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Icarus Moment - Ep. 18
20 Plays11 months ago
Ari and Noah talk about the Seattle Sounders loss to FC Dallas in the MLS Cup Playoffs, the remaining teams and fraudulent St. Louis City.
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Transcript
Introduction and Context
00:00:09
Speaker
What's going on, everybody? Welcome in to episode 18 of Lobbing Scorchers. This is Ari Lillianwall. I got producer Noah here with me. Noah, say what's up to the people.
Fable of Icarus: Relevance
00:00:20
Speaker
Ari, have you ever heard of a fable called Icarus?
00:00:25
Speaker
It's a fable about a man who flew too close to the sun in his wings melting. I know where you're going with this. Luckily, the plan here is to talk about exactly that right at the top of the show.
Seattle Sounders & MLS Cup Playoffs
00:00:38
Speaker
We're going to get into a lot of Seattle Sounders and MLS Cup playoffs coverage here this evening.
00:00:46
Speaker
We're going to talk about Seattle's 3-1 defeat to FC Dallas in match two of their round one best of three series in the thriving metropolis of Frisco, Texas. We're going to be previewing match three, which takes place at Lumenfield on Friday night with a chance to advance to the Western Conference semi-finals.
00:01:10
Speaker
So we're gonna get into all that it's gonna be a good show. We're gonna react to some other Results that have been going on with with the playoffs and other matchups And go through how our picks are doing we did a little with little pickup episode before the playoffs started and threw down our predictions and Mine are pretty much paying off so far Noah's are faring
00:01:39
Speaker
Less well, but I think by and large pretty good. We had a lot of the same picks So yeah, I think a lot of mine too. I was they were like contrary. Yeah, I was I was being a little country Yeah, so I mean we can we can fall back on that is your excuse. Yeah, you got wrong. I need I need one
00:01:56
Speaker
Before we get into all that, I wrote a feature story that I wanted to plug real quick about a player that some of you might have heard of by the name of Christian Roldon, Sounders Midfielder. We're doing player spotlights throughout the playoffs on MLSSoccer.com.
00:02:13
Speaker
So I did one on Christian, had a good little phone interview with him yesterday where he talked about his season individually, which I think we all know was a frustrating one with the extended time he missed in the concussion protocol and also just his thoughts on this playoff run for Seattle and it having kind of last dance vibes is, that's the term that Jim Curtin himself used to describe the Philadelphia unions.
00:02:41
Speaker
playoff run this year just you know with there being the writing on the wall of the roster turnover that They're gonna experience this offseason. He was saying look. This is pretty much the last go for this particular course So we got to make the most of it, and I think that's a theme that applies to Seattle this year. I mean
00:03:01
Speaker
Nico Ledero already said that he's out of here. There's a lot of questions surrounding, you know, it will probably Diaz be back. Stephen Fry, you know, he was talking about his contract a few weeks ago. I think it's fair to say it's uncertain if he's going to be back. I think you could even throw Albert Rusnak into that category. There could be some moving parts. This team could look very different next year. So I got Christians.
00:03:25
Speaker
Take on that and it's all live on MLS soccer.com. So go give it a read We had Charlie Baum also right one on FC Dallas rising star Bernard come on go who I Really recommend reading that one as well. He has really incredible backstory that has been covered pretty extensively, but
00:03:48
Speaker
Charlie went in deep with him on that, and that was a really good story too. So yeah, two player spotlight features for anyone who wants to read them as we turn onward in the MOS Cup playoffs. All
Seattle vs FC Dallas: Recap & Analysis
00:04:03
Speaker
right.
00:04:03
Speaker
Let's get into this Sounders FC Dallas series, which is still going on. Seattle could not finish the series in match two in the thriving metropolis of Frisco. Unfortunately, 3-1 victory for FC Dallas.
00:04:22
Speaker
You know, we're going to start with my Icarus moment, as Noah called it, because I think that, you know, that's what everyone was talking about coming off this game was specifically my take on New Who leading up to the game and then New Who subsequent performance in the game.
00:04:41
Speaker
It all started when after match one where I guess new up about as much as you can gas a player up I I was I was I said a lot of things in in praise of news performance in match one that I think were
00:05:04
Speaker
were true. I think New Who had a great game in match one and he deserved praise for that performance. But the first thing I'll say is that I certainly acknowledge the comedy of the timing regarding the fact that New Who managed to have the literal best game of his career and the literal worst game of his career in back to back succession.
00:05:32
Speaker
What are the actual odds that my praise of him would be drastically undermined in such dramatic fashion in the very next game that he played? It was too perfect. I mean, it kind of was, you know. Yeah, I was listening back to it and I.
