Is dynamic offensive threat Talles Magno finally ready to pay dividends in his second stint with New York City FC?

That question may be answered when NYCFC (3-2-2, 11 points) play host to Charlotte FC (3-2-2, 11 points) on Saturday at Citi Field in a matchup of teams part of the four-way fourth-place logjam in the Eastern Conference.

Magno first made noise as a high-profile teenager in 2021 for the eventual MLS Cup champions. He scored the winning goal as New York City topped Philadelphia Union 2-1 in the conference finals. A year later, Magno posted seven goals and 10 assists.

After being on loan for 17 months to Brazilian team Corinthians, Magno, now 23, returned this season but has yet to start an MLS match.

“There’s a few things he needs to take care of,” coach Pascal Jansen said. “Physically, he’s not at the level yet where he needs to be in order to be competitive enough with the guys that are the starters at the moment.”

Magno flashed his scoring ability on Tuesday, achieving the first hat trick of his professional career while leading NYCFC to a 5-2 win over Westchester SC in a U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 match.

“I’m working very hard on getting my opportunity to start, given everything that’s possible for the team,” Magno said through an interpreter on Thursday. “I’m working with Pascal to see what I can do to get that opportunity.”

In the meantime, Nico Fernandez (five goals), Maxi Moralez (five assists) and Agustin Ojeda (two goals, one assist) have been supplying firepower for NYCFC.

After a hot start, New York City has gone 0-2-1 in its last three MLS matches. That includes last week’s 2-0 loss at Western Conference leader Vancouver.

Charlotte FC have been heading the other direction. They played four straight matches without a loss before falling last week at home to Eastern Conference leader Nashville SC, 2-1.

Pep Biel paces Charlotte with four goals and two assists while Archie Goodwin has notched three goals.

Charlotte FC also are coming off a 6-0 U.S. Open Cup win on Wednesday over Charlotte Independence as six players dented the net.

NYCFC topped Charlotte FC in the opening round of the MLS playoffs last year, holding them to one goal in the three-match series.

“Some of the players might feel scars because of that,” coach Dean Smith said. “There may be some scars where people have some things to prove but for me, it’s just a new season, new game.”

–Field Level Media

As Orlando City prepares to host the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night, both teams are coming off victories in the U.S. Open Cup.

But wins have been rare this season for both sides when it comes to MLS league games.

Orlando City (1-5-1, 4 points) and Houston (2-4-0, 6 points) still have time to battle back into playoff contention. Saturday’s matchup provides an opportunity to build toward those goals.

Orlando City’s only MLS victory came March 14 against Montreal, but was followed by losses to LAFC and Nashville by a combined score of 11-0.

This week, though, has been the most positive yet for the Lions after dueling Columbus to a 1-1 tie and scoring a 1-0 win over FC Naples to advance to the U.S. Open Cup’s Round of 16.

Orlando City, which parted ways with coach Oscar Pareja after starting the season with three losses, announced Friday that Argentina native Sebastian Setti, who has coached in MLS, Europe and Liga MX, will join interim coach Martin Perelman as an assistant coach. Martin Ojeda and Marco Pasalic lead the Lions with two goals each.

“It’s important,” Orlando City forward Tyrese Spicer said about the U.S. Cup win this week. “Every game is like a final, as Martin (Perelman) says. We have to stack up the victories one by one and we have to keep building.”

Houston rebounded from an ugly 6-2 loss to Colorado last Saturday with a 4-1 win over El Paso in the U.S. Open Cup.

“We were able to manage the game in the best way possible to set us up hopefully with some success here on the weekend — and on the road where we have not performed well, to be honest,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said.

Midfielder Guilherme has been one of the bright spots for a team looking for consistency. Before the lopsided loss to the Rapids, two of the Dynamo’s losses have been by one goal and another by two goals.

Guilherme has five goals this season, tying him with reigning league MVP Lionel Messi and others for the fourth-most in MLS.

–Field Level Media

Four weeks after helping Nebraska edge Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament’s second round, power forward Berke Buyuktuncel has decided to switch from the Cornhuskers to the Commodores for his senior year.

According to reports, Buyuktuncel, the 6-foot-9, 245-pound forward who averaged 6.3 points and 5.5 rebounds while starting 61 games the last two years at Nebraska, has become Vanderbilt’s first pickup in the transfer portal since it opened on April 7.

Buyuktuncel clearly made a strong impression when Nebraska defeated Vanderbilt, 74-72, on March 21 to earn its first Sweet 16 appearance. He scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting and was regarded as the game’s most effective offensive player per KenPom.com with his 177 Offensive Rating.

While Nebraska loses its fourth starter from its 28-7 squad that earned a No. 4 seed — Buyuktuncel joins graduating seniors Rienk Mast, Sam Hoiberg and Jamarques Lawrence going out the door — Vanderbilt adds a big man with some ability to stretch the floor, protect the rim and pass the ball.

The lefthander averaged 6.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.0 block in 24.3 minutes per game last season. He shot just 24.1% from 3-point range as his long-range accuracy continues to drop from his 29.7% showing as a UCLA freshman and his 27.7% as a Nebraska sophomore.

According to reports, Nebraska has beefed up its roster with two players from the transfer portal. Redshirt junior forward Kadyn Betts, who spent three years at Minnesota before averaging 3.1 points in 6.6 minutes per game for Montana last season, gives the Huskers a 6-foot-8 perimeter threat who has hit 12 of 31 3-point attempts (38.7%) in limited minutes.

Nebraska also reportedly has added Utah Valley junior Trevan Leonhardt, a versatile 6-foot-4 guard who earned first-team all-WAC honors after averaging 11.9 points, 6.0 assists and 5.4 rebounds.

–Field Level Media