Three Remaining Unbeatens Put to the Test
Entering Matchday 7 of the 2023 MLS season, three teams have yet to lose through the first month of the season – FC Cincinnati (4-0-2), LAFC (3-0-2), and Minnesota United FC (3-0-2).
Led by a balanced attack and one of the league’s top defenses, FC Cincinnati welcomes a familiar opponent to TQL Stadium while sitting in an unfamiliar position – atop the Eastern Conference. With 14 points, Cincinnati sits in first place in the East, marking the latest into a season that the club has held the top spot in their conference in the team’s brief five-year MLS history. To continue their strong early-season start, the Pat Noonan-led squad will look to fend off the defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Union on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
Noonan, who was an assistant coach with the Union from 2018-21, and general manager Chris Albright, who was the technical director of the Union from 2014-21 and is a Philadelphia native, have been at the helm of FC Cincinnati’s tremendous turnaround since the start of the 2022 season. Since that point, Cincinnati’s 63 points are tied for the third-most in the Eastern Conference, trailing only Philadelphia (74 points) and CF Montréal (68 points), and they will look to continue their push to dethrone the Union as the latest beast to defeat in the East.
The defending MLS Cup champion LAFC looks to strengthen their bid to repeat as they take on Austin FC on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass / FOX) in a rematch of the 2022 Western Conference Final, which LAFC won 3-0 en route to their title. After handing St. Louis CITY SC the first loss in club history, unbeaten Minnesota United continues their two-week Midwestern road trip as they travel to Soldier Field to take on the Chicago Fire on Saturday night (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
MLS NEXT Pro Alumni Powers Vancouver’s Offensive Eruption
With a goal in each of his first three MLS appearances, former Whitecaps FC 2 forward Simon Becher has burst onto the scene as a rising star for Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Becher registered his first career brace in his first career start in Vancouver’s 5-0 win over CF Montréal on Matchday 6, while setting a league record as the fastest player to reach four career goals, accomplishing the feat in 87 total minutes.
A first-round draft pick out of Saint Louis University in 2022, Becher led Whitecaps FC 2 with eight goals and added four assists across 22 appearances in his debut MLS NEXT Pro season. The 23-year-old notched his first MLS goal in a come-from-behind victory over Houston Dynamo FC on August 5, 2022 – his MLS debut – and signed a first-team contract in November of that year.
Defender Ali Ahmed, another standout for Whitecaps FC 2 in 2022, also earned his first career start on Matchday 6. He assisted Becher’s first goal of the night and scored his first MLS goal in the match, highlighting the pair of MLS NEXT Pro alumni’s capabilities when given first team minutes.
“For me, the most important thing that this organization has done in the last five years is to reinstate the second team,” Vancouver head coach Vanni Sartini said, via Global News. “Without the second team, Ali wouldn’t be here, Simon wouldn’t be here. And maybe some players that are now in the second team won’t be here in the next season and helping the team to be better.”
After a midweek Concacaf Champions League battle against LAFC, Becher, Ahmed, and the Whitecaps return to league play on April 8 in a Cascadia Cup match-up against the Portland Timbers (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
Homegrown Midfielder Aidan Morris Emerging as Next Crew Star
Despite being just 21 years old, Columbus Crew homegrown midfielder Aidan Morris is in his fourth professional season with the club and each season has presented career-defining challenges for the talented and emerging young star to hurdle.
At 19 years and 27 days old, Morris became the youngest-ever player to start in MLS Cup and dominated the midfield as the Crew beat Seattle Sounders FC, 3-0, following the 2020 season. A season-ending injury prevented him from building on his debut season in 2021, but he bounced back the following year with a career-high 20 starts. Now, as the Crew enter a new era under head coach Wilfried Nancy, Morris’ latest challenge is adapting to a coaching staff that demands more of him, offensively and positionally.
Morris has rapidly risen to the occasion under Nancy and has scored the first three goals of his MLS career in the Crew’s last two games. His brace in their Matchday 6 win over Real Salt Lake included the opening goal of the game and the Crew’s third goal, which saw Morris’ offensive instincts kick in as he was the quickest to tap a loose ball into the back of the net.
His development in attack has not stifled the growth of the defensive attributes that stood out during Morris’ breakout 2020 season with the Crew either, as he leads MLS in tackles (18), ranks third in duels (99), and is the youngest player to register at least 12 interceptions so far this season.