00:05:51
Speaker
Just today going to the post office was propping it on you know tossing us some more some more listens You know gotta farm the engagement and you were saying you know, maybe maybe this is his chance Maybe we can sell him again international market buzz might come back if he can keep this up and then I'm like guys it's still new who but
00:06:12
Speaker
That was fucking you did I will I will I have to say the back. Well, okay, you you tried to rein me in a little bit I'll give you that I think there's a little bit of revisionist history going on Like you tweeted that you said that one one game like shouldn't change the perception of new who
00:06:35
Speaker
I don't know if that's an exact verbatim quote you might you might have That might have been the general We're trying to convey. Oh, no, I know what I said cuz I listen back to it. I say you actually listen Yeah, I saw that tweet and I was like, I don't know if you said that
00:06:52
Speaker
Yeah, no I said specifically on the pod. I said I don't think given the sample size Using your words big boy words that one good new who game really can excuse all of the other stuff Okay, I mean if you're saying that you you said that then check the tape that I mean, maybe I'll maybe I'll check the tapes folks um, but you know I I frankly
00:07:20
Speaker
I don't really think the take that I had was proven wrong just by one game in the same way that one good performance doesn't make a player. One bad performance also doesn't make a player. It's just unfortunate that
00:07:39
Speaker
such a performance came directly on the heels of such a great performance. Like I said, the guy has over 160 MLS appearances for his career. So what are the actual odds that you would get the best and worst game?
00:07:57
Speaker
back to back. Listen, knew who had a rough one in this game. I don't think it's a secret. Both of FC Dallas's early goals he was involved in. The first one, he doesn't close out the cross that goes in to Paul Ariola. The second one, he gives up his stone cold PK, which they didn't call originally, and then changed on VAR.
00:08:22
Speaker
So really was involved in each of the two concessions that lost Seattle the game. So that's undeniable. It also doesn't change the fact that he played really well in the first game. And I don't think they take that result as convincingly as as they do if he doesn't have a game like that in the first game.
00:08:45
Speaker
So I mean, you know, it's easy to get caught up in recency bias. I mean, you could say that I did after that first game and I wouldn't necessarily disagree with you. But I think, you know, for me, ultimately, what I what I try and push back on is the idea that when people act like they don't understand the value that new who does bring as a player and like, you know, why why is he starting? Why why is he a feature player?
00:09:14
Speaker
I just think it's obvious the value that he brings as a player. And I think you can look at match one and still see that even in spite of what happened in match two. And in general, I just don't consider the defense to be the primary issue that this team has had this year at all.
00:09:34
Speaker
I really don't fault any of the guys on defense or Stephen Fry for some of the downturn in form that Seattle had this year. Seattle had a downturn in form this year because they couldn't generate consistent goal production. It wasn't really about the defense. You could go through and pick out the individual errors that knew who made this year that led to big chances and led to goals.
00:10:02
Speaker
And I don't really know if the number of those errors that you could find would be radically different from any of Seattle's other defenders. I can't say that for sure unless I went back and watched all the tape, which I'm not going to do.
00:10:20
Speaker
I just don't think the defense was the problem and I I still think it's quite obvious the value that knew he was able to bring on on that side of the ball and You know, I think I did try and acknowledge on
00:10:35
Speaker
On the new who gasps episode that like I understand the both the shortcomings that Accompany his game and also that the fact that in general his development has not taken him to The place that a lot of people thought that like his upside had the potential to be
00:11:01
Speaker
so i still understand all that i'll still i'll still defend uh defend new hoot in general as a player uh despite that game but like i said i definitely i definitely uh i i have to acknowledge the fact that
00:11:18
Speaker
him having a game like that directly after we recorded a podcast where I heaped praise on him to the extent that I did. I mean, that's funny. It's a good bet. It's the most incredible bit. It really, it really is. And it's kind of like, uh,
00:11:33
Speaker
the new experience. Yeah, because man, he really I mean he really was so good in that first game. He was so good. He was the best player on the field. So and then he was the worst player on the field in the next game. So I think we can we can call it on the new who discourse after that, but I mean I felt like I had to acknowledge that just because
00:11:59
Speaker
It was a stark contrast folks. It was a stark contrast but knew who's rough outing aside. I mean this game was lost in the first 15 to 20 minutes of the game. We talked about it when we were previewing it.
00:12:16
Speaker
We knew that FC Dallas was going to come out hot. Their season's on the line. They're playing at home. They know that they need to win to keep their season alive. So this game was always going to be about whether Seattle could withstand that early onslaught without conceding ideally any goals, but certainly not multiple goals. And they did concede multiple goals, including a penalty kick.
