Just a quick author’s note before we get started:

I fully intend to take three or so games per week, give you a recap, then link you to a full article about each of the matchups telling you why team A beat team B, why team X is a contender, and why team Y has made a complete turnaround since last season.

I’ve never been great with timing, so starting this newsletter on a three game week while traveling across the country probably wasn't the best idea, but give me a break… I’m new to this. This week, the recaps will be a bit longer, but there won’t be any long form articles as I try to navigate just how to get these done during the midweek windows.

My vision for this is to make more of a community through the newsletter, sharing fan thoughts and reactions along with the game recaps and analysis. I appreciate all those who read and subscribe while I work out the kinks, and the X DMs for @BonesToPickAB are always open.

Okay— I promise that we’re not going to recap and analyze the same teams every week… I PROMISE.  BUT: It just so happens that the same four of the top five teams in the East traded opponents midweek, and it may have even given us some foreshadowing about what to expect down the stretch.

Nashville SC 3-0 Columbus Crew

Nashville bounced back following the end of their 15 game unbeaten streak, defeating Columbus Crew 3-0 at Geodis Park on Wednesday night.  It didn’t take the hosts long to start the party either when just 70 seconds in, Sean Zawadzki chested an Alex Muyl cross into his own net. The own goal marks the second straight game Columbus has found themselves behind within the first two minutes of the opening whistle.  The Crew didn’t need to fall behind by another for their wake up call this time around.  Just seconds later, Max Arfsten found himself behind the back line, forcing a close range kick save out of Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis.  The teams exchanged chances for most of the first 20 minutes of a wide open game.  Sam Surridge let Columbus off the hook when he turned a back post header just over the bar from only a couple yards away, but he’d make up for the missed chance shortly after.  Just a couple ticks before the half hour mark, Andy Najar’s (legitimately) World Class through ball sprung Surridge behind enemy lines, and an inch-perfect cross found Hany Mukhtar across the face of goal for a tap in.

See, I wasn’t kidding.

Surridge would find his Golden Boot leading 17th goal of the season in the 82nd, tapping in an Ahmed Qasem cutback.

In a game where Nashville truly had the better of the chances and capitalized on their opportunities, the Boys In Gold (well, their new third kit is denim themed, actually?) proved they’re for real.

Is anyone worried about Columbus? I wouldn’t be.  It’s a long season.  They’re coming off an emotional win in which they flipped the Hell Is Real Derby script on its head.  Toss in the fact that it was a quick turnaround down to hot Nashville (both in temperature and form), and you get a bit of a letdown.  That will happen over the course of the season, but with a return home on Saturday against struggling DC United on the docket, rest assured Wilfried Nancy will have his team raring and ready to give the visitors a good ol’ fashion Midwest welcome.

FC Cincinnati 3-0 Inter Miami CF

So Columbus went to Nashville, who came home from Miami, who went to Cincinnati… See why I had to follow through with this?

MLS’ second all-time leading goal scorer Kei Kamara started for injured Kevin Denkey and was robbed of a dream start by Inter Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari. Barely 60 seconds into the game, Kamara picked up a ball at midfield and showed us age really is just a number, bursting through the back line and in on goal.  Kamara let loose on a shot from a fairly tight angle where Ustari made a flying save at his near post.  South Florida native Gerardo Valenzuela took a slipped pass from Luca Orellano in the 17th minute to put FCC up 1-0 and they never looked back.  Outside of a few half chances, Miami never really looked likely to score.  Evander continued his excellent 2025 campaign with another brace.  That makes 15 goals and 8 assists for the Brazilian, tying Lionel Messi’s 23 goal contributions for a league best.  Evander is firmly in the MVP race, and might just be my pick at this stage of the season.  His mix of efficiency and flair make his offseason signing from Portland WELL worth the price tag.  Like seriously, who even thinks of pulling this off:

In the grand scheme of things, the last two Matchdays are really a wash for everyone in the top five besides Philadelphia— they’re the real winners of the past week.  After losing to Nashville they’ve won two on the trot while the four teams underneath them have all been scrapping for position.  Fact of the matter is, IF Inter Miami win all their games in hand they’d be one point ahead of the Union and atop the conference. What’s very clear is that these five teams have started to separate from the pack in terms of playoff position and even more importantly, the Supporter’s Shield standings.  We’re rapidly approaching the 10 games remaining mark, and the race for the East could not be tighter.

