Three big storylines

1. For the first time in four weeks, point one of this column does not lead off with a manager getting fired (or did I just do it again?). There were three games on Friday night to kick off Memorial Day weekend around MLS. With both Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Dom Dwyer suspended for their respective teams, the LA Galaxy flew across the continent and picked up three points in Orlando with a 1-0 win. The second half of a UniMas national TV doubleheader saw Real Salt Lake give Atlanta United their second straight loss; RSL scored a dramatic 94th minute winner for the 2-1 scoreline. The last game of the night saw LAFC continue their historic start to the season with a 4-2 win over the visiting Montreal Impact. Carlos Vela scored his 15th goal of the season in the win.
2. The Portland Timbers have recovered from an early season disaster that saw them earn only one point over their first six matches. They have 10 points over their last five games and finally finish their meandering 12 game road trip to open the season with a Saturday afternoon match at the Eastern Conference leading Philadelphia Union (4:30 PM, ESPN+). The Timbers will open expanded Providence Park on June 1st against LAFC. The Union host their second Cascadia team in a row after drawing 0-0 with the Sounders last weekend.
3. The U20 World Cup has kicked off in Poland and it has been a rough start for Concacaf. First Mexico lost 2-1 to Italy on opening day. Then the USA dominated possession but lost focus and a set piece marking disaster led to their 2-1 loss to Ukraine on Friday. Not to be outdone, Honduras were destroyed 5-0 by New Zealand (yes, that score is correct) on Friday, as well. Panama plays Mali on Saturday to finish off Concacaf’s openers. The USA next play on Monday at 11:30 AM PT (FS1 is carrying the USA games) against a Nigeria team that won their opener 4-0 against Qatar. With six groups of four teams and 16 teams advancing to the knockout stages, Monday’s game is not a must win, but it would be nice if the USA could get some sort of result against a quality Nigeria team and not have to rely on tie breakers and goal differential to make it to the knockout stages.

From a Sounders point of view

The Sounders are at a very injured Sporting Kansas City on Sunday, followed by at FC Dallas next weekend and at the Montreal Impact the following Wednesday to finish up their four-match road trip heading into the international break. This weekend is all about getting healthy and carrying some momentum into those two matches before the break. FC Dallas are in Vancouver to play the Whitecaps on Saturday (4:30 PM PT, ESPN+) if you want to scout next week’s opponent against Fredy Montero and company.

National TV listings

Chicago Fire v New York City FC

Date/Time: Saturday, 12:30 PM PT

TV: Univision

Streaming: Univision Deportes and Twitter Live Stream of the Week

Sporting Kansas City v Seattle Sounders

Date/Time: Sunday, 3:00 PM PT

TV: Fox Sports 1

Streaming: Fox Sports Go, Fubo TV (affiliate link)

Join the Discussion

This is your Sounder at Heart MLS Week 13 Memorial Day weekend gamethread. Watch with us.