Sports
Sounders transfer Obed Vargas to La Liga’s Atletico Madrid
Oct 27, 2025; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Seattle Sounders midfielder Obed Vargas (18) looks to pass during the first half against Minnesota United at Allianz Field. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images The Seattle Sounders transferred star midfielder Obed Vargas to La Liga giant Atletico Madrid on Monday.
Vargas is signing with Atletico through June 30, 2030, and ESPN reported that the Sounders will earn a club-record transfer fee for the move.
“I couldn’t be happier for Obed. He’s earned this opportunity through his work ethic, competitiveness and willingness to keep getting better every day,” said head coach Brian Schmetzer. “We’ve seen him grow into a confident, impactful player who has excelled in every situation he’s faced. This is a great moment for Obed and his family, and I have no doubt that he is ready to take on this challenge with Atletico Madrid.”
Atletico was Vargas’ favorite team growing up, and he declared last year that he had his eye on Atletico, one of the strongest clubs in Spanish soccer history with 11 La Liga titles.
“I hope (to one day play with Atletico). I think if I keep doing everything well then one day I’ll be able to join,” Vargas said after the Sounders faced them during the 2025 Club World Cup.
Vargas, a 20-year-old born in Alaska, was just 15 years and 351 days old when he made his Sounders first-team debut in 2021.
In five seasons, Vargas played 130 matches for Seattle across all competitions and tallied eight goals and 16 assists while helping the Sounders win the CONCACAF Champions Cup in 2022 and the Leagues Cup in 2025.
He also represents Mexico internationally and has three caps with the national team.
–Field Level Media
Sports
DC United, Atlanta United struggle to find chances, play to 0-0 draw
Mar 21, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta United midfielder Miguel Almirón (10) steals the ball against D.C. United defender Silvan Hefti (5) during the first half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images Host Atlanta United and D.C. United ended their meeting on Saturday night the same way it started as the Eastern Conference foes played to a 0-0 draw.
Atlanta (1-3-1, 4 points) came into the night having picked up its first win of the season a week ago, a 3-1 victory against the Philadelphia Union to give Atlanta five goals over its previous two matches.
D.C. (2-2-1, 7 points), which snapped a two-match losing streak in its last outing, kept a clean sheet for the second time this season and for the first time since its season opener, a 1-0 win over the Union on Feb. 21.
Chances were at a premium for both sides as neither Atlanta’s Lucas Hoyos nor D.C.’s Sean Johnson had much to do in their respective goals. In fact, the best chance of the first half for either side was a Cooper Sanchez’s attempt just outside the box in the 13th minute that Johnson was able to deal with.
D.C., on its end, came close to the opening goal in the 61st minute after poor defending for Atlanta led to a flurry of activity in front of its own net. Hoyos, though, made a save on Jackson Hopkins’ attempt.
In the 83rd minute, Caden Clark had a chance to put D.C. in front, but his attempt struck the right post. Then, in the 87th minute, Brandon Servania’s long-range effort rang off the crossbar.
That was the final meaningful opportunity of the evening for both teams as they each walked off the pitch with a point apiece.
Atlanta held a 64.8% to 35.1% advantage in possession for the match and outshot D.C. 9-4. But it was held scoreless for the third time this season.
Hoyos ended the night with a single save en route to the first clean sheet of his MLS career. Johnson stopped both Atlanta shots he faced.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Charlotte FC set team record for goals, blow out Red Bulls
Mar 21, 2026; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Red Bulls New York goalkeeper Ethan Horvath (34) reacts after being scored on by Charlotte FC during the first half at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images Kerwin Vargas and Pep Biel scored in the opening 10 minutes of the second half as Charlotte FC set a team record for goals and pulled away for a 6-1 rout of the visiting New York Red Bulls on Saturday night.
Biel made the pass that led to Idan Toklomati finishing off a header in the 14th minute and Charlotte (2-1-2, 8 points) survived New York attempting 10 shots and holding possession for a little over 60% for the first half.
After scoring four goals in its first four matches, Charlotte finished it off early in the second half by capitalizing on miscues by the Red Bulls.
