Holding a lead with less than five minutes to go, the Colorado Rapids had the playoffs in their hands late Saturday night.
A few minutes later, their season was over — done in by an awkward bounce and rebound that allowed red-hot LAFC to equalize in the 90th minute and dash the Rapids’ hopes of qualifying for the wild card round of the MLS Cup Playoffs.
With Real Salt Lake choking away a lead of its own against St. Louis, Colorado would have sealed the No. 9 seed in the west had it held on at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
Instead, the 2-all draw kept the Rapids (11-15-8) out of the postseason for the third time in four years and sent them into an offseason filled with uncertainty.
“(It’s) pretty much just the highest highs and the lowest lows,” said forward Darren Yapi, whose 87th-minute header put the Rapids ahead, 2-1. “Scoring that goal, I felt like we were through (to the playoffs) and that we were good, and then, you know, they responded. I can’t even process it right now.”
LAFC substitute Andrew Moran tied the game up in the 90th minute after a shot ricocheted off the post straight to his boot. Son Heung-Min opened the scoring with a rocket in the first half, then Paxten Aaronson opened his Rapids account to equalize in the 62nd minute.
No team has found a solution to Son and Denis Bouanga’s reign of terror since the South Korean icon’s arrival for a league-record transfer fee 10 games ago. But to the Rapids’ credit, both were relatively neutralized aside from Son’s stunner. They’ve done that to plenty of striking powers, especially at DSGP, but it didn’t protect them from the final few minutes, when the mood of the team swung as much as it possibly could have.
That’s been a theme of the 2025 Rapids. Coach Chris Armas and numerous players preached their rule of thumb that mentally, they don’t get too high or too low. According to Cole Bassett, that gets difficult when it seems like peaks and valleys are all that exist.
“It hits a little bit more once the season is over and you know you’re probably not playing a game for three months. That’s tough for all of us to process, and we didn’t want to go out this way,” Bassett said. “I think throughout the season, you definitely need to stay even-keeled, but there’s definitely things we can work on from what (Armas) has said throughout the year, because maybe we did get too high or too low in moments and that cost us games.”
Another core principle of this season has been uncertainty and turbulence, which is now carrying through to the offseason.
Just this summer, Chidozie Awaziem requested a transfer to France for personal reasons, then the club’s talisman, Djordje Mihailovic, demanded a trade to Toronto near the end of the window. Replacements came in for both, but their efficacy in those roles is still to be determined with just a few games under their belt.
The biggest question, though, is whether Armas will be at the helm to see that through.
The head coach didn’t directly respond when asked about his future with the club, but club president Pádraig Smith said multiple times this season that an extension was on the way. As recently as a few weeks ago, Armas said he wanted to stay in Colorado, and after Saturday’s match, he spoke about the team’s future while implying he’d be a part of it.
“It’s fresh, the season just ended,” Armas said. “We’ll have discussions with leadership and continue some discussions. That’s all I can say for now.”
Given the Rapids players’ admiration of Armas and the simultaneous freefall out of the playoff picture, it’s tough to decipher which direction the club will take.
Confidence isn’t exactly surging in Commerce City.
Entering the final two-game stretch of the MLS regular season, the Colorado Rapids are looking over their shoulder as they hit the straightaway of a marathon that began back in February.
Closing in behind them is Real Salt Lake, which hosts the Rapids at 7:30 p.m. Saturday for the Rocky Mountain Cup finale in Sandy, Utah. Two weeks later, the Rapids close the season at home against the league’s current best attacking duo in Denis Bouanga and Son Heung-Min, who have scored LAFC’s last 18 goals in the eight games since Son joined the club.
RSL, currently just three points back from the Rapids in 11th place in the Western Conference, has two things going for it: Momentum with a 3-1 win over sixth-place Austin last Saturday, and a knack for burying the Rapids at America First Field. Not to mention Colorado’s dismal road form as of late.
A positive: The Rapids have beaten RSL this year already. That was back in May, when Djordje Mihailovic struck in the 70th minute for the game’s only tally. They had also been on a bad run of form away from home leading up to that match, going 0-3-1 in their previous four games.
A little extra motivation: The Rapids could walk away with their second straight Rocky Mountain Cup with a win, draw or one-goal loss. The trophy, however inconsequential in the big picture, is taken seriously by the club.
“It’s a two-for-one. I mean, it’s got all the reasons to win the game. The Rocky Mountain Cup is for our fans, so for us it’s one of the most important things,” Rapids coach Chris Armas said. “Every time there’s a trophy on the line, we want to be playing for that and put ourselves in that spot. You win that game, it puts you three points closer to the playoffs, gets us the Rocky Mountain Cup. It’s 100 out of 100 important to make the playoffs; same time, lifting that trophy would be huge for our fans.”