00:12:40
Speaker
I mean one thing that I will say about the first goal is that you know everybody's Everybody was blaming new for it and I understand that but Stephen Fry even said after the game like a goal like that is not It's not about one defender there's there's multiple defensive breakdowns that occur on the sequence leading up to that that allow them to to get in position to make that cross and
00:13:10
Speaker
Paul Ariel is also just not marked in the box in the box that that's not new who's fault so They just they just didn't handle that early pressure well at all they came out flat Schmetz was pissed about it after the game He's you know he said that it was messaged repeatedly that those that those opening minutes were going to be critical and
00:13:31
Speaker
And for whatever reason, they didn't respond to that and they conceded two goals that you really you just put yourself so far behind the eight ball when you let the game get out of hand like that that early in the match.
00:13:49
Speaker
Seattle looked much better in the second half. Jordan Morris scored a goal right after second half kickoff, which was a really good goal. Those like those topo finishes that he can do while he's sprinting full speed.
00:14:05
Speaker
high degree of difficulty on those there's really not many strikers in mls that that can pull those off like with the consistency that that jordan can so if there's one positive from this game it's that he stayed in good form he's in really good form right now and uh
00:14:25
Speaker
He had a good all-around game even aside from the goal. He was cooking out there. He was playing really hard And Seattle they almost pulled the equalizer a couple times There's one chance in particular that I'm remembering where they had they had a ball. I think it might have been Through Rudy Diaz that slid right across the mouth of goal. No one could write quite get on to it and
00:14:50
Speaker
But they almost tied this game But couldn't quite do it and then FC Dallas gets the third goal pretty late in the match when Seattle's throwing numbers forward and they get out in in transition and They seal it off done and dusted series tied 1-1 so
00:15:08
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, overall, I don't think the performance was as bad as a three one score line might indicate. Sometimes I thought they relatively righted the ship after that disasters first 20 minutes and they got they got decently close to tying it up in the second half. It's just you can't in a game like that, you can't start like that and really expect to have a chance to win the game when you're playing on the road in an elimination game.
00:15:38
Speaker
So I think that's probably the most disappointing thing is that they knew that the start of the match could define the match and they just didn't really respond to that reality. They got run on in those first 20 minutes like that's what happened. So I mean for me looking at looking at match three on Friday.
00:16:02
Speaker
I mean, it's all about using those first 15 to 20 minutes of this game to be the team that's doing the running on as opposed to the team that's getting ran on. And it might have a little bit of a different feel than your typical home match where
00:16:19
Speaker
A lot of teams come to Seattle and they might try and sit back a little bit and turn it into a grind it out defensive type of game where they're basically just trying to absorb pressure and sneak one to get a one zero or a one one or something like that.
00:16:35
Speaker
And with how much trouble Seattle has had scoring goals at times this year, teams have been able to come here and do that to good effect. But there are different stakes on this game. This is an elimination game. Both teams have their season on the line. So I expect FC Dallas to pretty much try and play it how they did in their home game. And Seattle just can't let that happen again.
00:17:03
Speaker
they have to be the aggressor. They need to try and get a multi goal lead if at all possible. I'll tell you where a game when a game like this gets scary is if you get if you get a lead, but it's one zero or two one. Like at that point, you're in a situation where any concession late in the game and you're going to penalties and you don't want that like
00:17:26
Speaker
having this game at home like winning it outright is would have been better is pretty is pretty critical to I like I don't I don't want any part of penalties and yeah me neither like I think that's that's a disaster waiting I mean it's just a toss up
00:17:45
Speaker
You know it's a coin toss every coin toss every time So you don't want to leave this game up to a coin toss when when you're hosting I mean I think Seattle's favored in this situation as the home team has the higher seed But I mean this is a dangerous game there They're playing with fire right now having not closed this off when they had a chance to Because now I see Dallas has got a little bit of that belief going
00:18:13
Speaker
They're gonna try and come out hot again, I think. I would be pretty surprised if Niko Estevez tries to muck this up like you see teams do when they come here sometimes. I think he's gonna tell him like, yo, like what we did in that game in Frisco.
00:18:33
Speaker
do that exactly again you know yeah so it should be fun like you know I love this time of year playoff soccer
00:18:47
Speaker
It's always high energy, high intensity, high stakes, history on the line, the last dance type of theme that I was talking about with this team. That's all I play here.
Decisive Match Preview
00:19:03
Speaker
So that's pretty much how I see it. Noah, do you have anything you wanted to add about this series, what you saw in game two?
00:19:14
Speaker
Yeah, any any you want to get in any more last lambasting of me for the new? Oh, I mean yeah absolutely I'm happy to lambast you some more on that. Yeah, no but uh You said it. I mean what are we gonna do if it goes to penalties? Who knows well who knows what happens so get it done score early score second one early
00:19:40
Speaker
And yeah, they need to flip the script exactly. That's what they need to do. And I do expect, I mean, this Sounders team, they know how to play these home games. They've got a lot of experience in these playoff runs. That's something that I was talking to Christian about is just, you know, they've
00:20:00
Speaker
This court has been to four MLS cups together. They've won two. They won Champions League. Like they've been there done that as far as this stuff goes. So I think that does help come playoff time. But I mean, you still have to go out there and get it done. And FC Dallas isn't gonna.
