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MLS Analysis

MLS Notebook: Good weekend for USMNT hopefuls & U-20 players

ASN's Brian Sciaretta writes about the latest round of games in MLS with his specific thoughts on USMNT and U-20 hopefuls
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
September 23, 2025
1:00 PM

IT IS TUESDAY and that means here at ASN we open up or MLS Notebook with a few thoughts from throughout the league. In this edition, we were once again reminded of the unpredictability of the league, and we saw players in the USMNT player pool impress.

With that, here are a few notes.

 

MLS Teams fully cooperate with U.S. U-20 team

 

This was noted when the U.S. U-20 World Cup roster came out on Friday, but it bears repeating. Despite this being the end of the regular season, the playoff races are crystalized, and the games being more important, it appears as if MLS teams fully cooperated with U.S. Soccer to release all players selected by head coach Marko Mitrovic to play in the upcoming U-20 World Cup.

In total, 16 of the 21 players on the roster come from MLS teams.

It is true that some players (such as Peyton Miller with the Revolution or Luke Brennan at Atlanta) are with teams out of the playoff picture. It’s also true that other players do not yet play a lot of first team minutes.

But players such as Brooklyn Raines with Houston and Zavier Gozo at Real Salt Lake are with teams on the playoff bubble. Other players like Frankie Westfield at Philadelphia and Luca Bombino at San Diego are starters for teams pushing for the Supporters Shield.

But this was very solid cooperation. Hopefully Real Salt Lake or Houston do not come to regret their decision.

 

USMNT player tracker

 

With regards to the players in the USMNT pool, it was a good weekend.

Jack McGlynn: The USMNT midfielder had a very good performance for Houston in its crucial 1-0 win over Portland. He had seven shots and created seven chances – including an assist on Ezequiel Ponce’s winning goal. Overall, McGlynn was just in good form.

 

Matt Freese: Saved a penalty as NYCFC ended Charlotte’s nine game winning streak. Freese also managed to keep a cleensheet in a 2-0 win. As Mauricio Pochettino keeps track of his player pool, he will be pleased to note this.

Tim Ream: Was on the wrong end of the Charlotte loss but has had a great two months for his club and still played relatively well.

Alex Freeman: The USMNT right back went 90 minutes in a 3-2 win over Nashville on Saturday. It was an impressive win and while Freeman had no major highlights, he was consistently steady over 90 minutes.

Matt Turner: the USMNT goalkeeper made three saves in a 1-0 loss to a superior Philadelphia team. He did well to keep his team in the game and made a nice stop on a Frankie Westfield header in the 38th minute.

Max Arfsten: was arguably the best player on the field in the 1-1 draw between Columbus and Toronto. Despite it being a disappointing result for the Crew, Arfsten had a very nice pass to assist Wessam Abou Ali on the opening goal. With John Tolkin playing well, Afsten needs to be in good form – which he has been doing.

 

Patrick Schulte: made two saves for Columbus in the 1-1 draw although probably could have done better on Toronto’s goal.

Diego Luna: The RSL playmaker had a tough assignment against a surging LAFC team but still did well to create chances over his 88 minutes.

Sebastian Berhalter: The new USMNT midfielder has skill, but needs to show more on the physical side. He did that in Saturday’s 2-0 away win over Vancouver where he won 11/17 ground duels and won eight tackles.

Christian Roldan: the long-time Sounder had an uncharacteristically poor game for Seattle in a 2-1 loss to Austin.

Luca de la Torre: the long-time USMNT veteran was quiet over his 60 minutes for San Diego in a 1-1 draw with Atlanta United.

 

Youth report

 

For some young players, this will be their last appearance of the regular season due to the U-20 World Cup.

For Peyton Miller, he picked up two yellow cards and was sent off in the 1-0 loss to Philadelphia. As a very talented left back and left winger, this might actually be his final outing for the Revolution who will likely receive significant offers from European teams for Miller – who will turn 18 in the offseason.

In that same game, Frankie Westfield was impressive over 90 minutes at right back for Philadelphia where he had 98 touches and had 12 completed passes into the attacking third. He nearly scored in the 38th minute but his header off a corner was saved nicely by Turner. 

Luca Bombino surpassed 2000 minutes on the season when he played 84 minutes for San Diego in the 1-1 draw with Atlanta. Although he didn’t stand out much. He will now head off to the U-20 World Cup, as will Luke Brennan who played the final 15 minutes for Atlanta.

Brooklyn Raines went 89 minutes for the Dynamo in the 1-0 win over Portland and helped the team keep possession with 57 touches and 46/50 passing.

Taha Habroune was 13/13 in passing off the bench in his 17 minute shift for Columbus in its 1-1 draw with Toronto.

Zavier Gozo went 90 minutes for RSL in its 4-1 loss to LAFC. He won 5 tackles but only managed two shots from far outside the box.

 

Thoughts from the results

 

The New York Red Bulls are probably wondering what they need to do in order to make up ground to get into the playoff picture. The club managed to get a rare road win over Montreal. All they needed was for Chicago to not win on the road against Western leaders Minnesota. But Chicago won 3-0, proving that this league is unpredictable. It was a nice win for the Red Bulls but also deflating in that they made up no ground.

New York City ended Charlotte’s unbeaten run at nine games. But NYCFC is playing extremely well. In its last nine MLS games, NYCCFC has a 7-1-1 record but with wins at home against Charlotte, Columbus, and Nashville with wins on the road against Cincinnati, Orlando, Dallas, and Chicago. The only loss in the stretch is at home against DC United, which is against all logic.

Now we will see the Red Bulls host NYCFC this weekend. It’s make or brake time for the Red Bulls.

Houston moved within one point of the playoffs after their big win over Portland but they have Nashville and San Diego in their next two games. They will be neck and neck with FC Dallas who have the ninth spot and have four games remaining – two against the LA Galaxy.

Meanwhile, Columbus fell to eighth place after its 1-1 draw with Toronto. Columbus is one of the team that you assume is good and it is shocking when they’re not. Their defense hasn’t been good, at all, and on the one time they hold an opponent to one goal, they can’t score twice.

Who is the best team in MLS right now?

  • Philadelphia has the most points at 60 in 31 games.
  • Cincinnati is only one point behind Philly
  • Vancouver has 55 points in 29 games, although Thomas Mueller is injured
  • LAFC has been looking like a juggernaut the last 3 games Son-Hueng-Min joined
  • San Diego leads the west
  • Inter Miami always has the talent edge
  • NYCFC and Charlotte have been the best teams over the last two months

 

Right now, if I were to guess, I would say LAFC is the favorite to win MLS Cup. Vancouver is without Mueller, Blackmon, Gauld, and White. Philly doesn’t have the high-level firepower which you need in the playoffs. Miami doesn’t have the defense. NYCFC and Charlotte have peaked too early.

I would guess that LAFC and Cincinnati meet in MLS Cup.


 

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