Major League Soccer is through four Matchdays and that makes this the fourth installment of How We Voted, the hot new weekly feature that provides you with a rundown of who got my votes for MLS Player of the Matchday, the ultimate winner of that Player of the Matchday award, and the players who earned places in Team of the Matchday.
This column is new but it might already be putting health hexes on the players who receive my votes. St. Louis City SC goalkeeper Roman Bürki got my vote last Matchday and won the Player of the Week vote, but he broke his hand and is now out of action indefinitely. After Matchday 1, I voted for Jayden Nelson of the Vancouver Whitecaps, and he soon thereafter picked up a hamstring injury on March 5 that he's only just recovered from. Spare a thought for the physical health of the players you're going to read about, as it's time to once more dive in on my Player of the Matchday ballot.
The HRB Ballot, Matchday 4
1. Tristan Blackmon, Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Vancouver is by far the hottest team in Major League Soccer. The Whitecaps are fresh off eliminating Liga MX powerhouse Monterrey from Concacaf Champions Cup and, after beating FC Dallas on the road, now have a perfect four wins from four league games played.
They've been one of the toughest defenses to break down so far this MLS season, among the early league leaders with just two goals allowed through four games, behind only St. Louis City SC, the one team in MLS still yet to concede a goal this season.
Tristan Blackmon was the main reason why the Whitecaps extended their hot start while traveling to Texas to face FC Dallas and former MLS MVP Luciano Acosta. Blackmon, a center-back, scored the game's only goal, heading home a teasing back-post cross from Jean-Claude Ngando. A central defender scoring the match-winning goal deserves a bit of extra praise, but Blackmon's all-around performance vs. Dallas was worthy of plaudits.
"Hey Siri, please play Another One." ☺️☝️
— Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@whitecapsfc.com) March 16, 2025 at 4:03 PM
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The defender was heavily involved in possession for the Whitecaps, as per FBRef.com, he completed 71 of his 84 attempted passes (84.5%) vs. Dallas, the most completions and attempts of any player. Blackmon also had 98 touches of the ball, most of any player, while doing a lot of ball progression, completing 10 passes into the final attacking third and even getting credited with a key pass. It was a two-way performance from Blackmon, because he also had four interceptions, three clearances, won one tackle, and blocked one pass.
Voting for a central-defender a week after voting for a goalkeeper? Some might call it sacriligeous when a player like Tani Oluwaseyi scored a brace for Minnesota United FC, or when Lionel Messi actually started for Inter Miami CF and scored a goal as part of a revenge road win over Atlanta United FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
No matter, to me Blackmon's performance was the best because he did it all for his team in an impressive performance from what should have been a physically and emotionally exhausted Whitecaps side. Balancing the demands of Concacaf Champions Cup and the early part of the MLS regular season isn't easy, and Blackmon helped Vancouver silence Dallas in their stadium, quieting the potentially potent attacking duo of Lucho Acosta and striker Petar Musa. The goal was good, too, and the whole performance deserves Player of the Week.
2. Zack Steffen, Colorado Rapids
A career night in goal for the Rapids goalkeeper as Steffen made 12 saves to help Colorado pull off a 1-2 road win over the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park. Steffen has been excellent at the start of this season for the Rapids, leading all MLS goalkeepers with 24 saves so far. His performance in San Jose was the difference between a road win and a road loss, as the Quakes produced 2.3 expected goals (xG) against Steffen yet only scored once right before halftime. He came up with tons of clutch saves, maybe none bigger than the one he made in the 85th minute to deny Josef Martinez a potential late equalizer after Colorado had taken back the lead in the 71st minute.
There was some guffawing about Steffen continuing to get called up to the United States men's national team, but I think the doubting should die down right about now. Steffen was incredible in this game, he's helped the Rapids stay unbeaten through four MLS Matchdays, and he's among the early league leaders in goalkeeper stats like saves, save percentage, and post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed (PSxG-GA).
12 SAVES AND A WIN 💪
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 16, 2025
Have a night, @zacksteffen_ pic.twitter.com/EqiPYvXgyz
Official Player of the Matchday: Tani Oluwaseyi
Tani Oluwaseyi of @mnufc.com is this week's #MLS player of the matchday, winning roughly 28% of the media vote. Diego Luna of @realsaltlake.com finished second and won the fan vote.
— North American Soccer Reporters (@soccerreporters.bsky.social) March 17, 2025 at 4:02 PM
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Meh. Oluwaseyi only played 65 minutes, both his goals were tap-ins, and he and his Minnesota United teammates blew a three-goal lead they held after 46 minutes and settled for a 3-3 draw with a struggling Sporting Kansas City side. Consider me unimpressed, or maybe it's just sour grapes because the guy I voted for finished in fourth place in the voting. Either way, Oluwaseyi is your Player of the Matchday, and what might be most surprising is that Messi didn't find a way into those top four spots. I'm now at a 50% hit rate for my votes matching the actual winner of Player of the Matchday and I have a feeling that percentage will be going down as the season progresses.
Official MLS Team of the Matchday
Starters: Zack Steffen (COL) - Andrew Gutman (CHI), Tristan Blackmon (VAN), Jon Gallagher (ATX) - Diego Luna (RSL), Eduard Atuesta (ORL), Eduard Löwen (STL), Onni Valakari (SD) - Tani Oluwaseyi (MIN), Sam Surridge (NSH), Lionel Messi (MIA)
Coach: Jesper Sørensen (VAN)
Bench: Jonathan Sirois (MTL), Henry Kessler (STL), Walker Zimmerman (NSH), Emeka Eneli (RSL), Sebastian Berhalter (VAN), Alonso Martínez (NYC), Dejan Joveljić (SKC), Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (RBNY), Patrick Agyemang (CLT)
Two straight weeks with a New York City FC player making an appearance on the bench of Team of the Matchday, this time it's Alonso Martínez for that aesthetically pleasing, perfectly timed volley of a winning goal at Yankee Stadium vs. New England. Vancouver didn't get a win in Player of the Matchday but they do have the most representation in Team of the Matchday, with new coach Jesper Sørensen leading the squad and two players, including my snubbued friend Tristan Blackmon, making the squad.
