Ashley Westwood, Columbus Crew headline the Best of MLS for Week 20

By Favian Renkel and Justin Ruderman

Welcome back to Week No. 20 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.

This week, four of the top-five teams suffered defeat while Inter Miami sat on the couch smiling ear to ear during their bye week.

Player of the Week

Justin Ruderman: Ashley Westwood (Charlotte FC)

Nearly single-handedly, Ashley Westwood took down the reigning Supporters’ Shield champions in their home with a hat trick of assists in a 3-1 victory. It doesn’t get much better than that.

The first assist was the best assist with Westwood dropping a dime like hitting a pot of gold with a rainbow for Iuri Tavares to give Charlotte the lead. Just two minutes later, the second came from a clever throughball to Leil Abada with the third clinching the win in the 66th minute from a corner.

Most incredible? Those were his first three assists of the season.

Charlotte’s captain earns attention for his defensive work in The Crown’s midfield (and rightly so) but he is crucial to every part of Dean Smith’s game model from defending and control in the middle of the park to chance creation and goalscoring. There are many players in MLS who often don’t get the credit or recognition they deseve and despite being the clear leader of this Charlotte side on and off the pitch, I still feel Westwood deserves more plaudits than he receives.

Favian Renkel: Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew)

As Nancy said, “He was MVP already last year.” It was only a matter of time before Cucho Hernandez regained the form he had at the end of the season. Despite the controversy surrounding him at the beginning of the season, Hernandez has significantly contributed to the Columbus Crew achieving an MLS-leading +25 goal differential. In their last five games, the Crew has secured victories with a combined goal difference of 18. It was inevitable that their star player would consistently start receiving Player of the Week votes.

Cucho Hernandez is entering the All-Star game as the MVP frontrunner and shows no signs of slowing down as the playoffs approach. This run mirrors last year’s performance when Zelarayan departed for the Saudi Pro League: a slow start followed by an MVP-worthy stretch into the playoffs.

Everyone should enjoy Cucho’s play in MLS while he remains. If he continues this impressive run and clinches the MVP title, it’s hard to imagine European clubs not making offers for him.

Also, Cucho scored a GOLAZO in this game that Justin will cover later in this article.

Cucho Hernández on whether he knew that the infamous photo of Chicho Arango, James Rodríguez, and himself would foreshadow them becoming the three best players in North America this year:

“I am not sure if we are the best in North America, you say it, thank you but I am very… pic.twitter.com/aW4qxjJBUs

— Favian Renkel (@FavianRenkel) July 14, 2024

Young Player of the Week

JR: Deandre Kerr (Toronto FC)

Entering Matchday 26, Toronto FC was at “rock bottom” as described by head coach John Herdman after going winless in their last ten matches (eight losses) including a midweek defeat to Canadian Premier League side Forge FC in the first leg of their Canadian Championship semifinal tie. Hosting a slumping Philadelphia Union side looked to be their escape ticket, but by halftime TFC was trailing again, headed for whatever is below rock bottom.

That is, until Deandre Kerr entered the match.

Coming on as a 62nd-minute substitute, Kerr made an immediate impact to find the Toronto equalizer. He won’t be credited with the goal for connecting with Jahkele Marshall-Rutty’s headed cross but his attempt at doing so forced Jack Elliott to throw his body at the ball in a defensive effort, leading to an own goal for the Philadelphia defender. 

Not to worry, Kerr was simply saving his first goal of the season for the game-winner.

As the Union gave the ball away to Deybi Flores in their defensive half, who one-timed his pass to Lorenzo Insigne, Philadelphia was at sixes and sevens at the back. Kerr capitalized with a textbook diagonal run, fed by Insigne for a first-time, game-winnning finish. The Toronto losing streak is finally over.

FR: Obed Vargas (Seattle Sounders)

Have you ever seen an 18-year-old play like a seasoned MLS veteran? Enter Obed Vargas. With a fresh call-up to the USA Olympic squad, a semifinal berth in the US Open Cup, and his sixth assist of the MLS season, it’s safe to say he’s had a pretty good week for an 18-year-old.

Vargas has been getting playing time with the Seattle Sounders since he debuted at 15, and it shows. The third-youngest MLS player to ever make a start is becoming a difference-maker in Seattle this season, with over 19 games started and 7 goal contributions. The league is starting to notice something they have been seeing the last three season in Seattle. Head Coach Brian Schmetzer recently lauded Vargas, saying, “The kid’s got a super high ceiling. I don’t know where he’s going to end up, but he’s got a super high ceiling.”

As an 18-year-old making his mark in MLS, it doesn’t get much better than that.

The Sounders are surprising everyone with another late playoff run to play spoiler. This halfway-through-the-season run should be branded as the Sounders’ way, as they always find a second wind and string wins together. Unbeaten in six matches, with five wins in those six, the Sounders find themselves in 7th place in the Western Conference, just four points below a home-field advantage.

Look at this run by Obed Vargas to set up Jordan Morris on his eighth goal in 10 matches. 

Goal of the Week

JR: Cucho Hernández (Columbus Crew)

Look up the definition of jaw-dropping in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and you will see a clip of Cucho Hernández’s golazo against LAFC on Saturday.

