Welcome back to week five of Justin and Favian’s Weekly MLS Awards, where SBI staff writers Justin Ruderman and Favian Renkel bring you a glimpse at the best of each week in MLS.
Ah, the international window, it’s nice to have a break for once. SIKE! This is MLS, where domestic soccer does not stop for the rest of the world to play their qualification games for a little quadrennial tournament.
The Red, White, and Blue do what we want (eagle noises), besides winning a match at SoFi Stadium, but that’s a topic for another day.
Here’s a closer look at this past weekend’s MLS action:
Player of the Week
Justin Ruderman: Pep Biel (Charlotte FC)
This is what Charlotte FC fans have been waiting to see; the true Pep Biel.
The 28-year-old Spaniard on loan from Greek giant Olympiacos opened the scoring against San Jose with a placed finish from the penalty arc, igniting a party at Bank of America Stadium that would not slow down.
Biel repeatedly caught the Earthquake’s back line too high up the pitch, playing Brandt Bronico and Kerwin Vargas in on goal for a pair of assists. The first was a throughball from a deep-lying position cutting directly through SJ with the second into the feet of Vargas on the wing.
Already with 2g/4a on the season, if Biel can continue providing anywhere near this level of production for an already stacked Charlotte team, watch out Eastern Conference!
Favian Renkel: Evander (FC Cincinnati)
Superstars, superstars, superstars—that’s what every sports fan wants to see. FC Cincinnati paid top dollar to keep one of MLS’ brightest stars in the league, and in a marquee matchup against another serious MLS Cup contender, Atlanta United, Evander delivered like a true superstar.
The Brazilian 10 scored two goals within five minutes of each other, helping FC Cincinnati take a commanding lead going into the final moments of the game. The first goal came from a free kick, while the second resulted from a pressured interception and turned into a quick transition opportunity that was calmly slotted into the back of the net and passed in an inform Brad Guzan.
Evander is a household name in MLS and has contributed 38 goals since the start of the 2024 MLS season, placing him just behind one player—the biggest superstar in the world, Lionel Messi—by a single contribution.
Young Player of the Week
JR: David Martínez (LAFC)
Another week, another David Martínez banger.
The 19-year-old phenom was somehow left off Venezuela’s World Cup qualification roster during this international window, giving him the motivation to remind everybody back home what they were missing as they fell 2-1 to Ecuador.
Martínez is electric every time he gets on the ball, with one thing in mind: score. When he received the ball from Mark Delgado on the left wing, that was his thought process as Martínez drove into the box, and smashed his finish into the roof of the net at the near post with tremendous power. Even the camera crew struggled to keep up with the ball speed, leaving the goalkeeper no chance.
The departure of Cristian “Kike” Olivera from LAFC in the offseason has been a blessing for Martínez, who has now been provided the playing time to display the talent we all knew he possessed. For that reason, Martínez was the favorite to be named MLS Young Player of the Year according to many pundits, and through five weeks, he is backing it up.
FR: Owen Wolff (Austin FC)
Have you ever seen a 20-year-old play with the IQ of a seasoned veteran? This last weekend for Sunday Night Soccer, Owen Wolff gave everyone at Q2 Stadium and watching at home on their couch a treat. Wolff delighted everyone with such a quick-thinking pass to open up Jon Gallagher in open space to give the Irishman a one-on-one opportunity with San Diego FC’s goalkeeper CJ Dos Santos.
The pass came from a stopped ball position due to Brandon Vazquez getting fouled, without placing the ball down or readjusting, Wolff kicked the ball to streaking Gallagher to catch the San Diego FC defense sleeping. A veteran move for the youngster, who was rewarded with a spot in the Team of the Matchday as Austin secured their second consecutive win.
Goal of the Week
JR: Marco Pašalić (Orlando City SC)
Counterattacks do not get much more beautiful than what Orlando City SC produced for the exclamation mark in their dominant 4-1 victory over CF Montréal.
It started as eloquently as it would end, with Luis Muriel dropping into his own half to audaciously backheel-flick his pass to a streaking Martín Ojeda through the center circle. Chesting the ball down in his path with his first touch, Ojeda dispatched to an overlapping Marco Pašalić on the right wing with his second. The Croatian then cut inside onto his left foot just outside the penalty arc and bent a plump curler into the far corner.
