MLS Team of the Week: Columbus Crew’s Diego Rossi, New England Revolution’s Carles Gil make noise

Another week has come and gone in Major League Soccer, and with it, another coaching change is in order with Sporting Kansas City moving on from Peter Vermes after he led the club for 20 seasons. It took a 2-1 loss to FC Dallas along with a statement from their supporters calling for Vermes’ resignation, but now they’ll join CF Montreal in looking for the next permanent coach in charge of the club.

There will be big shoes to fill in Kansas City but talent that can see them shoot up the Western Conference. In the east, Inter Miami shined yet again with Lionel Messi coming off the bench to score the winning goal against the Philadelphia Union to return to the top of the conference while also having a game in hand on the rest of the league. Miami’s quest to defend their Supporters’ Shield trophy is in full swing but with Austin FC finding their feet and San Diego FC coming into the league and winning from day one, there could be challengers over what will be a long season. 

If players like Carles Gil and Antony can build on strong weeks, that could push other contenders up the table, but things can change by the minute in MLS. Let’s take a look back at some of the top performers from the week:

Goalkeeper

Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United: Coming back from the international break with Canada, Minnesota’s number one put in another strong performance, making four saves as the Loons defeated Real Salt Lake. Slowly, this team is climbing up the western table and part of the reason is St. Clair’s performances.

Defenders

Josh Bauer, Nashville SC: Popping up with a goal, Nashville’s right back was involved often in their match, creating three chances which was the second most among all defenders. Nashville may not have ended up winning the game but it was a promising performance considering that they faced one of the top sides in the league in Cincinnati.

Franco Escobar, Houston Dynamo: It can be tough to judge a defender in a heavy loss, but Escobar was everywhere for Houston, and it may have been a much rougher day at the office if not for his contributions. Scoring a goal and getting four interceptions, he put in a shift at both ends of the pitch and was one of the lone bright spots for the struggling Dynamo.

Sigurd Rosted, Toronto FC: One of the most surprising defensive performances of the week has to go to Toronto FC securing a shutout in a draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps. In order to make that happen, Rosted was all over defense, sweeping up chances to protect Sean Johnson in net. Toronto will hope that he isn’t asked to do so much every week but when the team needed something positive to happen, their defense stood tall.

Midfielders

Carles Gil, New England Revolution: Gil had the moment of the matchday netting an absolutely slick free kick, then making a stoppage-time penalty that helped the Revolution secure their first victory of the season. They’ll need much more from their star man this season but on any week where Gil scores a brace, the Revolution will be on the road to victory.

Martin Ojeda, Orlando City SC: Ojeda is quickly establishing himself as one of the best midfielders in MLS scoring another goal for Orlando as they went away to defeat the Galaxy. LA may not be up to their high standards of last season, but any points away from home are important in the league, and Ojeda was able to help bring them home.

Djordje Mihailovic, Colorado Rapids: Don’t look now, but Mihailovic already has four goals in all competitions to start his follow-up of a 11-goal, 10-assist season last campaign. Leading the Rapids to a victory over Charlotte FC with a brace, he has truly found his groove with the team and being back in MLS. 

Evander, FC Cincinnati: Fitting Cincy like a glove, Evander is already becoming a fixture in the team of the week. Creating chances left and right, he was unlucky not to have an assist facing Nashville, but he was still able to impact the game by scoring an important goal.

Forwards

Filipe Mora, Portland Timbers: With a goal and two assists, Mora did a bit of everything leading the line for the Timbers. He was able to push the team forward after they’d had a poor start to begin the season. There’s more that needs to be done to build upon defeating the Dynamo, but a performance like this from Mora will be positive. 

Diego Rossi, Columbus Crew: Not only did Rossi have a top 10 xG of any attacking player with 1.07, but he was also able to outperform it by scoring two goals. Picking up in the attack following Cucho Hernandez’s departure, Rossi is someone who is going to sneak into the Golden Boot race if he keeps this up.

Antony, Portland Timbers: When Antony was healthy last season, the Timbers were a force in the league, but that wasn’t something that was the case often enough for them last season. A brace later and after peppering the Houston Dynamo with shots, he showed that Portland’s attack can make things happen, but minutes may need to be managed to ensure that things end well.