The Rapids looked good post-Leagues Cup after Mihailovic forced his way out of Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in August, nabbing three points on the road against a top-3 Western Conference team in Minnesota United. Since then, they’ve collected seven points in six games, a stretch that could have yielded at least 10 points, and arguably more.
That said, the Rapids do still have an ounce of control left in regard to securing an MLS playoff spot, mostly thanks to the West’s middle of the pack cannibalizing itself week after week. Mathematically, Colorado gets in with two wins.
But when asked if the Rapids are up for that sort of mental challenge, goalkeeper Zack Steffen didn’t offer much certainty.
“I have no idea. We’ll see come Saturday,” Steffen said after training on Tuesday. “All we can do is push every day in training, and when the game comes, give it our best.”
Over the past month and a half, Colorado’s best has been beating Houston via a last-minute own goal and grinding out a draw against Minnesota, both at home. It’s been much worse on the road, where the Rapids have been outscored 10-3 in three straight multi-goal losses to teams still below them in the standings.
“We’re one of the teams in MLS that scores first more than (most teams) on the road, which seems like a positive, but maybe that doesn’t help us,” Armas said. “I think from set pieces to concentration, to the way we start games and finish games, substitutions, it’s really not one thing, I promise you. But I know the team steps on the pitch with a good mentality. Otherwise, we’re not getting lucky on the road with leads.”
Two wins and a lot of help could place them as high as sixth, but they could easily tumble out of the playoff picture entirely. But all likelihood suggests they’ll stay in that 8-9 play-in game spot.
That rests on getting at least a draw in Utah. If LAFC has a higher seed to play for on Decision Day, Bouanga and Son may slam the playoff door shut.
American soccer has dealt with two high-profile instances of extreme weather disrupting professional games in the last week. In both cases, despite conditions making it impossible to play at anything close to normal, the games went on.
The most recent of the two happened on Wednesday, when steady and heavy rains flooded the field at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, Caif. before the U.S. women’s national team’s Gold Cup semifinal match against Canada. Conditions meant the ball could not travel on the ground farther than a couple of feet in most parts of the field, which played a direct role in the United States’ opening goal.
“It was honestly insane,” Shaw said. “We had such a good warmup … the ball was moving really fast, and we were excited to just play and have a really intense game, and then we came back out and we were like, ‘What’s happening?’”
Asked if the game should have been played, USWNT interim head coach Twila Kilgore said, “Probably not.”
The previous Saturday, an MLS match between Real Salt Lake and Los Angeles FC was similarly affected, but by a different form of precipitation. That game, which was held at America First Field in Sandy, Utah, was delayed first by high winds and then again shortly after kickoff by lightning. Once the game began in earnest, snow had started to fall, resulting in accumulation of up to four inches and whiteout conditions by the end of Salt Lake’s 3-0 win.
“It was one of the worst professional sporting events I’ve ever seen in my life,” LAFC head coach Steve Cherundolo said after the match, comments for which he was fined $10,000 by the league this week for violating the league’s public criticism policy. “I feel terrible for the players that we put them through this. The game could have and should have been called (off). In my opinion, it was an absolute disgrace we had to play today.”
Why were these games allowed to play on?
In North America, soccer games are usually only called off or delayed when there is lightning within a certain radius of the field or any sort of weather that would impact the structural integrity of the stadium. While baseball and tennis (which saw a recent competition postponed due to rain) are at the more delicate end of the cancellation, soccer is generally about as likely to play through bad weather as American football.
There are numerous examples of professional and international soccer games played through bad conditions, with perhaps the most prominent example being the U.S. men’s national team’s World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica in Commerce City, Colo., just outside of Denver (dubbed by many U.S. fans as the “SnowClásico”). In the 2022 World Cup qualifying cycle, the U.S. hosted Honduras in St. Paul in February, with the temperature at kickoff hovering around 2 degrees Fahrenheit (-16 Celsius). That game, too, was played as planned.
Herculez Gomez takes a corner in 2013’s ‘SnowClásico’ (Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
The fact that Saturday’s game continued to be played came as a surprise to new RSL signing Matty Crooks, who has spent his whole professional career in the United Kingdom.
“Back in England, I’d probably say after about 10 minutes it would’ve been called off,” Crooks said. “But to be fair, no one in the changing room even mentioned it being called off, so it was like, ‘Alright, we’re going to play through it.’”
USWNT forward Alex Morgan pointed out how the conditions on Wednesday turned a game that is largely played on the ground into something else entirely.
“It’s just hard to even call it a game of soccer tonight, especially the first half,” she told the media afterward. “Your instincts are to dribble, and then you can’t dribble, you’ll lose the ball. Your instincts are not to hit it long when you have shorter options but we saw from the goal that Jae scored … that it’s anyone’s game and just to put instincts aside and just really grind this win out.”
Alex Morgan tackled by a Canadian defender (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
What are the rules for W Gold Cup matches? Is that different from NWSL?
