Atlanta United closed out the regular season on Saturday with a 2-2 draw against Supporters’ Shield winners FC Cincinnati. The Decision Day match wrapped up a crazy season for the 5-Stripes before they head to the Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs next week.
Let’s look back and recap the 2023 regular season, by the numbers:
5,000,000
Atlanta United has been setting records at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for a while now, so it’s no surprise it became the fastest team in Major League Soccer to reach five million spectators to attend regular season matches at home. It took only 103 regular season matches to reach that mark; the previous record was 124 matches set by Seattle Sounders.
404
As one of four clubs to launch a third kit this season, Atlanta United revealed its ‘404 kit’ that honors the history and culture of Atlanta. The 5-Stripes made their debut in the kit at home, where they trounced Nashville SC 4-0.
9
Nine Atlanta United players scored their first club goals this season: Giorgos Giakoumakis, Tyler Wolff, Xande Silva, Saba Lobjanidze, Edwin Mosquera, Miguel Berry, Machop Chol, Tristan Muyumba and Matheus Rossetto. To further prove how special Mercedes-Benz Stadium is, all but one of the nine players scored their first goal at home.
350
In a year full of milestone goals, forward Tyler Wolff scored Atlanta’s 350th regular season goal in the 2-2 draw with New York City FC on June 21. Wolff also became the first Atlanta United Homegrown to score five goals in a single season. The 5-Stripes brought the goal count up to 380 by scoring 66 goals throughout this season, which was second-most in the league behind only Columbus Crew.
150
Goalkeeper Brad Guzan became the first Atlanta United player to start in 150 regular season matches on June 7 against LAFC. Guzan also recorded a season-high eight saves in that match, which helped him earn his 50th clean sheet for the club.
19
Atlanta’s Starboy showed out this season. Midfielder Thiago Almada set the single-season club record with 19 assists, becoming the first player in Atlanta history to lead the league in that category. In just two seasons, Almada’s 31 regular season assists is the second-most in club history behind only Julian Gressel with 35.
766
It took Giorgos Giakoumakis just 766 minutes to score 10 goals in his first season with Atlanta, which broke the previous club record for fastest to 10 goals set by Josef Martínez at 821 minutes. Giakoumakis ended the season with an impressive 17 goals in 1791 total minutes played, or 0.85 goals per 90 minutes.
7
Never leave an Atlanta United match early. The club scored seven goals in second-half stoppage time this season, and the number jumps to 16 if including goals scored in the 86th minute or later. The most notable late goals came early in the season when Thiago Almada’s stoppage-time brace secured the comeback 2-1 win against San Jose Earthquakes in Atlanta’s home opener.
2881
There’s a reason why Brooks Lennon is nicknamed “Mr. Reliable.” The fullback played a career-high 2881 minutes this season, which is the most on the team and 16th in the league. Starting in all but two matches, Lennon also recorded career-bests in goals (4) and assists (10) this season.
53
Defender Caleb Wiley made his 53rd appearance for the 5-Stripes on Sept. 23 against CF Montréal, setting the record for most MLS appearances made by an Atlanta United Homegrown. The 18-year-old became a regular starter for the 5-Stripes this season and contributed eight goals (4g/4a) on the year.
11
Atlanta United was recognized on the MLS Team of the Matchday across 11 different matches this season. Eight different players on the team earned the honor at least once, and Gonzalo Pineda won Coach of the Matchday twice. Thiago Almada, Caleb Wiley and Giorgos Giakoumakis were also all voted MLS Player of the Matchday at least once.
6
Atlanta United finished the season in sixth place in the Eastern Conference and will take on Columbus Crew in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs Round One Best-of-3 series. The first match will be on Nov. 1 at Lower.com Field, and the second match will be on Nov. 7 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. If necessary, the third match will be on Nov. 12 back at Lower.com Field in Columbus.
MLS Cup Playoffs 🏆 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium
On Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 7:00 p.m. Atlanta will host Game 2 of the Round One Best-of-3 series at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against Columbus Crew. Secure your seat... and get rowdy and proud for our playoff run!
