By Favian Renkel and Justin Ruderman
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.
MLS played on this weekend despite over 100 players on international duty with their respective national teams. The chaos never ceases regardless so let’s dive in with our latest awards nominations!
Player of the Week
Justin Ruderman: Lewis Morgan (RBNY)
This wasn’t just the performance of the week, it was the best single-game performance of the season in MLS thus far. Not to be deterred by a bit of rain, Lewis Morgan pulled the Inter Miami center-backs around the pitch like puppets all night en route to bagging a hat-trick inside 70 minutes with the help of Dante Vanzier’s passing. Classy as ever, the Scot muted all three of his goal celebrations against his former team despite posting a career night.
Before Morgan completed his hat trick with a tap-in at the back post on a classic Red Bulls counter, the 27-year-old created his team’s third goal with his most impressive contribution of the day on a pure hustle play. Ironically, it would be the only contribution that wouldn’t see his name on the scoresheet but that’s why we’re here to recognize it.
Good luck to every Comeback Player of the Year candidate in 2024 as they attempt to chase down the clear frontrunner who is now level atop the early-season MLS Golden Boot race with five goals in as many games.
Favian Renkel: Dante Vanzeir (RBNY)
This NYRB performance against the favorites to win the league was something that everyone around the league noticed. From playing in the middle of a typhoon to demolishing the Herons 4-0 and securing all the assists, Dante Vanzeir had a great week. Dante Vanzeir is the eighth player in MLS history to record four assists in a single game. If it weren’t for his teammate, Lewis Morgan, this performance would have easily been the highlight of the week.
Vanzeir didn’t let the rain faze him, and when Inter Miami tried to employ some schoolyard competitive advantage tactics by coming out of the dressing room late to make the Red Bulls even colder, the Belgian didn’t let it cool him off. Vanzeir was in the headlines last season for completely different reasons, but let’s see if the 25-year-old can use this amazing start to the season to propel himself into outstanding achievement categories instead of incidents.
From keeping the kid mascots warm to ensuring Lewis Morgan had the perfect passes to score, Vanzeir was the perfect Robin to Morgan’s Batman.
Young Player of the Week
JR: Fidel Barajas (Real Salt Lake)
First MLS start, 90 minutes played, and two assists in a 2-1 win. That was the story of Fidel Barajas’ full debut for RSL in Vancouver.
The 17-year-old announced himself to the league on Saturday after his heavily-covered $250k transfer from USL this offseason. After spending last season with Charleston Battery where he scored 5 goals and provided 11 assists across 32 league matches (28 starts), Barajas wants to emulate RSL teammate Diego Luna by making the seamless jump to the first division and hopefully cracking a national team picture as well, whether with the USMNT or Mexico.
With Luna on international duty, Barajas filled his boots on the left wing admirably as his MLS career is only just beginning to rev its engine.
FR: David Martinez (LAFC)
Coming into MLS with a superb highlight reel, the minutes that David Martinez had in the league weren’t particularly noteworthy. Despite this, Martinez took to the pitch against Nashville and recorded his first assist in the league within just 23 minutes of play.
With all the potential in the world to become an extremely important player in MLS in the coming years, it’s nice to see the young Venezuelan get on the scoreboard. Keep an eye out, but I can easily see Martinez becoming one of the most expensive transfers out of MLS in the league’s history.
Goal of the Week
JR: Ashley Westwood (Charlotte FC)
Would you like your goal of the week to be a late match-winner or a thunderous volley? Ashley Westwood chose both.
When the ball fell to Westwood in the D at the top of Crew’s box in the 83rd minute, he had one thing in mind: beat the reigning champs. The Englishman controlled Columbus’ attempted clearance on his chest, allowing gravity to pull the ball onto his swinging right peg as he struck a rocket on the full volley into the top left corner. Three points secured for the Crown.
The Charlotte FC captain doesn’t get enough praise in this league, probably because he doesn’t score a ton of goals (this was his first of the season), but his leadership extends beyond the locker room. Without ignoring or understating his off-the-field value, his on-field importance should not be overlooked either. He may not have the same European pedigree as other big-name signings who have come across the pond but he has adapted as well as any and is the metronome in the midfield of Charlotte’s system under Dean Smith, who seems a perfect fit for Westwood and vice versa. It’s gratifying to see the Englishman get his flowers this week and if he keeps earning them with stunners like this, he may become the household name he deserves to be in this league.
FR: Nicolas Lodeiro (Orlando City)
Nicolas Lodeiro showed us all why Orlando City was still interested in signing him this last offseason. The 35-year-old truly demonstrated his capabilities with a beautiful free kick that he scored against Austin FC this weekend. It almost looked like he was another South American in his late 30s executing a beautiful curler that would resonate all around the world from Florida.