Following the departure of club-record scorer Facundo Torres in the offseason, I had my doubts whether Pašalić could fill his boots. Safe to say, those concerns are quelled. Orlando City is extremely dangerous going forward.
FR: Brandon Vazquez (Austin FC)
For this week’s goal, I will take a different approach instead of the best goal of the week in terms of beautiful soccer. I’m going to choose the best goal of the week in terms of the magnitude of the goal. This week’s biggest and best goal of the week has to be from Austin FC’s Brandon Vazquez, as the USMNT International gets his first goal for the Verde this week in Sunday Night Soccer.
Seen talking to Mauricio Pochettino in the middle of LAFC hallways last week, the striker has been linked to returning to the national team. With the national team struggling to score and Brandon Vazquez getting it going once more, a reunion may not be so far.
The goal was a composed finish, expertly placed past the goalkeeper to relieve the pressure weighing on Vázquez’s shoulders. With a $10 million price tag, finding the back of the net was both necessary and overdue.
Team of the Week
JR: Nashville SC
The lights going out at GEODIS Park could not stop Nashville SC from their best start in club history on Saturday.
Behind a convincing 3-0 triumph over CF Montréal, the Coyotes have racked up 10 points through five matches in B.J. Callaghan’s first full season at the helm. The team looks reborn, implementing a new style of play, including a newfound comfortability on the ball.
The win at the weekend was exemplary of the well-rounded team Nashville are developing into. From captain Walker Zimmerman conducting a clean sheet and providing an assist to Josh Bauer and Jonny Pérez netting their first MLS goals, contributions are coming from everywhere. Heck, Pérez did not even know he was starting the 7:30 pm match until 5:45.
The Callaghan revolution is in full swing, and up next is their biggest test yet, hosting FC Cincinnati next weekend.
FR: Chicago Fire
The matchup started with a historic feat: It was the second time in MLS history that father head coach Gregg Berhalter played against his son Sebastian Berhalter. The first was Bob Bradley and Michael Bradley. Not only did the Berhalters make history, but the Chicago Fire did as well. The win over the Vancouver Whitecaps marked the first time in over 15 years that the Fire won three games on the road.
With Gregg Berhalter leading the charge, the Fire have looked like a completely different team on and off the field. From being linked to Neymar before the season started to Hugo Cyupers now having five goals in five games, the team that plays in Chi-Town is firing on all cylinders. The roof is on fire in Chicago!
With Chris Brady getting looks for the national team with his outstanding performances, the Fire is tied for 2nd place in the amazingly stacked Eastern Conference through five weeks. What a start for Berhalter’s side and if they keep pace, outperforming any expectations pundits had for the Fire in their first year under Gregg.
Best Thing We Saw This Week
JR: MLS international stock rise
The real stock market may not be doing so hot, but the stock of MLS players on the international stage is booming!
Sure, the U.S. men’s national team crumbled in defeat to Panama and Canada to lose the Nations League crown for the first time, but the only positives came from MLS. Charlotte FC’s Patrick Agyemang scored the lone USMNT goal across the two matches, assisted by the most impactful American player on the pitch, Diego Luna. These were the silver linings.
On the Canadian side too, Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi scored the opening goal in the third-place game as the country known for hockey beat their southern neighbors in another sport.
FR: Greg Berhalter rises like a Phoenix from the rubble
No one on planet Earth is having a better week than Gregg Berhalter. With the USMNT finishing in fourth place in the Nations League and proving his dad strength against his son and the Vancouver Whitecaps, Triple G is flying high in his signature Jordans on the sideline. Just like the shoes Gregg wears represent a beacon of hope for the city he coaches for, Berhalter has turned around the narrative in the Windy City and is becoming a beacon of hope himself for a team that has been plagued with several bad seasons leading up to 2025.
Now, Gregg has found himself once again in MLS, stabilizing his team, implementing his preferred style of play, and winning. Many coaches now surround the former USMNT coach he mentored and helped develop during his time with the national team.
B.J. Callaghan with Nashville SC, Nico Estevez with Austin FC, and Mikey Varas with San Diego FC are just a couple of examples of Berhalter’s influence across the league. Like past great MLS and USMNT coaches such as Bob Bradley and Bruce Arena, Berhalter is taking the next step in his career and legacy by shaping the next generation of coaches around him.
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