MLS Next Pro Playoffs Heat Check + Week 27 Best Performers

To celebrate the last weekend of regular season action in MLS Next Pro and a scintillating Decision Day, I decided to do something different than usual. Don’t worry, the ten best performers of the weekend are coming up soon, but first, since we are entering the final stretch of the season, I wanted to check on the recent form of the teams that have qualified for the playoffs. This year especially, form and fit are of particular importance as the new format for the postseason involves the highest seeded teams each picking their own opponent. Each lower seeded team will start the playoffs with a chip on their shoulders, and that chip will be even bigger if they are picked by a team while lower seeded candidates are still available.

The first thing I did has been charting the performances of each postseason-bound team in both conferences over the past ten games and then building two standings to see who has had the best recent form. But form isn’t the only thing that matters. Vibes also do. And by vibes I mean, well, a lot of other factors, from consistency to how free and on the same page a team looked while playing, buzz generated from some recent big wins in tough games, how they came out of Decision Day and stuff like that. Coming up, starting with the Eastern Conference and then moving towards the West, you’ll first see the standings and then a quick vibe check for each team, listed in order of the position they ended up the regular season in.

Crown Legacy

The best team in the East is also the most in form team of the East. Crown Legacy has not lost in seven and not only they won every penalty shootout they faced in this last stretch of the season, but they only have one loss in PKs the entire season, and that came in the first game of the year against Huntsville. With playoffs being played over a single leg, consistency at the penalty spot will probably be a difference maker between a championship and a loss. They’ll want that the sizeable gap between them and the rest of the competition — 10 points — was never just an accident. They are the favourites, but they also have the most to lose.

New England Revolution II

The Revs are the biggest mystery of this entire playoff field, no matter the conference. That’s because we cannot be really sure whether the team we saw over the past few months and who won six consecutive games before the final game of the season is the same team we have now, whose only test came in a loss against Crown Legacy. Clint Peay, the manager who engineered the incredible state of form of the team, has left it to go and coach the New England Revolution in the midst of the post-Arena chaos. The team is now apparently managed by a committee instead of a single individual, a group which also, incidentally, appears to involve a guy credibly accused of verbal abuse. The recent form is ecstatic, and the team seems like a well-oiled machine. They should be cup contenders and probably are. But, just like for the first team, the internal chaos going on makes everything we learned about them previously devoid of meaning.

Columbus Crew 2

Having two wins in the rivalry games against Cincinnati in the last month of the season will surely be taken as a reason for hopefulness by the ring-bearers. Having scored three or more in each of the four victories they earned in the final six games of the season will also be taken as a sign that the formidable attack that snatched a cup final from the hands of defeat against Toronto last season and that destroyed St. Louis in the title-decider has not dipped in form even if many of their components have changed. There are question marks about consistency, though, as when things go wrong for the Capys, they seem to go really wrong really fast, because for as good as their attack is when they win, the defence is prone to collapse when they lose, as their last four losses have seen them concede six, five, four and five respectively. Lack of consistency can be a real killer in win-or-go-home situations, and the contrast with last season is stark, as the Crew ended their 2022 regular season with five consecutive wins including a 9–0 clattering of Cincinnati on Decision Day.

New York Red Bulls II

There’s a clear line of demarcation separating the three best non-Crown-Legacy teams in the East from the rest of the playoff field, so much that it almost feels like it was designed to match the structure of the playoff format. The last ten weeks only manage to heighten the differences at the top, creating a larger gap between the Red Bulls and the rest of the playoff teams. New York enters the playoffs with a serious MVP candidate in Kasule, but also with a severe problem of discipline. They get so many red cars against them, four since July and three of them in tense games at the top of the conference or in rivalry games against NYCFC. They seemed red hot coming towards the final stretch of the season, as they started their last six games with a four games win-streak in which they never scored less than three and had even two five-goals games. With a playoff berth and the league position set in stone, they calmed down and lost — one in penalties — their final two games. The key with them will be keeping the temper down in key moments because they’ll all be key moments from now until the end of the season.

Orlando City B

As the only team in the entire playoff picture with a negative goal differential, it should not be surprising that Orlando City has a leaky defence. This is the main point that needs addressing. The last clean sheet this team earned happened in the middle of June, and it was only one of three over the entire season. I doubt there can be quick fixes for such an issue, and honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if they were picked above one of the two teams behind them by the higher seeded teams with home field advantage.

Chicago Fire II

The key to understand the Chicago Fire is the consistency of their inconsistency. This doesn’t just mean that they’ve been going up and down the entire season, but that they’ve done so in stretches. Sometimes they look unbeatable for weeks, sometimes they go months making the same mistakes over and over and over. This simply should not be happening for what is one of the most experienced teams in the league, who hasn’t really played a lot of academy teenagers over the season. A recent stretch of good form got them into the post-season, so we’ll see whether they can keep the form going.

Philadelphia Union II

A few weeks ago, it looked like the Union II season was destined to end. Four consecutive losses entering September including two against direct rivals in Huntsville and NYCFC made any dream of a comeback very difficult. Then came a game against Toronto. Philly went down 1–0 but managed to find something within them and after drawing scored three in ten minutes to start the second half and close the game out. It was the beginning of something different, of a late playoff push that gave them the edge against Huntsville, one of the other two teams they beat in the final three games of the season, who completely collapsed under pressure. They enter as the lowest seed but with vibes at an all-time high. One might not want to go against them, because they’re on a hot streak.

