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Austin FC look to parlay their home-pitch advantage to leapfrog the visiting Seattle Sounders when the Western Conference teams battle on Saturday.
The Sounders (8-7-7, 31 points) are in seventh place in the West, one point and two spots ahead of Austin. Seattle heads to Texas with four wins and a draw in its past five league games, including a 2-0 home victory home over New England on July 6.
Albert Rusnak scored his third goal in two league matches and assisted on the other tally, which came from Jordan Morris, and goalkeeper Stefan Frei made four stops for the Sounders. Morris has scored seven goals over the past nine matches, while Rusnak leads the team with 10 assists.
Seattle also beat the Sacramento Republic 2-1 on Tuesday to earn its first berth in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals since 2014.
"We're playing as a collective, and guys have just been bringing a lot of fight and a lot of energy," Morris said Tuesday. "And we've been in tournament formats before, so we know how to win games."
The Sounders own a 3-1-3 all-time edge over the Verde. Most recently, the teams played to a 0-0 draw this season on March 2 in Seattle.
Austin (8-8-6, 30 points) has won two of its past three matches and remains at home after a 2-1 victory over New York City FC on July 6. Gyasi Zardes recorded a brace, and his second goal, which came in the 69th minute, proved to be the deciding score.
Zardes' goals were his first two of the season, but he has 105 for his career, moving him into 10th place in MLS all-time goal scoring list.
"The pressure will build with each game with how you take points or don't take them," Austin coach Josh Wolff said Friday. " ... I'm extremely pleased with our group's efforts to get to where we are this season and be inside the playoff line. You're four points from being in a higher spot and four from being lower, but that's what this league is."
The Verde's 25 goals this season are the fewest in the West and are tied for third-lowest in MLS (behind New England's 20 and Charlotte's 24).
More must-reads:
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'Chelsea want both!' – As well as Jorrel Hato and Xavi Simons, Chelsea want to sign another attacker
Nicolas Jackson: 'There is some movement with Newcastle and Manchester United' this week
It looks like Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson could still be off this summer with some movement happening with PL clubs. Things are very much happening at Chelsea right now as we enter the final weeks of a long summer transfer window. The Blues have done quite a bit of new business already, with plenty left to get done as well. They need to also get a number of outgoing deals done too, with a number of players still needing to go and find new clubs. There is so much to do. They are also still signing new players as well, and we have had some very positive news on two new incoming deals that look set to happen late on Monday night as well. It looks like Jorrel Hato from Ajax to Chelsea is now in the very final stages of negotiations and is now as close as it ever has been, according to the latest report that came out very late on Monday night. Another Dutch player, Xavi Simons of RB Leipzig, is also now ‘very close’ to joining Chelsea according to the latest from Fabrizio Romano last night. Outgoing deals important too With all these potential new signings pending at Chelsea, it will be very important for them to get some vital outgoing deals done as well to balance to financial books and make room in the squad as well. They are signing a bunch of new attackers this summer, so maybe this means that striker Nicolas Jackson might need to move on the make room? Jackson to Newcastle or United? Fabrizio Romano, speaking to DAZN this week, fully opens the door for Jackson to still leave Chelsea this window and mentions movements with two Premier League clubs. He simply states on Jackson: “There is some movement with Newcastle and Manchester United.”
Fever Coach Stephanie White Has Given One Player the Green Light Amid Caitlin Clark's Injury
Caitlin Clark is expected to sit out for a fourth straight game on Sunday when the Indiana Fever take on the Chicago Sky in a much-awaited rivalry matchup. The 23-year-old is still dealing with a reaggravated groin strain and has no timetable to return. The rest of her Fever teammates have had to step up in her absence. There is, perhaps, no other player who has taken a bigger role on the offensive end amid Clark’s injury spell than three-time All-Star Kelsey Mitchell. Mitchell, however, struggled with her shot in Thursday’s win against the Las Vegas Aces. The 5-foot-8 guard shot the ball poorly in the first three quarters, going just 4-of-19 from the field for 12 points. Mitchell caught fire in the fourth, though. She went 4-of-5 in the final frame for nine points, finishing with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-24 shooting. This is exactly why head coach Stephanie White remains completely confident in Mitchell’s scoring ability. The veteran coach has made it clear that she has given Mitchell the green light to shoot the rock. “The biggest thing with Kelsey is just telling her, ‘Let it fly.’ It’s going to go,” White said after Thursday’s win against Las Vegas. "... Keep shooting it from outside. She made some big ones when we needed them.” Kelsey Mitchell Has Stepped up Amid Clark's Injury Mitchell has answered the call for the Fever of late. In the three games Clark has been sidelined, Mitchell has put up averages of 22.0 points on 42.9% shooting. She also knocked down 2.7 triples during that stretch on a 34.8% clip. The 29-year-old veteran will need to keep her foot on the gas on Sunday as the Fever try to take down the Sky at United Center. With Clark watching from the bench, the Fever will rely on Mitchell’s scoring against Chicago as they look to improve on their 13-12 record. The Fever and Sky meet at 3 p.m. ET Sunday on ABC.
