LA Galaxy's Pec named 2024 MLS Newcomer of the Year
LA Galaxy forward Gabriel Pec has been named 2024 MLS Newcomer of the Year, an award recognizing the year’s most impactful new MLS player with prior professional experience. The Galaxy acquired Pec last January from Vasco da Gama in his native Brazil, reportedly for $10 million plus incentives. The 23-year-old finished as LA's leading scorer, tallying 16 goals and 14 assists in 33 matches. Additionally, Pec became the fourth-youngest player in MLS history to record at least 30 goal contributions in a single season. He's also the youngest player with at least 15g/10a in an MLS campaign.
We talked a lot yesterday about what the Crew’s stunning defenestration (look it up) from the playoffs meant for the Crew. But we didn’t take a moment to remember every action has an equal and opposite reaction. For my money, the best team in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs is out now. That’s one less team to get through for everyone who’s still alive.
Obviously, you can immediately look to Miami and the LAs as the teams celebrating New York’s upset the most. Miami should be especially ecstatic. No one can match them on pure talent, but the Crew consistently made it to tournament finals in a way this Miami team hasn’t. Now, they don’t have to deal with their most readily apparent challenger in the East.
Then again, Miami have their own problems to deal with. They’re still clearly the favorite to win it all. Don’t get me wrong. They have the greatest player of all time and home-field advantage throughout the postseason. The latter alone would be enough to technically give them an edge over everyone else. But, uh, hey, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, they’re dealing with their own Round One upset alert right now.
No one is expecting Atlanta United to win other than Atlanta United, but everyone should be considering the very real possibility the Five Stripes go down to Ft. Lauderdale and pull off the second “Biggest Upset In MLS History” of the week. They match up well against the Herons and largely outplayed them on Saturday night save for one critical mistake.
They aren’t the only team in the East that should be very worried though. With one higher seed already gone, all three will be playing for their lives this weekend. There is a timeline where every single higher seed in the Eastern Conference loses. It’s not a likely one. Remember, all that ever really matters in MLS is who the home team is. But Charlotte can absolutely get the better of Orlando. New York City FC just overwhelmed FC Cincinnati. And, really, no seriously, Atlanta can win yet another game.
Even two out of the three lower seeds would be insane when paired with Columbus’ exit. We are days away from maybe the most improbable Round One in MLS playoff history. It’s all on the table. That includes a dream scenario for Inter Miami that would honestly line up perfectly with all of the breaks they’ve already gotten this year. There’s a chance Inter Miami could get to avoid Columbus and FC Cincinnati in the East. And their road to a double could potentially get even easier.
The East isn’t the only conference where higher seeds are getting pushed to the brink. RSL have already exited meekly from Round One. And LAFC should be in full flight or flight mode after getting steamrolled by Vancouver in Game 2 of their series. Again, they’re going to continue to be favored considering they’ll have home-field advantage until MLS Cup presented by Audi on Dec. 7. But, man, the ‘Caps haven’t been messing around this postseason. They have real juice and a chip on their shoulder. That’s a scary combo.
If you’re doing the math here, you might have picked up on the fact we’re four games away from the ultimate chaos situation in Round One. There’s a chance on Sunday morning every higher seed in the East could be gone along with the top seed in the West. Again, the odds are microscopic. Home teams don’t lose like that. But it’s not impossible considering the way the lower seeds have been playing.
I don’t really have an explanation for the “why” behind that, but I do know what would happen if we found ourselves looking around and wondering where all the big bads went: They’d start planning another parade in Los Angeles. The Galaxy took care of business against Colorado while the rest of the higher seeds were messing around. Even with a long gap between Round One and the Conference Semifinals, they’d still be favored the rest of the way.
Regardless of how many upsets we get this weekend, the Crew’s exit opened the window even wider for every remaining team. In the East, that includes a surprise upstart like the Red Bulls. It’s never been less clear what direction the playoffs are taking.
Atlanta United's Lennon out long-term with shoulder injury: Atlanta United right back Brooks Lennon is expected to miss between four to six months after undergoing shoulder surgery. Lennon suffered a dislocated shoulder in Game 1 of Atlanta's Round One Best-of-3 Series against Inter Miami CF in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs. Now, the 27-year-old is slated to return early in the 2025 MLS season.
Inter Miami, Orlando City to play preseason match at Raymond James Stadium: Florida Derby rivals Inter Miami CF and Orlando City SC will face off at Raymond James Stadium on Friday, Feb. 14 ahead of the 2025 MLS regular season. The preseason friendly will take place at the 75,000-capacity stadium that's home to the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Good luck out there. No advice, no tweet, just a reminder to go vote. I’m not kidding. Go. Go now. Go do it. Go vote now.