Colorado Rapids 2

Officially the best team in the league over the regular season, the Rapids enter the playoffs as clear favourites hyped up by a last game that earned Remi Cabral a late successful push for Golden Boot after his hat-trick against Minnesota. There is really not a lot to say about them. They are the most in form team in the league, they are good at penalties, they are the best offense and the best defence, they have the individualities to pull this off. The only issue might be that their home form is good but not as great as their away form, and they’ll never play another away game this season. But maybe the main issue will be what the first team wants to do now that they’ve been eliminated from the playoffs. With nothing to play for, it may be better for development to try some of these guys with the first team. And this is a developmental league, player growth comes before team success. Or will the organization argue — legitimately — that playing for a title in a playoff format is a more formative experience?

Tacoma Defiance

The best of the rest outside of the first two teams in the league has built a reputation for making each game they play in must-see tv. Their matches are almost always high-scoring affairs and while that usually means a scintillating attack and a leaky defence, it also should be considered that Tacoma has proved to be able of exerting the former’s dominance over the latter. They arrive to the playoffs off a really good run of form, winning all their last six games and four of them in regulation.

Sporting Kansas City II

A two-game road trip in California and Texas in which they collected two big wins lead them to arrive a bit gassed at the hyper-local end of the season, with games against their closest rivals at home against Chicago and St. Louis and away to Minnesota. Those ended with two losses — curiously with the same 3–2 scoreline — and a win in penalties against St. Louis on Decision Day. This last game’s result was key as it earned them a better seed in the playoffs and as such the right to pick their opponent before Austin. Having home field advantage in the first game might be key, as the only teams in the Conference with a better home record are those before them in the full standings.

Austin FC II

The vibes are officially off. Not only they are the worst playoff team over the last ten games of the season, but they really soured this stretch of games recently, and they haven’t won a game in regulation in six games, with only one of the three penalty shootouts they went to resulting in a win. It’s a perplexing run of form to say the least, and the main culprit seems to be an offense that has really stalled recently, regressing even though it had never been one of the most incinerating of the league. It could very well be turn out to be a call-an-ambulance-but-not-for-me moment, but it’d be way too convoluted of a strategy.

Saint Louis City 2

They are the only unbeaten team in the last ten games of the season, not counting penalty shootouts. The team is buzzing with excitement, and I feel like mine is a safe bet when I say that nobody will pick them as an opponent unless forced by the lack of other options. You don’t want to put another chip on their shoulder. Caden Glover is one of the best strikers in the league hands down, and not just one of the best young strikers. The team has beaten their own record for biggest crowd in the league and in seven of the eight wins with which they enriched the last stretch of the season they scored three or more. They earned eleven points more in the last ten games than Austin, who they’ll likely face if the pick-your-opponent format will give the results I expect. Everything seems primed for a deep run, just like last season. The exception? They’ve lost all the three penalty shootouts they’ve faced in recent times, which soured a record of performance from the spot that ended up being .500 (4–4).

San José Earthquakes II

Pay close attention to the Quakes away from home. They have the second-best record in the conference and the third overall in the league. That is exactly the kind of stat you want for your team entering this phase of the season, even if in the final stretch of the season the playoff berth was earned with key wins at home against Houston, Los Angeles FC and in penalties against St. Louis. The Quakes end of the regular season, though, has not been easy. Having to face a tough schedule with many decisive games against playoff opponents, San José crashed out against three teams qualified for the postseason and against Minnesota, who barely missed the cut.

Houston Dynamo 2

The biggest winners out of Decision Day will try to bring their excitement to the party. Houston has been the only team who was out of playoff contention before the last game to earn a berth to the postseason. They are now fully in party-crasher mode, with nothing to lose and just vibes all over. The effects of their win against the Galaxy might be huge, because right before that the team looked lost. They were only in need of winning while still needing help on Decision Day because their recent from had been really not great, with four losses in the last six games.

And now, let’s go with the last edition of the Best Performers.

Julian Hall — 2008 — New York Red Bulls

He started the weekend in the pouring rain on the bench against DC United. Then came back in MLS Next Pro and scored. Can you stop him?

David Vazquez — 2006 — Philadelphia Union

A very well executed play cutting off the right wing for the easy tap-in

MD Myers — 2001 — NYCFC

He officially gets the Golden Boot as the first tie-breaker is assists and he leads the three candidates in that stat, with the decisive one arriving with this pass to Denis, and he scored another in the last game of the season, from a penalty. He could’ve earned the Golden Boot without needing assists though, as the team earned a penalty kick late in the game. Elias took it instead.

Paul Rothrock — 1999 — Tacoma

A banger off a free kick late in the game to tie it: great way to get into the playoff vibes and conclude an incredible regular season that saw him even getting into the first team and scoring.

Remi Cabral — 1999 — Colorado

Another one at the top of the three-way tie for Golden Boot, Remi Cabral did so in style, scoring a hat-trick in the final game of the season.

Miles Perkovich — 2006 — Inter Miami

Always follow the ball after a shot and don’t give up on the play. You never know where the goalkeeper might send it on the rebound.

Jackson Travis — 2004 — Colorado

A beautiful shot, powerful and precise, to put the exclamation point over his team’s win.

Gershon Henry — 2006 — Real Monarchs

It was a crazy game in Providence Park as three goals were scored inside the first ten minutes of the game. Henry ended this crazy run by shortening the gap between the two teams to only one goal.

Lowell Wright — 2003 — Vancouver

It has not been the greatest season for the former CPL striker, but he recouped at least partially the form he had in the Canadian league a couple of seasons ago. He ends the regular season with a memorable hat-trick, key to keeping his team in the game against a top team in the league and a rival in Tacoma and send the game to PKs.

Nikola Petkovic — 2003 — Crown Legacy

The highest paid player in MLS Next Pro history isn’t one to score loads of goals, but he can contribute to the scoring chart on the occasion.