MLS 2021 Mid Season Look In

The 26th season for the MLS is at the half way point and lots has been learned thus far. Still a long was to go and plenty of matches left for teams to get on a run or falter. Before we dive into a team by team look there are several key things that point to this being a very successful season.

With all that has happened on the international level the last 6 weeks its been easy to overlook the MLS. But those international activities have a direct bearing on the MLS. The COCNACAF Nations League back in June and the recently completed CONCACAF Gold Cup reflect well on MLS. Besides the obvious link that any high level soccer in the country generates additional interest (wait till you see the boom that is going to happen after we host WC 2026!). But the less than obvious point is the exposure of those two tournaments to the overseas soccer community. While the Nations League was overlapped by the UEFA European Cup the Gold Cup has pretty much the only big event as it started just as CONMEBOL Copa America finished. This gave other soccer leagues the opportunity to scout MLS players for talent for not only the future but the currently open transfer window.

(You can discuss this on the BSL Board here.)

The Gold Cup winning USMNT had 20 players from the MLS. An additional 19 players made at least the semi-finals with Canada and Mexico. Three MLS players (Matt Turner and Tajon Buchanon of the New England Revolution and Miles Robinson of Atlanta United) were also named to the all tournament team. Overseas team are recognizing that the MLS offers a solid resource to draw from and most MLS teams are happy to be sellers. Numerous MLS players have already made transfer moves to Europe this summer with more sure to follow the rest of this window and during the winter transfer window which will be after the MLS season. Here are the players who have already reached transfer agreements to major clubs:

Tanner Tessman – FC Dallas to Venezia FC (Serie A)

Caden Clark – NY Red Bulls to RB LeipziG (Bundesliga)

Bryan Reynolds – FC Dallas to AS Roma (Serie A)

Chris Mueller – Orlando City SC to Hibernian (Scottish Premiership)

Sam Vines – Colorado Rapids to Belgium’s Royal Antwerp

Several other players are in the final stages of transfers to Europe including Gianlucca Busio (FC Dallas to Venezia). And it won’t end there either as its expected that Orlando City FC’s Daryl Dike will go this winter (with a hefty transfer fee of around $10M. The bottom line is that the MLS is growing in talent and that talent is going to continue to get sold overseas. And that money gets reinvested in the selling clubs youth programs. Further improving the overall quality of the league!

Back in April we projected (https://baltimoresportsandlife.com/mls-2021-whats-new-and-whats-not/) what to look for this season. So just how have the clubs been doing thus far compared to those projections?

Eastern Conference

Atlanta United – Projected to be a playoff contender this season and improved over 2020. Well so far that hasn’t come to fruition. They sit 9 points out of the playoffs. They don’t score (3rd fewest goals in the conference). And they are flat lousy on the road having 0-6-4. Six points on the road in 10 matches isn’t going to cut it. Manager Gabriel Heinze was fired in mid July and a coaching search is underway. This club needs a big second half turnaround if they are to make a run at the playoffs.

Chicago Fire – Projected as a toss up to make the playoffs with the question being did their youth need another year to develop. Turns out that answer to that is yes. The simply just aren’t ready to challenge the better clubs and it doesn’t help that they are the worst road team in the league earing a mere 1 point in 6 matches. Ouch!

FC Cincinnati – Going into their 3rd season the expectation was to see some growth but probably not enough to make the playoffs. And that is pretty much what we’ve seen. They are struggling defensively allowing the 2nd most goals in the conference and they are the worst home team in the league thus far having gone 0-3-3. They look better at times but they need to clean up things in the back.

Columbus Crew – Having won the MLS Cup last year the question for the Crew for this season was could they continue to play at a high level? Their early season schedule was brutal and could they play well enough to not be sunk early on. Well they sit at the bottom of the playoffs at the moment and have had trouble scoring goals. Look for both of those things to tick up the second half if for no other reason than they will get their best attacker back in Gyasi Zardes who has been absent for over a month with USMNT duty.

