Soccerwise Minutes

October 13, 2026

MLS is back, and out West the question is: does anyone want to win outside of St. Louis? While out East it’s Nashville chasing history as the chase for a top four spot is heating up. Plus, the USWNT has a second chance to bounce back after a disappointing result against Spain. We’ve got you covered as you hunker down for whatever storm might be heading your way this week.

📰 Headlines:

• The 🇺🇲 USWNT was asleep at the wheel for the opening 15 minutes against Spain, and paid the price, falling 2-0 to the reigning World Champions on Saturday at Audi Field. We’ve got your player’s grades from the match.
• Despite the scoreline, Ashley Sanchez made her first appearance for the USWNT since Oct. 30, 2024, entering as a substitute in the second half.
• Mallory Swanson returned to the field for the first time with the U.S. in 710 days. The 19th mother to play for the USWNT.
• 🏔️Vancouver Whitecaps FC became the second team in MLS to punch their ticket to the postseason. Four straight trips to the playoffs, five times in their last six seasons. 
• We will mention it here and again below because it’s just that impressive. 20 games unbeaten across all competitions for St. Louis CITY SC, matching the MLS record set by Red Bull New York in 2016.
• The Moose was loose again 🫎. Petar Musa scored his 19th goal of the season for FC Dallas, the most in a single season by a Dallas player in club history.
• St. Louis’ throttling of the Galaxy was over in 21 minutes, thanks to the second-fastest hat trick in MLS history by Carlo Holse. 
• And another one: 👅 Cavan Sullivan had two assists this weekend, hitting 21 goal contributions for the season, a new MLS single-season record for a teenager, passing Alphonso Davies (19) and Diego Fagúndez (20).
• ICYMI, Tom reported FC Cincinnati was signing former Philadelphia midfielder Jose Martinez, and they made it official on Friday. “The Wizard” is back in MLS after a stint with Corinthians as he is finishing recovering from a torn ACL.
• 🦅 On the Yanks abroad front, Joe Scally scored in the Rhine Derby for Borussia Mönchengladbach against FC Köln, while Alex Freeman statistically had quite the day against Real Madrid.
• The injury bug has bit the reigning NWSL champions. Gotham FC’s Jordynn Dudley is out for the year with a foot fracture while Bruninha tore her ACL on international duty with Brazil.
• Finally, the playoff picture in the USL Championship is coming into focus. Three more teams punched their tickets to postseason: Sacramento Republic FC, Lexington SC and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC.

🇺🇲 Spain have changed since last meeting, but remain above USWNT

By: Cat Bush

The first takeaway from the USMNT’s “tres-a-cero” win against Mexico on Saturday is that Mexico is really bad. Two of the U.S. goals came off catastrophic defensive errors by El Tri, with Cavan Sullivan and Malik Tillman terrorizing the Mexican backline with a simple press. The second takeaway is that Julian Hall is really, really good. The 18-year-old now has three goals in three games, and although it’s the newly-17 Cavan that has stolen all the headlines, Hall is making a case for himself as the breakout star of this international window. 

For those watching MLS this season, the ascendance is hardly a surprise. Hall has ten goals through 26 matches for Red Bull New York this season, up from one goal in the same number of games last season. This isn’t noise, either; Hall is underperforming his xG — which ranks just behind Robert Lewandowski, Antoine Griezmann, and Luis Suarez on a per-96-minute basis — thanks to some bad luck on good chances. As a teenager with proven goalscoring talent and room to improve, Hall is a scary prospect and could be the next man to challenge for a spot in the USMNT’s #9 rotation. 

Hall’s trajectory is eerily similar to Pepi’s — the two strikers had breakout MLS seasons with 10+ goals for their hometown clubs. Like Hall, Pepi scored in his USMNT debut, and went on to register a brace in his second match. Within months, Pepi had been sold to Augsburg for over $20 million, a fee that isn’t hard to imagine for Hall as well. At the beginning of this year, the Red Bull striker was worth just $1.1 million. Now, according to Transfermarkt, he’s worth $9 million, and with three international goals under his belt, that value will only appreciate. 