00:20:18
Speaker
that isn't going to roll over. They lost Alan Velasco and I think they were playing a little inspired after that in that last game. And you know, they've still got
00:20:32
Speaker
Some dangerous players. Jesus Ferreira, he can hurt you. Paul Ariola, as we famously saw in that last game, can still hurt you, despite what the US men's national team fans might think about that. He's a good MLS player. So I'm looking forward to it, though. I'm glad the decisive game is at home and not on the road. It's just so much. A third game for what?
00:21:09
Speaker
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00:21:35
Speaker
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00:22:06
Speaker
Yeah, I mean I made my take clear on that I think that I think the two-leg series is better but game three is what we got you know what I was thinking about though is how like if this was If this was the two-leg Aggregate road goals set up Seattle actually would have been through on the three one. They would have been through already Yeah, I was like that's kind of obnoxious. Yeah, cuz yeah, I would have been three three road goals. Yeah, I
00:22:31
Speaker
which is like yeah I don't like it just shows you how a couple defensive mistakes can be made up by playing just two games and now who knows what's gonna whatever this that's just playoff format you you must endure Seattle Sounders you must endure
00:22:49
Speaker
Yeah, get it done. It's set up for them. All right. I'm down to just jump into some thoughts on the rest of the playoff results that have taken place so far. We can make this a short and sweet one. I don't think we've been going for that long.
00:23:07
Speaker
LFC have vanquished the Vancouver Whitecaps. They took a 1-0 in their game two fixture now both you see place are Yeah, it was only way Scottish messy is a normal mess Scottish messy season is over unfortunately yeah
00:23:26
Speaker
It was only one zero in game two. There's a lot of there's a lot of controversy in this game. Yeah, I actually didn't see the oh, no, I did. I did see the highlight of the sequence in question. There is a chaotic sequence at the end of the game where I think the Whitecaps were taking a corner and their player was trying to run on to the rebound and just crashed into the referee.
00:23:51
Speaker
I think that's, I don't think that's explaining it fairly enough. It was across and he was making a play onto the ball. He was in space. It would have been a striker's goal. Probably like, you know, he was outside the box. He, uh, he might've been outside the box or at least he was close to the, to the touch line or whatever, not the touch line, but you know what I'm talking about? The, the, the line of the box and this ref just fucking pile drives him, dude.
00:24:21
Speaker
I thought they just ran into each other. Like he was making a run, but the ref kinda just like...
00:24:28
Speaker
bodied him down to the ground and then didn't stop the match. Even though the ball was like right there. And then did LAFC get their goal at the other end or was it just that it ruined a Whitecaps chance? I don't know what the result was. I just know that they were like, yeah, what the fuck is this? The thing I can't remember is if LAFC went down and scored on the other end, which would be pretty funny. But one thing that I do know is that Whitecaps head coach Vanny Sartini was none too pleased about the sequence.
00:24:56
Speaker
He was pissed off about the officiating I think throughout the series. He was kind of pushing the narrative that the Hollywood team gets all this favoritism and we get no respect and all these calls are going against us and then the ref decks our player. But then he took it to, let's call it an extreme level after the match when
00:25:18
Speaker
He gave a quote that was just really ill advised something to the effect of like if you find the referee laying face down in Canadian River by the Tim Hortons then like you'll know who was responsible implying that it would be himself basically joking about the death of a referee which
00:25:38
Speaker
Just I mean it's really not something that you should do like you should never joke about anyone's death, but like That's just a touchy an especially touchy topic with the the hostility that referees are subject to throughout youth soccer and the pros in particular and
00:26:04
Speaker
and especially in the last few days big problem is what I'm saying like so for a coach to give a quote like that is just you just can't say that so he very sartini put out a statement apologizing I'm not sure if a fine has been announced but I'll guarantee you that he is going to get fined
00:26:25
Speaker
Probably quite heavily for that you might even get suspended and like honestly if they slapped him with one or two games I wouldn't be surprised to start next season because I think pretty much everyone can agree that that's that's just not something that you should say so that was probably the the craziest fallout from LAFC beating the whitecaps but
LAFC vs Vancouver Whitecaps Recap
00:26:52
Speaker
Ultimately can't say I'm super shocked about how that ultimately panned out LFC is probably still the favorite in the West Vancouver I think they got a pretty bright future. I really do They played good ball this year like
00:27:10
Speaker
All the nerds love them they they pass the eye test as far as like the attacking soccer that they play is very aesthetically pleasing and Seems like they've got a good mixture of of
00:27:28
Speaker
productive DPs like Scottish Messi and then guys like Brian White Banging in 15 goals like it seems like if they if they keep this core together and then Add a couple pieces maybe bolster their defense a little bit Vancouver might actually be cooking and be like an upper tier Western Conference team next year So I do think their path is positive
00:27:56
Speaker
Despite the fact that they I mean they never really fucked with LA FC like any time that they played them Not just in this series, but this season. I mean they played LA FC in Champions League 2 and they got their book doors blown off like even worse than they did in this series, so They still got a ways to go, but I think they're a team you can look at and say they're on a good path I
00:28:20
Speaker
Sporting Kansas City the club of professional wrestling enthusiasts have vanquished top-seated St. Louis City SC. Those are my boys know his boys in a victory for pro wrestling enthusiasts throughout the Midwest of the United States and unfortunately validating St. Louis City SC fraud watch
00:28:42
Speaker
once and for all. St. Louis City SC, Fraud Watch has been a theme throughout the playoffs so far. We here at Lobbins Gorgers generated some controversy by putting them on Fraud Watch before the playoffs even started, which we're no longer popular in the city of St. Louis for that.