DC United – Going into the season the general prognosis was that they were going to have to have some strong play from their homegrown players and that would give them a fighting chance down to the wire to make the playoffs. And so far so good. They sit in 6th place and have been pretty solid defensively lead by 18 year old midfielder Kevin Paredes their leading tackler who also has 2 goals. Not sure how he plays at such a high level as he only weighs 120# soaking wet. Feed that boy some burgers! Keep and eye on this kid he has a bright future.

Inter Miami – In only their second season, expectations were not high. Finishing a respectable 10th last year gave fans some hope for an upward tick this season. But alas it hasn’t happened, at least not so far. They sit in last place in the conference and are tied for the fewest goals scored. However, there is some enthusiasm building coming off a hard fought draw with the Union and a come from behind victory over Montreal in their last two matches. We’ll see if they can build some momentum off that.

CF Montreal – Going into the season the prevailing thought was that this was going to be a transition year. They would need at least a season or two under new manager Wilried Nancy to instill his program and get the players playing in synch with each other. Some growing pains were to be expected. Well this club is one of those that has exceeded preseason projections. They sit a single point out of the playoffs at the moment. They have played a good mix of attack and defense not scoring a lot but not allowing many goals either. And good news for their fans, the finally got to play their first home match on July 18th. Up until they point their “home” matches were being played in Florida. Playing in from of their home fans should give them a boost the rest of the season.

Nashville FC – Having made the conference semi-finals in their first season the question going into 2021 was could they continue to have an outstanding defense. Led by MLS Defender of the Year, Walker Zimmerman, expectations were high. And so far so good. They sit in the middle of the playoff pack and have allowed a paltry 15 goals in their 17 matches. However, there is a cloud over Nashville. Zimmerman was suffered a hamstring injury during national team duty in the Gold Cup and has been out since. The sooner he can get back the better.

New England Revolution – Expectations for 2021 were sky high. Goalkeeper Matt Turner was coming off a season where he stopped most every shot he faced. There was a bit of concern than if Turner was called away for national team duty how the backups would fare. The bad news was the Turner did get called away. The good news is that backup Brad Knighton did very well in his place allowing only 6 goals in his 5 matches. Turner just stood on his head during the Gold Cup leading the USMNT to the trophy. In fact he only allowed one goal the entire tournament and that was on a penalty. And he’s now back with the Revs and they are sitting in 1st place 8 points ahead of Orlando. Look for them to stay at or near the top the rest of the way.

New York City FC – Going into the season, the hopes for them was that they continued to play sound fundamental soccer. With a roster composed of players most fans have never heard of what they lack in star power would have to be covered in a cohesive approach. Well that have done that in spades. Prior to the season the projection was they would continue to need top play from the homegrown talent led by center back James Sands. Few fans outside of NYCFC had heard much about Sands let alone paid him any attention. Well anybody that watched the Gold Cup now knows full well why NYCFC fans were so high on this 21-year old kid. He was a stud playing in the center for the USMNT. They currently sit in the middle of the playoff group and they have only allowed one more goal than the vaunted defense in Nashville.

New York Red Bulls – The Red Bulls like to press. A lot. It can be a very difficult tactic to deal with. The problem is that a high pressing team also needs a lot of depth and some luck to avoid the injury bug to maintain that over a season. Projected to be near the bottom of the playoff contender has shown to be pretty close. They sit 5 points out of the mix right now. There biggest need is to improve on the road. Earning 5 points in 8 away matches won’t cut it down the stretch. The problem for the Red Bulls is going to be the sale of midfielder Caden Clark. He is their top goal scorer and 3rd in assists.

Orlando City – Good news for the fans in purple. Projected as a top 3 or 4 team in the East they currently sit 2nd. More good news for their fans. As of yet, Daryl Dike has not transferred back to Europe. Although coming off a shoulder injury sustained during the Gold Cup, he should be back in form soon and provides them another goal scoring weapon. While Dike didn’t shine during the Gold Cup as many had hoped he is young and showed some potential. We’ll see him more down the road.