World Cup-winning goalkeeper Hugo Lloris was frozen in place as Cucho guided a looping strike over the Frenchman’s head into the top corner. Normally, a goal scored from zone 15 into the top left corner would be struck with a player’s left foot in order to generate the necessary bend to beat the goalkeeper. For Cucho, normal is boring. 

FR: Luciano Acosta (FC Cincinnnati)

Luciano Acosta makes a stellar one-time finish that curls past the goalkeeper, making it look routine. He’s that guy. Despite FC Cincinnati losing 3-1 to Charlotte FC while being at the top of the Eastern Conference standings, Lucho’s assist is the only bright spot for Queen City supporters. Take a look for yourself at the reigning MVP’s goal.

Team of the Week

JR: Columbus Crew

Of the 100 picks I’ve made across twenty weeks of this series, this is the easiest one yet.

The MLS Cup rematch in Los Angeles quickly turned into a mismatch in the second half as the Columbus Crew tacked on goal after goal to remind LAFC who the reigning champions are in a 5-1 demolition job.

Although four of the five goals came in the second half, Crew were dominant across the board from minute one. Just as he did in MLS Cup, Steven Moreira put his good friend Denis Bouanga in his pocket for the evening while wing-back Max Arfsten created constant danger down the flank, bagging an assist which should’ve been two. Diego Rossi scored his first goal against his former team while Christian Ramirez bagged a brace for his fourth goal in as many games against his former employer. As mentioned above, Cucho Hernández put the cherry on top by scoring the Goal of the Week as well.

In a week headlined by the sacking of Gregg Berhalter and the debate over his replacement, Wilfried Nancy produced a statement win over the other top MLS candidate for the position, Steve Cherundolo. 

Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy on vacant #USMNT job,

“I don’t talk about rumors, simple as that. Like I said, I am limitless. I want to be limitless so the idea is to push myself, to challenge myself, but at the moment I’m here. I’m happy here. We’ll see in the future.”

— Justin Ruderman (@JustinRuderman_) July 14, 2024

FR: Charlotte FC

Is Charlotte FC everyone’s worst nightmare this season? They are the perfect spoilers in this MLS season, currently playing with zero DPs. Yes, you read that right—zero DPs currently playing for them. Dean Smith has Charlotte FC playing well above their pay grade.

When the season started and both DPs, Copetti and Swiderski, were shipped out, no one expected Charlotte FC to be in 5th place, just two points away from home-field advantage in a playoff series. Charlotte FC is playing so well that Karol Swiderski has returned and begun reintegrating into the team after his trip to the EUROs, despite reports of the Polish winger wanting to stay in Europe after the tournament.

With Swiderski back and Charlotte looking to fill the two remaining DP slots, combined with the incredible talent they already have on the roster like Westwood, Kahlina, Abada, and Vargas, this team is the perfect dark horse in the Eastern Conference. The only way to beat the behemoths of the former MLS Champions Columbus Crew and Messi’s Inter Miami is by being perfectly sound in defense, and that’s exactly what Dean Smith has been able to achieve.

Charlotte FC just made a statement with their 3-1 win over Eastern Conference point leader FC Cincinnati, and now everyone understands that every matchup with Sir Minty’s team this year will be a tough one.

Best thing we saw this week

JR: Best Supporters’ Shield race ever?

The upshot of four of the top five teams in the Supporters’ Shield race losing in a single day is that the battle for supremacy only gets tighter. Now, the top six teams in MLS are all within six points (two wins) of the top spot in the league.

What is most impressive, though, is that stiff competition in the Supporters’ Shield race is not a result of weeks like Matchday 26. On the contrary, so many teams simply can’t stop winning. 

The leaders, FC Cincinnati, have lost just three times in their last fifteen MLS matches, winning the rest. Their demolition of Inter Miami last week was the Herons first loss in five games. Columbus Crew’s drubbing of LAFC was their ninth win in ten MLS matches, ending the Black and Gold’s club-record 10-game unbeaten streak in the league (which included nine wins). Real Salt Lake’s loss in Portland ended a club-record run of 10 unbeaten on the road, marking just their second loss in nineteen league matches overall. The other loss came against the last of our six main contenders, LA Galaxy, who have only lost three of their last fourteen in the league. 

What’s more, FC Cincinnati came into the weekend on pace to break New England Revolution’s single-season MLS points record (73 points) and although they are no longer on that trajectory with a loss, it is still within reach for the defending Supporters’ Shield champions, or any of the other contenders.

FR: Best MVP race ever? 

Who’s going to be the MVP this year? Seriously, it’s a daunting question as every single week another superstar in this league has a great game and shoots up in the power rankings for MVP. The race was initially a two-headed battle with Lionel Messi and Chicho Arango leading the charge. Now, it’s a four-headed debacle running towards the finish line.

The four prime candidates are Real Salt Lake’s Chicho Arango, who recently got suspended for four games including the MLS All-Star Game; Columbus Crew’s Cucho Hernandez, who at the beginning of the season was benched by Head Coach Wilfried Nancy for violating team policy; FC Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta, who has done nothing wrong and is the reigning MVP, but can’t seem to decide on a hairstyle; and Lionel Messi, who currently has an ankle that looks like the one my Grandma has had for years.

This race is a crazy one, to say the least. Let’s see who can pull it all together at the end. My guess is that we will see the first back-to-back MVP trophy winner in MLS history, Luciano Acosta.