Many professional games throughout the world are generally overseen by a person whose job it is to make sure that all the logistical things required to play are in place. This includes but is not limited to ensuring on-time arrival of both teams and the officiating crew, inspecting the field of play, ensuring security arrangements are met, and acting as the organizers’ representative on the ground. In CONCACAF, that person is called the match commissioner and is usually stationed on the sideline between the benches.
CONCACAF rules for the W Gold Cup state that the decision on whether or not to play a game in case of inclement weather is up to the match referee (except in cases of lightning), but in practice it is the match commissioner who has the final say.
“Technically and practically by law it is always in the ultimate decision of the referee to make that decision,” professional referee and CBS rule analyst Christina Unkel said during the halftime broadcast. “That being said, practically speaking, there is a match commissioner at each of these CONCACAF matches. As we saw within the first minutes of this game, the referee went and demonstrated that the ball was not in fact rolling when she went over to near the fourth official station, which is where the match commissioner stands. It was very clear from her demonstrative showing that she does not necessarily think this is a safe condition, but is being told to continue this match by that match commissioner.”
CONCACAF did not respond to questions from The Athletic about the decision-making process that led to Wednesday’s game playing on.
In the NWSL, weather delay decisions are made by a weather delay committee, according to the league’s 2023 rules and regulations. The committee is comprised of the referee, representatives from each team (usually the head coaches), and stadium staff.
The 2012 Eastern Conference semifinal at Red Bull Arena was postponed due to Superstorm Sandy, and was eventually played in a Nor’easter (Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)
What are the rules for MLS matches?
According to MLS policy, “Matches may be delayed or postponed when circumstances exist such that the start or continuation of play would pose a threat to the safety and well-being of participants or spectators.”
“The determination of whether a match is considered ‘delayed’ or ‘postponed’ shall be made by the League Office in its sole and absolute discretion,” the policy reads. The league generally makes that determination with input from meteorologists, staff at the venue and both competing teams.
MLS says it considers safety for players, officials, staff and fans first, followed by competition-related factors like the playability of the field. The league also takes logistical factors into consideration, like availability of the venue and match officials if the game is played the following day. Broadcast implications and other commercial aspects are considered after the aforementioned factors.
When rain flooded the Los Angeles area last February around the start of the MLS season, the league rescheduled its highly touted El Trafico between LA Galaxy and LAFC due to “safety considerations resulting from inclement weather” – factors that included flooded parking lots around the stadium. The game was rescheduled to take place months later, on July 4. LA had recorded its fourth-highest average rain total (6 inches). This February, LA saw 12.6 inches of rainfall — an inch less than the 1988 record.
What’s the reaction been like?
After the Real Salt Lake vs. LAFC game, LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead said that the MLS Players’ Association would be notified of the players’ complaints.
“My lower back is killing me,” he said.. “It’s just like trying to run on an ice rink. You’re sliding and slipping the whole time. The whole goal is just to not fall over and hurt yourself. It will absolutely be taken to the players association. I know our rep will be having that conversation immediately.”
Reached on Thursday, an MLSPA spokesperson told The Athletic: “We’re continuing to discuss things that need to be done better with the players and the league. At this time, we have no further statement.”
Reaction on social media to the playing conditions was universally negative. Former USWNT player Julie Foudy posted, “This is so insane. STOP THE MATCH.” San Diego Wave head coach Casey Stoney, whose NWSL team plays at Snapdragon Stadium, was concerned for the players on the field — including multiple representatives from the Wave — writing, “So dangerous!! Make the right call for player safety!”
LONDON — Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, are expected to vent their grievances against the British monarchy on Thursday, when Netflix releases the final episodes of a series about the couple’s decision to step away from royal duties and make a new start in America.
After the first three installments of “Harry & Meghan” focused on the British media’s coverage of the couple and the way it was influenced by racism, California-based streaming giant Netflix promoted the latest episodes with a trailer in which Harry alleges the couple were victims of “institutional gaslighting.”
“They were happy to lie to protect my brother,” Harry says in the trailer, referring to Prince William, the heir to the throne. “They were never willing to tell the truth to protect us.”
While it is unclear who “they” are, the trailer suggests a combination of the media and palace officials are the most likely alleged culprits. The quote is delivered over a shot of Buckingham Palace and video of William and Harry walking side-by-side during the funeral of their grandfather, Prince Philip, in April 2021.
The potentially explosive new episodes come at a crucial moment for the monarchy as King Charles III tries to show that the institution remains alive and vibrant after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, whose personal popularity damped criticism of the crown during her 70-year reign. Charles is making the case that the House of Windsor can help unite an increasingly diverse nation by personally meeting with representatives of the ethnic groups and faiths that make up modern Britain — trying to show that whatever the allegations against him, the reality is different.
Pauline Maclaran, author of “Royal Fever: The British Monarchy in Consumer Culture,” said the royal family are likely to be awaiting the final three episodes with “bated breath” after the first three contained few direct attacks on the institution.
