This Week in MLS - August 28, 2018

• Race to Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs heats up
• Is Seattle poised for Cup run with another late-season push?
• Ibrahimović to join Ronaldo, Messi in elite class as 500-goal milestone nears
• MLS to 'go gold' in September for 5th annual Kick Childhood Cancer campaign
• Josef Martinez in contention to become highest scoring player in global soccer
• MLS Week 27: Match Notes

Race to Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs heats up
It’s down to the final nine weeks of the MLS Regular Season, and clubs are feeling the pressure to make the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs. With the top six teams advancing from each conference, all 23 teams are still in the hunt.
A shakeup could be in store for the East, where the New York Red Bulls are undefeated in their last five outings and only three points away from overtaking Atlanta United as the  No. 1 ranked club in all of MLS. The Red Bulls will play two games this week to Atlanta’s one, which means the New York side could reach the top of League standings as soon as week’s end if they can pull out a home win over the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+ / MSG), and an away win against the Montreal Impact on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, TVA Sports / ESPN+ / MSG).
Also in the East, D.C. United is steadily climbing up the conference standings with a considerable number of games in hand and 11 matches still to play. D.C. will be looking for the season’s first win over Atlanta United on Sunday at Audi Field (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1 / FOX Deportes) for a chance to move even closer to the playoff line?
Is Seattle poised for Cup run with another late-season push?
For the third consecutive year, Seattle Sounders FC have used a late-season run to climb from the bottom of the Western Conference into the thick of the playoff race. The previous two seasons (2016, 2017) resulted in a run to MLS Cup, with the team winning its first title in 2016. Seattle will take its next step toward a potential third straight run when it looks to extend its MLS team-record seven-game winning streak when hosting Sporting Kansas City on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, UniMas / UDN / Twitter).
Seattle’s seven-game winning streak matches the longest contained within a single season in MLS since 2000, the end of the shootout era, with the club also finding itself undefeated in 10 straight matches. During the team’s first MLS Cup run in 2016, Seattle secured a win or draw in 11 of 12 matches, while the club maintained a 13-game unbeaten run from late June to mid-September last season. Powering Sounders FC’s third consecutive run is Uruguayan star
Nicolás Lodeiro
, who has five goals and five assists over the 10-game unbeaten streak. Lodeiro has partnered with
Raúl Ruidíaz
, a two-time winner of Liga MX’s Golden Boot and a member of Peru’s 2018 FIFA World Cup squad, to form a dangerous Seattle attack that has not been shut out in seven matches after doing so nine times over the first 17 games of the season.
That scoring streak will be put to the test against second-place Sporting Kansas City, who have won four straight matches and have not allowed a single goal in August. Powered by reigning MLS Allstate Goalkeeper of the Year
Tim Melia
, Sporting KC’s 11 clean sheets this season top the league. With both clubs in strong form entering the final stretch of the season, Saturday’s match between two of the hottest clubs in the league could be a preview of a potential clash in the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Ibrahimović to join Ronaldo, Messi in elite class as 500-goal milestone nears
LA Galaxy striker
Zlatan Ibrahimović
is on the brink of a significant milestone as he sits just one goal shy of 500 during his professional career. Reaching that feat would put Ibrahimović in elite company as only two other active players have surpassed that mark: Juventus’
Cristiano Ronaldo
and FC Barcelona’s
Lionel Messi
.
Ibrahimović’s total of 499 goals incorporates 437 professional club goals and 62 international goals for Sweden, and the Swedish forward will have a chance to reach this landmark accomplishment when the Galaxy visit Real Salt Lake on Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium (10 p.m. ET, ESPN+).
Ibrahimović has taken the league by storm this season and enters the week tied for second in goals with 16 (alongside the New York Red Bulls’
Bradley Wright-Phillips
). During Heineken Rivalry Week, Ibrahimović tallied goal No. 499 during the Galaxy’s 1-1 draw against the expansion Los Angeles Football Club last Friday at a sold-out StubHub Center.
Saturday’s match is a crucial one for the Galaxy who enter Week 27 in the sixth and final postseason position in the Western Conference (10-9-8, 38 points), while Real currently sit in fourth place (12-10-5, 41 points). RSL will pose a tough test at Rio Tinto as the club leads the West with nine home victories (9-1-3).
MLS to ‘go gold’ in September for 5th annual Kick Childhood Cancer campaign
MLS WORKS, Major League Soccer’s community outreach initiative, will launch its 
5th annual Kick Childhood Cancer campaign
 benefitting Children’s Oncology Group, on Saturday, Sept. 1st as part of national childhood cancer awareness month.
Supported by all 23 MLS clubs, Kick Childhood Cancer games will feature “gold-themed” corner flags and goal nets, captain’s arm bands and commemorative jersey patches. Limited edition Kick Childhood Cancer scarves and t-shirts will also be worn by MLS players, coaches and PRO referees during pre-game activities. The apparel, along with other “gold-themed” merchandise, including lapel pins and plush toys, is available for purchase at 
MLSstore.com
 and at select in-stadium retailers with proceeds benefiting Children’s Oncology Group.
Fans are encouraged to post images with their Kick Childhood Cancer scarf, or other favorite club scarfs, on Instagram and Twitter using #ScarvesUp. MLS WORKS will make a donation to Children’s Oncology Group for each post that includes the hashtag.  
Josef Martínez in contention to become highest scoring player in global soccer
With his 28th goal of the season on Sunday, Atlanta United forward
Josef Martínez
broke the MLS regular season goalscoring record, a mark he could demolish should he continue his current pace of scoring 1.077 goals per game this year. While the 25-year-old Venezuelan star has made history in North America, Martínez is climbing the global ranks and is on pace to outscore international icons such as
Lionel Messi
(FC Barcelona)
, Mo Salah
(Liverpool FC) and
Harry Kane
(Tottenham Hotspur) in goals scored over the 2017-18 single-season calendar.
Martínez has already surpassed
Cristiano Ronaldo
and equaled
Edison Cavani
with his 28 goals scored. Next up on the list includes Bayern Munich’s
Robert Lewandowski
at 29 goals. Kane and Martinez are the youngest players to score 25-plus goals over a single season in 2017-18.
With eight games remaining in regular season play, Martínez has a chance to beat out Messi’s 34 goals scored in league play and become the top goalscorer in the world.
MLS Week 27: Match Notes
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
D.C. United vs. Philadelphia Union, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