Seattle Sounders 3-3 Colorado Rapids

The Colorado Rapids traveled to the Pacific Northwest to take on the Seattle Sounders following a dominant 3-0 home win against Vancouver on the weekend.  By the halftime whistle, Rapids were dreading they’d be on the other end of their previous result.  Obed Vargas celebrated his All-Star selection with a goal in the 16th minute, although I’m not sure he would take too much credit.  The shot from the top of the box deflected off of Andreas Maxsø, wrong footing goalkeeper Zack Steffen and dribbling into the opposite corner.  A few minutes before the half, Albert Rusnak pulled up from long range to double the lead.  A sloppy back pass forced Steffen towards the sideline, pulling him far away from his goal, and when Jackson Ragen won the initial header on the clearance, Rusnak took care of the rest.

Colorado would head in to halftime feeling the scoreline didn’t match the performance.  The Rapids had the better of the play in the opening stanza, nearly scoring on multiple attempts. 

Shortly after the break, however, Rusnak scored his second of the game through a really tidy finish from the top of the box.  Surely the Rapids felt as though they were paddling upstream.

The restart following the goal saw Colorado immediately up the pressure, as Rafael Navarro cleverly knicked the ball off Cristian Roldan in the box and was taken down, resulting in a penalty.  Colorado’s number 10 Djordje Mihailovic kickstarted the comeback, burying his penalty attempt. Ted Ku-Dipietro sprung Navarro behind Seattle’s back line just moments later, who was AGAIN brought down in the box, this time by goalkeeper Andrew Thomas.  Mihailovic deferred to Cole Bassett this time around, who made no mistake cutting the lead to just one with 40 minutes still remaining.  Darren Yapi would complete the comeback in the 75th minute just five minutes after subbing on, as he sliced through multiple Seattle defenders along the top of the box and slid a low shot inside the far post.

This game had it all— a huge comeback, a long range goal, multiple penalty kicks and end to end action from start to finish.

It’s an important result for Colorado, who find themselves one point above the playoff line in a crowded Western Conference.  It doesn’t get any easier for them, with a cross country trip to Supporter’s Shield leading Philadelphia Union on the horizon.

Seattle will be disappointed (of course) not to have taken all three points at home, however they’re unbeaten in the last four since their Club World Cup exit.  The Sounders get to stay home to face a dangerous San Jose Earthquakes team on Saturday evening.

Minnesota United FC 0-1 Los Angeles FC

LAFC relied on a Denis Bouanga spot kick just before halftime to down Minnesota United on Wednesday night.  Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair was called into action early, first denying a Bouanga free kick and then a long range effort from Artem Smolyakov— two crucial saves from the MLS All-Star.  The game went relatively quiet until Nicolás Romero pulled down Jeremy Ebobisse in the box in the 40th minute.  Referee Lorenzo Hernandez originally waived off the contact, however after video review deemed it enough to result in a penalty. Bouanga stepped up confidently and converted, putting LAFC up 1-0.  Minnesota was lucky to be in the game late, as Bounga had multiple chances to put the game on ice, but St. Clair was up to the task of keeping Minnesota afloat.  One last chance went begging for the Loons in the final seconds, who dropped just their third game in all competitions since the beginning of May.

Minnesota will look to rebound on a trip to Portland on the weekend, hoping to continue a strong stretch before the League’s Cup break.

LAFC could have easily looked past this one with an eye towards their El Traffico tilt on the weekend, however recorded their third shutout in as many matches.  Nine points in their last three see the Club World Cup participants soaring up the standings, just seven points behind San Diego FC with three games in hand.

Speaking of LAFC, Paul Tenorio of The Athletic first reported that the Black and Gold are finalizing a move for Canadian National Team midfielder Mathieu Choinière.  Choinière moved to Grasshopper FC in Switzerland on a $1 million transfer just under a year ago.  The Quebec native is set to join LAFC when the summer window opens later this month. 

Ironically, LAFC purchased a stake in the Swiss club back in January 2024… These club investments and partnerships are starting to get a little grey when it comes to player movement, but it will be good to see a player of Choinière’s quality back in North America.

No, no… it’s not what you think (we’re never going to get political here, but it was too good a lead to not use).

DC United announced René Weiler as their new head coach this week, moving quickly after terminating the contract of Troy Lesesne.  The former Al Ahly manager was most recently the Sporting Director for Servette FC in his native country of Switzerland.

The MLS Disciplinary Committee released that Seattle Sounder’s defender Nouhou would be suspended an additional game for his actions in the Sounder’s game at Kansas City. Late in stoppage time of the team’s—

I’m sorry… I can’t take this news report seriously.  We got an all-time MLS screenshot from this one.  I’m not sure what Nouhou’s reasoning for this was, but this photo should live on in MLS fan lore forever. Let’s enjoy him while he’s here.

Thanks for reading (if you made it this far) and enjoy all of this weekend’s action.

-Bones