LAFC (1) vs. Vancouver Whitecaps (8)
Game 1, October 27: LAFC 2 – 1 Vancouver RECAP
Game 2, November 3: Vancouver 3 – 0 LAFC RECAP
Game 3, November 8: LAFC 1 – 0 Vancouver Whitecaps
That first game was an exercise of fine margin winning; the second a picture perfect example of how to put a top team off their game and keep your hope alive. Game 3 would be a little bit of both, but ultimately the night would belong to 22 year old Polish national Mateusz Bogusz. After defender Aaron Long’s diving header drove the ball nearly 35 yards upfield, Bogusz feathered a touch past the Whitecaps defender before hooking the ball with his left foot into the corner. That was his 15th goal of the season, but this one earned LAFC a ticket to the next round where they will face the Loons (Minnesota).
FC Cincinnati (3) vs. New York City FC (6)
Game 1, October 28: Cincinnati 1 – 0 NYCFC RECAP
Game 2, November 2: NYCFC 3 – 1 Cincinnati RECAP
Game 3, November 9: Cincinnati 0 (5) – 0 (6) NYCFC
There’s not much to write about a match during which each side collected 3 yellow cards, but zero goals. As with so many of these playoff games, we had to go to the penalty spot to decide a winner. This particular one went NINE rounds, and once again we mention NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese who recorded THREE PK blocks (out of eight attempts). This is a startling percentage, and gave his team the edge to upset Cincinnati at home.
Orlando City SC (4) vs. Charlotte FC (5)
Game 1, October 27: Orlando 2 – 0 Charlotte RECAP
Game 2, November 1: Charlotte 0 (3) – 0 (1) Orlando RECAP
Game 3, November 9: Orlando 0 (4) – 0 (1) Charlotte
Right up through seven minutes of stoppage time, it looked like Charlotte would record a knock out Orlando City at home off Karol Swiderski’s slightly scuffy goal. Then Djibril Diani pulled Duncan McGuire inside the box. City’s Facundo Torres’ initial PK was blocked, but he coolly struck the rebound into the back of net to score the equalizer. In Game 2, Charlotte’s keeper Kristijan Kahlina was the PK hero; this time that laurel fell to Orlando’s Pedro Gallese, who stopped the visitor’s first two shots to give his team a generous cushion. Pedro’s teammates rewarded him by converting 4-4 PKs, and give Orlando a Round 2 date with Atlanta United (see below).
Inter Miami CF (1) vs. Atlanta United (9)
Game 1, October 25: Inter Miami 2 – 1 Atlanta United RECAP
Game 2, November 2: Atlanta United 2 – 1 Inter Miami RECAP
Game 3, November 9: Inter Miami 2 – 3 Atlanta United
Upset City here. Miami had a 71% win probability entering into this game. After Matías Rojas’ poached goal in the 17th, that climbed to 84.3% (Atlanta’s shrank to 5.1%). But Jamal Thiaré don’t do statistics… he hits bangers. Two in two minutes, in fact. One to the upper right (’19); the other to the upper left (’21). Lionel Messi’s thumping header in the 65th brought the teams back to level. But, alas, the GOAT’s halo only shined for eleven minutes, when an equally powerful header from Bartosz Slisz gave the underdog Atlanta team an edge they would not relinquish. This xeet below kinda sums it up…
Final Takeaways From Round 1
Look for more after the dust settles on all the chaos from today’s fixtures, but there are a few clear points to make right away:
- Inter Miami’s season = failure. You cannot set a regular season points record, with arguably the world’s greatest player on your roster, and bow out to a team that had 34 FEWER points than you. It’s unacceptable.
- The Eastern Conference was TOUGH. The top 3 seeds all lost. The highest remaining seed is #4 Orlando City, who needed some magic from their keeper during OT PKs to keep them alive. This speaks to the both the quality of the competition and the fickleness of the playoffs.
- LA finds a way. Both top-ranked LAFC and Galaxy advanced in the West.
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