Welcome to asdh's coverage of everything going on MLS Next Pro. It's time for the conference finals. No w no Dalley Zone. As we always are, we'll find out how we got to this particular moment in time, some of the news. We have a Golden Boot and some other awards to hand out here coming up a little bit later on in the show. But to get you to where we
are in the schedule, only four teams remain. That means we have to go back to how we had more than four teams remaining last weekend, had a couple of matches on each side, Philadelphia and Crown Legacy in the East. In conference. It was one of the shocks of the opening weekend of the playoffs. Here's what happened and it won a while once again your highlights courtesy of our friends at MLS Next Pro and Apple TV.
It's a typical four four to two diamond shape of very good midfield four no changes to the side as well, both teams going unchanged after wins last league end. With the corner kick and it's gonna find the back of the net over the hand of o'doonsay and it's knocked home by old Wethuma Kanya attacking the back posts.
At a time for a Crown Legacy substitution, Cameron Duke making way, Dylan Sing coming on in his place, Low delivery the equalizer.
Dylan Sing and Crown Legacy can they do it again and he has the ball twelve yards away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals.
He does it.
Back to back games. Ciejay Only Junior is the hero for Philadelphia Union two and they are headed to the Eastern Conference Finals. The winning penalty from cij Only Junior. It was a fantastic penalty. Chiituu Odoonze had a great performance after making the mistake for the first goal.
Philly wins for to three in p KS and then the non surprise of Saturday, North Texas wins over Tacoma Defiance by the final four to one at Chucktaws Stadium. So the top seed in the Western Conference makes its way through Anthony Ramirez scoring in the seventy seventh, Carl sat scoring in the sixty sixth, Logan Farrington scoring in the forty eighth, and Paedrino scoring in the twentieth minute. And that was after Chris Akino scored for Tacoma to
give them a one goal lead. So North Texas ends up scoring four to a row to advance four to one winners over Tacoma Defiance. That was last Saturday, the twenty sixth, and then you had the two games on Sunday after the two games on Saturday, and once again five goal thriller with the Chicago Fire two Columbus Crew two back and forth won no real surprise. It had a lot of scoring early and then hanging on late and ended up with a Gibron Ryo scoring in the
thirtieth to give Crew two the early lead. Luca Purpo scored to tie it at one, Jayden Das scored so Columbus would take the lead all over again. David Paraba more news on him coming up in a bit scored in the fifty third to make it two two, and then Sibiyer Zenge scored in the fifty eighth minute, so Crew two had to hang on for the final thirty and they would final score Columbus Crew two three, Chicago Fire two two. Then the one out West. It's our
other match of the week. It was Saint Louis City SC two and Town FC from City Park here's your highlights once again courtesy of our friends at MLS Next Pro and Apple TV head.
Coach Bobby Murphy. His side will come out in a four to two three one. Richmond has not scored this season in eleven appearances, but he did have a goal in this playoff matchup last year Town FC. Going from left right quickly, Ricketts.
Flicks it that outs off the bar. Second effort to the right. Oh, how quickly that could have started for Town FC.
Out here for Saint Louis. Another look. Watch Ricketts off the volley, sending it central and that not go in. Wonderful opportunity for Will Richmond. Here's Jayden Reed, the left back playing forward since it's central shot.
Ripped that scored Saint Louis on the board. It's Brenton Mick Sorely less than seven minutes into the match. First goal last week, first goal.
This well, that got called back off the corner. That's a nice touch from Will Richmond. Here Richmond into the box, has Ricketts central Richmond to the in line.
Deflected Rickets scores. There's the level town MC right back in it. Jamar Ricketts able to get the slightest.
Of touches.
Show will let everybody walk out towards midfield, but the halftime whistle will blow first, entertaining first forty five minutes SERI at City Park. So withholding Trent's in our minds and hearts, we can need to play the sport he loves today here in this park, this venue. She signed a homegrown contract with him. This is taken away here by the town options and said, heed, oh, how about this?
Riley Lynch and the town have stunned to Saint Louis here in the second half, taking the lead on the road. It is two to one after the takeaway. Riley Lynch look at the physicality there, takes it away from Jay Reid and decidns, I'm gonna finish this myself. What an individual effort Lynch coming in off the bench, Town FC two.