00:29:03
Speaker
I'm sad to say that we were correct You know so I guess don't hit the player. It's ultimately a dub for lobbing scorchers Even if we lost what I think was probably a vibrant and abundant st. Louis fan base that tunes into this show every single week so I mean I think
00:29:27
Speaker
I think what you got here is you've got a sported Kansas City team that's I mean they're they're pretty good. You know as much as it pains pains me to admit it given their propensity for professional wrestling on the field.
00:29:43
Speaker
They're one of the more informed teams in the league right now. So that was honestly part of the reason that I was picking them over St. Louis to start with. It wasn't even about fraud watch fully. It was about what team is in better form. We'd even said that during the play that they were a hot team. We said that even before the playoffs that they were a team we were looking at.
00:30:06
Speaker
Yeah a hundred percent. I mean I think anyone who's been following them since May knows that they've been playing at a high level and you know you put a team that's in form and can score goals like they can against a team that Over-performed their xg by 20 plus goals or whatever the number was it was a lot
00:30:27
Speaker
You can you can kind of predict the result and we did predict the result so The new who take might have backfired, but the st. Louis City SC fraud watch was validated. I do think st. Louis If I could give them credit Because I think you know as much fun as we've had with fraud watch You do have to acknowledge that they want they won the West in their first year. So you know it
00:30:57
Speaker
The your XG overperformance, you know, it's fair to say that that doesn't matter if you if you still win the West it didn't help them in the playoffs, but they did win the West and I think it's fair to say that
00:31:14
Speaker
Year one of MOS in St. Louis was a smashing success. I think people weren't really sure how that was going to go because Lutz, their sporting director, gave some pretty funny quotes, if you remember, during preseason. He said, I don't believe in designated players. I believe in a designated team.
00:31:33
Speaker
Tell them and I read that quote and I was like that does not seem like a good strategy. We're going to see how it pays off for you. But then they gave Roman Berkey a lot of money. He's talking about designated team and a lot of people. I mean if you go back you know if you want to do the screenshot game of the MLS soccer dot com pundit preseason prediction everyone had him in like 14 15 place. So if their fans want a chest thump
00:32:02
Speaker
About that like I got no problem with that because everyone said that they were going to suck and they drew they had some Uh, they had some really fun moments Uh play had long stretches of playing very good soccer joel clausen edward lowen. That's a good dp duo uh joel claus I think a problem that they had this year was that joel claus didn't stay healthy and lowen didn't too Actually, they were missing both of those guys
00:32:29
Speaker
for really long stretches of the season and they did a good job to stay afloat and and win the west so I do think the roster needs some work man if you look at XG numbers like that cautionary tale man Austin FC like I'll say it again like
00:32:50
Speaker
They if they rest on their laurels and think that because they won the West this year like that They don't need to bolster the roster and they can make kind of small supplemental changes and then do the same thing again next year Just lots I'm telling you brother like just look at what happened Austin FC like that'll be you that'll be you if you you got a good foundation got a good foundation but
00:33:15
Speaker
You will be Austin FC if you don't add to what you have in place and add quite extensively, in my opinion. You can't rely on the luck that they experienced this year, two years in a row. That's a recipe for regression is what it is. So I just hope that they take that seriously.
00:33:37
Speaker
We also lake level their series with Houston Dynamo FC on penalty kicks 1-1 at America First Field Still the dumbest stadium name in MLS all the worst cringe when I have to say that
00:33:54
Speaker
um Houston went up in this game and they were they were on track to uh to close out the series but then Jefferson Savarino hit uh hit a really good free kick that was one of the sickest goals of the playoffs so far to equalize that and then we all saw lake 154
00:34:11
Speaker
in the shootout. I had a huge student winning this series and I think I still think they're probably going to get it done in game three at home. I guess the only thing I have to say about this game and Noah I can tell you.
