By Favian Renkel and Justin Ruderman
Welcome back to Week No. 23 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 clubs have less than 10 matches left to play this regular season, adding importance to each and every fixture. The battle for playoff places and seeds will surely amplify over the next few weeks.
Here is a closer look at the action:
Player of the Week
Justin Ruderman: Luca Orellano (FC Cincinnati)
Two free-kick goals in one match? Luca Orellano is that good.
In fairness, his first goal took a massive deflection to wrong-foot the goalkeeper but that was after rattling the crossbar with another free kick requiring a top-corner save and before scoring my Goal of the Week which I will have more on below. Orellano was tantalizingly close to a hat-trick solely from direct free kicks — a feat usually reserved for the world’s best strikers like Robert Lewandowski, Wayne Rooney, Matt Le Tissier, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Remember at the beginning of the season when people (including myself) questioned whether FC Cincinnati could find replacements for Alvaro Barreal and other departing stars? Luca Orellano has continually quelled those worries all year.
Favian Renkel: Luis Suarez (Inter Miami CF)
We are now witnessing a new frontrunner for MLS MVP: Luis “El Pistolero” Suarez. Lucho doesn’t slow down. After putting the Herons in prime position to lift the Supporters’ Shield, he immediately boarded a plane to Montevideo for a significant announcement: his retirement from the Uruguayan National Team.
Despite MLS MVP Power Rankings being the last thing on his mind, Suarez still manages to lead Inter Miami to a convincing win in front of 55,000 fans, putting on a show that could rival Jason Derulo’s halftime performance. Suarez scored two goals and forced the third, which resulted in an own goal after his shot was deflected. Now tied for second in the Golden Boot race with 16 goals, he’s just one behind Cristian Benteke and Chicho Arango.
Luis Suarez has the potential to pull off the greatest first season in MLS history. With rumors swirling that he may retire after the MLS Cup, we could be witnessing a player who claims Newcomer of the Year, MLS MVP, Golden Boot, Supporters’ Shield, and MLS Cup all in his first season.
At this point of the MLS season, Luis Suarez is more likely to win MLS MVP than the best player in the world and his teammate, Lionel Messi.
With this goal, Suarez made Inter Miami history by recording his 16th goal of the regular season, tying Gonzalo Higuaín’s 2022 record for the most goals in a single season in Inter Miami CF history.
What a player. What a legendary career. If you have the chance to watch Suarez in these final games, don’t miss it—you won’t regret it.
Young Player of the Week
JR: Darren Yapi (Colorado Rapids)
Darren Yapi is on a milestone rampage this summer!
Let me set the scene. Bouncing back from a frustrating first two years in MLS without a goal, one of Major League Soccer’s most talented young strikers bagged his first to cap off a July 7th, 4-1 victory over St. Louis CITY SC in the 90th minute before upgrading in Leagues Cup with a 90+6’ game-winner off the bench against Toluca on August 13th.
Now at the end of August, Yapi played the super-sub role in MLS scoring a 90+3’ winner in Dallas. Still only 19, Yapi has found his stride with a late goal scoring trend any striker would be happy to boast as the playoffs approach. Producing such a moment in a postseason match could write him into Rapids’ lore forever.
FR: Ajani Fortune (Atlanta United)
“There are good and bad times, but our mood changes more often than our fortune.”
This is the life of an Atlanta United fan—still holding onto a playoff spot despite losing all their superstars this MLS season. On the last matchday, it was 21-year-old Ajani Fortune who stepped up, scoring his first MLS goal to secure all three points in a crucial rivalry match just four hours down the highway.
The Trinidad and Tobago international has now made his mark in MLS, hoping this goal will be the catalyst for his career in the league. In a game that was supposed to be USMNT star Tim Ream’s moment with Charlotte, it was a T&T player once again stealing the spotlight and shifting the narrative away from what could have been a great day for USMNT fans.
Goal of the Week
JR: Luca Orellano (FC Cincinnati)
From 65 yards away from goal, Luca Orellano scored his second free-kick goal of the game against CF Montréal on Saturday.
For reference, the longest measured goal in MLS history was scored by David Beckham just ten yards further at 75 yards — but that was on the counter into an empty net, not a dead ball with a goalkeeper to beat. Put simply, this is not only the best goal of the week but one of the greatest goals in MLS history.