Saint Louis won, Joe. It looks to be all right. Free kick Saint Louis join our Clipsida.
And headed Saint Louis goores. It's Makida in City two is still alive.
Pierce's service in his off target whistle blows to extra time. We go in Saint Louis. Ninety minutes not enough to decide this too. Fifteen minute periods to come. Players are ready to go, just getting the green light from the official, and now we play extra time in City Park. Wellover got it right back on the restart.
Joiner.
My o Madame.
Saint Louis has the lead.
How'd you go? Paul being harassed by Joiner. That's the end of the first extra period. Fifteen minutes to go for City two whistleblows. McSorley restarts. Here we go. Another yellow is gonna be issued here. I think that's the second.
Old Town f C is.
Gonna go a man down after that collision. Ibarra back towards his own corner. McSorley took it away.
Oh, Joiner's just outside the six looking for the exclamation point. Saint Louis is moving on a pair of goals in extra time from Mackay Jointer. Saint Louis is on to the Western Conference Final.
So that's how we ended up with the Conference finals being what they are. On Saturday night, six o'clock, Philadelphia Union two, Columbus Crew two, two of the Stalwarts, and MLS next Pro squaring off to be the Eastern Conference champ. Then North Texas SC and Saint Louis City two one versus two in the West, Philadelphia Columbus in the East. That'll get us to the MLS Next Pro Finals. That'll be happening next weekend. But that is how we came to this particular moment in time news in and around
MLS Next Pro before we go. Most Valuable Player went to Chicago Fire two's David Paraba. The twenty one year old midfielder also won the Golden Boot named the Best eleven and twenty twenty four. So it was a very busy season for Paraba and Chicago Fire two got to the playoffs for the second year in a row, leading the league with goals in eighteen, so it was a
very very busy season for Praba. The MVP Award is the league wide recognition for Paraba once again Golden Boot Best eleven and now gets MVP twenty eight games played and started, tied for the highest goal contributions in the
league at twenty at eighteen plus two. They improved, meaning the Fire to once again looking at last year nine eight and eleven number six in the Eastern Conference, and in twenty twenty two they were thirty one points eight eleven and five, so they go from number eight to number six to where they are now in the conference, in the in the conference, making a deep run in
the conference playoffs, and so continued production. The farthest that the Fire have ever advanced in the postseason twenty twenty four in the conference semifinals, once again getting in to that particular deep run. Congratulations to David Paraba from a
Chicago Fire. Two finalists for the MLS Next Pro MVP, presented by Adidas Word nycfc's Taylor Cholera and North Texas SC's Diego Garcia, Dynamo Doses Diego Gonzalez and Saint Louis City two's Mackay Joyner and regular season awards voted on by the head coaches and the chief soccer officers at MLS Next Pro clubs, as well as league content and broadcast teams. Jack Lynn won it in twenty three, Jason Russell Row won it in twenty two. So that is your rundown of David Parrab is very very busy season.
The best eleven list in MLS Next Pro for twenty twenty four Coach of the Year went to Tyron Marshall, leading his team FC Cincinnati two to their best record, number one seed in the Eastern Conference at fifty four points in sixteen eight and four, plus the Northeast Division title, first MLS Next Pro playoff birth for FC Cincinnati two, the big turnaround from twenty three to twenty four, twenty seven points last year, seven seventeen and four, seventeen points,
four to seventeen and three and twenty two, and so you end up with f C Cincinnati two men top the ladder at the end of the regular season in
the Eastern Conference as the number one seed. Next Pro Goalkeeper of the Year Michael Colodi thirteen four and six, integral to his team's success, led all MLS Next Pro keepers with wins in thirteen first and clean sheets tied there with six second, and save percentage just over seventy three percent third in games played and games started and minutes twenty three starts twenty three matches just under two thousand minutes literally nine minutes under two thousand for Coloda
only gave up twenty eight goals in the year, leased them out by a keeper with nineteen or more matches played in twenty twenty four. So Colode, coming from Columbia University to now North Texas as seat the best eleven for twenty twenty four. Colode was your keeper. Brady Scott from Ventura County gets honorable mention. Your defenders Nico Gordon from North Texas, Michael Winzel from Saint Louis City two, Francis Westfield from Philadelphia Union Too. Honorable mention went to
Brian Schaefer of FC Cincinnati two. Four midfielders Diego Gonsalez from Dynamo Dos, Aaron John from Crown Legacy, CJ Only from Union two and Paraba from Chicago Fire To. Honorable mention went to Facundo Tete Cannete from the Carolina Corps. Your three fords up top, Kolera Joiner and Meddi Wamri
from Chattanooga FC. Honorable mention went to Utarosukata from Orlando City B. Match Officials of the Year in MLS next Pro for twenty twenty four, Joshua Incarnacion is your Referee of the Year, Jackson Krauser, your ar and your fourth of the Year Braden Fry. They were determined by the top fair Whistle rankings. The first time MLS next Pro
has honored officials with a year end award. Mentioning what we saw with Golden Boot Final awards of the regular season MLS next Pro MVP presented by Adidas and that was announced with David parab So other piece of news.