00:34:27
Speaker
I was on Ben Olson's Zoom call after the match. I was hanging out with Benny O. We always, when we're covering the match nights, we're usually going to do the post game content about the winning team.
00:34:43
Speaker
But if there's storylines with the losing team, we will tackle those too. So I was kind of just monitoring Benio just in case anything came out of the Houston availability that we thought might merit content on the website. We ended up not using any of it. But the main thing I observed was that Benio was very tilted. And it's a coach presser after a playoff loss.
00:35:08
Speaker
So that's to be expected to an extent but he was like he was getting defensive before any of the media like really antagonized him or asked like super hard-hitting questions like he launched right into his speech about how you know playoff soccer is hard and they played really well and sometimes you just come up short but like he was like
00:35:35
Speaker
Don't know when the expectation for the Houston Dynamo became that we were gonna just waltz in here and take a dub super easily in a hard-fought like physical playoff series And I was like Benny own like no one even don't even like really said anything yet like like if it's in response to something Like I understand where it comes from but I don't know it felt like he was just popping off Like he was like he was a pop off. He came in there just ready to swim
00:36:03
Speaker
wing. That's awesome. I didn't even ask him anything. I was just recording it, so it was it was it was entertaining though.
00:36:13
Speaker
Yeah, I think I think Houston probably probably gets it done back at Shell Energy Stadium I just I don't know like I think you know real salt lakes trying to do this all on x-dog again. They never really They never really got back on track after Pablo Ruiz got hurt so like I
00:36:35
Speaker
Pablo Mastroini though he I mean he's like the Jedi Master of X-Dog so if anyone could go go into Houston and troll out a little a little PK series victory I would not put that past Pablo Mastroini
00:36:55
Speaker
But I don't know we all saw leg they disappointed me because I gassed him up like I gassed up new and they didn't they didn't really That take didn't really pay off I do think the Ruiz injury is pretty much the main reason for that and that they could have been a lot better without that but
00:37:15
Speaker
I don't think they're making much noise in the playoffs. Maybe Pablo Mastroni will prove me wrong. Orlando City SC vanquished Nashville SC rather easily validating another fraud watch that didn't really get talked about as much.
Nashville SC's Challenges
00:37:30
Speaker
by us, I don't think. But Nashville SC should have been on it as much as St. Louis SC. I think the thing is Nashville SC's potential fraudulent status was more widely acknowledged than St. Louis'
00:37:49
Speaker
The story with Nashville SC is pretty simple, man. Their squad is Haney Mukhtar or Bust, and everyone knows it. And that worked for them for a long time. And it hasn't been working for them since League's Cup. They have to figure out where supplemental goal production is going to come from. You can't just go into every single game going Haney.
00:38:17
Speaker
If we're going to score one, you're going to have to score it. And in the off chance that someone else does score one, you're going to have to assist on it. Otherwise, no one else is going to do that either. You have to do it all. Every facet of our attack is on you. And if you don't notch multiple goal contributions,
00:38:39
Speaker
then we're probably not scoring any goals, let alone multiple goals. So, I mean, that's pretty much the story for them. Sam Serge was supposed to be the solution to that, but that didn't really pan out.
00:38:55
Speaker
I don't know what his final numbers on the season were. I'm gonna pull him up while I'm talking, but I don't think there's any way to look at it and think that Sam Surridge proved this year that he's like the Robin to Hany Mukhtar's Batman. And that's like what they, that's what they signed him to be.
00:39:13
Speaker
And if he's not that then they're gonna have an issue yet same surge played 500 minutes this year And he scored two goals no assists like you know he only it's not a big sample to be fair He only appeared in nine games. I'm just saying like next year like
00:39:28
Speaker
They need him to, they need him to pop. He has to be like, he's got to score 15, 20 goals and give Haney Mukhtar some support. Otherwise they're probably going to be spinning their wheels in much a similar situation that they're in, which they've been in this situation for like two years now. So that's like why, if I was a Nashville fan, that's why I would be frustrated about it is because they've known that this over-reliance on Haney Mukhtar has been an issue for a long time.
00:39:55
Speaker
and they finally did take a step to address it but it was kind of late to take that step and it also like it I don't know I just felt like it never looked like
00:40:10
Speaker
that the issue that they were trying to solve with that signing got solved. So that's kind of how I see it with Nashville SC. Orlando City meanwhile took care of business. And I mean, I just like this team. I think if I had to pick one team in the East,
00:40:30
Speaker
that could take down FC Cincinnati, like I might low key pick Orlando city over even Columbus. Really? Yeah. Like, I mean, I think they, they kind of, they kind of proved their mettle this year. They, they were a bit under the radar, but they were racking points all year. They got second in the East. Like anytime you, you throw up 60 plus points, like you're a good team. Um, and.
