Colombian star James Rodriguez is expected to make his long-awaited MLS debut Sunday afternoon when Minnesota United travel to Vancouver to take on the Whitecaps.

Rodriguez, who won the Golden Boot in the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil after scoring six goals while leading Colombia to the quarterfinals, signed with the Loons on Feb. 6 after a stint with Club Leon in Mexico. In a video posted on X by streamer Pelicanger, Rodriguez said he plans to play Sunday.

“Yes, with the grace of God,” said Rodriguez, who sat out Minnesota’s 3-1 loss on March 7 at Nashville with a contusion. “Against (Thomas) Muller’s team. I don’t know what it is called. Vancouver, I think.”

Muller, the 2010 Golden Boot winner after leading Germany to a third-place finish, and Rodriguez were teammates for two seasons at Bayern Munich from 2017-19.

Head coach Cameron Knowles said Rodriguez returned to training on Tuesday for Minnesota United (1-1-1, 4 points).

Vancouver (3-0-0, 9 points), which entered the weekend in a four-way tie for first place in the Western Conference with San Diego, San Jose and Los Angeles FC, has outscored its opponents 8-1 in MLS play. However, the Whitecaps are coming off a 3-0 home loss to the Seattle Sounders on Thursday in the first leg of CONCACAF Round-of-16 action.

Paul Arriola scored two goals in the first 58 minutes to lead Seattle. Vancouver lost despite finishing with huge edges in shot attempts (16-10) and possession (64.2%), but managed just three shots on goal. The second leg is Wednesday in Spokane, Wash., while Lumen Field undergoes preparations to hold World Cup matches this summer.

“We had a lot of shots and a lot of opportunities, but we did not hit the target,” Vancouver coach Jesper Sorensen said. “That’s where we have to be a little more cool in the moment and be able to get a quality shot instead of rushing it in the moment.”

Now the Whitecaps face a quick turnaround to host the Loons.

“It’s tough, but we have two days for recovery,” goaltender Yohei Takaoka said. “We have a game in two days against Minnesota, and we need to react in a good way.”

–Field Level Media

Oscar Cluff had 17 points with 14 rebounds and No. 18 Purdue advanced to the Big Ten Conference championship game with a 73-66 semifinal victory over short-handed UCLA on Saturday at Chicago.

The No. 7-seed Boilermakers (26-8) earned the win over the sixth-seeded Bruins (23-11) behind two strong first-half runs, as well as Cluff’s nine offensive rebounds and dominant play in the paint over the closing five minutes.

The victory avenged Purdue’s 69-67 loss at UCLA on Jan. 20 and gave the program a chance for its third conference tournament title on Sunday.

Fletcher Loyer scored 14 points, and Trey Kaufman-Renn totaled 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Braden Smith had five points and nine assists.

The Boilermakers held a 37-26 rebounding advantage.

The Bruins were without top scorer Tyler Bilodeau (right knee), who was injured in Friday’s 88-84 win over No. 3-seed Michigan State, and only received 10 minutes from second-leading scorer Donovan Dent, who left in the first half with a calf injury.

Trent Perry scored 15 points with nine assists for UCLA, while Xavier Booker scored 12 points. Eric Dailey Jr. notched 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists, while Skyy Clark scored 10 points, four steals and three assists for the Bruins.

Purdue set the tone early with a 15-2 lead less than four minutes into the game behind Loyer’s second 3-pointer, Kaufman-Renn’s four points and a technical foul on the Bruins.

As the Boilermakers hit a significant cold spell, UCLA took off on a 15-2 run to knot the game at 17-17 as Booker and Dailey each tallied five points.

In a first half defined by runs, Purdue used a 9-0 stretch for a 26-17 lead, while UCLA had to cope with the injury to Dent, who was scoring nearly 14 points per game and had been key to the Bruins’ late-season surge.

Top-five n assist nationally at 7.5 per game, Dent returned from the locker room and joined the team on the bench in the final seconds of the first half, but he only had two points and did not play in the second half.

The Boilermakers increased a seven-point lead to 40-27 on Loyer’s 3-pointer inside the second half’s first minute, but Clark’s steal and layup with seven minutes left and a 3-pointer made it 58-57 with 6:14 remaining.

UCLA tied it 62-62 with 3:41 left, but Purdue closed it out with an 11-4 down the stretch as Cluff scored six of the Boilermakers’ last seven points.

–Field Level Media

The San Jose Earthquakes try to continue their perfect start Sunday when they host a Seattle Sounders side coming off an impressive result in CONCACAF play.

After finishing 10th in the Western Conference last season, the Earthquakes (3-0-0, 9 points) are one of four West teams yet to drop points after three matches, and one of three yet to concede.

Most recently, Ousseni Bouda scored his second goal — again on an assist from new acquisition Timo Werner — to help San Jose earn a 1-0 victory last Saturday at the Philadelphia Union.

The visitors may have ridden their luck a bit in a game where the Union created more and better-quality chances overall. But Bouda suggested there was some value in grinding out that kind of result.

“I don’t think it was the best of our games,” he said this week. “We could have done better in possession, but we were able to get the win, and that’s something that we will take away, learning to win differently, especially.”

Werner, the former RB Leipzig and Tottenham man, still hasn’t started as he works back into shape following a German season when he was rarely used. But that could change Sunday after he played the entire second half against the Union.

Seattle (2-1-0, 6 points) has won two straight in all competitions after hammering West champions Vancouver 3-0 in Thursday’s opening leg of their CONCACAF Champions Cup round-of-16 series.

Making his first start since he suffered a torn ACL a year and a day prior, winger Paul Arriola scored twice to suggest he could be a critical piece as the Sounders try to keep pace with the West’s four unbeatens.

“It’s not just the goals,” Seattle manager Brian Schmetzer said. “But some of his savvy play, some of his smart defending, helping Nouhou, there were a lot of good soccer plays, soccer experience that helped us in this game.”

Arriola and Osaze De Rosario’s inclusion also allowed Schmetzer to bring regulars Paul Rothrock and Daniel Musovski off the bench during a busy patch of the schedule. Rothrock scored the third goal of the contest and his second of the season in all competitions.

–Field Level Media