Welcome back to Week 29 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. The penultimate MLS Weekly Awards of the regular season is upon us! As we push through the international break, let’s recap what happened in the Decision Day lead-up:
Player of the Week
Justin Ruderman: Riqui Puig
Two goals on Wednesday, two assists on Saturday. Riqui Puig had himself a week. In victories over Colorado Rapids and Austin FC, Puig dropped consecutive Man of the Match performances while putting his array of skills on full display. At home vs Verde, he not only assisted both of Galaxy’s goals but dominated nearly every statistic possible for a midfielder as well. With 3 chances created, 5 successful dribbles, 64 passes completed, 2 tackles completed, 9 fouls drawn, and 16 duels won, the 25-year-old La Masia product led the match in every category mentioned. Puig has likely had the best season of any MLS player absent from the MVP discussion.
Favian Renkel: Cucho Hernandez (Columbus Crew)
Cucho Hernández has recorded five goal contributions in his last three games. Despite missing one of the biggest penalties of his MLS career against Inter Miami, Hernández has put together an MVP-caliber season. With his two goals against the Philadelphia Union, the Colombian international set a new record for the most goal contributions in a single season for the Columbus Crew, reaching 32—with one game still to play. Had Cucho not been called up by Colombia and been available for the Crew’s final match—a 4-0 home win over the New England Revolution—he might have locked in the MVP award. He would have a great chance to have either tied Evander or Luciano Acosta at 33 goal contributions oreven surpassed the other MVP contenders. Eight game-winning goals in MLS this season, while Lionel Messi has two. We’ll see if Cucho can sneak away with the MVP on Decision Day.
Young Player of the Week
JR: Gabriel Pirani (DC United)
Down 3-2 heading into stoppage time in Nashville, second-half substitute Gabriel Pirani reminded everyone why he wears the No. 10 on his back. As the ball deflected to the 22-year-old Brazilian at the top of the box he produced class and composure to cut around his defender before smashing a laserbeam into the top left corner with his weak foot to rescue a point for D.C. United in the 94th minute. Good enough for YPOTW, right? Well, Pirani wasn’t done. In a very similar run of play, Pirani collected the ball near the top of the box on a cross from the right flank with the room to guide a finish into the top right corner with his strong foot, as if you were watching his equalizer in a mirror, to snatch three points for D.C in the 97th minute.
FR: David Martinez (LAFC)
When LAFC hit a rough patch, they needed fresh energy and new attacking ideas. Enter 18-year-old David Martinez, eager to make a name for himself within LAFC’s star-studded attack featuring Denis Bouanga, Olivier Giroud, Kike Oliveira, and Mateusz Bogusz. Martinez seized his opportunities, scoring off a rebound from a Bouanga penalty against Sporting Kansas City and delivering a perfect ball to assist Bogusz against the Vancouver Whitecaps. That sequence produced LAFC’s second-fastest goal in club history, setting the tone for a crucial win in Vancouver and keeping them in the hunt for first place in the Western Conference. Martinez has offered LAFC fans a promising glimpse of the future in Black and Gold, showcasing his potential during these decisive final matches leading up to Decision Day.
Goal of the Week
JR: Pedro Santos (DC United)
The best way to fully comprehend the difficulty level of Pedro Santos’ near-post thunderbolt against New England Revolution is by attempting it, but since we cannot all do that I will try to put it into words here. The strike alone is a perfect, by-the-book technique. Santos opens his body to get the full rotation of his torso, pulls his leg back with a fully locked ankle, and smashes through the ball with his laces while torquing his body intensely for power. Impressive enough already to fit such a strike in a small corridor at the near post but Santos did this all while in a full sprint which means he needed to calculate his stride in sync with a first-time strike on a long, bouncing pass to produce the soccer equivalent of a flying karate kick finish. Simply put, you cannot hit a football any sweeter.
FR: Leo Campana (Inter Miami CF)
This goal carries immense weight, coming in the dying moments of their second to last match to keep the MLS points record within reach. Luis Suárez links up with Leo Campana and the Ecuadorian International fires the ball into the back of the net, keeping Miami’s hopes of becoming the all-time MLS points leader alive. Campana adds to his all-time scoring record for Inter Miami, further cementing his place in the club’s history. This goal might just go down as one of the most memorable in Inter Miami CF’s story—take a look for yourself.
Team of the Week
JR: Inter Miami CF
Inter Miami CF has officially won the 2024 MLS Supporters’ Shield! Undoubtedly the best team across the regular season, the Herons proved it on Wednesday to secure the club’s second trophy behind a 3-2 statement win over the only other true SS contender, Columbus Crew, at their home stadium of Lower.com Field in Ohio. When Jorge Mas and David Beckham enticed Lionel Messi to play for Inter Miami along with his Barcelona buddies, these are the moments they envisioned together. The Leagues Cup triumph was not a fluke, Messi and Luis Suarez have continued to deliver despite injuries, and Miami is the best team in MLS heading into the playoffs with home-field advantage and a golden opportunity to put the most important trophy in their cabinet. Before that, however, Miami’s 1-0 win on Saturday gave them 71 points, just shy of the 72-point MLS record set by New England Revolution in 2021. Ironically, with a chance to break that record on Decision Day and lay their claim as the best MLS team ever, Miami travels to Foxborough where the Revs get the opportunity to defend the record and prevent Messi from making yet more history in his unparalleled career.
FR: D.C. United
In their last three matches, D.C. United have collected seven points out of a possible nine. The only dropped points came against the reigning Leagues Cup and MLS Cup champions, Columbus Crew. From the outside looking in about five games ago, United are now well-positioned to secure a home game in the MLS Cup Playoffs Play-In round—quite the mouthful, I know. That’s not the only achievement for the club. Christian Benteke has extended his lead in the Golden Boot race, all but securing the award for the District of Columbia—barring any extraordinary performances from other contenders. The Belgian striker tops the leaderboard with 23 goals and one game remaining, while no other player has reached the 20-goal mark yet. Troy Lesesne has found a way to turn around a team that struggled to meet expectations midway through the season and missed the playoffs last year. Now, D.C. United boast a possible Golden Boot winner and a strong chance to host at least one playoff match at Audi Field. What a season it has been for D.C. United.
Best Thing We Saw This Week
JR: Fan attendance record
This is the most straightforward “best thing” pick of the season. For the first time in MLS history, more than 11 million fans have attended matches this season, proving the increasing popularity of the fastest-growing league in world football. We are all lucky to be a part of it.
FR: MLS Climbs in Global League Power Rankings
Earlier this season, MLS was ranked 13th by Opta among the strongest leagues in the world. Now, the league has climbed four spots, surpassing the Eredivisie, Liga MX, Argentina’s Primera División, and Turkey’s Süper…
