MLS preseason 2023: Who gained momentum heading into Matchday 1?

The 1st matchday on 25./26. February is now the focus for MLS clubs after they played the final games of the preseason on Friday and Saturday to set the stage for the 2023 season.

2023 MLS Preseason Schedule and Results

On Friday, these Eastern Conference clubs ended the first 90 minutes 3-3. Big lineup changes from both teams saw Nashville pull away in the extra 30-minute period to beat Cincy 6-3.

Nashville’s Alex Muyl and Cincinnati’s Sergio Santos led all scorers with two goals each, although the highlight of the game belonged to Nashville’s Randall Leal, who scored the opener with a stunning Olimpico.

• 6′ – NSH – Randall Leal
• 21′ – NSH – Jacob Schaffelburg
• 28′ -NSH
• 34′ – CIN – Sergio Santos
• 49′ – CIN – Sergio Santos
• 65′ – CIN – Luciano Acosta (PK)
• 95′ – NSH – Alex Muyl
• 98′ – NSH – Alex Muyl
• 118′ -NSH

• CIN starting XI: Roman Celentano – Santiago Arias, Matt Miazga, Yerson Mosquera, Nick Hagglund, Álvaro Barreal, Yuya Kubo, Junior Moreno, Luciano Acosta, Sergio Santos, Brandon Vazquez
• NSH starting eleven: Joe Willis – Shaq Moore, Jack Maher, Walker Zimmerman, Daniel Lovitz, Aníbal Godoy, Sean Davis, Randall Leal, Fafà Picault, Jacob Shaffelburg, Teal Bunbury

After a decisive penalty by Thiago Almada just before half-time, Atlanta won 2-1 over newcomers St. Louis at CITYPARK.

• 10′ – ATL – Luiz Araujo
• 28′ – STL – Eduard Lowen
• 1H – ATL – Thiago Almada (PK)

• ATL starting XI: Brad Guzan – Andrew Gutman, Juan Jose Purata, Miles Robinson, Brooks Lennon, Franco Ibarra, Matheus Rossetto, Thiago Almada, Luke Brennan, Jackson Conway, Luiz Araujo
• STL Starting XI: Roman Bürki – Jake Nerwinski, Tim Parker, Kyle Hiebert, John Nelson, Eduard Löwen, Njabulo Blom, Tomáš Ostrák, Rasmus Alm, Jared Stroud, João Klauss

• 53′ – ATX – Emiliano Rigoni
• 62′ – MIA – Corentin Jean
• 68′ – MIA – Rodolfo Pizarro
• 86′ – ATX – Owen Wolff

• ATX Starting XI: Brad Stuver – Zan Kolmanic, Julio Cascante, Leo Vaisanen, Nick Lima – Dani Pereira, Owen Wolff, Sebastian Driussi – Emiliano Rigoni, Diego Fagundez, Gyasi Zardes
• MIA starting XI: Drake Callender – DeAndre Yedlin, Christopher McVey, Sergii Kryvtsov, Franco Negri – Jean Mota, Gregore, Rodolfo Pizarro, Nicolás Stefanelli – Josef Martinez, Leonardo Campana

A brace from RSL winger Jefferson Savarino in the first half ensured a 3-0 win over Chicago at the Desert Showcase in Tucson, Arizona.

• 22′ – RSL – Braian Ojeda
• 40′ – RSL – Jefferson Savarino
• 44′ – RSL – Jefferson Savarino

• RSL starting eleven: Zac MacMath – Andrew Brody, Justen Glad, Marcelo Silva, Bryan Oviedo – Jasper Loffelsend, Braian Ojeda – Mikael Chang, Damir Kreilach, Jefferson Savarino – Anderson Julio
• CHI Starting XI: Chris Brady – Rafael Czichos, Wyatt Omsberg, Miguel Navarro, Justin Reynolds, Federico Navarro, Xherdan Shaqiri, Jairo Torres, Chris Mueller, Brian Gutierrez, Kacper Przybyłko

A stunning volley from Julian Gressel and a late insurance shot from Ryan Gauld were enough as Vancouver beat Minnesota 2-0 at the Coachella Valley Invitational.

• 71′ – VAN – Julian Gressel
• 88′ – VAN – Ryan Gauld

• VAN starting XI: Yohei Takaoka – Javain Brown, Tristan Blackmon, Ranko Veselinovic, Mathías Laborda – Julian Gressel, Andrés Cubas, Alessandro Schöpf – Cristian Dájome, Pedro Vite – Brian White
• MIN Start XI: Dayne St. Clair – Zarek Valentin, Michael Boxall, Miguel Tapias, Kemar Lawrence – Wil Trapp, Robin Lod, Molik Khan – Bongokuhle Hlongwane, Luis Amarilla, Franco Fragapane

Giacomo Vrioni was a turning point for New England at Exploria Stadium, equalizing and helping to force the own goal that sealed a 2-1 comeback win over Orlando. The DP forward joined the Revs at half-time.

• 17′ – ORL – Ivan Angulo
• 70′ – NE – Giacomo Vrioni
• 82′ – NO – Own goal

• NE starting XI: Djordje Petrović – DeJuan Jones, Dave Romney, Henry Kessler, Brandon Bye, Jack Panayotou, Matt Polster, Dylan Borrero, Carles Gil, Damian Rivera, Bobby Wood
• ORL starting XI: Pedro Gallese – Luca Petrasso, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Michael Halliday, Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Mauricio Pereyra, Facundo Torres, Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire

Portland central defender Zac McGraw rose highest to nod Evander’s corner kick home and earned a 1-0 win over NYCFC as both clubs ended their stints at the Coachella Valley Invitational.

