Below is a selection of the notable performances and moments from the 12 matches played on the 17th matchday of the 2024 MLS regular season on Wednesday, May 29.
Tarbell Ties Dynamo Record with 10 Saves in 3-1 Win
In one of the most impressive individual performances of Matchday 17, Houston Dynamo FC goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell stole the show in the club’s 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids, recording 10 saves in the match, including a penalty-kick stop. The victory improved Houston’s record to 6-6-3 on the year.
Tarbell’s 10 saves tied current Dynamo general manager Pat Onstad’s club record for the most saves in a single regular-season game, which was set on March 29, 2008. The 30-year-old ‘keeper made a pair of sensational saves in the 26th minute and stopped Rafael Navarro’s penalty attempt in the 49th minute (Watch Highlights Here).
Houston’s defensive efforts were complemented by a trio of goals from Amine Bassi (40’, Watch Here), Latif Blessing (70’, Watch Here), and Sebastian Kowalczyk (80’, Watch Here).
Rusnák Joins Elite 50-50 Club, RSL Extends Unbeaten Streak
Playing against the team that he began his MLS career with, Seattle Sounders FC midfielder Albert Rusnák scored the club's lone goal in a 1-1 draw against Real Salt Lake at Lumen Field.
The draw extended Real Salt Lake’s unbeaten run to 12 matches, which is the longest active streak in MLS and dates back to March 9. RSL's streak was preserved by a 99th-minute goal from Carlos Andrés Gómez (Watch Here), who capitalized off of a caromed save and slotted home the game-tying goal. The 12-game unbeaten run is tied for the second-longest single-season undefeated streak in club history.
With his 50th regular-season score (Watch Here), Rusnák became the fifth active player and the 29th player in MLS history to reach 50 career goals and 50 career assists. The midfielder eclipsed the 50-assist mark on Matchday 16. Among active players, Rusnák joins LAFC’s Kei Kamara (155 goals, 57 assists), the LA Galaxy’s Diego Fagúndez (71 goals, 73 assists), FC Cincinnati’s Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta (65 goals, 88 assists), and Austin FC’s Ethan Finlay (59 goals, 52 assists).
The Slovakian standout joined Seattle from Real Salt Lake in 2022 after spending five seasons in Utah, where he recorded 41 goals and 39 assists in 140 matches for the club.
Saba, Atlanta United Topple Inter Miami
Before departing for the UEFA Euro 2024 Championships with Georgia, midfielder Saba Lobjanidze netted a pair of goals – the first multi-score game of his MLS career – in powering Atlanta United to a 3-1 road victory over Inter Miami CF at Chase Stadium. The victory was Atlanta’s first since March 31 and marked Miami's first loss since March 23.
Lobjanidze opened the scoring just before the half with an electric, right-footed strike from outside the 18-yard-box that sailed past the Miami goalkeeper in the 44th minute (Watch Here). He tacked on a second in the 59th minute after some fancy footwork from Thiago Almada jumpstarted a breakaway attack that resulted in a left-footed dart from Lobjanidze (Watch Here). Following Lionel Messi’s 11th goal of the season in the 62nd minute (Watch Here) which cut the lead to one goal, Atlanta’s Jamal Thiaré put the icing on the cake with a 73rd-minute score (Watch Here) to preserve a 3-1 win.
The victory was Atlanta United’s first road win against Inter Miami in club history, which came in their seventh all-time road meeting across all competitions.
Nashville Snaps FC Cincinnati’s Win Streak with 2-0 Win
Under the direction of interim head coach Rumba Munthali, Nashville SC went on the road to a challenging environment in TQL Stadium and ended FC Cincinnati’s seven-game winning streak with a 2-0 victory on Wednesday night. Nashville is unbeaten across their last four matches (2-0-2), with Wednesday’s win marking the first of Munthali’s coaching career in Nashville.
Leading the way for Nashville was 2022 Landon Donovan MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar, who assisted on each of the club’s goals in the winning effort. Mukhtar has 40 assists since the start of the 2021 season, becoming the fourth MLS player to eclipse 40 assists over the last four seasons. The crafty midfielder joins fellow former MVPs Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta of FC Cincinnati (53) and Carles Gil of the New England Revolution (48), as well as the San Jose Earthquakes’ Cristian Espinoza (44).
Ibrahim Comes off Bench, Scores Brace in 4-2 Montréal Victory
In a back-and-forth affair, CF Montréal received a jolt off the bench, as forward Sunusi Ibrahim registered the first brace of his MLS career in Montréal's 4-2 victory over D.C. United after coming on in the 19th minute. With the win, Montréal snapped a seven-game winless streak while recording a season-high with four goals.
Ariel Lassiter opened the scoring for Montréal in just the sixth minute of play (Watch Here), which was the first of three first-half goals for the club. After Christian Benteke’s 29th-minute goal leveled the score at 1-1 (Watch Here), Ibrahim registered his first goal of the match on an acrobatic header in the 34th minute (Watch Here), just 15 minutes after entering the game as a substitute. 2023 MLS All-Star Mathieu Choinière added a third goal for Montréal just four minutes later (Watch Here), extending the lead to 3-1.
Benteke and D.C. did not go quietly, as the towering striker scored his second goal of the match in the 42nd minute (Watch Here), but the attack came up short, as Ibrahim’s second score of the match (Watch Here) put the game out of reach late in the second half. Ibrahim became just the fourth player in CF Montréal history to score two goals after coming on as a substitute and the first since Ahmed Hamdi on July 17, 2021.
