The Pitch: MLS Enters Home Stretch Following All-Star Week

In the aftermath of the MLS All-Stars’ 2-1 victory over their LIGA MX counterparts, all eyes turn towards the home stretch of the 2022 MLS regular season. With 10 or fewer games remaining for all 28 MLS clubs, the stakes are higher for every match, and every minute carries more meaning.

Twenty-four of the league’s 28 clubs enter this week in contention for the Audi 2022 MLS Cup Playoffs by virtue of maintaining a place above the playoff line or by sitting within six points of a playoff spot. Atop the Western Conference is the Los Angeles Football Club, which leads the league with 54 points as winners of their last six straight matches. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Union (48 points) top the Eastern Conference, currently holding a five-point advantage over CF Montréal (43 points) and a six-point lead over defending MLS Cup champions New York City FC (42 points), who sit in third place on the strength of one of the league’s staunchest defenses.

Teams closing in on the first Audi MLS Cup Playoffs appearance in club history include second-year standout and current Western Conference No. 2 seed Austin FC (48 points), FC Cincinnati (33 points), and Charlotte FC (29 points), as all three clubs are looking to punch their first tickets to the postseason.

With only 54 days until MLS Decision Day 2022, stakes continue to rise as the postseason picture starts to take shape.

LAFC Continue Run Towards Reclaiming History

With ten games remaining on their regular-season schedule, the Los Angeles Football Club (54 points, 17-4-3) sits atop the MLS Supporters’ Shield standings, averaging 2.25 points per game, and currently on pace to finish this campaign with record-breaking 77 points. That tally would reclaim the MLS single-season points record back from New England Revolution (73 points, 2021) after LAFC set a then all-time high (72) in 2019.

Victorious in six consecutive matches and eight of their last nine in regular season play, LAFC is supercharged by Cristian “Chicho” Arango, who has scored10 of his 12 goals on the season in the club’s last 11 matches. Arango’s late charge into the race for the MLS Golden Boot presented by Audi, coupled with the spark of newcomer Gareth Bale and the steady presence of Carlos Vela – each of whom have netted two goals in their last three MLS outings – has firmly inserted LAFC into the conversation of historical top teams.

LAFC’s balanced attack leads all of MLS with a plus-29…