New England’s Revolution are a surprise contender: MLS weekend wrap

The Earthquakes and Whitecaps have been the two standout teams of the MLS season so far. Photograph: Jeff Chiu/AP

While the Eastern standings have a large and mushy middle, the Western Conference has been led by a pair of long-established teams and four or five pursuing contenders. On Saturday, those two frontrunners – the San Jose Earthquakes and Vancouver Whitecaps – fought to a hugely entertaining draw.

San Jose’s Preston Judd continued his impressive season by scoring with his very first touch. The teams kept the match stretched from end-to-end before Sebastian Berhalter netted a savvy equalizer into the exact same corner of the goal as Judd.

The Caps and Quakes are playing dependably thrilling soccer, but in very different ways. In Jesper Sørensen’s second year, Vancouver continue to go from strength-to-strength thanks to a well-rehearsed system. When key players are missing, as Thomas Müller and Ryan Gauld were this weekend, the next man up knows exactly what to do. For San Jose, it’s another Bruce Arena classic: emboldening players to lean into their strengths and lining them up to maximize those talents accordingly.

They aren’t the usual suspects, but that only makes their twin-giant act even more exciting: a reminder that any team with a clear vision and the right group of players can thrive in MLS.

James Söze?

James Rodríguez’s unusually short deal with Minnesota United is coming to a close. Photograph: Jeremy Olson/ISI Photos/Getty Images

“Blink and you missed him” hardly encapsulates the partnership between the Colombia legend James Rodríguez and Minnesota United. From his introduction in February, both sides were clear that the relationship was borne of opportunity and a chance for mutual benefits. By and large, that hasn’t played out. Rodríguez struggled to work into the top of Cameron Knowles’ rotation, short on fitness and even general health, at one point being hospitalized for severe dehydration after returning from international duty.

After reports emerged that Rodríguez would exit the team after this Wednesday’s match, a modern great made up for lost time, finally notching a goal contribution five minutes into a second-half substitute appearance. And then, another helper that was even better.

Former Loons striker Christian Ramirez wouldn’t let the result stand and quickly equalized to cap a fun and feisty 2-2 draw.

Crucially for Minnesota, Rodriguez’s low utilization and early exit could have been predicted. Sporting director Khaled El-Ahmad told the Guardian that the club “doesn’t guarantee starts for any player,” and emphasized the flexibility of his unique half-year pact with a club option to extend through the end of 2026. Even if he only spent three months in Minnesota, plenty of No 10 jerseys will commemorate the novelty that, for three months in 2026, Rodríguez called Saint Paul home.

Odds and ends

Michael Bradley made his 151st and final cap in midfield early in Gregg Berhalter’s tenure with the USMNT. On Saturday, the engine room made the difference as Bradley’s Red Bulls beat Berhalter’s Chicago Fire 3-1. While the Fire struggled to regularly screen the backline or progress centrally, the Red Bulls’ young pairing of Adri Mehmeti (17) and Ronald Donkor (21) dominated the match in all phases.

No time slot has guaranteed thrills more dependably this season than early afternoon kickoffs in Toronto. Saturday marked the final in a series of these drunken matinées, with Lionel Messi coming to town and making BMO Field his own with a goal and two assists.

Messi became the fastest player to 100 goal contributions in MLS history, doing so in 64 games – 31 matches quicker than Sebastian Giovinco and 32 sooner than Robbie Keane.