Good morning! Sydney here with this edition of the Scarves and Spikes Daily newsletter. Follow me on X, BSky, IG, and Threads.
In case you haven’t been keeping track, ATL UTD 2 is in the midst of a historical season. Their 10 wins are the most in club history, both in the USL Championship and in MLS Next Pro. With eight matches remaining, they’re on 34 points and in sixth place. (The top eight teams in each conference make the playoffs.) Arif Kovac, of course, leads the league’s Golden Boot race with 15, three more than Chattanooga FC’s Alex Krehl and Carolina Core’s Arnaud Tattevin.
Tomorrow, the 2s pay a visit to Finley Stadium to take on Krehl and second-place Chattanooga, who have been a thorn in the side of Atlanta for a while. In fact, in the seven matches between the two clubs since Chattanooga entered MLS NEXT Pro in 2024, it has beaten the 2s in regulation twice and four times in penalties, including last year’s triumph on Decision Day that kept the 2s out of the playoffs. Atlanta’s only win against Chattanooga was their first meeting on April 24, 2024.
There’s plenty of reasons to watch ATL UTD 2 outside of Kovac, though. Cameron Dunbar has posted a respectable 6g/7a stat line, with his seven helpers just one behind Columbus Crew 2’s Kevin Gbamble and Crown Legacy FC’s Nathan Richmond for the league lead. Dom Chong Qui will hopefully be a part of Atlanta’s plans at left back in the near future. Jono Ransom and James Donaldson are getting looks at the youth national team level. There’s plenty more I didn’t name, but you get the picture.
Kickoff from Finley on Saturday is at 7 p.m. on YouTube and the OneFootball App.
The search for a No. 6 heats up
Plenty of irons in the fire, along with one name, Mauricio Amaro, appearing to lead the charge. I wrote about a pursuit that should have taken place long before the summer window.
Leagues Cup continues tonight
Charlotte FC hosts Atlas and the Columbus Crew take on Pachuca at 7:30. FC Cincinnati faces Pumas at 8 while Tigres and Minnesota United square off at Allianz Field at 9. The Vancouver Whitecaps wrap up the action at 10:30 against Juarez.
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That’s it for now. See you in the next one.