“It’s very provocative and looks like there’s kind of a war being declared,” she said ahead of the release. “But let’s wait and see.”
Harry’s 2018 marriage to the former Meghan Markle, a biracial American actress, was once seen as a public relations coup for the royal family, boosting the monarchy’s effort to move into the 21st century by making it more representative of a multicultural nation. But the fairy tale, punctuated with a horse-drawn carriage ride and massive wedding at Windsor Castle, soon unraveled amid relentless media attention, including allegations that Meghan was self-centered and bullied her staff.
“I wasn’t being thrown to the wolves, I was being fed to the wolves,” Meghan says in one clip included in the trailer.
The series is Harry and Meghan’s latest effort to tell their own story after the couple stepped back from royal life in early 2020 and moved to the wealthy Southern California enclave of Montecito. Their life on an estate overlooking the Pacific Ocean has been partly funded by lucrative contracts with Netflix and Spotify.
The first three episodes featured extensive comments from Harry and Meghan, alongside interviews with friends and allies, as well as experts on race and racism in British society. There were no comments from the newspapers mentioned.
Race became a central issue for the monarchy following Harry and Meghan’s interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. Meghan alleged that before their first child was born, a member of the royal family commented on how dark the baby’s skin might be.
Prince William defended the royal family after the interview, telling reporters, “We’re very much not a racist family.”
Buckingham Palace faced renewed allegations of racism earlier this month when a Black advocate for survivors of domestic abuse said a senior member of the royal household interrogated her about her origins during a reception at the palace. Coverage of the issue filled British media, overshadowing William and his wife Kate’s much-anticipated visit to Boston, which the palace had hoped would highlight their environmental credentials.
The Netflix series is problematic for the palace because Harry and Meghan are appealing to the same younger, more culturally diverse demographic that William and Kate are trying to win over, Maclaran said.
“I think, it has to be worrying for the royal family in terms of their future, because they really need to get this young generation on their side, to an extent, if they’re going to survive,’’ she said. “They will have to make a very big effort to make themselves appear more diverse, and I think we do see that happening a little bit, but not enough.”
AMHERST, Mass. — Kenny Dye scored 28 points as Queens beat High Point 87-79 on Friday night.
Dye had five rebounds for the Royals (8-2). Kalib Mathews scored 16 points, shooting 6 of 9 from the field and 3 for 4 from the line. AJ McKee shot 3 for 12 (1 for 4 from 3-point range) and 6 of 7 from the free throw line to finish with 13 points.
The Panthers (8-2) were led by Abdoulaye, who posted 16 points. Jaden House added 13 points and six rebounds for High Point. Zach Austin also had 12 points, nine rebounds and three blocks. The loss snapped the Panthers’ five-game winning streak.
———
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The curtain has come down on the 2022 MLS regular season, with 14 teams now preparing to contest the MLS Cup playoffs and another 14 waiting to watch them from home. There will be sides in both of those camps that likely are surprised to find themselves in the positions they occupy, for better or worse; such has been the unpredictable-as-ever nature of this campaign.
Few could’ve predicted Austin FC would be near the top of the Western Conference after a ho-hum inaugural season, while the New England Revolution following up a record-setting 2021 by missing the playoffs would’ve been met with similarly long odds eight months ago. That LAFC and the Philadelphia Union fought over the Supporters’ Shield all season, that was perhaps less surprising.
To definitively explain how these teams performed in 2022, ESPN asked Jeff Carlisle, Kyle Bonagura, Bill Connelly, Cesar Hernandez and Austin Lindberg to think back to the start of the year, consider each team’s expectations and deliver a final letter grade for all 28 sides.
Record: 10W-10D-14L Standing: 40 points, 11th in the East Grade: F
Based on points, Atlanta wasn’t the worst team in MLS, but considering the fact that its payroll of $21 million was the highest in MLS, combined with the fact that it finished 23rd out of 28 teams in the full league table, a failing grade is appropriate.
Sure, the numbers provided by the MLSPA don’t paint a complete picture. Season-ending injuries to the likes of defender Miles Robinson, midfielder Ozzie Alonso and goalkeeper Brad Guzan didn’t help. Neither did the continued drama surrounding striker Josef Martinez, but there was still enough talent on this team to at least get into the playoffs, and the Five Stripes didn’t get it done. The 2023 campaign is shaping up to be a put up or shut up year for manager Gonzalo Pineda. — Carlisle
Record: 16W-8D-10L Standing: 56 points, 2nd in West Grade: A-
FiveThirtyEight gave them a 31% chance of making the playoffs before the season and listed them as one of six teams with a less than 1% chance of winning the MLS Cup. But their early play was so strong that they had all but locked up a playoff spot by July, and now only LAFC, Philadelphia and Montreal have demonstrably better title odds.
