Union Omaha shocks Minnesota United, advances to U.S. Open Cup Quarterfinals
Joseph Brito’s goal in the 51st minute proved to be the game-winner as the Owls took down the Loons 2-1.

Open Cup results

Orlando City 1(4) – Inter Miami 1(2)
Louisville City 1 – Nashville SC 2
New York City FC 1 – New England Revolution 0
New York Red Bulls 3 – Charlotte FC 1
Minnesota United 1 – Union Omaha 2
Sporting KC 2 – Houston Dynamo 1
Sacramento Republic 2 – San Jose Earthquakes 0
LA Galaxy 3 – LAFC 1

Canadian Championship results

CF Montreal 3 – Forge FC 0
Cavalry FC 1(3) – Vancouver Whitecaps 1(5)

MLS

Toronto FC to host CF Montréal in 2022 Canadian Championship semi-finals – Waking The Red
A rematch of last year’s final will come in this year’s semi-final.

Report: CF Montréal’s Djordje Mihailovic Receiving Heavy Interest in Europe – Mount Royal Soccer
So. Man. Teams. Interested.

Full Time: Experienced Red Bulls Side Teaches Charlotte FC a U.S. Open Cup Lesson | Charlotte FC
Charlotte comes to Seattle on Sunday

Other men’s club soccer

Revealed: government did encourage Premier League to approve Newcastle takeover | Newcastle United | The Guardian
Boris Johnson’s government worked for months to encourage the Premier League to approve the controversial Saudi Arabia-backed takeover of Newcastle.

EU Commission satisfied with guarantees for Chelsea sale proceeds – We Ain’t Got No History
Approvals upon approvals

UK Government approve Chelsea sale, issue licence for Boehly takeover – We Ain’t Got No History
IT’S HAPPENING

USL League One Team of the Week – Week 8
Ibarra continues to make the Team of the Week in League One

Women’s club soccer

‘Oakland Soul’ to become city’s women’s soccer team
Oakland Roots announced Tuesday a new addition to the club: a women’s soccer team. ‘Oakland Soul’ will debut in 2023.

With 3,000 owners and $1 million, Minnesota Aurora aims to rewrite the ownership playbook – Equalizer Soccer ($)
What can the soccer world (even NWSL?) learn from an amateur women’s team?

Chelsea sweep Women’s Super League end of season awards – We Ain’t Got No History
Player, manager, goal of the season

National team soccer

Herdman names CanMNT squad for upcoming friendly vs. Iran, Nations League tests – Canadian Premier League

Puget Sound culture

Best of 425 2022 | Best of 425 | 425magazine.com
Bellevue dominates the 425, again

The Best of the South Sound 2022 | Best of the South Sound | southsoundmag.com
Winners hail from Olympia, Spanaway, Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Puyallup, and beyond.

Tea Master – a new Background for D&D | Full Moon Storytelling
You are a server of fine teas. Maybe you worked in a tea shop, or were a tea merchant, or were the tea master for a noble estate. You prepare teas and small bites of food for the thinking peoples in the area. This can be as simple as a cuppa or an elaborate ritual.

It’s a light day for soccer. Which feels weird. You either need the deepest of deep cable or really want to see some Euro U17 on TUDN.

3:00 PM PT — Libertad vs The Strongest in Copa Libertadores action on BeIn Sports and Fanatiz. THE STRONGEST.

7:00 PM PT — Atlas vs Pachuca in Liga MX action on Univision and TUDN. Broadcast Mexican soccer is a midweek blessing.

Atlanta United’s pair of draws against New England and Nashville weren’t so much bad results as unsatisfying. The Five Stripes attacking prowess was on display but time and time again its defensive weaknesses ruined any chance at three points. In the end, a point each was fair on both occasions, though it didn’t mean much in the standings. Atlanta should like its chances better at victory this weekend when a crumbling Columbus Crew visits the Benz.

Columbus has just one win in its last ten dating back to mid-March and sits 12th on 13 points in the Eastern Conference. It has the fourth-worst attack with just 15 goals scored, though the Crew’s backline (15 conceded) has slightly helped. Not much, however, as the standings show. Manager Caleb Porter, who joined in 2019 and won the 2020 MLS Cup, uses a 4-2-3-1 that relies heavily on attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayan, and as the Armenian-Argentine goes, so does Columbus. In the first three games of the season where he notched a goal or assist in each, Columbus had 7 points (2.3 per game). In the nine games since then, Zelarayan hasn’t found the boxscore once and the Crew has averaged .66 points per game. Winger Derrick Ettiene (3g, 4a) is also capable of stardom on his day, but like Zelarayan, the Haitian isn’t known for consistency. The duo have both hit a drought of late and combined with the sale of Gyasi Zardes to Colorado, the end result is that Columbus has been shut out six times in the last eight, including back-to-back 2-0 losses heading into Saturday.

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Atlanta’s shaky defense should get a reprieve with the Crew’s arrival, while the attack is only going to keep getting better as Thiago Almada shows his class. The Argentine’s 3 goals and 2 assists have sent Atlanta’s attack up to the 5th best in the East with 19 total goals, including two or more in its last four in all competitions. We may even get a peak at how Josef Martinez fits into the front four for the first time in a while – the Venezualan is questionable for this weekend.

Predicted Started XIs

Prediction: Atlanta United 4-0 Columbus Crew

Atlanta will finally piece it all together in a dominant victory over a reeling Columbus. Goals will come from Almada (duh), Araujo (x2), and an Alan Franco header.

Selection: No. 14 (First Round), Duke University

Murphy’s turned out to be a great pick by Cincinnati, one that’s stepped right into a starting center back role for first-year manager Pat Noonan. He’s got one goal across nine games (eight starts), adjusting rather seamlessly to the MLS level after being in the ACC. Murphy is a great example of acquiring cost-effective, domestic pieces through the SuperDraft.