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Houston hosts Colorado tonight in the only MLS game tonight during the international break. It doesn’t mean much for the Dynamo as their playoff hopes have been realistically gone for quite a while. The Rapids have two games in hand on the Western Conference leaders and are within striking distance of FC Dallas for both the conference and Supporters’ Shield lead.
Luckily from a competitive standpoint, neither team is missing anyone due to international duty. It would be a shame if Colorado was missing key players, or if they benefited from facing a weakened Houston, in such an important game in the league.
Will MLS start to avoid scheduling on international windows? At the end of the 2015 season, commissioner Don Garber said that the league would play through international windows in 2016, but could rethink that approach for 2017 and beyond. The league did give teams the option of playing through windows over the last two years.
I get the scheduling challenges that face the league and its teams. 2017 will be no different, as we discussed a bit when trying to predict the start of Atlanta United’s inaugural campaign. As a compromise, I would propose that international breaks in the last two months of the season and playoffs should not see MLS games scheduled. It’s bad any time, but it appears worse late in the season as the games mean more in the playoff race.
Domestic
It wasn’t pretty, but the USMNT defeated Cuba 2-0 in Havana (Stars and Stripes FC)
Necaxa defeats NYCFC in a friendly in Mexico (NYCFC)
Nicolas Lodeiro will return to Seattle in time for their match with Houston on October 12 (Sounder at Heart)
Jeff Plush, commissioner of the NWSL, gives an update on the state of the league (Excelle Sports)
McKinze Gaines making quite the impression at Wolfsburg. The 18 y/o grabbed another appearance for the first team in a friendly yesterday. https://t.co/tXgTm4304y
— Nats Abroad (@NatsAbroad) October 7, 2016
International
Steve Bruce to Aston Villa? (BBC)
Tite is making Brazil interesting again (SB Nation)
Local
Atlanta United defeats Philadelphia 4-1 in the Generation adidas Cup East Regional yesterday (Dirty South Soccer)
Georgia State’s women defeated Georgia Southern 2-1.
FINAL: GSU 2, GS 1. The Panthers earn the first point of the rivalry series this year! #StateNotSouthern
— GSUWomensSoccer (@GSUWomensSoccer) October 8, 2016
Berry College won 3-0 over Hendrix College.
Kennesaw State lost 2-1 to Florida Gulf Coast.