They wobbled over the final month, losing five of their last 10, and we’ll see what legs they have left for the playoffs, especially in defense. But they’re here. Sebastian Driussi finished with 22 goals and seven assists in a possible MVP season, Diego Fagundez had six goals and 15 assists, and all in all, Austin FC enjoyed a miraculous second season. — Connelly
Record: 13W-3D-18L Standing: 42 points, 9th in East Grade: B+
They were top-3 in attendance, and thanks to a late hot streak they weren’t eliminated from the playoff race until the final week of their debut season. (And they pulled that off with an interim coach, Christian Lattanzio leading the way for more than half the season.) That is a success story in and of itself.
In the end, they just didn’t have enough firepower. They were 21st in goals scored — only Karol Swiderski hit double digits for the season — and opponents attempted far more shots than they did. But you can see the makings of a proper possession club here, and it will be interesting to see how they attempt to build on that this coming offseason. — Connelly
Record: 10W-9D-15L Standing: 39 points, 12th in East Grade: C-
There was a significant amount to feel positive about in the Windy City in 2022. Xherdan Shaqiri accumulated 18 direct goal contributions in his first season in the league, 18-year-old Gabriel Slonina emerged as one of the brightest goalkeeping prospects in recent memory (and subsequently sealed a transfer to Chelsea in the process), and 18-year-old forward Jhon Duran‘s debut campaign was so impressive (eight goals and three assists in just 1,274 minutes) that he earned a senior call-up with Colombia.
And yet, despite all that momentum, the Fire still finished 12th in the Eastern Conference and were eliminated from playoff contention with two matchdays left in the regular season. If Chicago’s reward for their promise in 2022 is the transfer fee generated by Slonina’s exit (and potentially Duran’s, too, with Chelsea and Liverpool credited with interest), then it’s hard to escape the conclusion that the club is facing another season of rebuilding in 2023. — Lindberg
Record: 12W-13D-9L Standing: 49 points, 5th in East Grade: A+
Qualifying for the playoffs for the very first time after spending the previous three seasons with the worst record in MLS? Not bad from FCC. It took until Decision Day and a result over bottom-of-the-table D.C. United, but Cincinnati made a statement with a 5-2 victory in the final weekend of the regular season.
The rebuild project under general manager Chris Albright and head coach Pat Noonan has undoubtedly been a success in 2022. They may not last long in the playoffs with their fragile defense, but they’ll be fun to watch if attack-minded players such as Brandon Vazquez, Luciano Acosta and Brenner continue to step up. — Hernandez
Record: 11W-10D-13L Standing: 43 points, 10th in West Grade: C-
A year after topping the Western Conference with 61 points, the Rapids swiftly fell back into obscurity. Only one team in the conference (San Jose) allowed more than the 57 goals conceded by Colorado, which gave up just 35 a year ago.
At the most basic level, the regression is easy to understand. Over the last year-plus, the Rapids have lost midfielders Kellyn Acosta and Cole Bassett and defenders Sam Vines and Auston Trusty without coming close to replacing them with players at the same level. The most high-profile acquisition was striker Gyasi Zardes, who in 26 matches scored nine goals. However, the Rapids won just twice in his first 11 appearances, which derailed the season by the middle of the summer. — Bonagura
Record: 10W-16D-8L Standing: 46 points, 8th in East Grade: C-
Is this a good time to bring up the fact that head coach Caleb Porter said, “I’d bet my house” on Columbus making the playoffs?
Needing at least a tie on Decision Day to earn a playoff spot after failing to qualify last year, the Crew tripped over themselves once again through a 2-1 loss to Orlando. The defeat, which featured a second half game winner for Orlando from Facundo Torres, felt indicative of a Columbus squad that has become accustomed to closing out games all season.
Questions will need to be answered by Porter, who often found himself stuck in draws and narrow results. Over the past year, it’s difficult to say that much progress has been made by the players or the coach. — Hernandez
Record: 7W-6D-21L Standing: 27 points, 14th in East Grade: F
The District was a case study in Murphy’s Law in 2022. Paul Arriola was transferred to Dallas, where he enjoyed a career year; Julian Gressel was shipped to Vancouver, where his rate of a direct goal contribution every 346 minutes was slashed to one every 220; manager Hernan Losada was fired; new coach Wayne Rooney finished the year with a 2W-3D-8L record; and star forward Taxi Fountas is being investigated for using a racial slur in a loss to Miami last month.
This was a season when D.C. were meant to establish themselves as postseason contenders. Little more than seven months after the campaign began, it’s hard to name a club further away from contention. — Lindberg
Record: 14W-11D-9L Standing: 53 points, 3rd in West Grade: B+
In his first season with the club, manager Nico Estevez has been decisive in the efforts that have helped Dallas return to the playoffs after missing out in 2021. With only 37 goals allowed all season and important saves from Maarten Paes, Dallas’ defensive prowess was influential in their top-third finish in the Western Conference table.