Orlando City's Playoff Performance
00:41:01
Speaker
They definitely, both of these victories over Nashville were one zeros, but that's the sign of a good playoff team is if you can grind out those one zeros when you need to. And Nashville, for however much they struggle and attack, they're a very, very good defensive team.
00:41:19
Speaker
National and Seattle were tied for the fewest amount of goals conceded in MLS this year. So they have an elite defense that Orlando was dealing with and they took like exactly the type of series victory that you need to be able to take when you're playing against a team that has
00:41:38
Speaker
in lead defense so props to Orlando and Oscar Perea they played that series really well and they they were deserved winners over Nashville there Duncan McGuire go did Duncan McGuire I don't think he had a goal in this series but yeah he's definitely he's a lobby we're a pro Duncan McGuire podcast here at lobbying scorchers he's probably he's the sickest super draft pick of that draft like
00:42:06
Speaker
And Orlando, that's one thing that they're really good at. They did it with with Daryl DK and a couple other guys who I'm blanking on the names, but it's like they're all in a similar vein of super draft strikers that they come into the league and they're they're producing goals right away. So some of the nerds have put Duncan McGuire on fraud watch because he over performed his XG by a lot.
00:42:32
Speaker
it seems pretty clear to me that he I mean he's at least a really good MLS player and who knows man he could go on the Daryl DK path because he had a big year he had like 13 goals so that's nothing to sneeze at for a rookie super super draft pick that's good stuff from their scouting department in front office
00:42:54
Speaker
The Philadelphia Union Vanquish the New England Revolution 1-0 in their game to the revs kind of chalk themselves in this game because Mark Anthony read Mark Anthony read Mark Anthony K got a red card pretty early in the match Mark Anthony read so they were they were playing most of that game down to Ten men due to Mark Anthony K's red card
00:43:17
Speaker
And the revs actually hung with it decently. Well, there are stretches of the game where they actually were out playing the Philly Union while they were down to 10 men. But, I mean, you talk yourself pretty bad when you put yourself down a man in an elimination game like that. You can't do that. It was a pretty bad red, too. He pretty much just stomped on the guy's chest. Yeah, it was pretty fucking disgusting, honestly. Yeah.
00:43:42
Speaker
But that mean I kind of touched on it when we were predicting that series, that just the vibes around the revs have been subpar for a while now, dating back to the Bruce Arena debacle and resignation. So it just felt like
00:44:05
Speaker
I don't know. It just felt kind of weird, their whole season after the Bruce stuff. They were one of the better teams in the East for most of the year up until the Bruce stuff. They have a really talented team, so they were still pretty good after that, but I just felt like the vibes for a playoff run for them were just never there.
00:44:31
Speaker
Wasn't surprised to see the Philly Union finished that one off Atlanta United blew the doors off the Columbus crew at Marie Mercedes-Benz Stadium in their game to Ford One four to two I'm gonna four to four to two. Yeah, so yeah Columbus ended up getting a second one But honestly that game wasn't even really that close Atlanta was running all over them from the jump and
00:44:58
Speaker
That's that, listen, coaching for your job ball right there that I was talking about. Gonzo knew it was all on the line in that game and he got the boys ready to play. Jakimakis scored a goal. Zande Silva, who's one of their like mid-season additions, scored a really, really sick goal. That was probably my favorite goal of the last slate other than the Savarino free kick.
00:45:25
Speaker
And then Edwin Mascara scored a goal for them, which is like a big story because the big story for him in Atlanta was that he had racked up something like 90 professional appearances.
00:45:43
Speaker
with Atlanta and the teams that he played for previously and he's an attacking player he's like a winger and he hadn't scored a single goal in his career and he finally broke out of that and then now he has a now he has a playoff goal so he's cooking for them a little bit which I'm sure they're glad to see there was a point where it was like
00:46:01
Speaker
They were about to take a lot of heat because this guy wasn't scoring goals and their fans were like, why did you sign a an attacking winger who just literally has zero goal production and he now still has zero goal production so
00:46:16
Speaker
I'm sure Garth Loggerway and Carlos Bocanegra were happy to see that. And then Tiago Amada scored a really nice goal for their fourth. Columbus brought it back. After Jaakumaka scored the opener, Kucho scored one to make it 1-1, but it just got away from them after that. And then they scored one in stoppage time to make it 4-2, but that's pretty much meaningless.
00:46:38
Speaker
that's the thing about the crew you know like they they play this really good attacking soccer and they're capable of being the team that hangs for on you in the way that Atlanta was in this game but i feel like wolford nancy ball like it does kind of
00:46:56
Speaker
End up like reckless sometimes where you can end up getting Getting four goals hung on you like that just because they're so aggressive and their defensive priorities seems like they get in these modes sometimes where That that part of the game just falls by the the wayside and it becomes these crazy shootouts Where they lose control of games?
