Canadian Thanksgiving is upon us, and the US version will be here before we know it. FIFA\u2019s new, supersized autumn international window is finally in the rearview mirror, and with only a few short weeks remain in the regular season, Decision Day is looming, with the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs kicking off just days later.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s pumpkin season for most of North America. Is your team carving theirs, or turning into one?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the context for a fast, furious MLS Matchday 29. Grab a sharp knife and a big spoon\u2026<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve simply got to start at Energizer Park, site of a stunning Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire beatdown.<\/p>\n
White-hot St. Louis CITY SC<\/a> brought their paddle out for the LA Galaxy<\/a>\u2019s visit, Carlo Holse<\/a> notching a hat trick in the first 21 minutes as STL stacked up five goals in the first half en route to a 6-2 demolition<\/a> that underlines their trophy credentials with the biggest marker imaginable.<\/p>\n Holse\u2019s fellow summer signing Rafa Navarro<\/a> added 2g\/2a, the entire team seemed to be in glorious sync and the home faithful showed their appreciation with a rollicking atmosphere. By the time former CITY man Jo\u00e3o Klauss<\/a> scored his late consolation for LA, the vibes in STL were so nice that it was more of a feel-good moment than a downer for the hosts.<\/p>\n CITY\u2019s unbeaten run now stands at 20 matches across all competitions, which matches the league record held by Red Bull New York<\/a> in 2026. They can pass Western Conference leaders Vancouver and take possession of first place with a win over the Whitecaps at Energizer on Wednesday. One week after that, they\u2019ll battle Columbus<\/a> in the US Open Cup final<\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a very good time to be a soccer fan in St. Louis.<\/p>\n Did Messi, Miami get their groove back?<\/p>\n With just one win in their last 10 league matches heading into their Walmart Saturday Showdown home clash with D.C. United<\/a>, Inter Miami<\/a> hadn’t looked much like the juggernauts they are widely perceived to be.<\/p>\n The veterans who lead the defending MLS Cup presented by Audi champions changed that picture dramatically over these 90 minutes, routing downtrodden D.C., 4-0<\/a>, at rainy NU Stadium.<\/p>\n Lionel Messi<\/a> bagged a brace in his return to Herons pink following his emotional international swan song<\/a> with Argentina, his old pal Luis Su\u00e1rez<\/a> hit a double of his own and Germ\u00e1n Berterame<\/a> chipped in a pair of assists \u2013 a pretty good night for the attacking trident atop new head coach Kily Gonz\u00e1lez\u2019s 4-3-3 formation.<\/p>\n From where we\u2019re standing, Miami\u2019s remaining schedule looks pretty manageable, and if this is Messi flipping the big red switch marked \u2018playoffs mode,\u2019 well, buckle your seat belts.<\/p>\n Grizi calls his shot\u2026 again<\/p>\n Orlando City<\/a> and the Columbus Crew<\/a> produced an instant classic \u2013 at least, if you\u2019re not a defensive purist fuddy-duddy \u2013 at Inter.co Stadium, with goals from the 1st minute to the 89th and plenty of flowing, open play in between, the two sides producing a combined SIX expected goals and forcing 17 saves combined between Patrick Schulte<\/a> and the superb Max Cr\u00e9peau<\/a>.<\/p>\n At the very end, the result hinged on 20 fateful seconds<\/a> in which the Crew\u2019s Gonzalo Tapia<\/a> failed to convert a one-on-one with Cr\u00e9peau \u2013 or square to his teammate Brais M\u00e9ndez<\/a> \u2013 and Orlando raced the other way, Iv\u00e1n Angulo<\/a> leading, then finishing a lightning Lions counterattack for the\u00a02-1 win<\/a>.<\/p>\n All that said, perhaps the most fun detail of all here? A few days ago Antoine Griezmann<\/a> (who notched 1g\/1a in this one) posted his rookie teammate Harvey Sarajian<\/a>\u2019s high-school football photo on his Instagram<\/a> (39 million followers, by the way, nearly equivalent to the population of Canada). And voila, Sarajian scores Saturday\u2019s opener, less than one minute into his first career MLS start.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember waking up in the morning before training,\u201d Sarajian said postgame. \u201cI’m scrolling, I’m like, wait, that’s me in high school! It brought a smile to my face, I’m not gonna lie.\u201d<\/p>\n Grizi\u2019s magical effect<\/a> on his teammates endures. Reminder: The French legend called his shot in similar fashion with Justin Ellis<\/a> in the lead-up to his MLS debut back in July. And as my colleague Justin Ruderman noted<\/a>, the Lions are 7W-0L-1D this year when Griezmann scores.<\/p>\n With three goals<\/a> in his first three US men\u2019s national team<\/a> caps \u2013 an achievement only two others in history have ever attained \u2013 few in MLS had a better international window than Julian Hall<\/a>. And Red Bull New York\u2019s prized homegrown kept the momentum rolling with a tone-setting early goal<\/a> in RBNY\u2019s 4-1 thrashing<\/a> of San Diego FC<\/a> at Sports Illustrated Stadium, their third win in four.<\/p>\n \u201cYou could see that he was excited to be back, that he had energy and confidence from his time with the national team,\u201d head coach Michael Bradley said afterwards<\/a>. \u201cWhen you have a young player like that, there\u2019s a lot being thrown at him right now and he\u2019s handling it all in a really mature way.\u201d<\/p>\n RBNY are now in possession of a precious playoff spot, and a midweek win over D.C. United could consolidate their position while inflicting further damage on their Atlantic Cup rivals\u2019 fading hopes.<\/p>\n MLS is (and always has been) exceptional when it comes to second assists, sometimes called \u2018hockey assists.