• D.C. United saw their three-game winning streak put to an end, falling 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on Sunday evening.
  
• The Union have won three consecutive games for the first time this season, defeating the New England Revolution 1-0 at Talen Energy Stadium on Saturday evening.
  
• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Borek Dockal found the back of the net in the 72nd minute, just two minutes after D.C. United had equalized, giving the Union a 3-2 win on April 28 at Talen Energy Stadium.
  
• The Union won 4-0 last May 13 in the final meeting between the teams at RFK Stadium, ending a six-game United home undefeated streak in the series. The Union’s last victory on East Capitol Street had come on April 21, 2013.
  
• The Union have won the past five meetings in Chester, over the last four seasons. United’s goal in the first meeting was their first at Talen Energy Stadium since 2014, ending a 451-minute scoreless drought.
  

New York Red Bulls vs. Houston Dynamo, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

• The Red Bulls extended their undefeated streak to five games with a third win in that stretch, defeating D.C. United by the game’s only goal at Red Bull Arena on Sunday evening.
  
• The Dynamo put an end to their five-game losing streak but still saw their winless run extended to eight matches, reaching a 1-1 draw with FC Dallas at BBVA Compass Stadium on Thursday evening. The winless streak is tied for the second-longest in club history, two games away from the Dynamo record set in 2010.
  
• The Red Bulls have won seven of the past 10 league meetings between the teams, dating back to 2012. The Red Bulls are 9-0-3 all-time at home in league play vs. Houston, with wins in the past six regular season matches in Harrison, dating back to 2012.
  
• The Dynamo won the lone meeting between the teams a year ago, a 4-1 victory on April 1 at BBVA Compass Stadium. The Dynamo have won the past two meetings between the teams in Houston, ending a three-game regular season streak there where the Red Bulls had come away with points.
  