Which isn’t to say that their frontline should be ignored. Twenty-one-year-old USMNT striker Jesus Ferreira was one of the best in the league with his 18 goals and six assists. In support, others such as Paul Arriola, Alan Velasco and Sebastian Lletget also stepped up in crucial moments. — Hernandez
Record: 10W-6D-18L Standing: 36 points, 13th in West Grade: D
The growing pains of a new era? Even with majority owner Ted Segal taking charge since 2021 through front-office hirings (including a first-ever role for a technical director) and the marquee signing of Mexican international Hector Herrera, nobody was able to halt a dismal run of form that led to a failure to qualify for the playoffs and the firing of head coach Paulo Nagamura.
Nagamura’s replacement will be tasked with not only finding the right combination to work with Herrera, but also reviving a team that hasn’t earned a playoff invitation since 2017.
Record: 14W-6D-14L Standing: 48 points, 6th in East Grade: B
Inter woke up! After finishing 10th and 11th in the East, respectively, in their first two seasons of existence, Phil Neville’s squad looked well on the way to making it three straight playoff-free years before turning on the jets. After August 1, they generated more points than any MLS team besides Montreal, nearly succumbing to a late-August funk but rallying — thanks in part to one last hot streak from retiring striker Gonzalo Higuain — to snare the No. 6 seed in the Eastern playoffs.
This is neither a young nor particularly creative team, but making the postseason was the goal and they did so. — Connelly
Record: 21W-4D-9L Standing: 67 points, 1st in West Grade: A
After compiling an 18-4-3 record, LAFC’s procession to the Supporters’ Shield took a minor detour at one point. But a 1-4-1 stretch run raised all kinds of questions, such as if adding the likes of Gareth Bale, Denis Bouanga and Giorgio Chiellini might have unsettled the squad with the playoffs approaching. Philadelphia, all of a sudden, was in with a shout of catching the Black-and-Gold, but timely wins against Houston and Portland allowed LAFC to finish with a kick and claim the Shield.
Considering that this side missed the playoffs last year and underwent a considerable overhaul in terms of personnel, it’s an impressive accomplishment for the club and first-year manager Steve Cherundolo. Now the MLS Cup beckons. — Carlisle
Record: 14W-8D-12L Standing: 50 points, 4th in West Grade: B
What a second half of the year for the Galaxy. At the All-Star break point, they were floundering in ninth place in the Western Conference, with the postseason not worth discussing. Since then, the conversation has changed. Los Angeles rose all the way to fourth in the conference to earn a home playoff game (Nashville, Oct. 15) and are very much among the contenders to win the whole thing.
A lot of that turnaround has be credited to the acquisition of Riqui Puig. In his 10 appearances (9 starts), the Galaxy is 4-5-1 and he contributed eight goal contributions (3 goals, 5 assists). In the 22 games prior to Puig’s arrival this season, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez had 11 goal contributions (10 goals, 1 assist) and averaged 0.5 goals per 90 minutes. In the 10 games after Puig arrived, Chicharito’s production took off. He averaged 0.91 goals per 90 minutes and had nearly as many goal contributions (8 goals, 1 assist) in fewer than half as many games. — Bonagura
Record: 14W-6D-14L Standing: 48 points, 6th in West Grade: B-
There was no more up-and-down team in MLS in 2022 than the Loons. From May to the end of June, Minnesota lost seven of 10 games — including a U.S. Open Cup round-of-16 defeat to third-tier Union Omaha — before following that up with a stretch of nine wins in their next 12, only to finish the campaign by losing five of their last seven. In the end, this was a team that did just enough to sneak into the playoffs.
Injuries undoubtedly played a role: Hassani Dotson played 630 minutes before he was lost for the season to a torn ACL, Romain Metanire featured for just 22 minutes as he rehabbed a series of hamstring injuries, and Bakaye Dibassy missed the final seven matches of the season (and won’t be available for the playoffs) after suffering a ruptured quadriceps tendon. However, the Loons had the fourth-oldest squad in MLS in 2022, and their young players have done little to suggest they’re ready to take this team to the next level. — Lindberg
Record: 20W-5D-9L Standing: 65 points, 2nd in East Grade: A
Behold, the power of continuity. Montreal came into 2022 having missed the (full-season) playoffs every year since 2016 and only made a couple of real offseason moves (and kept manager Wilfried Nancy), but they enter the playoffs with the East’s No. 2 seed and the third-best title odds thanks to a couple of prolific veterans (Romell Quioto and Kei Kamara combined for 24 goals and 13 assists) and a breakout season for 2021 addition Djordje Mihailovic (nine goals and six assists from 57 chances created).
In short, their front office was patient, and the patience paid off. — Connelly
Record: 13W-11D-10L Standing: 50 points, 5th in West Grade: C+
After finishing third in the West in 2021, Nashville flirted seriously with the idea of missing the playoffs, but what they lacked in general watchability – it’s not much of an exaggeration to say that every Nashville match this year was a 1-1 draw — they made up for in resilience. A six-match unbeaten streak in August and September assured them of a fifth playoff bid in five tries. Still, the defense grew leakier and the team got older, and they will head into the offseason with more questions than they had a year ago.