Vargas scored from the center of the box after New York’s Omar Valencia overran the ball trying to intercept a pass from Djibril Diani. After securing possession, Vargas put a left-footed shot from the center of the box into the bottom left corner of the net.
In the 52nd, New York’s Gustav Berggren was shown the red card and kicked out for a foul on Toklomati, resulting in a free kick.
Biel took the kick and his left-footed shot from outside the box found a gap in New York’s eight-man wall and cruised into the bottom left corner.
Wilfried Zaha also scored in the 68th as Charlotte matched the team record of four goals they set five previous times. Archie Goodwin finished off the rout with a goal in the 77th and another in the third minute of stoppage time.
Julian Hall scored late for New York, which attempted 23 shots.
Goalie Kristijan Kahlina made seven saves. He solidified the blowout with consecutive saves on Mohammed Sofo and Valencia in a span of two minutes shortly after Charlotte took a three-goal lead.
New York (2-2-1, 7 points) tied a team record by allowing six goals for the fourth time and first instance since a 6-2 loss at Inter Miami on May 4, 2024. The Red Bulls have been outscored 9-1 in their two losses under first-year coach Michael Bradley.
New York goalie Ethan Horvath allowed six goals on 10 shots.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Luke Kennard's last-second shot beats Magic; Lakers' win streak at 9
Mar 21, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Luke Kennard (10) reacts after hitting a game winning basket at the buzzer against the Orlando Magic in the fourth quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images Luke Kennard drilled a go-ahead 3-pointer with 0.6 seconds remaining on Saturday to lift the Los Angeles Lakers to a 105-104 victory over the host Orlando Magic.
Trailing by two with 2.6 seconds left, Marcus Smart inbounded a pass to a wide-open Kennard, with the Lakers’ sharpshooter hitting his third 3-pointer of the game and clinching the team’s ninth straight win.
Los Angeles (46-25) was led by Luka Doncic’s 33 points and eight assists, while Austin Reaves had 26 points and Kennard had 13. LeBron James scored 12 points and passed Robert Parish for most games played in NBA history with 1,612.
Orlando (38-32) was paced by Paolo Banchero’s 16 points and Jalen Suggs’ 14. Wendell Carter Jr. and Jevon Carter added 13 apiece for the Magic, who lost their fourth straight.
Trailing by four in the third quarter, Los Angeles’ 12-0 run was capped with James’ layup to give the visitors a 78-70 edge.
From there, Orlando finished the third on a 17-4 run, holding the Lakers to just one made field goal across the final six minutes of the quarter.
After falling behind by seven to start the fourth, Los Angeles went on a 10-2 run — which included Reaves’ six points — to take a 92-91 advantage with 6:31 left.
James’ layup cut the Lakers’ deficit to a point at the 2:02 mark, before Banchero’s basket gave Orlando a 100-97 lead. Doncic and Carter then traded jumpers on the team’s subsequent possessions.
Banchero then hit two free throws to push the Magic’s lead to five with 50 seconds remaining.
After Reaves’ layup, the Lakers forced an Orlando miss on the other end. Reaves then missed a game-tying 3-pointer with 10 seconds left. Deandre Ayton got the offensive rebound and was fouled, splitting the free throws to leave the Lakers’ deficit at two.
Suggs then threw the ball away for an Orlando turnover with 4.1 seconds left, leading to Kennard’s game-winner.
After setting the new record, James’ fast-break dunk helped Los Angeles grab an early 6-0 lead.
Doncic’s fadeaway jumper gave the Lakers their first double-digit lead at 30-20. The margin grew to 14 on Reaves’ dunk, before Orlando finished the opening quarter on a 7-0 run to cut its deficit in half.
The run continued into the second quarter as the Magic answered Reaves’ floater with a 13-0 run, stamped with Tristan da Silva’s floater to put Orlando ahead by six.
After Suggs’ stepback trey, Reaves beat the first-half buzzer with a mid-range jumper, trimming the Lakers’ halftime deficit to 65-62.
–Field Level Media