MLS and the French Football Federation of announcedate twenty twenty four Elite Formation Coaching Licensed recipients and these are coaches that have earned the honor after the eighteen month course from February twenty three to August of twenty four and it's one of the most highly regarded and rigorous soccer coaching courses in the world, culminating at the Famed in
f Clairefontaine outside of Paris in August. And of the below of the twenty two coaches receiving their Elite Formation Coaching License, Aaron Ridley became the first woman from MLS
to complete the program. LA Galaxy's som Albasith will complete his final certification in December, so will Bates from Atlanta United, Patrick Daca from Charlotte Chicago Fire gets Salim Talby, Tyrone Marshall from FC Cincinnati, Elliott Cross from Colorado, Matt Errington from DC, Adam Wells from FC Dallas, Jeremy Hurdle, from Houston Dynamo, Luis Pacheco Sporting Kansas City, Andrew May from LAFC nationhal s c's Jason Box, the Revs Rob Bessara,
William Connors, Michael Dalpra from NYCFC, Jonathan Rhodes from Red Bulls, Eric Dutt from the Ohio Premier Soccer Club. Philadelphia Union had Pedro Cavalcanti and Peter McDonald. San Jose had Aaron Ridley and Steven Sosa. Seattle had Breton napp in Vancouver's Dan Fairhurst of the East. The EFCL platform, it's played a pivotal role in MLS homegrown development and the growth
of several coaches, including tailand Marshall. As we just mentioned, Chicago Fire Academy coach Salim Talby helped the Fires You fifteen side win an MLS Next Cup championship in June before completing the program, and coaches in front office members who had previously received their EFCL their Elite Formation Coaching license.
You have notable grads including Nico Estevez, Wilford Nanci and Greg Vanny and Ulyss is currently working with the French Football Federation on the sixth iteration of the EFCL the Elite Formation Coaching License program, which would begin in the spring of twenty twenty five. So that's a big news
for coaching across the board. When it comes to MLS Next Pro, very very cool stuff there, and we cannot wrap up the show this week without sending our love to everyone attached to the High Point University and Philadelphia Union programs over the shocking loss of Keeper Holding Trent who's passed away at the age of twenty five. All of our love from SDH to everyone who is in Holding Trench universe, fans, supporters, those that know him from every level that he was at, Holding Trent leaving as
far too soon at the age of twenty five. So once again getting into your schedule and you can catch it up on the MLS Season Pass Saturday night, six o'clock, Philadelphia, Columbus. That one's at Subaru Park Conference Final in the West North Texas Saint Louis City s he two at Chalktaw Stadium at eight thirty. That is your rundown of everything going on in MLS Next Pro. If you are in Philadelphia, Chester and if you are in if you are in the area of the Metroplex, and Dallas Fort Worth and
can visit Chalktaw Stadium in the Arlington area. Go check out these two matchups as we get you one match closer to determining who's going to be the champ and MLS Next Pro in twenty twenty four. For everybody here at SDH, I'm just John. Thanks for dropping by and being a part of everything here on the SDCH network. That's your preview, gets you ready for the conference finals. Played safe, everybody. We'll get you ready for the final coming up next week.