Predicting Hall’s path forward is difficult, given his age. Red Bull may want to capitalize on his momentum and ship him to Europe, or hold onto the striker in the hope he keeps getting better — the club signed Hall to a contract extension in August. For Mauricio Pochettino, however, there’s little to debate. After Hall’s performance against Mexico, he can’t be ignored. The future is now, and Hall is making a bid to be a defining part of it.

⏪ Weekend Rewind:

We do our best to run it back and highlight the most important games of the weekend. But in case we missed anything or you just want more, the guys have you covered with Monday’s Soccerwise episode recapping all the action. Like Pokémon, sometimes we just can’t catch ‘em all.

Let's start out West, where just two teams won their games: Seattle and St. Louis. And with that, just six points separate the Houston Dynamo in fifth and Vancouver at the top of the Western Conference.

• The Seattle Sounders looked dead in the water with a 13-game winless streak and an endless run of ties, but all of a sudden they have won four straight. They rolled into Gillette Stadium and over the New England Revolution with a 3-0 win. Dejan Joveljić picked up right where he left off, returning from international duty with his fourth goal in five matches since his move to the Emerald City. In classic Sounder fashion they might be peaking at just the right time, moving up to seventh in the West and within striking distance of the top five.
• For Vancouver, recent results continued to vary as they went down to 10 men after Tristan Blackmon was sent off in the seventh minute of the match. The Whitecaps grinded out a point on the road, and Oliver Larraz scored his first goal for the Caps, earning them a 1-1 draw against LAFC. So Vancouver heads into Wednesday clinging to a one-point lead in the West with a visit to red-hot second place St. Louis next on the docket.
• For St. Louis, it really couldn’t have gone any better on Sunday night with a 6-2 win over the LA Galaxy. They went up three goals after 21 minutes thanks to a Carlo Holse hat trick and Rafael Navarro continued to be as good as advertised, adding two goals and two assists of his own. Make that 20 games unbeaten in all comps, matching the league record set by Red Bull New York in 2016. A huge match on Wednesday, and an Open Cup final on the horizon. It has been quite the run in STL.

Out East, the name of the game was comebacks, Messi, and how the second half of the MLS season belongs to the Philadelphia Union.

• Inter Miami got a shot in the arm with a 4-0 win over D.C. United. Good news, Miami: Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are not slowing down as both guys scored braces. Bad news: that’s just their second win in their last 11 games, and their only other win is against CF Montreal. Miami is holding onto the second spot in the East, but Chicago is one point behind them in third place and the Revolution just three points back in fourth. 
• For the Union, Ryan Richter has been the coach straw that stirs the drink. As the other hottest team in MLS, they have made it 13 games without a loss, and seven wins in a row. Richter’s run is the longest unbeaten start to a head coaching tenure in MLS. And in this latest 2-1 win against Real Salt Lake, Cavan made history while Milan Iloski notched the game-winner and his 17th goal of the season. 
• Some might call Orlando vs. Columbus an instant classic; others a lesson in poor defensive transition. Either way it was ecstasy to agony in 16 seconds as Gonzalo Tapia was thwarted on the doorstep one way, and whoosh went Iván Angulo the other way for an 89th-minute winner and 3-2 win for Orlando City over Columbus. It was Angulo’s fifth goal in his last five games, while Antoine Griezmann was magnifique, tallying his ninth goal in 12 games on a stunning free kick. Orlando stays away from the Wild Card spots for now, but sits one point ahead of Red Bull New York and Cincinnati in eighth and ninth place.
• The other two best comebacks came from the Chicago Fire and Charlotte FC. Trailing 1-0 just 19 minutes in, and then down a player for the entire second half, the Fire found a way to get all three points in a 2-1 win over floundering New York City FC. Maren Haile-Selassie continues to quietly produce for Chicago, having set up the game-tying goal before delivering the winner in the 87th minute, his seventh goal in his last 10 games.
• And last but certainly not least, Charlotte FC took a look at 2-0 down and said no problem, we’ll just do it the hard way on route to a wet and wild 3-2 victory. Nothing could slow down the Crown as they snatched a victory from the jaws of defeat against FC Dallas, scoring three goals from the 70th minute onward, punctuated by Idan Toklomati completing a brace with the game-winning goal in the 91st minute. Massive win for Charlotte as they keep pace with the top four out East.

