What We Learned: LAFC's dynamic duo, Vancouver make Shield charge

Between a record number of goals, an ever-tightening Supporters’ Shield race and some late winners, this past weekend’s slate had it all.

Let's explore some of the most interesting things we learned during Matchday 33. If you want to read up on other key moments in detail, check out Matt Doyle’s latest column.

Onwards.

No team put together a more emphatic victory than the Vancouver Whitecaps’ 7-0 demolition of the Philadelphia Union.

Sure, Bradley Carnell’s team had at least one eye on Tuesday's US Open Cup semifinal meeting with Nashville SC and pre-rotated their lineup. But with Brian White out injured and Vancouver's new center backs not fit to play, Philly weren't the only team playing at something other than full strength.

Even without key pieces, the Whitecaps were downright awesome over the weekend. They quickly found the weak link in the Union backline – Alejandro Bedoya, playing as a right back – and left winger Ali Ahmed exposed it. Toss in a birthday hat trick for Thomas Müller and excellent rest defense anchored by the Andrés Cubas and Sebastian Berhalter double pivot, and it was as close to a perfect performance for Vancouver as you can get.

More than just a satisfying victory, the win clinched their Audi MLS Cup Playoffs spot and gave Vancouver a lane in the Supporters’ Shield race. Their 1.86 points-per-game pace now just barely trails Philly (1.90) and San Diego (1.87).

But with multiple games in hand on both of those teams (and on FC Cincinnati, Minnesota United and Charlotte FC, who also find themselves in the Shield race), the ‘Caps might have the inside track to hardware.

I’m not sure I’d bet against them right now.

For the vast majority of Steve Cherundolo’s time in charge of LAFC, they’ve been a 4-3-3 team. For a much smaller chunk of his time in charge, they’ve been a 3-4-3 team. For Saturday’s clash at the San Jose Earthquakes, in front of a club-record crowd at Levi’s Stadium, they were a 3-5-2 team – and boy did that setup work a treat en route to a 4-2 victory.

With Son Heung-Min and Denis Bouanga up top together against a San Jose squad that struggles mightily to defend in transition, why shouldn’t it have? Son, seemingly enjoying the freedom that stemmed from his part of the front two, scored inside the first minute. Bouanga added three goals of his own before the full-time whistle blew.

We’ve seen Cherundolo pull out the 3-5-2 for spurts in the past, but Saturday’s meeting with San Jose was the first time we’d seen it from the jump since Son arrived from Tottenham. It’s hard to overstate how scary that look must’ve been for San Jose – and how it would look to literally any other team in MLS. Before Son’s arrival, Bouanga was the best transition attacker in MLS not named Lionel Messi. Now, with Son in town, LAFC have the best two transition attackers in the Western Conference.

It wouldn’t shock me at all if the 3-5-2 makes another appearance for LAFC.

Sure, Minnesota found a set-piece goal late on against San Diego and created a few nice looks towards the end of their 3-1 victory that was capped by a wondergoal from beyond the midfield stripe by debutant Nectarios Triantis. But the real star that fueled the Loons' win over the Western Conference leaders was Dayne St. Clair.

The Canadian international goalkeeper put together one of the season's top performances, making 12 saves against a high-octane SDFC attack that had the visitors up against it for most of the match. In all, St. Clair saved 1.3 goals more than expected, according to FBref’s data. That’s impressive enough on its own, but St. Clair’s statistical profile doesn’t stop there: he’s saved 7.8 goals more than expected this season, good for the second-best figure in the league only behind Toronto FC’s Sean Johnson.

There are other worthy nominations for this season’s Goalkeeper of the Year award – Kristijan Kahlina has been central to Charlotte FC’s record-trying nine-game win streak. But if voting ended today, I’d struggle to cast my ballot for anybody not named St. Clair. He was everything Minnesota needed, and more, in their win over San Diego FC… as he’s been all year long.

Over in the Eastern Conference, four teams are already out of playoff contention: CF Montréal, D.C. United, Atlanta United and Toronto FC. The New England Revolution, who parted ways with Caleb Porter on Monday, look set to follow in that quartet’s footsteps.

But in the West? Not a single team has a little ‘e’ next to their name. Of course, there’s virtually no chance for the cellar-dwelling LA Galaxy, St. Louis CITY, or Sporting Kansas City to work their way into Wild Card contention between now and Decision Day. They’re all likely to be eliminated sooner or later.

But starting with the 12th-place Houston Dynamo and working up the table, there’s plenty of intrigue in the race for the playoff bubble. Two points separate the Dynamo (33 points) from ninth-place San Jose (35). Then, FC Dallas (34) and Real Salt Lake (34) have at least one game in hand on the Earthquakes and could rise to claim that final playoff spot. Higher up the standings, the sixth-place Portland Timbers (42 points; 29 games played) and seventh-place Austin FC (41 points; 29 games played) aren’t out of touching distance from the eighth-place Colorado Rapids (39 points; 30 games played).

Wild Card and automatic playoff spots may yet shuffle in a major way. Take your eyes off the table and you might miss something.

FC Cincinnati have a bit of Jekyll and Hyde to them this year, don’t they?

Sometimes, they look like a gappy, porous defensive team and a sluggish, one-dimensional attacking team. Other times, they look like the best team in the league thanks to their rock-solid defensive work and dazzling individual attackers.

In a 2-1 win over Nashville on Saturday, they looked like… both of those things. Ultimately, though, even after a bizarre defensive lapse let Nashville back into the game, Cincy’s talent shone through. Evander, of course, was at the heart of their best moments. His 98th-minute winner earned all three points for the home side – and his darling assist to Brenner earlier in the match helped him become just the seventh player in MLS history to produce at least 15 goals and 10 assists in consecutive seasons.

Feast your eyes on this ball:

The concern for FC Cincinnati following the win is two-fold: Matt Miazga left the game with an apparent injury, and this team is still prone to massive inconsistencies from one game (or even one moment) to the next. But when the talent is clicking like it did in the closing stages against Nashville? Watch out.