Philadelphia Union – Projected to be a solid playoff contender the big question coming into the season would be how the faired losing two homegrown players (Brenden Aaronson to Red Bull Salzburg and Mark McKenzie to KRC Genk). Its really hard to replace two international level players. But so far so good. They sit 3rd in the conference. They could use some attacking help (losing Aaronson clearly has hurt there) but are still very stout defensively (3rd in the conference in goals allowed). They should find themselves in the playoffs come the end of the season.

Toronto FC – Projected to take a step back this season but still likely a playoff team. Well not so much. They have been a major disappointment thus far sitting in next to last place a mere one point ahead of Miami. There problem is two fold. The youth haven’t quite progressed as fast as hoped and the older players have aged even quicker. They have some attacking ability in Jozy Altidore and young Canadian star Ayo Akinola. But their defense is the worst in the league. In fact there 36 goals allowed is 7 more than the next worst team. Sorry fans up north but that won’t cut it and you will be sitting at home come playoff time.

Western Conference

Austin FC – Expansion teams in sports typically don’t fare well their first season (Nashville FC and the NHL’s Las Vegas Golden Knights being notable exceptions). They sit in next to last in the conference and are likely to be down there the rest of the way. The good news is the have developed into a pretty solid defensive side. The bad news is they don’t score tied for last in the league with a whopping 13 goals. But they have been averaging just over 20K per match in attendance and fan enthusiasm is high. They will get better and the long term prognosis is good. Just not yet.

Colorado Rapids – Coming off a solid season fans were hoping that the Rapids would sign a Designated Player. They didn’t and decided to rely on pretty much the same roster and being a tough out at the altitude in Denver. Well so far so good. They sit solidly in the middle of the playoff pack and have allowed the second fewest goals in the conference. But they are going to have to replace Sam Vines with his transfer to Belgium. This will put additional pressure on Kellyn Acosta. But after the way Acosta played in the Gold Cup don’t think there is any doubt he can handle to extra load. Acosta really stepped up his game over the Gold Cup.

FC Dallas – One of the strongest development programs in the league they continue to develop talent, sell them overseas, and bring in the next crop of young stars. Rinse and repeat. More teams should follow their approach. An on the bubble side for making the playoffs is right where they sit. But don’t sleep on these guys. Midfielder Paxton Pomykal may be finally healthy and is consistently getting 75 minutes. He could get called into USMNT duty this fall. But the player to really keep an eye on is Ricardo Pepi. The 18 year old forward scored 7 goals over the last 6 weeks while most everybody was paying attention to the Gold Cup. He became the youngest player in MLS history to notch a hat trick on Juy 24th. The US will work hard to keep Pepi in the US program (he’ also eligible for Mexico). I’d like to see him get called in for national team duty for the September qualifiers and get cap tied. He may be a future answer for our #9.

Houston Dynamo – Projected to be competitive but falling short of the playoffs looks spot on. Although they are just 3 points out of the playoffs at the moment their problem is they are just not good enough on the road. In their 10 away matches they have earned 5 draws but not a single victory. The good news is that they are really stout at home amassing 3 wins and 4 draws in their 7 home matches. Marco Maric needs to improve upon his shot stopping (less than 70% which is ok but could be better) and overall the side needs to figure out how to score more than a goal/match. Don’t see either happening.

LAFC – One of the preseason favorites to win it all but frankly underperforming sitting well down tied for 5/6th. They haven’t scored near their usual pace but they still are allowing too many goals, albeit fewer than in the past. With an attacking trio of Carlos Vela, Diego Rossi, and Jose Cifuentes (5 goals each) you just can’t stop that very well. But they haven’t been finishing well and need to step up if they are to do much in the playoffs.

