Below is a selection of marquee MLS matches that will highlight Matchday 23 action, which is set to take place on Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29, with all matches broadcast on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
- Unbeaten Streaks on the Line: Nashville SC, unbeaten in seven of their last eight matches, will welcome Eastern Conference leader Inter Miami CF to GEODIS Park on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET). Miami, who had a bye last week, is unbeaten in their last three games, including back-to-back victories.
- No Place Like Home: Fresh off a 3-0 home victory against Toronto FC last week, the New York Red Bulls are unbeaten at Red Bull Arena this season (6-0-3) and will welcome D.C. United to town on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET). Under the guidance of former New York interim head coach Troy Lesesne, D.C. will look to snap a three-game skid and close the month on a high note.
- Wild, Wild West: LAFC will look to extend their eight-game unbeaten streak in MLS play as they welcome the Colorado Rapids to BMO Stadium on Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET). The Rapids seek their fourth straight victory and look to close out the month of June with a 4-1-0 mark.
Countdown to the Secondary Transfer Window
The countdown is on, as the Secondary Transfer Window kicks off on Thursday, July 18, and will conclude on Wednesday, August 14. MLS clubs can sign out-of-contract players or free agents between the roster freeze date and the Secondary Transfer Window. A major opportunity for clubs to reinforce their squads, the Secondary Transfer Window has seen the likes of Lionel Messi (MIA), Sergio Busquets (MIA), Cucho Hernández (CLB), Dénis Bouanga (LAFC), Riqui Puig (LA Galaxy), and Lorenzo Insigne (TOR) enter the league across the last two seasons.
The LA Galaxy are a team on the rise in the West as winners of three consecutive matches, including a 1-0 road victory against Western Conference foe Real Salt Lake in their last outing.
It’s been win by committee for the club in 2024, with forwards Dejan Joveljic (11 goals, five assists), Gabriel Pec (six goals, seven assists), and Joseph Paintsil (five goals, five assists) leading the attacking unit alongside midfielders Riqui Puig (six goals, eight assists) and Diego Fagúndez (three goals, three assists). The Galaxy are unbeaten (6-0-5) in the 11 games that Fagúndez has started this season.
The Galaxy will face the San Jose Earthquakes at Stanford Stadium this Saturday (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season on Apple TV) in the 85th regular-season edition of the California Clasico. The Earthquakes will look to make a statement victory under the direction of interim head coach Ian Russell, as San Jose also celebrates the club’s 50th anniversary in front of an anticipated 50,000 fans at Stanford Stadium.
The Galaxy must keep their eyes on the prize before the highly-anticipated El Tráfico meeting with LAFC on Thursday July 4, at the Rose Bowl Stadium (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). Last year's cross-town rivalry match, which was also played on Independence Day, set an all-time MLS record with 82,110 fans in attendance. With LAFC currently atop the Western Conference and the Galaxy not far behind in third place in the standings, this year’s game is setting up to be another star-studded affair.
Winners of four consecutive matches – all against opponents currently in playoff position – the red-hot New England Revolution have found their footing under the direction of first-year head coach Caleb Porter and have reemerged in the Eastern Conference during the month of June. Powering the push has been a pair of veteran stars Carles Gil and Giacomo Vrioni, as well as teenage standouts Esmir Bajraktarevic and Noel Buck, the four of whom have combined for seven goals and five assists over their current winning streak.
As the club welcomes the defending champion Columbus Crew to Gillette Stadium on Saturday night (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV), they will be eying their first five-game winning streak since their Supporters’ Shield-winning season in 2021. To do so, Porter, who previously manned the helm for the Crew for 125 regular season matches and took home the 2020 MLS Cup presented by Audi, will look to make a bit of MLS history against his former squad. No team since the 2015 San Jose Earthquakes has defeated the defending Supporters’ Shield winners and MLS Cup champions in consecutive matches, a feat the Revolution will be looking to do after knocking off the 2023 Supporters’ Shield champion FC Cincinnati on Matchday 22.
Columbus, winners of five of their last six in MLS play, will not be an easy test. With Porter pulling the right strings, New England will turn to their stars to once again come up big against a formidable opponent and keep their sizzling summer ablaze.
- On the latest episode of 'Breakaway' on MLS Season Pass, Real Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna talks about working part-time at Dutch Bros to improve his social skills. Youtube
St Louis CITY2 continues to set the bar for attendance in MLS NEXT Pro. The club set the new league attendance record on Sunday, June 23, defeating rival Sporting Kansas City II, 2-0, in front of a home crowd of close to 11,000 fans at CITYPARK. Fans in “America’s first soccer city” come out in droves to support their teams: St. Louis CITY recorded the club’s 29th straight MLS sellout at CITYPARK the night before. In 2023, CITY2 first set the MLS NEXT Pro attendance record on August 6, celebrating Youth Soccer Night with 9,500 fans. They broke their own record six weeks later, as the club clinched a playoff berth in front of a crowd of almost 10,000. CITY2 has six remaining regular season home games at CITYPARK in 2024.
The Fire academy has been known for developing young stars like Brian Gutiérrez, Chris Brady, and Gabriel Slonina. In Nashville at the 2024 MLS NEXT Cup Playoffs, Chicago’s youngest future stars showed out, winning the U15 age group and taking down several MLS academies along the way.
Recently, Chicago’s top prospects have been coming from the back in the form of goalkeepers and defenders. For this U15 group, the attackers impressed many in the ‘Music City’ led by U15 MLS NEXT MVP presented by adidas Darris Hyte and U.S. Youth international Robert Turdean. The duo was fantastic throughout the tournament, which included their combination on arguably the goal of the tournament in the semifinals (WATCH).
As evidenced by the New York Red Bulls’ Julian Hall, who scored in MLS almost one year to the day after the U15 2023 MLS NEXT Cup Final, these Chicago standouts might be making the jump to MLS NEXT Pro and MLS quicker than some may think.