• New York starting XI: Luis Barraza – Tayvon Gray, Thiago Martins, Maxime Chanot, Braian Cufré, Alfredo Morales, Matías Pellegrini, Keaton Parks, Gabriel Pereira, Thiago Andrade, Talles Magno
• POR Starting XI: David Bingham – Pablo Bonilla, Dario Zuparic, Zac McGraw, Justin Rasmussen, Diego Chara, Eryk Williamson, Marvin Loria, Evander, Yimmi Chara, Jaroslaw Niezgoda

Tom Barlow’s six-minute brace helped RBNY win 2-0 over San Jose at the Coachella Valley Invitational, completing pre-season with an unbeaten record.

• 11′ – RBNY – Tom Barlow
• 17′ – RBNY – Tom Barlow

• RBNY starting XI: Carlos Coronel – Dylan Nealis, Sean Nealis, Andres Reyes, Frankie Amaya, Cristian Casseres Jr., Cameron Harper, Lewis Morgan, Luquinhas, Tom Barlow, Elias Manoel
• SJ Starting XI: JT Marcinkowski – Miguel Trauco, Tanner Beason, Rodrigues, Paul Marie – Carlos Gruezo, Jackson Yueill, Jamiro Monteiro – Cade Cowell, Jeremy Ebobisse, Cristian Espinoza

The Rapids scored another preseason goal from Kevin Cabral, who arrived in the winter, but it wasn’t enough to sway Eastern Conference powerhouse Philadelphia from a 4-1 win. Daniel Gazdag, the Union’s best midfielder, scored the opening goal in a game that spanned three 45-minute sessions.

• 48′ – PHI – Daniel Gazdag
• 102′ – PHI – Nathan Harriel
• 106′ – PHI – Joaquin Torres (PK)
• 108′ – COL – Kevin Cabral
• 125′ – PHI – Chris Donovan

• PHI Starting XI: Andre Blake – Kai Wagner, Jack Elliott, Jakob Glesnes, Olivier Mbaizo – Jose Martinez, Alejandro Bedoya, Leon Flach, Daniel Gazdag – Julian Carranza, Mikael Uhre
• COL Starting XI: William Yarbrough – Keegan Rosenberry, Andreas Maxso, Lalas Abubakar, Alex Gersbach, Connor Ronan, Ralph Priso, Cole Bassett, Michael Barrios, Darren Yapi, Sam Nicholson

The crew remained tense as their first preseason under head coach Wilfried Nancy came to a close, as they defeated USL championship club Hartford Athletic 2-1 in Florida.

Charlotte scored a first-half goal from each of their designated players, defeating USL championship team Birmingham 3-2 at Bank of America Stadium. New signing Enzo Copetti’s 34th-minute strike was the decisive goal.

• 11′ – CLT – Kamil Jozwiak
• 26′ – CLT – Karol Swiderski
• 34′ – CLT – Enzo Copetti
• 45’+1′ – BHM
• 71′ – BHM

• CLT starting XI: Pablo Sisniega – Nathan Byrne, Adilson Malanda, Derrick Jones, Harrison Afful, Ashley Westwood, Brandt Bronico, McKenzie Gaines, Karol Swiderski, Kamil Jozwiak, Enzo Copetti

• 1H-HOU-Coco Carrasquilla
• 2H – HOU – Corey Baird (PK)

• DAL starting XI: Not available
• HOU Starting XI: Not available

Sporting KC rode the momentum wave ahead of their Day 1 game in Portland, beating Phoenix 4-2 of the USL Championship. Scorers and line-up details were not shared.

LAFC wrapped up its pre-season with a 3-1 win over USL championship club San Diego. The defending MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield champions scored goals from Carlos Vela, Kwadwo Opoku and Denis Bouanga – all forwards in the starting XI.

• 21′ – LAFC – Carlos Vela
• 38′ – SD – Nick Moon
• 57′ – LAFC – Kwadwo Opoku
• 83′ – LAFC – Denis Bouanga

• LAFC starting XI: John McCarthy – Ryan Hollingshead, Jesus Murillo, Giorgio Chiellini, Diego Palacios – Kellyn Acosta, Jose Cifuentes, Timothy Tillman – Kwadwo Opoku, Denis Bouanga, Carlos Vela

Mark Delgado’s long-range effort was the decisive win in LA Galaxy’s 2-1 win over Toronto FC. Homegrown midfielder Efrain Alvarez also scored a fantastic solo goal at his home at Dignity Health Sports Park.

• 27′ – LA – Efrain Alvarez
• 52′ – LA – Mark Delgado
• 89′ – GOAL – Ayo Akinola

• LA starting XI: Jonathan Bond – Kelvin Leerdam, Jalen Neal, Chris Mavinga, Raheem Edwards – Mark Delgado, Gaston Brugman, Riqui Puig – Efrain Alvarez, Dejan Joveljic, Memo Rodriguez
• TOR Starting XI: Sean Johnson – Raoul Petretta, Sigurd Rosted, Matt Hedges, Richie Laryea – Michael Bradley, Mark-Anthony Kaye, Jonathan Osorio – Lorenzo Insigne, Adama Diomande, Federico Bernardeschi

Seattle, who played their first game since attending the FIFA Club World Cup 2022 in Morocco in early February, are back on the road to success.

First-half goals from Héber and Cristian Roldan created enough cushion for a 2-1 result against eternal USL championship contenders Louisville. The teams met at the Starfire Sports training complex in Seattle.

• 6′ – SEA – Héber
• 21′ – SEA – Cristian Roldan
• 74′ – LOU – Dylan Mares

• SEA starting eleven: Stefan Frei – Alex Roldan, Yeimar Gómez Andrade, Jackson Ragen, Nouhou – João Paulo, Albert Rusnák – Cristian Roldan, Nico Lodeiro, Jordan Morris – Héber