The race to qualify for the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs and post-season is going down to the wire.
Only six of the league’s 29 teams have no chance of finishing above the playoff line with the majority of sides having just one game left to play.
With 18 of those 29 teams qualifying for the post-season in some manner, there are some fairly average teams in the mix for a wildcard place.
But there is always hope that if a team finds some form at the right time, a playoff run against the odds could be a possibility.
It is this hope that is making the race for one of the many 2023 post-season places a frantic one, and it looks set to continue into the final matchdays.
Here are the standout players from Matchday 37, and the current stories around their respective teams.
By James Nalton, MLS expert
Teemu Pukki 9.7 (Minnesota United)
Prior to Minnesota United’s 5-2 win against LA Galaxy this weekend, Pukki had scored six goals in total for the club since arriving in June, mid-season.
He hadn’t yet managed multiple goals in one game, but that was all to change against the Galaxy as he racked up four of his team’s five goals.
A perfect chipped ball over the top from Emanuel Reynoso set him through to score his first.
The second was struck instinctively from the edge of the box as the ball fell to him after LA Galaxy failed to clear.
That was the first of three goals scored in 16 minutes, with a hat-trick completed when, lurking at the far post, he turned in the poked pass from Bongokuhle Hlongwane.
The Finn added his fourth of the night, arcing his run to stay onside and get on the end of a pass from Franco Fragapane.
Pukki has done well since arriving in Minnesota but has perhaps gone slightly under the radar due to arriving halfway through the season.
These four goals, and the fact his goals per 90 minutes stat is now approaching the equivalent of one per game (0.96), might raise a few eyebrows, especially if United can make the post-season, which it still has a chance of doing should it win against Sporting KC in the final game and other results fall its way.
Dénis Bouanga 9.4 (Los Angeles FC)
It has been a good week for Bouanga and his quest for the 2023 MLS Golden Boot.
A hat-trick in the midweek game against Minnesota United put him top of the goalscoring charts, and two goals this weekend against Austin FC further solidified his claim for the top scorer award.
He also provided an assist for Timothy Tilman’s goal to open the scoring in the 4-2 win at Austin, showing great control and footwork in the box before setting up his teammate.
Bouanga scored from the penalty spot just before halftime before getting on the end of Mateusz Bogusz’s cross at the far post to score his 19th of the season.
As mentioned in previous columns, if Bouanga can continue to fire, then LAFC will be a real contender for the MLS Cup despite an inconsistent regular season by its own standards.
The 2022 defending champions may have got their star man among the goals at just the right time.
Luquinhas 9.0 (New York Red Bulls)
A 3-0 win for the Red Bulls against Toronto kept them in the mix for a post-season spot in the tightly contested Eastern Conference.
As with many of the teams on this side of the league not yet to secure their spot, the Red Bulls have been underwhelming this season, but are still in with a chance of salvaging some kind of post-season involvement.
The team from the New Jersey side of the Hudson River is two points ahead of New York rivals, New York City, with one game to play.
If it wins its final game of the season at Nashville, perhaps only Charlotte, which unlike the other teams in this bunch has two games to play rather than one, could sneak ahead.
Luquinhas scored an excellent first goal, carrying the ball from the center-circle to the edge of the box before placing a shot accurately into the corner past Luka Gavran in the Toronto goal.
A nice cross from Kyle Duncan set up Luquinhas’s second. Duncan himself was one of the standout players in a rare good all-round performance from the team this season.
The Red Bulls have reached the post-season in each of the previous 13 seasons, but participation in 2023 remains in the balance.
Mathieu Choinière 9.0 (CF Montréal)
Along with Charlotte, Montréal is the other team in the Eastern Conference whose post-season destiny is in its own hands.
If the Canadian side wins its final game of the regular season at Columbus, it will qualify for the wildcard round.
It won’t be an easy task, but this weekend’s 4-1 win against Portland Timbers kept them in this position and also kept the team in high spirits.
The goals were spread around the team, with Sunusi Ibrahim and Kwadwo Opoku setting each other up for goals in the first half.
But Choinière was a creative force from the right hand side, ending the game with six chances created and 35/39 passes completed for 90% pass success.
He also netted himself, blasting a shot from the edge of the penalty area for his team’s third on the night.
Mason Toye added the fourth to make sure Montréal remained in a strong position in the game, and in the playoff race.
Nelson Quiñónes 9.0 (Houston Dynamo)
Finally, we get a chance to talk about Houston Dynamo!
The team from Southeast Texas are riding high on the back of a US Open Cup win last month in which it upset the favorite, or at least the most talked about side ahead of that final, Inter Miami.
Since that 2-1 win that saw them play Miami off their own park in the first half, head coach Ben Olsen’s team has gone on to secure a playoff place in a tight Western Conference table.
The Dynamo has only lost once in 12 games since MLS resumed following the Leagues Cup, and that one defeat came against Sporting KC in the game before the Open Cup final when attention was understandably elsewhere.
A 5-1 against Colorado Rapids this weekend saw Houston return to winning ways following two draws.
That there is still a slight possibility it could finish second in the West shows how the team has done more than hold its own as the business end of the season approached.
Nelson Quiñónes scored twice in the game against Colorado, but pretty much every Houston player was good.
This has been the hallmark of the team. Though there are some standout players such as Amine Bassi, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Artur and Héctor Herrera, the Mexican who has now settled into his role as a Designated Player and leader, you could pick out most players involved in this late-season run, and point to their contribution.
With a cup win already under its belt, Houston will now be hoping to play a big part in the MLS Cup Playoffs.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
You can follow every match from the 2023 MLS season live with FotMob — featuring deep stats coverage including shot maps, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.