But I guess that’s what we should start to expect from Orellano who not only scored two free kicks in the game but has now scored two goals from within his own half this season.
Update: The distance on Luca Orellano’s goal has been officially marked as 79.81 yards, making it the longest free-kick goal in MLS since the stat began being tracked in 2010.
FR: Facundo Torres (Orlando City)
Facundo Torres had a phenomenal match against Nashville SC, capping it off by becoming Orlando City’s all-time leader in goal contributions with 52.
This goal perfectly exemplifies what Torres means to this Orlando side. He sets up the play, quickly moves into position to receive the cross he just initiated, and finishes with a karate kick into the back of the net.
Facu is quickly becoming an Orlando City legend, quietly hitting form just in time for the MLS Cup playoffs.
Watch out for Orlando City, they may be a darkhorse team to lift the Cup come playoff time.
Team of the Week
JR: Houston Dynamo
Only two teams all season have beaten the defending Western Conference champions at BMO Stadium.
The first was Columbus Crew in a 5-1 drubbing between LAFC’s two final losses to the Ohioans. The second was this week when Ben Olsen’s Houston Dynamo went into Los Angeles, took the ball from the opening whistle, and dominated LAFC in their house to the tune of a 2-0 victory which would’ve been more flattering if not for the goalkeeping heroics of Hugo Lloris.
Sure, LAFC was fatigued following a Leagues Cup final and U.S. Open Cup semifinal but this team does not lose at home, much less get dominated. As stated, the only other team to do so is the undisputed best team in the league — not bad company to keep if you’re Houston. The Texans also saw summer club-record signing Ezequiel Ponce and the largest U22 initiative addition in club history Lawrence Ennali score their first MLS goals. Unfortunately, Ennali also went out with a torn ACL in the final minutes of the game, however, and will miss the rest of the season.
Ironically, last season the Dynamo completed the double over LAFC in back-to-back matches by a 5-0 aggregate scoreline. Now we’ll see if they can replicate the trick in an immediate rematch back in Houston next weekend.
FR: Inter Miami CF
With LAFC and LA Galaxy both losing, and FC Cincinnati finally breaking their four-match winless streak, Inter Miami is doing what others can’t—continuing to win no matter who plays or where they play. With at least a four-point cushion over the only team that can realistically challenge them for the Supporters’ Shield, Columbus Crew, Inter Miami seems to be in pole position to get the job done and lift the Shield at season’s end.
Inter Miami CF is firmly in control of the Supporters’ Shield race. With seven games remaining, it would take a monumental collapse for the Herons not to claim the Shield, especially with the best player in the world, Lionel Messi, finally healthy and coming back in the squad.
With an MVP candidate in Suarez, young talents who stayed through the transfer window, and Tata Martino maximizing his lineups and formations, Inter Miami should be able to wrap up the Shield and make their final push for the title.
Miami is about to turn into an even bigger party over the next couple of months—not that it isn’t one already.
Best thing we saw this week
JR: Tomas Hartel makes it 3 for 3
Tomas Hartel is seemingly the most underrated (or at least under-the-radar) signing of the summer in MLS. Hartel does not boast the name recognition of a player in a top-five European league but he certainly should after being the heartbeat of last season’s highly-touted St. Pauli who were promoted with now Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Hürzler at the helm. St. Louis CITY SC sporting director Lutz Pfannensteil’s extensive German connections helped the Missourans land the 28-year-old attacker who scored 21 goals and 14 assists in 37 matches across the league and cup for St. Pauli last season.
Quickly, he is producing for St. Louis in a similar fashion.
On Saturday, in his sixth match for his new club, Hartel scored his third goal, all of which are second-half match-winners. To go along with his two assists last week, Hartel has overseen a shift in form for the 13th-placed team in the Western Conference who have won half of his six games while only losing one. It would be a long road for the newest MLS team to make playoffs again in their second season but positive signs for a competitive run in season three are certainly there.
FR: New MLS Players being called up to International teams or returning
Mateusz Bogusz to Poland, Cucho Hernandez to Colombia, Ryan Gauld to Scotland, and Facundo Torres to Uruguay—these players are all heading off to represent their nations during this international break. For some, it’s a long-awaited return, while for others, it’s one of their first opportunities to impress their national team coaches.
There’s nothing better for the league and its fans than seeing their favorite MLS stars shine on the global stage.