• But the Dynamo did win the Eastern Conference Semifinal series between the clubs in 2013, winning 2-1 at Red Bull Arena in the second leg, after the teams played to a 2-2 draw in Houston.
  

San Jose Earthquakes vs. FC Dallas, 10:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

• The Quakes saw their home winless streak extended to 11 games, with Vancouver Whitecaps FC coming back from a two-goal deficit for a 3-2 win at Avaya Stadium on Saturday evening. The streak equals the longest home winless stretch in MLS history (Colorado Rapids, 2014-15).
  
• FC Dallas are coming off a 1-1 draw with the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium on Thursday evening.
  
• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Vako Qazaishvili scored a pair of goals, one early and one late, leading the Quakes to a 3-1 win on Aug. 4 at Toyota Stadium.
  
• The Quakes’ victory in the first meeting ended a nine-game winless streak in the all-time series, their first victory against FC Dallas since 2014 (0-5-4).
  
• FCD have come away with points on their past five trips to northern California, with two wins and three draws, including a 1-1 draw last April 14 in the only matchup at Avaya Stadium.
  

Portland Timbers vs. Toronto FC, 10:30 p.m. ET (TSN, ESPN+)

• The Timbers suffered their fourth consecutive defeat – following a club-record 15-game undefeated run – suffering a 1-0 loss to Seattle Sounders FC at Providence Park on Sunday evening. The losing run is one game shy of the club’s MLS record, set in 2012.
  
• Toronto FC put an end to their three-game winless run, defeating the Montréal Impact 3-1 at BMO Field on Saturday evening.
  
• Sebastian Giovinco scored a pair of goals, the 15th multiple-goal game of his MLS career. Giovinco has scored six goals over the last six games, since July 21. Giovinco has 10 goals and 12 assists this season, the third time he’s reached double figures in both goals and assists. He is the fourth player in MLS history to do it three times or more.
  
• The Timbers have never lost to Toronto FC in Portland in three matches all-time, winning the past two meetings there, including a 2-1 win on May 1, 2016, in the last matchup at Providence Park.
  
• TFC have never lost to the Timbers at home, winning the past three meetings there, including a 4-1 win last Aug. 12 at BMO Field in the last meeting between the teams.
  

Saturday, September 1, 2018
Seattle Sounders FC vs. Sporting Kansas City, 4 p.m. ET (UniMas, Univision Deportes)

• Sounders FC extended their winning streak to seven games, getting an own goal for the only tally in the match in defeating the Portland Timbers at Providence Park on Sunday evening. The seven-game winning streak is a club record, the longest contained within a single season in MLS since the end of the shootout era (since 2000).
  
• Sporting KC won their fourth consecutive match – all by shutout – in defeating Minnesota United FC 2-0 at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday evening. It’s the first time in club history SKC has won four consecutive games by shutout; the club record is six shutouts in a row in 2000 (five wins, one draw).
  
• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. The teams traded goals in each half before settling for a 2-2 draw on April 15 at Children’s Mercy Park.
  
• The draw ended a four-game winning streak for Sporting at Children’s Mercy Park, over the past three seasons. Sounders FC last won in Kansas City in 2013.
  
• Sounders FC won 1-0 last year in the lone meeting at CenturyLink Field, but Sporting’s win there in 2016 was just their second win ever in Seattle, after SKC won 1-0 in 2009, the first meeting ever between the clubs.
  
• Sounders FC did win the Knockout Round match between the clubs in Seattle in the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2016, with the game’s lone goal from Nelson Valdez in the 88th minute.
  

Montreal Impact vs. New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m. ET (TVA Sports, ESPN+)

• The Impact weren’t able to build upon a first win in five games, falling 3-1 to Toronto FC at BMO Field on Saturday evening.
  
• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Bradley Wright-Phillips scored one goal and set up another, leading the Red Bulls to a 3-1 win on April 14 at Red Bull Arena.
  
• The Impact have won twice in the past 12 league meetings (with two draws), dating back to 2013, winning the last two league meetings in Montréal. The Red Bulls have won all nine regular season meetings at Red Bull Arena.
  