Suns Rejected Massive Trade Offer From Pelicans During 2025 NBA Draft: Report
It has been a busy offseason for the Phoenix Suns as they have completely overhauled their roster after another disappointing season last year. Of course, the Suns have broken up their star trio of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal as they traded Durant to the Houston Rockets and bought out Beal’s contract. Now Booker is the only one remaining and it is clear that Phoenix is looking to build around him for the future after they gave him a massive two-year contract extension. For the Suns, they have added a ton of talent this offseason via trades, free agency and the draft with the headliners being Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, Khaman Maluach and Mark Williams. During the draft, the Suns selected Maluach 10th overall with the pick they received from the Rockets in the Durant trade but they reportedly turned down an offer from another Western Conference team during the draft. According to The Athletic’s John Hollinger, the Suns turned down an unprotected 2026 first-round pick and the 23rd overall pick in the 2025 draft from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for the 10th pick. Of course, the Pelicans would later trade both picks they offered to the Suns for the 13th overall pick from the Atlanta Hawks that they used to select Derik Queen. This is a move that may haunt the Pelicans as they could end up being one of the worst teams in the NBA again next season due to the loaded West but it could also come back to hurt the Suns as well. For the Suns, it is clear that they have high hopes for Maluach but if they would have pulled off the trade with New Orleans and the Pelicans end up being a bottom feeder once again next season, they could have gotten the first pick in next year’s draft. Instead, the Hawks now own the Pelicans’ first-round pick next season and it remains to be seen whether not making this trade will come back to haunt the Suns in the future.
Guardians executive opens up about Emmanuel Clase investigation, what comes next
CLEVELAND — Emmanuel Clase is officially off the trading block, and not for the reasons the Cleveland Guardians might have hoped. After Clase was placed on non-disciplinary paid leave as part of MLB’s sports-betting investigation on Monday, Guardians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti acknowledged that the high-profile closer wouldn't be a part of any trades before the upcoming MLB trade deadline later this week. "No," Antonetti responded to reporters on Monday afternoon when asked if Clase would potentially be traded. It's a blow to the Guardians, who likely could have received a loaded return had they chosen to move the 27-year-old right-hander. However, with MLB's investigation underway, Clase is now on leave until Aug. 31. It is Major League Baseball's second look at the franchise in terms of potential sports betting following Luis Ortiz being placed on the same kind of leave earlier in July. That means Cleveland is down two relievers, including Clase and his 24 saves posted so far this season. "I think what's important is that we understand what the reality is and figure out how do we move forward from here," Antonetti said. "That's really the focus. "Both guys won't be available to us in the near term, and we need to figure out a way to overcome that. It's not too dissimilar to the moment when players are injured and they're not available to us. We have to find the next group to step up and shoulder a load and find a way to win games. That's really what we're focused on." Antonetti also told reporters that the two relievers will be the last Cleveland players investigated for this type of potential infringement. "We've been informed by Major League Baseball. They were very clear to let us know that they don't expect any other players or staff members," Antonetti said. While Clase may not be off the trading list, Antonetti told reporters it was still very "active" in terms of other teams reaching out to the Guardians around the 6 p.m. (Eastern) Thursday trade deadline. "We're in constant dialogue with a lot of teams," Antonetti said. "We had a lot of dialogue up through this morning and certainly had dialogue over the last few hours. My expectation is that it will continue over the next few days." Antonetti didn't offer a timeline in terms of when Cleveland might hear official rulings from MLB on the investigations. "What I know is that the suspensions are in place through August 31 and then we'll have to see where things are happening," Antonetti said. "Obviously, for everyone, I think you'd prefer to have the clarity sooner rather than later. But I recognize it's a complicated issue and usually baseball has a number of steps they need to work through to complete that investigation." All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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