Morris’ next opportunity to impress will be on April 8 when the Crew travel to D.C. United on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass).
Generation adidas Cup Enters Knockout Stage
After four days of group stage play, the 2023 Generation adidas Cup enters the Round of 16 in both the U-17 and U-15 divisions at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Of the 32 teams to advance to the knockout round of the tournament, over 60 percent are from MLS academies.
The Seattle Sounders FC U-17 team will look to repeat as champions in their division, while the U-15 division will feature a new champion in 2023 after the Portland Timbers U-15 squad did not advance to the knockout rounds. For the Sounders, forward Christopher Aquino has proven to be in top form, scoring a hat trick in the club’s opener against the Chicago Fire U-17 club.
The New York Red Bulls academy has been a dominant force in the U-15 division, winning their opening match 7-1 against CF Montréal on Saturday and following that with consecutive shutout victories over FC Dallas (2-0) and Chelsea FC of the English Premier League (3-0) on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Red Bulls attacker Julian Hall, who was named to the Rising XI presented by BODYARMOR ahead of the tournament, scored twice in the club’s victory over Chelsea and is poised to lead his team on a run in the Round of 16.
U-15 Knockout Round Bracket | **Click Here**
U-17 Knockout Round Bracket | **Click Here**
How to Watch the 2023 Generation adidas Cup | **Click Here**
The Generation adidas Cup is a premier global youth tournament featuring representation from every MLS academy and renowned club academies from around the world. A record 49 different clubs from 11 countries and four continents have competed in U-17 and U-15 tournament play in the 2023 edition of the event.
By the Numbers
From the incredible early-career success of Simon Becher to the number of first-time goal scorers in Major League Soccer, below is a sampling of notable stats and figures entering Matchday 7.
- 4: Only four players in MLS history have scored in each of their first four career appearances: Brian Fernandez (five games in 2019), Charlie Davies (four, 2011), Carlos Ruiz (four, 2002), and Alex Pineda Chacon (four, 2001). Vancouver forward Simon Becher, who has scored in each of his first three appearances, will look to join this club against Portland on Saturday night.
- 8: Seattle forward Jordan Morris leads the Golden Boot presented by Audi race with eight goals this season, all of which have come in Sounders victories. Morris’ eight goals are tied for the second-most by a player in his team’s first six games of a season in MLS history, trailing only Edson Buddle (nine, 2010).
- 9: Since joining MLS in 2020, Columbus midfielder Lucas Zelarayán has nine regular-season games with at least one goal and one assist, including last week’s 4-0 victory, the most in MLS over the span. Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar and Philadelphia’s Dániel Gazdag are tied for the second-most over the span with eight such games each.
- 48: Forty-eight players have scored their first career MLS goals through the first six Matchdays of the 2023 season, including St. Louis’ CITY’s João Klauss (five goals), Houston’s Amine Bassi (three goals), and Columbus’ Aidan Morris (three goals). That total is already the second-highest in MLS history through the month of April, trailing only the 2018 season (52 players).
- 100: Seattle Sounders FC head coach Brian Schmetzer recorded his 100th career regular-season victory in his 212th career game on Saturday, becoming the third-fastest coach to reach the century mark in MLS history behind only Bruce Arena (189 games) and Bob Bradley (199 games).
Tap-Ins: Matchday 7
A look at other headlines and activity around Major League Soccer ahead of Matchday 7:
- Who were the best young-player performers in MLS Matchday 6? (MLSsoccer.com)
- USMNT prospect Aidan Morris making the leap for Columbus Crew (MLSsoccer.com)
- Morris & Chú: Seattle Sounders may have a champagne problem in attack (MLSsoccer.com)
- “Leave your mark”: Matthew McConaughey calls Austin FC U-15s, U-17s before GA Cup (MLSsoccer.com)
- Minnesota United ends undefeated MLS start for St. Louis CITY (Star Tribune)
MLS Season Pass Broadcast Schedule: Matchday 7
Below is the MLS Season Pass broadcast schedule for Matchday 7, including English-language commentators for each match with the play-by-play talent listed first, followed by the match analyst.
How to Cover MLS in 2023
To assist in your coverage of the 2023 MLS season, the MLS Communications staff has provided the following media resources, all of which are available on MLSSoccer.com/Media-Resources.