Columbus Crew's Defensive Issues
00:47:25
Speaker
And that actually, um, uh, Wilfred Nancy's CF Montreal teams kind of would fall victim to that at times where they would lose control of games. And, uh, you know, I still think like he's one of the best coaches in the league as far, uh, for sure, from the attacking standpoint.
00:47:46
Speaker
Like he's a he's a master tactician in terms of knowing how to play put his players in position to score goals But the crew that's the thing about the both of these this like the same team kind of like really good
00:48:01
Speaker
really good and attack and can have games where they rack up a bunch of goals on you but then also just don't really care about defense a lot of the times like everything I just broke down for what can afflict Columbus sometimes like you can say the exact same thing about Atlanta so that's why this is kind of a fun series is it's kind of like
00:48:22
Speaker
two teams that have pretty much the same identity playing against each other. So it's going to come down to just who can kind of manage their defensive demons better. Columbus couldn't do it in this game to close out the series.
00:48:43
Speaker
they got they got game three back at home but Atlanta is going to have Tiago Amata back for that one so that's going to be a good game I'm looking forward to that game
00:48:55
Speaker
I think that was it for the other results that we had to get through. I think the main thing I wanted to say was that I think all my picks are alive for me to go perfect on this, because I had LAFC over the caps. I had Sporting KC over St. Louis, which was really... I mean, that was the only one where I wasn't pretty much just picking the favorite, but that hit. And Noah, you had that too, so we get credit for that. Listen. We took a lot of heat for...
00:49:24
Speaker
for putting fraud watch out there before that series started. But I'm going to I'm going to adamantly call the dub now that it panned out because we took heat for that and the pick hit. So that was a good one. I had Houston over real salt lake which is still alive.
00:49:43
Speaker
Had Orlando over over Nashville. I was pretty firm on that one as well that I thought Orlando Was was gonna win that and they did I had Philly over New England, which I think that's I'm not gonna chest them too much about that one Philly was the easy pick there. They did have the same exact same record. So, you know, you could try and bait you into picking New England I think yeah, you probably did but I didn't take the bait and Philly handled that one and
00:50:09
Speaker
And then I had Columbus over Atlanta, which is still alive. I had Seattle over Dallas, which is still alive. So I need Columbus, Houston, and Seattle to win. And then that'd be a perfect slate. I would be pretty proud of that. This league is pretty hard to prognosticate, and especially in the playoffs.
Reflecting on Playoff Predictions
00:50:33
Speaker
like you can think that you have a bead on on who you should be picking and it could totally backfire. So the fact that none of my picks have backfired yet, and that I could actually I'm actually still alive to go perfect on them. That's pretty exciting. I'm happy about that. So that's pretty much all I had to say. No, you got anything else? Or should we chalk this?
00:50:58
Speaker
Listen, Sanders fans. There was another year that we dropped the game to Dallas in Dallas. Do you know what year that was Ari? 2019 2016 2016. Are you talking regular season or playoffs playoffs? Oh, okay. Was Oh, yeah. Yeah. That was the year that uh,
00:51:20
Speaker
Wait, what happened that year? That was the year we won, our first MLS cup, Ari. But what happened in the Dallas series? We won 3-0, and then we went to Dallas and lost 2-1. Obviously we advanced on aggregate, but we dropped the game. And it's okay, because we ended up winning the whole thing. So what I'm saying is, don't call it a comeback. That's a good reference right there. Yeah.
00:51:49
Speaker
I hope they win because if they win then all is forgiven and we never have to revisit the new who take debacle ever again they win this series then it doesn't matter so selfishly
00:52:06
Speaker
that's what i'm rooting for is that like like if they go out there and do who has another hunker and they lose the game the discourse is going to be ratcheted up again and i'm going to be under heavy scrutiny so i don't think anyone wants that to happen i definitely don't so
00:52:25
Speaker
We'll see what happens lumen field. I believe 6 p.m.. Kick tomorrow evening Friday game three season on the line Don't get no better like no. This is the this is the most fun time of year, so Hopefully Seattle moves through and we'll get some some more some more Sounders games to break down for you and
00:52:46
Speaker
If they get eliminated, then we're just going to have to be talking about everyone else for the rest of the season. So that would be unfortunate. But we'll do it if it comes to it. If we have to. If we have to. If the people call with the answer.
00:53:03
Speaker
We'll call it a we'll call it a wrap right there for episode 18 of lobbing scorchers as always Much appreciated to everyone who tunes into these Like comment subscribe rate write a review on iTunes do all that stuff Hit me up on Twitter if you want to lambass me for my new who take even more. I don't care I've already I've already
00:53:30
Speaker
taking plenty of heat for it so what's a little more um but yeah thank you all for tuning in until next time we out peace and don't threaten any referees