Kick Off: Philadelphia go clear atop East | T Minus 1 until Copa America

Greg Seltzer

Here are the top soccer stories everyone’s talking about this morning:

Alone At The Top

After watching his Union side edge a 3-2 victory over Columbus Crew SC on Wednesday night, Philadelphia head coach Jim Curtin sees their current run as a sign of good things to come. The team is now four points clear atop the East.

Sounders Are Back

With his team on a three-match slide, Seattle boss Sigi Schmid kept his pep talk simple and the Sounders responded by topping D.C. United 2-0 with a goal by rookie Jordan Morris.

Better Late Than Never

It was a night of happy firsts for the Portland Timbers, who blanked San Jose despite going down to 10 men after this red card to Dairon Asprilla. Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell was busting out the Ridgy Roll for this one.

A First For RSL

Real Salt Lake will also look to make a move in the West standings tonight when they make their first trip to Yankee Stadium to face New York City FC (7 pm ET, watch on MLS LIVE). And manager Jeff Cassar is feeling bullish: "If we outwork them ... we could have success."

Gotta Wear Shades

Toronto FC were crowing over the bright futures displayed by their young players during their 4-2 Amway Canadian Championship first-leg semi win over rivals Montreal. In the other first-leg semi, the defending Canadian champions, Vancouver Whitecaps, were kicking themselves for a lack of competitive fire in Wednesday's loss a t second-division Ottawa Fury.

Kaka Out

Orlando City star Kaka will miss out on Copa America due to a Brazil training injury. Though he's out, we came up with three MLS players who could enjoy an international breakout at the CONMEBOL tournament.

Taking Charge

Houston doesn't have an interim coach right now, but assistant Wade Barrett has stepped forward to grab the reins to keep the Dynamo on course, including for tonight's match against FC Dallas (9 pm ET, watch on MLS LIVE). Meanwhile, former coach Owen Coyle, who left the club last week, has already taken a new job at Blackburn and even Dallas coach Oscar Pareja was surprised at his departure.

Welcome Back

Sporting Kansas City were more than happy to return defender Kevin Ellis to action this past weekend. You'd imagine he'll be in action for them tonight when they hit the road to face the LA Galaxy (10:30 pm ET, watch on MLS LIVE).

Line-Up Card

Armchair Analyst Matt Doyle offers up his preference for the USMNT's starting lineup for their Copa America Centenario opener against Colombia on Friday (9:30 pm ET, FS1 and Univision). He's included a pair of developing defenders: John Brooks and DeAndre Yedlin. If you're going to be in the Bay Area, you'll want to check out all the supporter events happening there.