• The teams also met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals in 2016, with the Impact winning both legs, a 1-0 win at Stade Saputo, then a 2-1 triumph at Red Bull Arena, advancing 3-1 on aggregate.
  

New England Revolution vs. Portland Timbers, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

• The Revolution saw their winless streak extended to eight matches with a third consecutive defeat, falling 1-0 to the Philadelphia Union at Talen Energy Stadium on Saturday evening. The winless run is two games shy of the club record, set in 2012.
  
• The Timbers have a five-game undefeated streak alive in the all-time series, the lone Revolution win coming in 2012. The Timbers have won one of the last five meetings, with four draws, including a 1-1 result last April 2 at Providence Park in the last meeting between the teams.
  
• The Revolution goal last year was their first ever in Portland in four visits all-time, after 354 minutes of play at Providence Park.
  
• The Revolution have never lost to the Timbers at Gillette Stadium. The teams have reached back-to-back 1-1 draws in Foxborough.
  

Orlando City SC vs. Philadelphia Union, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

• Orlando City saw their winless streak extended to six games with a fifth defeat in that time, falling 2-1 to Atlanta United at Orlando City Stadium on Friday evening.
  
• Union goalkeeper Andre Blake was credited with four saves in recording a second consecutive shutout in the 1-0 win against New England. It’s the second time this season the Union have recorded back-to-back shutouts (also in the opening two games of the season); Blake ended the week tied for sixth in MLS with seven shutouts.
  
• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Dom Dwyer and Chris Mueller scored before halftime to lead Orlando City to a 2-0 win on April 13 at Talen Energy Stadium. It was just the second win by the road team in the all-time series; OCSC also won in Chester in 2016.
  
• Orlando City won 2-1 on March 18, 2017, in the last meeting between the teams at Orlando City Stadium – the first win for either team in Orlando. The first two encounters there both ended in draws.
  

Columbus Crew SC vs. New York City FC, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

• Crew SC took points for a fourth time in five matches, reaching a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park on Thursday evening.
  
• NYCFC extended their home undefeated streak to 15 games, getting a goal from David Villa in reaching a 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday evening. NYCFC are 10-0-3 at home this season, the last team in MLS without a home loss.
  
• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Jesus Medina and Anton Tinnerholm netted goals over the final 10 minutes of the match to lead NYCFC to a 2-0 win on July 14 at Yankee Stadium.
  
• The teams evenly split their league series over the first three seasons NYCFC have been in the league, each winning twice, with three draws. NYCFC have won two of the three league meetings all-time at Yankee Stadium; they also met last year at Citi Field in Queens in NYCFC’s home fixture, reaching a 2-2 draw.
  
• NYCFC claimed a 3-2 win last year at Mapfre Stadium, their first league win there in four visits; Crew SC won once in 2016.
  
• The teams also met in the Eastern Conference Semifinals a year ago, with Crew SC taking the series 4-3 on aggregate, winning the first leg at home 4-1, before NYCFC took the return match 2-0 in the Bronx.
  

FC Dallas vs. Houston Dynamo, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

• The teams are meeting for the third time this season, the back end of a home-and-home series over two weeks. The teams have reached a pair of 1-1 draws, both at BBVA Compass Stadium, first on July 21, then on Aug. 23.
  
• Michael Barrios netted the FC Dallas goal in the draw with the Dynamo last week, his second consecutive game with a goal, his fifth on the season – all coming over the past five games.
  
• The Dynamo have won just once in the series over the past five seasons. Since the start of 2013, FC Dallas are 6-1-6 in league play against Houston, and have won the three meetings between the teams in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
  
• The Dynamo haven’t won in Frisco since 2011, but the past three meetings there have ended in draws. Dallas has won five of the 10 matches (with three draws) between the teams over all competitions at BBVA Compass Stadium.
  
• The clubs play for “El Capitán,” the 19th-century Mountain Howitzer cannon to be awarded to the winner of the season series by supporters’ groups for both clubs.
  

Toronto FC vs. Los Angeles Football Club, 8 p.m. ET (TSN, ESPN+)

• The teams are meeting for the first time in their history.
  
