🔬 The Debrief from a gluttonous Saturday night across MLS | OneFootball

MLS delivered a night of goals on top of more goals across a full fixture program on Saturday as the 2025 season presses on in stunning fashion.

From a pair of world-class stunners destined for Goal of the Season nominations to a raucous end to the night in Southern California, 40 goals from 15 matches in the run-up to Easter Sunday hit the full page of talking points.

Here is how it all broke down from coast to coast this weekend.

What happened 📰

A pair of important afternoon meetings set the tone for all the action, with Austin FC getting the ball rolling with a 1-0 win over a struggling LA Galaxy side, spoiling Greg Vanney's 400th combined appearance for the SoCal side as both player and coach.

The action then shifted to Cleveland and a packed Huntington Bank Field of over 60,000 fans to witness a narrow 1-0 Inter Miami win over fellow Eastern Conference powerhouse Columbus Crew, making the Herons the last remaining undefeated team in the league.

Six fixtures would then simultaneously set us off on a brilliant goalscoring journey for the remainder of the night, apart from the 0-0 draw between CF Montréal and Orlando City.

Charlotte FC continued their perfect run at Bank of America Stadium with a 3-0 win against ten-man San Diego FC, taking their record in front of home support under Dean Smith to 5-0-0 in 2025.

New England Revolution secured their second win on the spin and as well as three in their last four during a 2-0 win against NYCFC, with the Revs beginning to find some rhythm under Caleb Porter.

Down south along I-95 saw NYRB ousted by a visiting D.C. United side in a 2-1 win for the visitors, featuring a stunning strike and a brace from João Peglow to guarantee all three points at Red Bull Arena.

Ten-man Philadelphia Union got back to winning ways at home in a 3-0 affair against Atlanta United, featuring a Tai Baribo strike off the bench that pushed the Israeli onward in the race for the Golden Boot.

A rampant first half by Seattle Sounders guaranteed all three points against B.J. Callaghan's Nashville SC, with all three goals coming in the opening 35 minutes of action at Lumen Field.

The evening pressed on with seven further matches on the docket, with FC Cincinnati outlasting a determined Chicago Fire during a 3-2 away win, with MVP hopeful Evander hitting a brace in the Windy City.

Houston Dynamo escaped with a point at their home patch in a 2-2 draw against Colorado Rapids thanks to an equalizer in the sixth minute of stoppage time from Ondřej Lingr.

In-form Minnesota United settled for a frustrating point at Allianz Field against bottom-half outfit FC Dallas during a 0-0 draw, though the Loons remain undefeated despite the poor result.

Olof Mellberg's St. Louis City got back to their staunchly defensive ways at home in a 0-0 draw against Western Conference toppers and Supporters' Shield leaders Vancouver Whitecaps, ending their losing run in the process.

Ontario celebrated into the night after Toronto FC banked their first win of the 2025 season during their 1-0 away win over ten-man Real Salt Lake after star midfielder Diego Luna was given his marching orders.

To close the night, a combined fourteen goals were scored in Portland and San Jose.

Phil Neville's Portland Timbers could not hang on at Providence Park, with LAFC fighting back to secure a 3-3 draw, with Olivier Giroud producing a moment of dead-ball magic to highlight the evening in the Pacific Northwest.

Down in San Jose, the Earthquakes were blitzed by an uncharacteristically rampant Sporting KC side in a 5-3 win for Kerry Zavagnin's side, who were three-nil up inside 24 minutes. A brace from Dániel Sálloi would offer a high water mark for SKC, while a Cristian Arango brace would only serve as a consolation prize to bookend the night of fixtures.

Player of the day 🥇

Billed as one of the key off-season additions that could propel FC Cincinnati into a position to challenge for the top spot in the East as well as a push for MLS Cup honors, Evander gets the plaudits here.

The mercurial Brazilian became just the fourth-fastest player in MLS history to reach 30 goals and 25 assists while sitting behind some iconic names in the process.

Stat of the day 📊

As questions continue to swirl surrounding the USMNT, there's one man in form who could help Mauricio Pochettino's side moving forward; Jesús Ferreira.

At just 24, the Colombian-born US international turned on the creative juice last night for Seattle, hitting a brace of assists and becoming the second-youngest player to reach 90 goal contributions in league history.

What this means 🤔

Eastern Conference

The race at the top of the East continues to be box office thus far after matchday nine, with Charlotte and Cincinnati level at the top on 19 points, with Inter Miami and Columbus Crew both just one point adrift.

Philly is very much in the mix as well, sitting just three points behind the leaders after yesterday's win.

At the other end of the Conference table, Montréal remains rooted to the bottom but wins for New England, DCU, and Toronto go a long way to laying the framework for a potential push into the playoff places down the line.

Western Conference

Vancouver remains atop the pile in the West as Jesper Sørensen's troops continue their unexpected run in 2025, while Austin and Minnesota slug it out for second, level on 16 points.

The close-knit nature of the table continues down the ladder, with Portland, Colorado, San Diego, LAFC, Seattle, and Dallas all separated by just three points.

LA Galaxy continue their otherworldly slump at the bottom of the table without Riqui Puig and boast the joint-worst points accumulation after nine rounds of play, while SKC's ravenous evening can only move them into 13th despite boasting one of the best goal returns in the Conference.

What comes next

Inter Miami and Vancouver Whitecaps will lock horns in midweek in the first leg of their Concacaf Champions Cup semi-final tie at BC Place before resuming another full weekend across MLS.

📸 Editorial Photo Credit: © Scott Kinser-Imagn Images