📺 Weekend Watchlist:

Spooky season is upon us, so I think we’d expect some MLS After Dark Vibes as an early treat. Here’s what we think might be worth your time. Some might be a trick, but then again is there any such thing for a true soccer sicko? And our MLS picks might require split-screen viewing, or you can pick just one.

USWNT vs. Spain, International Friendly (Tues., Oct. 13, 7 p.m. ET, TNT): The USWNT has one more chance to dot the i’s and cross the t’s because after this friendly it’s World Cup qualifying in November. So it’s round two against Spain on Tuesday night in Philly. Buckle up, kids, because the USWNT hasn’t lost back-to-back games in four years. They will need to find the finishing touch because last match it was not present for 10 shots on target.

Chicago Fire vs. Philadelphia Union, MLS (Wed, Oct. 14, 8:30 p.m. ET, Apple TV): The Union are hoping they can stay hot as they head to Chi Town. Cavan Sullivan and the high-flying Philly attack are in search of an eighth straight win, not quite the MLS record but almost there. The Fire have won three straight after a slight blip of their own, including back-to-back home wins, where they have been rock solid in 2026. 

St. Louis CITY SC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC, MLS (Wed., Oct. 14, 8:30 p.m. ET, Apple TV): This one could be for all the marbles as they say- well, the marbles out West anyway. Another win by St. Louis, and they have the longest unbeaten streak in MLS history outright. The second half of the season has been bumpy for the Whitecaps who are in search of their first win since September 18th. Time for Brian White to put on those scoring boots if he wants to help Vancouver hold onto their lead out West.

Wake Forest vs. Florida State, Women’s NCAA (Thurs., Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network): The reigning national champs in Florida State have finally found their way back into the top 25, but face a tall task as they visit Wake Forest on Thursday night. The Demon Deacons are unbeaten at home in their last 23 matches, with their last loss there coming back on Oct. 27, 2024 against then No. 1-ranked Duke. They are led by a stellar defense that has allowed just five goals in 12 games all season.

🥅 Goal of the Weekend:

I know Messi was on one, but we think this finish from Austin FC’s Brandon Vazquez was also quite impressive.

🥳 The Best Thing We Saw X 2:

It was too hard to pick just one thing from this weekend because two scoops are always better than one.

It is the man, the myth, the legend. Andre Luiz is just a special human doing ridiculous things in MLS. He is a must-see TV.

And Toronto FC at the death in the Canadian Classique. Because we all love crazy endings.

Quick Links, Kickback:

• Soccerwise: David Gass and your Kickback family have you covered all things MLS, NWSL and U.S. Soccer.
• First Touch: Your American home for the global game. Join us every week for First Touch Dispatch and First Touch Weekly with Susannah Fuller for the stories and conversations shaping soccer around the world.
• Tom Bogert, The Athletic: No one better to keep you up-to-date on all of the silly season news from MLS!
• Tactics Free Zone: Matt Doyle is your go-to analyst for all MLS action.

Quick Links, Kickback Partners:

• Happy Foot, Sad Foot is your go-to podcast for LAFC. Check out their weekly pod and some pretty sweet merch. 
• Out West, San Diego Futbol has you covered for all things San Diego FC. San Diego’s #1 source for all things soccer.
• Five Stripe Final  has your coverage of Atlanta United. Check out their Substack and listen to their podcast to keep up to date.
• And for our friends on the East Coast, The Blazing Musket covers soccer across New England, from the Revs to Legacy and a whole lot of love for the USL.
• SixOneFive Soccer has you covered as they continue to recap Nashville’s historic run. The Music City men are headed to Toronto midweek and they have you covered.
• Check out Sounder at Heart as they provide all the coverage for the Boys in Rave Green, keeping you up-to-date as Seattle looks to make a playoff push.
• TopBin90 is your main source for Charlotte FC and beyond. Also, with college soccer season now in full swing, they can keep you up to date with College Soccer News.