The knockout rounds of the MLS Is Back Tournament hasn’t disappointed so far.
We have seen great individual performances, dramatic penalty shootouts, and young stars coming of age.
Round of 16
The Round of 16 kicked off with a mediocre match, as hosts Orlando City took on the Montreal Impact. The only goal was scored by Orlando’s Tesho Akindele after a mistake from former Marseille defender Rod Fanni when keeper Clement Diop way out of position. With the win, Orlando City SC remained unbeaten in the tournament and continued their unprecedented form under new manager Oscar Pareja. The former Tijuana man revamped the team into something the fan base hasn’t seen since their USL days.
The second game of the night was between Bruce Arena’s New England Revolution and Jim Curtain’s Philadelphia Union. Both clubs have overachieved in the past few years and the managers seem to be the wind beneath the teams’ wings. Arena, a legendary coach, is at the end of his illustrious career, while the young Curtain just might be the next star manager to come out of MLS just like Jesse Marsch did in 2018. The game was tightly contested with the Revs having the better chances in the second half. However, it was the Union’s Sergio Santos who scored the game’s lone goal in the 63rd minute to send his side through.
The next day saw a rematch of the 2019 Eastern Conference Final, where NYCFC upset Toronto F.C by a scoreline of 3-1. This year NYCFC barely made it through to the knockout stage on goal difference. The New York club took advantage of a sluggish performance from the TFC backline. allowing Maxi Moralez to show why he is one of the league’s best playmakers. A goal and an assist to fellow Argentine Valentin Castellanos sent the City Football Group affiliate through.
The late-night game saw a special performance out of seemingly nowhere. After Maxime Creapeau’s injury in the group stage, the Vancouver Whitecaps were forced to call upon academy product Thomas Hasal. The 21-year-old had never played for the Whitecaps before the tournament and took his chance. Hasal made numerous incredible saves to keep the Caps’ in the game against Sporting Kansas City. It seemed like the Saskatchewan native was heading for a clean sheet. The game went to Penalty kicks where the opposing keeper, Tim Melia, made headlines with two saves, sending Sporting through to the next round.
The next day saw a barrage of goals. San Jose dispatched Real Salt Lake 5-2 with another goal off the bench for Chris Wondolowski. The high-intensity man-marking system used by the ‘Quakes and Matias Almeyda ripped RSL apart and sent them packing. In the second game, LAFC and Diego Rossi continued to score in abundance and beat a lazy and wasteful Sounders team 4-1. Rossi’s brace took him to 7 goals in 4 games at the tournament, proving that he can fill Carlos Vela’s shoes in his absence.
The last two matches of the Round of 16 both ended with spot-kicks. F.C. Cincinnati equalized late from the spot after a horrible mistake from Portland Timbers’ keeper Steve Clark to take the match to penalties. There the Portland keeper redeemed himself with a save on Jurgen Locadia’s shot. Kendall Watson skied his PK over the bar to send his club home. After a dreadful inaugural season, F.C. Cincinnati shocked many by getting out of their group and making it this far, but Jaap Stam still has a lot of work on his hands.
The other game of the night was between the Columbus Crew and Minnesota United. The Crew were the tournament’s best team coming into the match having yet to concede and winning all three matches convincingly. On the other side, the Loons also impressed even though they have been without reigning MLS Defender of the Year Ike Opara. Robin Lod gave Minnesota the lead on a set piece in the first half, making it the 6th goal from a set-piece for Minnesota out of their 13 goals in 2020. Gyasi Zardes equalized less than 10 minutes from time. During the shootout, Tyler Miller saved Chris Cadden’s spot-kick to give his club the edge.
Quarterfinals
The Quarterfinals began Thursday night with the Philadelphia Union taking on Sporting Kansas City. All the action came in the first half with a beautiful team effort finished off by Jamiro Monteiro giving the Union the lead. Sergio Santos stayed hot scoring a brace to give the Union a 3-0 lead before Alan Pulido pulled one back for SKC to make it 3-1 going into halftime. However, all the attention went to Brendan Aaronson for his assist on Santos’ second. The 19-year-old beat two defenders without touch and then split the SKC backline to find Santos. Coming off of a breakout 2019, Aaronson might be the next big export out of MLS. Numerous clubs across Europe have expressed their interest in him and teammate Mark McKenzie. The Union’s youth movement contributed to them becoming one of the league’s most fun clubs to follow these days.
Next was the tournament’s surprise package against its favourites. Orlando City took on LAFC and this game did not disappoint. Nani had a penalty kick saved by Kenneth Vermeer and a few minutes later Bradley Wright-Phillips continued his scoring form giving LAFC the lead. However, Orlando equalized in the 90th minute through Joao Moutinho. The game went to a shootout where Nani redeemed himself from the spot, knocking LAFC out and continue his side’s fairytale run.
Saturday night saw Minnesota United pick apart the San Jose Earthquakes in a 4-1 victory. Another set-piece goal gave the Loons the lead in the 20th minute which they quickly doubled after a mistake from ‘Quakes keeper Daniel Vega. Magnus Eriksson scored yet another penalty kick to draw one back soon after the break, but Luis Amarilla and Marlon Hairston added goals for Minnesota.
The last match of the quarterfinals was between NYCFC and the Portland Timbers. Jesus Medina gave NYCFC the lead from 12 yards out midway through the first half. Sebastian Blanco equalized soon before the break continuing his hot form since the restart. However, it was another club legend who played the all-important role in this match. Diego Valeri, who revamped his diet in the off-season to stay in shape scored in the 65th minute to give the Timbers the lead. An Andy Polo rocket 10 minutes later secured the win for the Timbers, who seemingly always find a way to stay relevant in MLS.
The semi-finals are set for Wednesday and Thursday with the Union vs. Timbers and then Orlando vs. Minnesota United. It was another week that showed the world why MLS is one of the globe’s most dramatic and exciting leagues. And we hope that the remaining three matches will live up to the expectations, and most importantly - entertaining to watch.
Photo via the MLS official Twitter account.