\u2019 Unlike many top leagues around the world, players who play the proverbial \u2018pass before the pass\u2019 are often rewarded as such on the scoresheet. To some, that\u2019s controversial \u2013 they believe it waters down the statistic\u2019s value.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re one of those types, watch the opening goal of the Philadelphia Union<\/a>\u2019s 2-1 win<\/a> over Real Salt Lake<\/a> and tell us with a straight face that Frankie Westfield<\/a> and Cavan Sullivan<\/a> don\u2019t both deserve recognition for their role in this gorgeous team move:<\/p>\n Heck, if anything, the sequence deserves a THIRD assist \u2013 to Milan Iloski<\/a> for that genius dummy which cleared space for Bruno Damiani<\/a> to stroke home. But look, we can agree to disagree on this stats-related quibble, because the real headline here is that Philly and Cavan continue to cook.<\/p>\n Their club-record unbeaten streak now stretches to 13 matches, and Cavan’s two assists on the night have pushed him past Alphonso Davies and Diego Fag\u00fandez<\/a> for most goal contributions in a season by a teenager; he\u2019s now on 21, and has several more weeks to pad his numbers. Like Hall, Sullivan got a real boost from his USMNT adventure and we suspect it will help the Union keep climbing into a top-four finish in the East.<\/p>\n If you find yourself at a matinee at BMO Field, DON\u2019T LEAVE EARLY.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve warned readers repeatedly throughout the season, and Toronto FC<\/a> did it again on Saturday, conjuring up delirious drama to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win<\/a> over their fierce Canadian Classique rivals CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a> via two stoppage-time goals.<\/p>\n Lewis Morgan<\/a> struck the equalizer, then Djordje Mihailovic<\/a> \u2013 whose injury woes have made 2026 \u201cprobably one of the most difficult years of my life,\u201d he said afterwards \u2013 arrived at the back post as the visitors from Qu\u00e9bec got badly exposed in transition at the death, sparking delirious Reds celebrations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe lost the match due to our emotional management during stoppage time,\u201d said CFMTL head coach Philippe Eullaffroy<\/a>. \u201cBetween the fear of losing the match, and perhaps even the fear of winning it, we made poor decisions during those tense moments.\u201d<\/p>\n TFC sit four points below the Eastern Conference playoff line, with four of their last six matches away from home. Their odds are long, but beat Orlando City at home on Wednesday, and maybe there\u2019s a chance.<\/p>\n Charlotte\u2019s stormy comeback<\/p>\n FC Dallas<\/a> have matured into a rugged, resilient side under coach Eric Quill. So it seemed like three road points in the bag when they carried a 2-0 lead into the 70th minute in their first-ever visit to Charlotte FC<\/a>, riding goals from Logan Farrington<\/a> and his second-half replacement Petar Musa<\/a> on a rain-soaked evening at Bank of America Stadium.<\/p>\n Inspired by Idan Toklomati<\/a>, who dug out two goals and an assist, The Crown stormed (see what we did there?!?!) back to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The Israeli international\u2019s dramatic injury-time winner delivered a 3-2 W<\/a> that could turn out to be worth much more than three points to a team who\u2019ll need a bit of attacking quicksilver to mount a deep run in the postseason.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was certainly one for the supporters tonight because it was wet out there, and it was a great victory for them,\u201d said head coach Dean Smith. \u201cI think the excitement when you come back from a two-goal deficit and score right at the death as well, it\u2019s brilliant for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Around the grounds<\/p>\n \u2192 While St. Louis soared this weekend, the Whitecaps side they\u2019re pursuing had to grind for their lives in downtown Los Angeles. A straight red card to defender\u00a0Tristan Blackmon<\/a> just seven minutes in for a DOGSO foul on Jacob Shaffelburg<\/a> put the British Columbians between a rock and a hard place at LAFC<\/a>, but what\u2019s normally a death sentence to visitors at BMO Stadium turned into a galvanizing moment for the \u2018Caps.<\/p>\n They snatched a lead via Oliver Larraz<\/a>\u2019s first goal in VWFC colors, then kept their shape and composure well enough to escape with a 1-1 draw<\/a> that clinches<\/a> their playoffs participation for the fourth straight season. They\u2019d best be ready for an absolute dogfight at STL in midweek, though.<\/p>\n \u2192 This week\u2019s \u2018that\u2019s so MLS\u2019 affair took place in Kansas City, where Sporting KC<\/a>\u2019s record signing Andr\u00e9 Luiz<\/a> netted the sixth and seventh goals of his fledgling MLS career to spark a chaotic 3-3 draw<\/a> with the Portland Timbers<\/a>. The Brazilian is high octane, plain and simple.\u00a0<\/p>\n And yeah, that\u2019s not exactly a road point to be happy about for the Rose City boys, who\u2019ll sit outside the playoff places for at least a couple more days and have won just one of their last eight games.<\/p>\n \u2192 On a slightly less eventful weekend, we\u2019d be talking a lot more about the Seattle Sounders<\/a>, who pulled off the impressive feat of flying across the continent and blanking an otherwise very good\u00a0New England Revolution<\/a>, 3-0<\/a>, in their own house.<\/p>\n \u201cWe came into their building,\u201d said head coach Brian Schmetzer, \u201cand it wasn’t just a smash and grab. It wasn’t like \u2018oh we got fortunate.\u2019 We outplayed them. That’s a good team, well-coached team.\u201d<\/p>\n Beaten-down and bedraggled just a few weeks ago, the Rave Green have won four straight, haven\u2019t tasted defeat since mid-August and look like a safe bet to cruise into the playoffs \u2013 and with momentum to boot. Wednesday\u2019s visit to FC Dallas bears watching.<\/p>\n