The dynamic of the Major League Soccer playoffs changed again for the conference semifinals, as four teams moved a step closer to the MLS Cup.
On the back of what felt like a slightly too-long break between this round and the previous one, due to the timing of the international window, the format switched from best-of-three to single-elimination knockouts.
There was an average of 2.95 goals per game across those best-of-three Round One games, while the single-game conference semis averaged 0.75 goals per game (excluding goals scored in extra time).
Maybe it’s because once you get to this stage, all the teams are reasonably good. They have an idea of how they want to play and do a decent job of executing that game plan.
There was some back and forth in these fixtures but the defences looked more organised than we’re used to seeing in MLS.
As a result, it took special, high quality moments and performances within these games for a team to progress.
Here’s a look at the players who provided them.
By James Nalton, MLS expert
Denis Bouanga 7.2 (Los Angeles FC)
The low-scoring result of Seattle 0, Los Angeles FC 1 perhaps hides how much went on in this game.
Much of it emerged from the attacking play of the Sounders who dominated every statistic apart from the One That Matters—the scoreline.
LAFC created very few clear-cut chances of its own and only had 31% possession. But sometimes in MLS, the superior attacking quality of one Designated Player can decide a game.
This was the case here as Bouanga took it upon himself to force LAFC into the conference final with an outstanding goal out of pretty much nothing.
He picked the ball up just inside the Seattle half on the left before driving forward and setting up his path into the opposition area.
Once near the six-yard box, he blasted a shot past Stefan Frei.
In knockout soccer this season, from games across the Concacaf Champions League, Leagues Cup, and MLS playoffs, Bouanga has 17 goals in 13 starts.
In the MLS playoffs and Leagues Cup alone, he has ten in six.
It’s the type of individual form that could see LAFC defend their title despite the team as a whole not quite being at the same level as last year.
Maxime Crépeau 9.1 (Los Angeles FC)
At the other end of the field for LAFC, Crépeau was putting in the standout goalkeeping performance of the round. A title for which he had considerable competition.
There were some impressive performances between the sticks, with Columbus Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte also making key saves against Orlando City, but LAFC’s Canadian stopper was as important to his side’s victory as Bouanga’s goal.
A brilliant save from a shot from the onrushing Jordan Morris set the tone early on.
Seattle had eight shots on target to LAFC’s two, and the Sounders registered an xG on-target score of 2.36.
Crépeau stopped them all and was FotMob’s highest-rated player for this round of the playoffs.
He rounded off his performance with a highlight reel fingertip save from a João Paulo shot.
“On a personal level, it was just focusing on the moment one action at a time, going through the many minutes without mistakes and keeping the team in the game,” Crépeau said after the game.
He certainly kept them in the game and as a result played a big part in helping LAFC through to the Western Conference final.
Héctor Herrera 8.4 (Houston Dynamo)
It seems inevitable that if Houston progresses, Herrera will be the standout player in the game.
This was the case again in this Western Conference semifinal against Sporting Kansas City.
It was yet another game in which the Mexican Designated Player had well over 100 touches.
His passing was tidy and creative, completing 90 of 102 passes and creating three chances.
Herrera provided the assist for Franco Escobar’s goal with a left-footed (his weaker foot) cross from a corner for the defender to head home.
Sporting KC can feel hard done to, though, as Houston centre-back Erik Sviatchenko stopped Dániel Sallói’s shot with his arm on the line. Sporting KC head coach Peter Vermes believed it was a handball and should have a red card, and few would disagree with that assessment, but nothing was given.
Houston did enough to justify its progress to the next round, though, and this year’s US Open Cup champions appear to be taking its knockout soccer nous into these MLS Cup playoffs.
Aidan Morris 8.2 (Columbus Crew)
Columbus looks like one of the most coherent teams in Major League Soccer, at least in attack.
It faced another similarly competent outfit in Orlando City – a team that managed to finish second in the overall standings in 2023 thanks to the coaching of Óscar Pareja.
It was an understandably tight game between two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and required extra time to decide the winner.
A red card for Orlando defender Rodrigo Schlegel helped sway the game in The Crew’s favor and give its attack more space and encouragement.
Behind this attack was the midfield play of Aiden Morris, which has been increasingly impressive this season.
The only reason he didn’t get an assist for the Christian Ramirez goal that finally gave Columbus the lead was because it got a slight touch off Orlando goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
But make no mistake, it was Morris’s defensive work, winning the ball on the edge of the area, and then a cross from the byline that produced this go-ahead goal.
The win was rounded off by Cucho Hernández who scored from the centre circle with Gallese off his line as Orlando chased the game.
Yerson Mosquera 7.6 (FC Cincinnati)
Mosquera’s centre-back teammate Matt Miazga was recently named MLS Defender of the Year for 2023.
But for this conference semifinal against Philadelphia Union, Miazga was suspended, so there was extra attention on Mosquera to perform.
And he did just that, scoring the only goal in a fairly scrappy contest against the Union.
There was some controversy about the awarding of this goal. It looked like Ian Murphy who headed the ball across the box was offside.
But Mosquera’s strike deserved to win the game, showing the kind of touch and finish that had been lacking from the attacking players on both sides.
If Miazga was the best defender in MLS in 2023, then by the end of the year Mosquera can’t have been far behind that level.
Roman Celentano’s performance in goal was among the impressive goalkeeping displays in this round, but it was ultimately Mosquera’s goal that sent the 2023 Supporters’ Shield winners through to the conference semifinals.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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