• Jonathan Osorio netted a goal and added an assist in TFC’s 3-1 win against Montréal, the fourth time in his MLS career he’s had at least one goal and one assist in the same game. Osorio has a goal or an assist in five of his last six games, with three goals and three assists in that span.
  
• LAFC saw their two-game winning streak come to an end but still stretched their undefeated run to three matches, reaching a 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy at StubHub Center on Friday evening.
  

Real Salt Lake vs. LA Galaxy, 10 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

• Real Salt Lake won their second consecutive match in dominating fashion, rolling to a 6-0 victory against a nine-man Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park on Saturday evening. It was the fourth-largest margin of victory by a visiting team in MLS history.
  
• The Galaxy saw their winless run extended to five games with a third draw in that time, reaching a 1-1 draw with the Los Angeles Football Club at StubHub Center on Friday evening. Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the 499th goal of his professional career for the lone Galaxy goal.
  
• The teams are meeting for the second time this season. Ibrahimovic netted a pair of goals as the Galaxy cruised to a 3-0 win on June 9 at StubHub Center.
  
• The Galaxy won in the last meeting at Rio Tinto Stadium, a 2-1 victory on March 18, 2017, snapping a Real five-game home undefeated streak in the series, their first win in Sandy since April 27, 2013. RSL’s last win at StubHub Center, a 6-2 victory on July 4, 2017, ended a three-game Galaxy winning streak there in league meetings.
  
• The teams also met in the Knockout Round in the MLS Cup Playoffs in 2016, with the Galaxy advancing through a 3-1 victory at StubHub Center. It was the fourth meeting between the teams over six years in the MLS Cup Playoffs, and the fifth overall. The Galaxy have won on three occasions, RSL won via penalty shootout when the clubs met in MLS Cup 2009.
  

Vancouver Whitecaps FC vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 10 p.m. ET (TSN, ESPN+)

• The teams are meeting for the third time this season, the back end of a home-and-home series over two weeks. Whitecaps FC came back from a two-goal deficit to claim a 3-2 win at Avaya Stadium on Saturday evening; the teams reached a 2-2 draw on May 16 at BC Place.
  
• Kei Kamara netted the game-winning goal in the Quakes’ victory, the 109th league goal of his MLS career, now sitting alone in sixth place on the all-time goalscoring list.
  
• The win last weekend ended a six-game Quakes undefeated streak in the league series, the last Whitecaps FC win in a regular-season meeting between the teams coming July 26, 2015. In the six league meetings in between, the Quakes won twice, with four draws.
  
• It was also the first Whitecaps FC win at San Jose, in 10 meetings there all-time. The Quakes won three of those 10 encounters.
  
• The Quakes have come away with points on their past three league trips to BC Place. The Quakes’ 2-1 win on Aug. 12, 2016, at BC Place was the first ever for the away team in the all-time series. The Quakes had lost on each of their six previous visits to Vancouver.
  
• The teams did also meet in the Knockout Round in last year’s MLS Cup Playoffs, when Whitecaps FC took a 5-0 win at BC Place, the second-most goals scored by a team in a postseason game in league history.
  

Sunday, September 2, 2018
D.C. United vs. Atlanta United, 7:30 p.m. ET (FS1)

• Josef Martínez became the league’s all-time goalscoring leader, netting his 28th goal of the season in Atlanta United’s 2-1 win against Orlando City SC at Orlando City Stadium on Friday evening. Martínez scored for a ninth consecutive game, equaling the all-time MLS record set last season by Diego Valeri of the Portland Timbers.
  
• The win extended ATLUTD’s undefeated streak to seven matches, one game shy of the club’s MLS record, achieved once in each of the club’s two seasons in the league.
  
• The teams are meeting for the third time this season, and Atlanta United have won both, each time by a 3-1 scoreline. Martínez set the all-time MLS record with his sixth career hat trick, netting goals in the 30th, 54th and 73rd minutes, July 21 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium; ATLUTD also claimed the win March 11 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
  
• D.C. United won all three meetings between the teams in Atlanta United’s inaugural season, taking a 3-1 win in the first matchup on April 30 at Bobby Dodd Stadium, then claiming wins by 2-1 (June 21) and 1-0 (Aug. 23) at RFK Stadium.