10 things we learned from MLS gameweek 23 of the 2017 season

Here are the ten things we learned from Week 23 of the 2017 MLS season.

1. Sporting Kansas City’s Gamble

When Sporting Kansas City shipped Dom Dwyer to Orlando two weeks ago, the thought was that SKC would use the boatload of money it was receiving to strengthen its attack before the end of the summer transfer window.

But despite rumors of a reunion with 2015 star Krisztian Nemeth, the transfer window slammed shut on Wednesday with Kansas City having made a grand total of zero moves.

Nemeth would have helped immensely, and he was available, but Sporting didn’t exactly move heaven and earth to get him.

Peter Vermes is betting that some combination of Daniel Shalloi, Gerso Fernandes, Soony Saad, and Latif Blessing can scratch together enough goals to both replace Dwyer and compete for MLS Cup.

It’s quite the gamble. Vermes is a system guy, and he certainly has a great defense, but it’s hard to find a team that has won a championship in this league with as little attacking firepower as SKC is going into the stretch-run with.

2. Four Teams A Cut Above

Despite that great defense, it’s hard to classify Sporting as a top-tier title contender right now. Same goes for Dallas, a team that has scored just one goal in its last three games and looks out of sorts.

Right now, four teams are the class of MLS. Toronto, Chicago, and NYCFC have all been there all year. The new addition is the defending champion Seattle Sounders, who, somewhat quietly, are on an eight game unbeaten run and have won four of five.

Seattle is now tied with Houston for the Western Conference lead and is playing its best soccer of the season.

That’s thanks in large part to Clint Dempsey, whose goals – he scored his fiftieth for the Sounders on Saturday and has six in his last seven – have been crucial with Jordan Morris still not producing.

Most impressively, though, this Sounders run has come without an injured Osvaldo Alonso. But Alonso returned to action as a substitute on Saturday, and with three of Seattle’s next four coming at home, the race in the West could be over by the end of September.

3. What Is New England Doing?

The Revolution entered the summer transfer window in need of defensive help and trying to trade one of their many forwards.

They left it with no defensive help, all of their forwards, and – at considerable cost – another forward in Nemeth. Go figure.

Nemeth is a great player, but there’s no obvious place to put him. New England now has Lee Nguyen, Deigo Fagundez, Kei Kamara, Teal Bunbury, Kelyn Rowe, Juan Agudelo, and Nemeth – and room for four attackers in their lineup.

How Jay Heaps plans to keep all seven of those guys happy and involved is a mystery. More importantly, Nemeth doesn’t fit a need for New England. He’s a great attacker, but this team hasn’t struggled to score goals. They’ve struggled to stop conceding them.

The Revs aren’t any better now than they were a month ago – and in a salary cap league where every dollar counts, moving for another attacker when the attack was already overstaffed is simply baffling.

4. Philadelphia’s Season Is Over

Saturday’s game against Montreal at Talen Energy Stadium was just about a must-win for the Philadelphia Union.

They didn’t get the job done. Instead, the Union went down to a 3-0 defeat, and now find themselves six points below the red line – tenth in the Eastern Conference on points per game.

Of Philly’s next five games, four are on the road – and the one home game comes against Atlanta United, one of MLS’ best away teams. The Union had a nice early summer run, but their lack of talent and depth has caught up to them. They’re done.

Meanwhile, Montreal, just as they have down the stretch the last two years under Mauro Biello, is starting to stir. The Impact are up to seventh place in the East – five points behind Columbus, but with a full three games in hand.

5. Video Review Struggles

Video review is good for MLS and good for soccer in general, and, at the same time, it’s bound to frustrate – especially at its onset. This weekend, two incidents especially rankled.

The first came at the end of Columbus’ game against Chicago, when the Crew were awarded an extremely dubious penalty to put the game away by referee Armando Villarreal.

Chicago goalkeeper Matt Lampson wanted the play reviewed – and, seeing as he clearly got the ball, he was quite sure it would be – but either Villarreal or video assistant referee Hilario Grajeda didn’t flag the play to be checked.

Lampson was infuriated, and for good reason. Close penalty decisions should be reviewed. The game has already stopped.

The second incident came in Harrison, where Kaka was sent off after a review for – jokingly, it seemed – grabbing the head of New York’s Aurelien Colin. On the field, that incident looked fairly benign. It should have stayed that way.

6. Good Night at Red Bull Arena

Though it came to a rather acrimonious end, that game Saturday night between the New York Red Bulls and Orlando City at Red Bull Arena was the best of the weekend.

New York came from behind after Carlos Rivas opened the scoring with three straight goals to claim a 3-1 win in front of a sellout crowd. Sean Davis, who scored the third goal, was excellent. So was Bradley Wright-Phillips, who got the winner.

The Red Bulls now travel to Cincinnati, where they will play the U.S. Open Cup semifinal on Tuesday as one of MLS’s hottest teams – up to fourth in the Supporters’ Shield standings.

Orlando’s incredible slide, meanwhile, continues on. The Lions have, incredibly, won just two of their eighteen games since the start of May. If Jason Kreis was Adrian Heath, he’d be long gone.

7. Who Wants The West’s Last Two Playoff Spots?

Seattle, Houston, Sporting, and Dallas will all comfortably qualify for the playoffs in the Western Conference. That leaves Portland, San Jose, and Vancouver vying for the conference’s last two playoff spots.

Problem is, none of the trio seem to want to take charge of the race. The Timbers easily the group’s most talented team, but they’ve won consecutive games just once since March.

Vancouver, 1-0 losers at New England on Saturday, have games in hand but haven’t taken advantage of their chances to gain ground – namely with their loss at home to Portland three weeks ago.

San Jose has improved at home under new manager Chris Leitch, but they’ve been terrible on the road – outscored 15-3 in their last four matches outside of Northern California.

The one other team that is still in the running? Real Salt Lake, just three points back of the red line.

8. Carlos Vela to LAFC

LAFC finally inked its first DP last week, signing Mexican national team star Carlos Vela from Real Sociedad.

Commitment is the question with Vela, but talent is not. This is an elite player – someone who has produced in La Liga for years and been the focal point of Mexico’s attack under Juan Carlos Osorio.

Vela is also a better, more impactful signing for LAFC and the league as a whole than Jonathan Dos Santos was for the LA Galaxy. Players who create and score goals will always be more valuable than players who don’t, no matter what else they do well.

Vela can create and score goals with the best of them. This is a big move for a club that continues to push all the right buttons in the buildup to its MLS launch.

9. Minnesota’s Front Office

If you’re a Minnesota United fan, this is just about the last thing you want to see.

That’s Ron Waxman, about as well-respected and well-connected an agent as there is in American soccer, telling the world that your front office is more or less incompetent.

Waxman aside, Minnesota’s front office has done a terrible job this year. Many of the club’s best players already played for the NASL Loons, while the offseason misses on the likes of Demidov, Schuler, Alvbage, and on and on and on tanked what little chance Minnesota had of being competitive this year.

Of Minnesota’s signings in this window, Michael Boxall and Sam Nicholson don’t look like MLS quality players.

Manny Lagos should be on the hot seat. If Waxman had his say, New England GM Michael Burns would be as well.

10. One More RFK Memory

RFK Stadium is going out with a bang. DC United’s game against Real Salt Lake was halted in the 28th minute on Saturday night when a massive storm in DC rendered the RFK field unplayable.

This was the scene in the tunnel leading to the field from the RSL locker room. Play resumed Sunday night, with Salt Lake winning 1-0 behind a goal from former DC midfielder Luis Silva.

RFK is down to its last five games. They can’t happen soon enough.