Unless there’s a deep playoff run coming, this season was a step backward. — Connelly
Record: 10W-12D-12L Standing: 42 points, 10th in East Grade: F
We’ll let head coach Bruce Arena summarize the 2022 season for the Revs: “I’m not going to miss it.”
One year after setting MLS’ single-season points record and lifting their first-ever Supporters’ Shield, New England faltered in 2022 with a spot outside of the playoffs and a dramatic collapse in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. Although the expectation wasn’t to hit the same heights of 2021 (especially with the exits of Tajon Buchanan, Matt Turner and Adam Buksa to Europe), qualifying for the playoffs was the minimum goal.
Things didn’t go as planned either through injuries and the additions of veterans such as Sebastian Lletget, Jozy Altidore and Omar Gonzalez. Over the summer, Lletget was transferred to FC Dallas, while Altidore went on loan to Liga MX’s Puebla. As for Gonzalez, he was never able to establish a starting role. — Hernandez
Record: 16W-7D-11L Standing: 55 points, 3rd in East Grade: C+
As June beckoned, the reigning MLS Cup champions seemed to be making a solid push toward a repeat. On June 1, NYCFC was actually a point ahead of Philly, but then manager Ronny Deila left for Standard Liege, reigning Golden Boot winner Taty Castellanos was loaned to Girona, and things began to go wobbly They’ve gone just 7-7-5 since. Not awful, but not great either, and NYCCFC seemed to lose the high-pressing ethos that Deila instituted.
A three-game winning streak to end the season hints that things are improving under Nick Cushing, but the playoffs will be the ultimate judge of NYCFC’s season. — Carlisle
Record: 15W-8D-11L Standing: 53 points, 4th in East Grade: B+
The Red Bulls needed goals in 2022 if they were to have any chance of returning to their status as consistent Eastern Conference contenders. Striker Patryk Klimala registered just five this year, falling short of the impact expected of the Young DP signing from Celtic, but Lewis Morgan has been a revelation in New York, scoring 14 times in league play from the wing since his big-money arrival from Inter Miami in the offseason. As such, the Red Bulls saw their goals-for record improve from just 39 in 2021 (only three teams in the conference were worse) to 48 this season (sixth best).
This is a much improved team over last year, as evidenced by earning a Round One playoff contest at home, and Morgan’s emergence has a lot to do with that. Just imagine how dangerous Gerhard Struber’s side would be with some genuine productivity from the No. 9 position. — Lindberg
Record: 14W-6D-14L Standing: 48 points, 7th in East Grade: C+
The Lions remain one of the league’s enigmas. They broke through to win the U.S. Open Cup and also snuck into the playoffs on the last day of the season. Given that success and failure is largely playoff qualification-based, the tendency will be to look at the season as a positive. But looked at another way, Orlando finished seventh in a 14-team conference, basically midtable.
Given the money spent on the likes of Facundo Torres and Ivan Angulo, more was expected of an attack that ranked tied for 21st in the league with 44 goals scored. The minus-9 goal differential speaks to a lack of consistency on the defensive side of the ball as well. With a playoff spot secure, Oscar Pareja looks set to continue as manager, but plenty of questions need to be asked in terms of addressing the team’s weaknesses during the offseason. — Carlisle
Record: 19W-10D-5L Standing: 67 points, 1st in East Grade: A
The Union finished the year level on points with LAFC and only lost out on winning the Supporters’ Shield by virtue of having two fewer wins. From another vantage point, it’s easy to make the case the Union were the most dominant team in the league this year and had one of the best regular seasons in league history.
Their plus-46 goal differential was 18 better than LAFC this year and stands as the second-best mark in MLS history, behind only LAFC in 2019 (48). They led the league in goals scored (72), had the fewest goals conceded (26) and were the only team in the league to go unbeaten at home. Daniel Gazdag (22 goals) finished one shy of the Golden Boot and combined with Julian Carranza (14 goals) to finish as the top goal-scoring duo (tied with FC Cincinnati’s Brandon Vazquez and Brenner).
For all the Union accomplished, though, the only way to ensure a lasting place in history is to add an MLS Cup-size exclamation point. — Bonagura
Record: 11W-13D-10L Standing: 46 points, 8th in West Grade: D+
The Portland Timbers’ prominent role in Sally Yates’ report into systemic abuse in women’s soccer has deservedly overshadowed anything the team has done on the field in recent weeks. Not that there was much on the field to write home about: All Portland needed on Decision Day was a point against Real Salt Lake to ensure a place in the postseason. Instead, they came out disinterested and were outplayed in a 3-1 loss that saw the host jump out to a 3-0 lead before a late consolation goal.
