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MLS Analysis

Thoughts on MLS Playoff first legs, Caps & SDFC stand out, plus Freeman wins top award

ASN's Brian Sciaretta breaks down all 8 first legs of the MLS playoff opening round with Vancouver and San Diego impressing the most, while Chicago will continue to test Philly. Plus, a big award for USMNT right back Alex Freeman
BY Brian Sciaretta Posted
October 30, 2025
2:00 PM

AS THE FIRST LEGS of opening round of the MLS playoffs wrapped up, there was a lot to breakdown from the eight games. Some series look like they will go three games. A few teams look to be making a quick start to the offseason.

Meanwhile, some players turned in magnificent performances while some disappointed.

Here is how I saw the games.

 

Philly edges Chicago

 

The Philadelphia Union took the first leg of its series against the Chicago Fire on Sunday night in what was the best first leg game of the playoffs, so far. After taking a 2-0 lead in the 75th minute, Chicago rallied for two late goals to force a shootout where Philadelphia eventually won. Chicago’s late equalizer was scored by former Philadelphia stalwart defender Jack Elliot.

Philip Zinckernagel, who was one of the top newcomers in MLS in 2025, was a late scratch and this forced a tactical adjustment from Gregg Berhalter.

The biggest takeaway in this game is just how hard the Chicago Fire played against the Supporters Shield winners. They made it extremely difficult for the Union, who were playing at home. In the last 15 minutes, the Fire were on the front foot.

It was puzzling that Fire head coach Gregg Berhalter did not start Brian Gutierez given his standout effort in the play-in game win over Orlando. Gutierez was very good off the bench in the first leg and it’s hard to see him not starting in the second leg.

Afterward it was revealed that Zinckernagel suffered an oblique injury that puts him at risk for the remainder of the series. This will make it hard for Chicago but not if they replicate the effort in leg 1. If they do, then it is easy to see this one needing to return to Philadelphia.

As for Philadelphia, they can play better and they collapsed late. They cannot afford to do that again. But Milan Illoski continues to impress since his midseason arrival. He scored in thsi one and was excellent throughout. 

 

Vancouver trounces FC Dallas

 

A 3-0 scoreline usually reflects a convincing win for the winning team. But in the first leg on the series between Vancouver and FC Dallas, a 3-0 win didn’t accurately reflect the extent of the victory for Vancouver. This game was complete domination and the gap between is as wide as the ocean. Vancouver had a 22-1 edge in shots, 52-3 in touches in the opposing box, 319-72 completed passes in the opposing half, 159-21 completed passes in the opposing third.



The takeaway from this is that it would take an enormous reversal for Dallas to force a third game.

Vancouver is just a very good team under Jesper Sorensen. He deserves to be the coach of the year in 2025 given how well he has coached players up (like Sebastian Berhalter and Tate Johnson) and adjusted to the injury to Ryan Gauld in March. Under him, they reached the CONCACAF Champions Cup final and are aiming for a playoff run.

 

Minnesota edges Seattle

 

Minnesota United got past the Seattle Sounders in a shootout after a 0-0 draw.

While Minnesota was favored to win the game and played at home, Seattle was better over the first 90 minutes. In the end, Minnesota was very lucky.

Seattle had 69% possession, more shots on target, better chances, and even hit the woodwork once.

In the end, the difference was Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Claire who made three tough saves in regulation and another in the shootout.

Looking ahead, Seattle is still very much in this game. It will be hard for Minnesota to replicate this result in Seattle without a much better effort and more luck.

 

NYCFC prevails in Charlotte

 

New York City was the only team to win the first leg on the road when they defeated Charlotte 1-0. The winning goal from Alonso Martinez was all class. If postseason goals were in consideration, it would be up for the goal of the year.



As for the rest of the game, it was good news for the USMNT as Matt Freese made four saves en route to a clean sheet. His best save came in the 51st minute off a shot from Kerwin Vargas.

Charlotte is in deep trouble, needing a win at Yankee Stadium to force a third game Meanwhile, all the momentum favors NYCFC.

 

Lozano-less SDFC wins

 

It wasn’t clear what to expect from San Diego FC when it was announced that Chucky Lozano would not play in the first leg against play-in winners Portland Timbers. The Mexican star was dropped due to an “internal matter” that was later revealed to be a locker room altercation.

But head coach Mikey Varas said he was pleased with how Lozano has responded and hinted at a return in Game 2.

That spells bad news for Portland because San Diego won the first leg 2-1 and dominated the first 30 minutes. Portland’s attempt at a comeback ended when Jimer Fory was sent off in the 66th minute.

This game was not as close as the score reflected. San Diego was, by far, the better team. Now they get their top player back for the second game.

SDFC is where they want to be after the first leg.

 

Cincinnati downs Columbus

 

In the Hell is Real Derby in the playoffs, Cincinnati took the first leg 1-0 at home against Ohio. The decisive goal came from Kevin Denkey in the 78th minute, who had a very good game.  



From an American perspective, Max Arfsten played well for Columbus but saw a big shot of his saved by Roman Celentano. Celentano was arguably the MOTM in this game and he has had a very good year for Cincinnati. He is still building his case to be the USMNT third goalkeeper and his case looks stronger than Patrick Schulte right now.

 

Miami cruises past Nashville

 

Inter Miami can beat anyone in the league when they’re on. But they’re not always on and can also suffer some ugly losses. In the first game of the playoffs, they were on and Lionel Messi essentially beat Nashville 3-1 by himself, scoring twice and constantly creating dangerous chances for himself and his teammates. They played about as well as they can, and Nashville was overwhelmed.

No one on Nashville played well and now they must head back home needing a win over Miami. But they are now the extreme underdog as Miami is motivated to push for a title.

This series seems very close to being over.

 

LAFC sneaks past Austin

 

The final first leg was on Wednesday night and LAFC defeated Austin FC 2-1 in Southern California.

For LAFC, Heung-Min Son did not score or assist but he created seven chances and was the best player on the field.

Ryan Hollingshead forced a Brenden Hines-Ike own goal for LAFC’s first.

Austin FC equalized through Jon Gallagher as the Irish midfielder was set up by American attacker Owen Wolff.

Then it was Nathan Ordaz who put LAFC up for good with a deflected assist from Denis Bouanga.

In this game, Austin had more possession, but it almost seemed by design as LAFC was more comfortable in attacking off the counter. But Austin FC played well against the heavily favored LAFC. This game was deservedly close until the end.

But this game saw a lot of solid performances from Americans. Hollingshead had a very good game as was Delgado for LAFC.

But this game also gave more evidence to how well Owen Wolff developed in 2025. He has added so much to his game and had an argument to be nominated as the MLS Young Player of the Year alongside Obed Vargas, Alex Freeman, and Diego Luna.

 

Other MLS news

 

Another head coaching job is open as Chris Armas was dismissed by the Colorado Rapids after the club failed to make the playoffs with a tough stretch run. The team has spent money and the results weren’t there. While there have been fair arguments in the past about the team needing active ownership, that hasn’t been the case recently. But with that comes accountability.

Meanwhile, Alex Freeman won the 2025 MLS Young Player of the Year award, beating Diego Luna and Obed Vargas. All three players had a compelling case to win and the vote went Freeman’s way.

Freeman had an excellent year in what was his first year as a starter. His athleticism is elite and this year he found out how to put it all together with skill and defense. He was a top right back in MLS and this helped to get him onto the U.S. national team.

In this modern era of the game, there is so much required of fullbacks. One of the key attributes is a high level of athleticism, which is hard to find. For that, it is easy to see Freeman eventually fetching a hefty price tag.

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