LA Galaxy – An enigma of a team. One of those that historically seems to punch below their talent level. One of the main jobs of first year manager, Greg Vanney was to try and turn that around. Preseason odds makers gave them a chance at making the playoffs but probably falling just short. Well kudos to Vanney as he has this team playing well above expectations. And in no small part due to the return to excellence of goal scoring machine Chicharito. Having scored 10 goals in his 10 matches this season he has been stellar. But he is hurt and has missed their last 7 matches in which they have gone 3-1-3. They need him back if they want to stay high up in the table come playoff time.

Minnesota United – Coming off their best ever season they were projected to be a solid playoff team with a shot at being top 3 if they could solve their problem at the #9. Well they haven’t solved that problem and are underperforming to their expectations. They currently sit in 6th in the conference and while their defense is still very good they have scored the fewest of any teams in a playoff slot. Robin Lod is their leading scorer with 5 goals but no other player has more than 2. That won’t cut it they want to repeat anywhere near last year’s performance.

Portland Timbers – Talk about underperforming. This team was projected as a contender to win it all. Now they sit short of a playoff spot albeit they have played the fewest number of matches in the league. Still with a -7 goal differential thus far they really have some work to do. Then a shock came out last night. They traded forward Jeremy Ebobisee to San Jose for 2022 and 2023 allocation money. While this will certainly help them in the future I am not sure how trading your second leading scorer away helps this year. Their struggles to score just took a turn for the worse. They may still sneak into the playoffs and if they were to get in their experience would be a big boost. But don’t be surprised if they are sitting home come November. Strange move???

Real Salt Lake – Projected to likely be sitting home come playoff time they are actually playing better than expected. One of the preseason questions was if goalkeeper David Ochoa could lock down the starting goalkeeping position and perhaps earn his way up the depth chart of the USMNT. Well its turned out to be yes and no. Ochoa has been playing quite well and he’s one of the main reasons RSL is sitting just above the playoff cut line. But it looks like he won’t be donning a US jersey in the future. Perhaps seeing Matt Turner’s rise in the Gold Cup has prompted him to move on but he has applied for a one time switch over to Mexico.

San Jose Earthquakes – They were projected to fall short of the playoffs and that looks to be the case. They are still within striking distance but their style of play and tough schedule the rest of the way make it not too likely. Their man marking is going to take its toll the rest of the way. Age seems to have finally slowed up the goal scoring of Chris Wondolowski and youngster Cade Cowell hasn’t yet picked up all that slack. But Quakes fans (and USMNT fans too) keep and eye on this kid. He is tied for club goals with 4 and he doesn’t even turn 18 until October. He could end up being a stud.

Seattle Sounders – No surprise they are tied for 1st in the conference. A solid attack and the best defense in the league having only allowed 14 goals in 18 matches. Cristan Roldan has raised his play a bunch this season. The attacking midfielder got called back into national team duty and was very solid in a reserve roll for the Gold Cup. His energy and wide play were a big reason the US got past Qatar in the semi-final and went on to beat Mexico in the final. Sounder fans are happy to have him back! Raul Ruidiaz leads the league with 11 goals. The big question for Sounders fans is the status of keeper Stefan Frie and midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro. Both players have missed significant time with no announced return yet. The bad news for Sounder opponents is that they are still in first place without those two. If they can return before the end of the season and be match fit by the playoffs that just improves their chances at a title all the more. And remember they are doing all this without winger Jordan Morris who is out for the season. Dang they are a deep team.

Vancouver Whitecaps – Projected to fall short of the playoffs and they are well on their way. In fact well on their way to a last place finish. Sitting in last place in the conference and with the worst goal differential (-9) don’t look for them to make any kind of a climb up the ladder. Sure they could move up a spot or two but they will finish near the bottom. The ultimate question becomes with ownership give manager Marc Dos Santos one more year or will they say 3 was enough and time to move on? Don’t bet on him being around next season.