The best part of the goal was the iconic Nicolas Lodeiro “Phone Home” celebration that has graced the MLS multiple times in the past, where Lodeiro pretends to call someone with his cleat after scoring a beautiful goal.
The goal helped solidify the win for Orlando against a spiraling Austin FC side. Orlando City desperately grabbed their first win of the season, and it was behind one of those vintage Nicolas Lodeiro moments when many players were out on international break.
Team of the Week
JR: New York Red Bulls
If I told you the RBNY vs Inter Miami game would finish 4-0, I’m willing to bet you wouldn’t have expected the Red Bulls to have come out on the winning end. Despite missing Emil Forsberg, John Tolkin, Noah Elie, Daniel Edelman, Carlos Coronel, and Corey Burke to international duty in addition to the thigh injury plaguing Elias Manoel, the home side dominated in the pouring afternoon rain at Red Bull Arena on Saturday.
Anchored by incredible performances from our two Players of the Week, the Red Bulls took the game to Miami from the opening whistle. It began with Lewis Morgan and Dante Vanzier causing havoc with their pressing, denying ball entry to Sergio Busquets in the middle of the park and disrupting Miami’s buildup. Once they won possession, one of the strikers dropped underneath (usually Vanzier), pulling a Heron central defender out of position as their partner exploited the space behind (usually Morgan). This tactical exploitation of the best team in MLS led to the first two Red Bulls goals.
By the end of the night, Morgan netted a hat-trick while Vanzier racked up four assists in a memorable Red Bulls performance that will leave fans believing their team is back to being genuine contenders in this league. In truth, they might be.
FR: Toronto FC
Toronto secured a dominating 2-0 victory over Atlanta United, even though Atlanta was missing some key contributors. With Insigne and Bernardeschi out of the Italian national team picture, Toronto FC should continue to excel during these international break weeks.
One of the most improved teams from last year is definitely Toronto. The Italians and John Herdman have completely turned this team around. It’s almost as if the seriousness Messi brought to this league made them finally clock in and start to get to work.
With their current tally of 10 points, just one point off the Supporters’ Shield, Toronto has the potential to win it all. While many MLS fans have been watching other star-studded teams like LA Galaxy and Inter Miami, Toronto FC is quietly securing wins and making highlight reels. Insigne and Bernardeschi are quickly turning this TFC team into one that other opponents circle on their calendars.
Best Thing We Saw This Week
JR: Eight players open their MLS accounts
Nacho Gil (NE), Jack Lynn (ORL), Tyrese Spicer (TFC), Prince Owusu (TFC), Alexandros Katranis (RSL), Nemanja Redoja (SKC), Josh Yaro (STL), and debutant Jonathan Rodríguez (POR) all scored their first MLS goal on Saturday.
Without diving heavily into each player’s life story, what I find amazing is the diversity of this group. Whether age, experience, position, or time spent in MLS, we see a huge variety of players in this first-time goalscorer group. From the 2024 first and 2016 second-overall MLS SuperDraft picks (Spicer and Yaro) to the 2023 MLS Next Pro MVP (Lynn) to MLS mainstays (Gil and Redoja) to recent arrivals (Owusu, Katranis, and Rodríguez), every facet of this league is represented. Cabecita will draw the headlines as the Liga MX star scoring on his MLS debut, but for me, each individual has a captivating story and together they show the beauty of MLS. Everybody is going to score their first goal eventually.
FR: Soccer in the city of LA is back and stronger than ever
With both teams in LA securing wins in seemingly routine fashion, the LA Galaxy and LAFC are starting to gain momentum and look like they are about to wreak havoc over the Western Conference.
The LA Galaxy secured an away win with a goal at the end of the game, and LAFC dominated with a 5-0 win, looking like the LAFC that captivated the West in the last couple of years. Denis Bouanga finally scored his first goal of the season, lifting all the weight off his shoulders.
From a snow game to lackluster offensive performances without Carlos Vela, LAFC has had a hard time getting started this season.
On the other side of town, the LA Galaxy have come out swinging, showing the true potential of their star-studded roster. With a mix of world-class defenders and hungry offensive players who want to make a name for themselves, the Galaxy are right where they belong, at the top of the standings. If both LA teams go on a bit of a streak and stay hot until the 4th of July, we could possibly be looking at an EPL Boxing Day-style matchup for “El Tráfico” with Supporters’ Shield implications.
Outside of MLS, LA experienced two different Liga MX matches at the same time both LA teams were playing. With Argentina coming into town shortly after, soccer in LA this weekend was nothing short of a party.