the wins tiebreaker, and yet again they have Antoine Griezmann<\/a> to thank.<\/p>\n OCSC\u2019s French icon bagged a dramatic second-half brace at Inter.co Stadium, his first multi-goal outing since moving Stateside, to power the Lions\u2019 comeback after RSL struck early, yet perhaps sat back too early and too often in the Florida humidity.<\/p>\n “It’s mandatory for us to enjoy Griezmann,\u201d said interim coach Mart\u00edn Perelman. \u201cWe are lucky in the moment that he is here with us. He’s one of the best players in the history of this sport. We have the privilege to see him \u2013 it\u2019s just about enjoying him \u2026 and he is enjoying as well, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n As good as Grizi was, Daryl Dike<\/a>, Justin Ellis<\/a> and Tyrese Spicer<\/a> were impactful off the bench, hinting at the growing spectrum of options at Perelman\u2019s disposal. Beware these Cardiac Cats.<\/p>\n Mixed emotions in St. Louis<\/p>\n In strict results terms, St. Louis CITY SC<\/a> are soaring like never before. The Midwesterners knocked off the red-hot Houston Dynamo, 2-1<\/a>, in a tenacious tussle at Energizer Park on Saturday, extending their unbeaten run to 12 matches as they keep marching up the West standings, paced by surging striker Simon Becher<\/a>.<\/p>\n The mood in the stadium was more complicated than you might think, though. Because this game also turned out to be the unofficial goodbye<\/a> to beloved midfielder Eduard L\u00f6wen<\/a>, who is reportedly set to be traded to the San Jose Earthquakes<\/a> after he and the club were unable to sort out a contract renewal to keep him in CITY magenta for the long term.<\/p>\n Assuming the deal gets done, he\u2019s the second STL star to depart this summer after Marcel Hartel<\/a>, which simultaneously underlines how impressive their current form really is AND raises questions about letting go of two key contributors who\u2019d connected profoundly with the fanbase \u2013 particularly L\u00f6wen.<\/p>\n Did STL do right by the player, or allow a community hero to walk away?<\/p>\n Must-see moment: Pereyra\u2019s rabona<\/p>\n Acquiring L\u00f6wen looks a savvy move by the aforementioned Earthquakes, who need all the help they can get as their rip-roaring 9W-1L-0D start to the campaign has become a distant memory, thanks to the brutal 1W-7L-3D skid that followed.<\/p>\n The Quakes have turned mighty leaky of late, conceding a jaw-dropping 18 goals in their six games since the World Cup pause, five of them losses, the most recent Saturday\u2019s 5-1 shellacking<\/a> at home by a Minnesota United<\/a> side who\u2019d won just once across all competitions since May 3.<\/p>\n Whatever your perspective on all that, however, do NOT, under any circumstances, miss the insane rabona by Joaqu\u00edn Pereyra<\/a> that burst open the floodgates at PayPal Park, where a literal toddler<\/a> showed more life on the pitch than the home side. San Jose boss Bruce Arena has urgent questions to address, to say the least.<\/p>\n \n Around the grounds<\/p>\n Robert Lewandowski<\/a> drew a crowd \u2013 one of the biggest of Red Bull New York<\/a>\u2019s season, in fact \u2013 to Sports Illustrated Stadium for Chicago Fire FC\u2019<\/a>s visit. By the looks of it, many of them were fellow Poles eager to get a glimpse of one of the finest players their nation has ever produced.\u00a0<\/p>\n They had to wait a bit, with \u2018Lewy\u2019 coming off the bench\u00a0as head coach Gregg Berhalter sought to give him and a few other regulars some rest ahead of Tuesday\u2019s\u00a0Leagues Cup<\/a> quarterfinal clash with LIGA MX giants CF Monterrey. In the end, the Fire claimed a\u00a01-1 road draw<\/a> that extends their unbeaten streak to seven games.<\/p>\n The matchday concluded with an Atlanta United<\/a>–Sporting Kansas City<\/a> Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire clash that could justifiably be framed as a six-pointer in the race to avoid the Wooden Spoon, the unofficial, fan-created annual prize for the league\u2019s last-place team.<\/p>\n Both sides have some semblance of hope in the air, though, considering they\u2019re making big-money moves to upgrade their struggling squads.<\/p>\n Eventual 2-1 winners<\/a> ATLUTD introduced their new signing Swiss international Breel Embolo<\/a> to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium faithful on Sunday, while SKC just welcomed Brazilian winger Andr\u00e9 Luiz<\/a>. Both are said to have cost upwards of $18 million apiece.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Routs, stunners and barnburners \u2013 Matchday 22 served up all sorts of drama, some of it prompting notable…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":869493,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194298],"tags":[301952,301950,49,48,301946,140977,301953,301947,301951,24855,301949,301948,55,301945],"class_list":["post-869492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-vancouver","tag-atlvsskc-08-23-2026","tag-atxvsphi-08-22-2026","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-miavstor-08-22-2026","tag-national-writer-charles-boehm","tag-nshvsclb-08-22-2026","tag-orlvsrsl-08-22-2026","tag-rbnyvschi-08-22-2026","tag-sendtonews","tag-sjvsmin-08-22-2026","tag-stlvshou-08-22-2026","tag-vancouver","tag-vanvsdal-08-22-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=869492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/869492\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/869493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=869492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=869492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=869492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}