It sets up an offseason in which the most important questions will be asked about Merritt Paulson’s future as owner, rather than how the Timbers will rebuild following a rare playoff miss. — Bonagura
Record: 12W-11D-11L Standing: 47 points, 7th in West Grade: C+
Let’s make sense of this: RSL lost longtime designated player Albert Rusnak in the offseason to Seattle and star midfielder Damir Kreilach appeared in just five games due to injury. Yet, the club still finished in seventh place, the same spot it did the prior season when it made a run to the Western Conference finals.
RSL beat Portland 3-1 on Decision Day to earn the final playoff spot and while that’s not exactly a conventional formula for postseason success, last year’s run should inspire some confidence that lightning can be captured in a bottle once again. No other playoff team scored fewer goals than Salt Lake, which outscored only four teams during the regular season. RSL also managed only 16 goals on the road, which doesn’t bode well for its trip to Austin, an offensive juggernaut. — Bonagura
Record: 8W-11D-15L Standing: 35 points, 14th in West Grade: D
The decision to keep Matias Almeyda as manager to start the season still looms large, though the 1.32 points per game the team has earned under Alex Covelo since then reveals that this side was always a borderline playoff team at best. A defense that conceded a whopping 67 goals, worst in the league, made it was even more of an uphill climb. Now this is new manager Luchi Gonzalez’s problem.
A trio of defenders — Carlos Akapo, Rodrigues and Miguel Trauco — have been brought in to start the defensive rebuild, but there’s frankly not enough data yet to determine if it will work. A space-covering holding midfielder is still needed. The attack looks in good shape with Jeremy Ebobisse, Cristian Espinoza and Jamiro Monteiro. Cade Cowell has promise, as does 17-year-old Niko Tsakiris, but 2023 has the makings of another “trying to sneak into playoffs vibe.” — Carlisle
play
1:44
Herculez Gomez debates which team has had the worst MLS season out of Atlanta and Seattle.
Record: 12W-5D-17L Standing: 41 points, 11th in West Grade: C-
This grade very much takes into consideration that the Sounders claimed the CONCACAF Champions League. It was the first time in two decades that an MLS side reached the continental promised land, and the first since a home-and-away was used in the knockout rounds, but Seattle paid for it in the long run.
Joao Paulo went down in the CCL final with a torn ACL. His replacement, Obed Vargas, later suffered a long-term back injury as well. Emotional leader Cristian Roldan underwent surgery, and influential forward Raul Ruidiaz logged just 1,306 league minutes. And so it went. The Sounders could never quite get going and failed to make the postseason for the first time in 14 seasons.
Now the question looms large: Can Seattle rebound? The roster seems locked up for next year too, with its complement of DPs already in place. It will amount to a tricky job for president of soccer Garth Lagerwey and manager Brian Schmetzer. That said, if everyone can just heal up, the talent is definitely there. — Carlisle
Record: 11W-7D-16L Standing: 40 points, 12th in West Grade: D+
Despite having a promising end to the season with just two losses in their last 10 games, very few will be content with how 2022 went for SKC. Hit by major setbacks through two lengthy injuries for DPs Alan Pulido and Gadi Kinda, head coach Peter Vermes and his roster never found much-needed rhythm until August and were subsequently left out of this season’s playoffs.
They have the potential to bounce back in 2023 — keep an eye on goal scorer William Agada next year — but some serious roster questions will need to be asked during the winter offseason. — Hernandez
Record: 9W-7D-18L Standing: 34 points, 13th in East Grade: D
Giving your rivals a five-month head start is rarely a recipe for success, yet that’s essentially what Toronto did in 2022. From the starting XI that opened the season in Dallas, just four names remained in the XI that hosted Miami little more than a week ago. The Reds averaged a point a game before the secondary transfer window opened, when the likes of Lorenzo Insigne, Federico Bernardeschi, Mark-Anthony Kaye and four others arrived, leaving the team in a position to need a points-per-game pace of 2.27 after the window closed if they were to make it into the playoffs. For context, Supporters’ Shield-winning LAFC averaged 2.03 PPG all season.
Maybe the 2022 season was an acclimation period for new coach Bob Bradley and his stable of star signings, and Toronto will put it all together for an almighty run in 2023. If not, this year’s D grade will look a lot worse. — Lindberg
Record: 12W-7D-15L Standing: 43 points, 9th in West Grade: D+
The Caps were six points worse off in 2022 than they were in 2021, when they made a surprise run to the MLS Cup playoffs. They also scored five fewer goals — the third-worst goals-for metric in the league — despite having another season to work together while adding coveted wide creator Julian Gressel.
There is an argument to be made that Vancouver even being in the playoff conversation on Decision Day was a mirage. Only Wooden Spoon winners D.C. United boasted a worse goal differential than the Whitecaps’ minus-17. It’s another offseason of “back to the drawing board” in British Columbia. — Lindberg
