OUR BOYS IN GOLD ARE THE 2026 SUPPORTERS SHIELD WINNERS!!!!!
Hell of an achievement. While my American sports fan heart still values the MLS Cup as the ultimate victory, the SS is arguably the more difficult trophy to win - you have to be the best over the course of a long and grueling season, not just get hot going into the playoffs. And not only did we win it, we ran away with it - 15 points ahead of the pack. By doing it in 31 games, we tied the record for fewest games required to clinch.
So many shouts you could give for this accomplishment, but I’ll go with BJ and Hany. The change in tactics and philosophy that Callaghan has been able to enact in such short order has been remarkable. He’s surely Coach of the Year winner. And with Hany fully embracing his role as undisputed team captain, our boys have shown a new level of mental toughness and resilience. His contributions on the pitch and in the locker room cement him as a club legend. Build the damn statue.
While the job is not done yet, and we can’t get complacent, this has been a truly special season thus far. I hope everyone has taken a moment to soak in it, because these things are fickle and fleeting.
As for the match… it was a match. We looked a bit flat and lacked the sharpness you’d hope to see against a clearly inferior opponent with a trophy on the line. If it weren’t for the trophy attached to this win, it would be pretty forgettable. Lots of bad passes and poor decision making in possession. Perhaps all the travel lately took a bit of a toll. Props to Montreal for a strong press that had us flustered, but we played well enough to get the job done.
Sam was once again the victim of a great save - he could easily have 3+ more goals in the last few matches if it weren’t for some strong keeper play. His positioning on the opening goal was exactly what you want from your target man, and RBW dropped another dime of an assist. Hany absolutely willed the 2nd goal into existence with his hustle. That’s the example you want to see coming from your captain.
Defensively, we kept them from threatening for the most part. All but one of their shots on goal was an easy save for Schwake. The one decent chance they had was denied by an excellent save from Brian. Another clean sheet in the books from the best defense in MLS.
Home field advantage throughout the postseason is locked down. 5 points from our remaining 3 games gives us the points record. We march on towards lifting the MLS Cup!!!
How we feeling today??