Atlanta United’s Dax McCarty not ready to retire yet

Dax McCarty, who announced in August that he would retire at the end of the season, said he isn’t thinking that Saturday’s playoff match against Inter Miami could be the last he will ever play.

It would be match No. 521 in his 19-year career. If Atlanta United can defeat Miami to even the best-of-three series, McCarty might get a chance at 522.

McCarty said he’s not thinking about it now because he thought about it a lot the week of Decision Day, when Atlanta United needed to defeat Orlando and then have two of three other results go its way. They obviously did.

“How often does it happen where every star is aligned perfectly for you to be able to get a bunch of results like that?” he said Tuesday. “I’m playing with house money these last few weeks. I’m enjoying it as much as I can.”

McCarty played 12 minutes as a sub against Orlando. He played 16 more in the wild card victory at Montreal in which he converted one of Atlanta United’s five penalty kicks after the match ended 2-2.

McCarty was put into the starting lineup for the first match at Miami. He played 79 minutes, often mirroring Lionel Messi when he had the ball in the defensive third. Messi didn’t score.

McCarty relished the challenge and is looking forward to Saturday’s match.

“We’re the underdogs,” he said. “No one expects us to advance out of the series, but we have to have that internal belief that we’re not scared. We took four points off Inter Miami this year, and I think we need to take a lot of confidence and momentum with that so we’ll be ready to play on Saturday. I know all the guys are excited. I don’t want the season to end in front of our home fans, and I know that’s how our locker room feels, and so we have nothing to lose.”

Injury update

Fullback Brooks Lennon, centerback Stian Gregersen and winger Edwin Mosquera didn’t participate in Tuesday’s session.

Lennon suffered a dislocated shoulder in the first half the first match at Miami. Lennon is still undergoing tests. Gregersen is said to be day-to-day, according to the team. Mosquera hasn’t played since Oct. 5.

Lennon was replaced by Luis Abram. Gregersen was replaced by Noah Cobb.

“He (Cobb) steps in and he plays with no fear, right?” McCarty said. “Luis Abram is a full international so these guys step in and they didn’t back down. They continue to help us try to navigate Friday night in the best ways that we could defensively. And whoever’s going to go on the field, I can promise you, they’ll be ready to play.”

Fatigue a factor?

Neither McCarty nor Bartosz Slisz, who also spoke on Tuesday, blamed MLS for the schedule congestion that resulted in the team playing three road matches in seven days.

But they did say they were exhausted in the first match.

“It’s not easy,” Slisz said.

Slisz said his previous team in Poland played matches every three-four days.

Last week was different. Atlanta United played Montreal on Tuesday, flew back in the middle of the night, and then flew to Fort Lauderdale Thursday afternoon.

“One day is much different,” he said. “So that’s why this game was more difficult for us, because also the game against Orlando and Montreal was very tough for us. We ran a lot. We put a lot of effort to these games. So I think in this game against Miami, we’ll be more prepared.”

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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule

Feb. 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0

March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1

March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0

March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0

March 31 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0

April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1

April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2

April 20 Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 1

April 27 Atlanta United 1, Chicago 1

May 4 Minnesota 2, Atlanta United 1

May 7 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte Independence 0 in U.S. Open Cup