10 Things We Learned From MLS Matchweek 5
MLS Matchweek Five’s Biggest Storylines
Only a small total of 50 goals were scored in matchweek four of this enigmatic 2026 MLS season, producing a couple of memorable six-plus goal scorelines, and yet things only got crazier in the fifth instalment. This weekend boasted 53 strikes and three seven-goal thrillers full of screamers.
It's extremely difficult to fit all 15 games into a single 10-point wrap-up, and therefore, the most memorable moments, winners, and losers of the matchweek have been whittled down into one gripping list that will accurately update you on everything MLS right now.
1. Concerns for Philadelphia in pre-season have come true
The Union might hold the title of reigning Supporters’ Shield holders, but their title defence couldn’t be going worse if they tried. The only team with zero points on the board after five matches played, most expected Philly to be a shade of their 2025 selves, but this bad?
Bradley Carnell and his cartel of Pennsylvanians have been the number one charity in MLS this season, handing out three points left, right, and centre. Losses to Atlanta, D.C., and San Jose, who all finished outside of the playoffs last campaign, have all but confirmed that losing Tai Baribo, Kai Wagner, and Jakob Glesnes has done detrimental damage.
It doesn’t help that Carnell is also notorious for failing in his second season, after his stint in St. Louis City. Knocked out of the CONCACAF Champions Cup (CCC), three goals scored in the league, and completely lost, Philadelphia already look too far gone, and it's not even April.
The Philadelphia Union are going to be a much different this year after winning last year’s Supporters’ Shield.
— Ben Steiner (@BenSteiner00) January 1, 2026
Four key players already gone this offseason
- Tai Baribo to D.C.
- Jakob Glesnes to LA
- Mikael Uhre to Free Agency
- Kai Wagner soon to Birmingham City
2. Sam Surridge is missing from the Three Lions squad…
Super Sam Surridge is proving that, as the pinnacle of Nashville’s attack, he is the real deal. The 27-year-old was at it again this weekend, scoring a hat-trick against Orlando City to make it seven MLS goals in four games.
Whilst the England international team might be a distant dream, Surridge continues to attract attention thanks to his form in the States. The Slough-born talent has scored 31 goals in his last 38 MLS games, serving up sublime finishes week in, week out.
The additions of Cristian Espinoza (can we talk about THAT goal?!) and Warren Madrigal to Nashville’s dangerous front line have left the team looking like the ones to beat in the Eastern Conference, and simply too much for a sorry Orlando side to handle on Saturday.
How did Cristian Espinoza sneak this in near post ⁉️👀 pic.twitter.com/pUoejOqEbB
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 21, 2026
3. Orlando needs a manager, and fast
Firing Oscar Pareja less than a fortnight ago was the correct decision; no one can disagree with that. It looked like an even better decision when the Lions picked up their first three points of the season in Montreal off the back of Pareja’s exit. However, Orlando were pulled back to earth this weekend, due to the aforementioned drubbing at the hands of Nashville.
The Floridians have now lost two of their five fixtures in 2026 by a scoreline of 5-0, and have conceded 17 for the season already. Whilst their single win is keeping their heads above the water, a sense of direction is required rapidly, otherwise Orlando could be serious Wooden Spoon contenders.
Defensive signings such as Maxime Crepeau, Griffin Dorsey, and Iago have not meshed together or looked their usual selves, and with a tie away at LAFC looming, Orlando fans will be fearing the worst.
Sam Surridge hat trick and Cristian Espinoza's effort for another assist 😳
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 21, 2026
Nashville is rolling, up 4-0. pic.twitter.com/IqPOE4CZ44
4. Red Bull New York’s early-season dreams are dead, buried, and six feet under ground
A lot of MLS fans were quick to jump on the Red Bull hype train after Michael Bradley coached the team to two straight victories to start the season, especially as teenage starlets Julian Hall (17) and Adri Mehmeti (16) were running the show.
A few weeks later, and the inexperience is shining through. NYRB embarrassingly lost 6-1 in Charlotte, marking the first time the Crown had ever scored six in an MLS game. Makeshift central defender Gustav Berggren, who is typically a midfielder, marked his first start under Bradley with a red card, which didn’t help matters. As a result, questions will already begin to rise surrounding Bradley’s capabilities as a head coach, seeing as this is his first role in the senior game.
The Red Bulls sorely missed Justin Che and Dylan Nealis in their back line, the two notable omissions from the 11 who picked up six points in their opening two. Nealis appears to be returning shortly; however, Che, who joined the club a matter of months ago, is expected to be out for longer with a hamstring injury he picked up in Toronto.
Second half brace for Archie Goodwin. 🔥
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 22, 2026
Charlotte FC is rolling, up 6-1. pic.twitter.com/fuBHZZrIsV
5. The Texas Derby is back
The first time Dallas and Houston met, seven goals were scored, and the match ended 4-3 in Houston’s favour. Two decades later, seven goals were scored in the derby for just a second time, coincidentally, a 4-3 scoreline, once again, this time, Dallas’ way.
In what was an exhilarating tie, which was already 3-2 at half-time, the Bulls fought back to overcome the Dynamo’s three first-half goals, thanks to an Erik Sviatchenko red card for Houston, and a certain Petar Musa coming off the bench for Dallas.
Two of the most in-form forwards in the league were on display at the Toyota Stadium. Musa, who will be one to watch for Croatia at the World Cup this summer, scored his sixth MLS goal of the season, shaping up to be a genuine Golden Boot contender.
Fighting for the other team was Guilherme, one of Houston’s marquee winter signings from the Brazilian top flight. The 30-year-old has hit the ground running in MLS, scoring four and assisting three from the wing.
Guilherme brace! 🇧🇷
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 22, 2026
Two goals in nine minutes from the new @HoustonDynamo Brazilian puts them ahead! pic.twitter.com/fMb0uMwe2J
Amongst it all, Logan Farrington also managed to bag himself a brace. The Dallas academy graduate might often find himself in Musa’s shadow, but the 24-year-old proved he still has a part to play in the Bulls’ set-up.
6. Matt Wells is beginning to work his magic in Colorado
The former Spurs assistant coach was given his first shot at leading from the touchline ahead of the 2026 season and has so far impressed to a respectable level. Expectations weren’t exactly high; Colorado had finished outside of the play-offs in three of their last four seasons, but growth as a club was certainly expected.
Many aspects have already changed in the way Colorado plays, especially going forward. Last year, the club averaged 1.3 goals per game, hardly a record to be proud of, yet in 2026, their goalscoring prowess has soared, leaving them with a record of 2.2 goals per match.
A front three of Darren Yapi, Raphael Navarro, and new addition Dante Sealy have gelled together quickly, with Paxten Aaronson bridging the midfield and forward lines.
What's more, Wells is achieving this with a youthful squad, reflective of his own age. In their recent 4-1 win over the LA Galaxy, the average age of Colorado’s starting XI was 23.36, which includes an 18-year-old Lucas Herrington who has become Rob Holding’s apprentice in the centre-half role.
By all means, Colorado aren’t an MLS Cup contender, but Wells is certainly giving the fans plenty more to cheer about in Denver this year.
Stayed composed, stayed together, and saw it through when it mattered most 👊 #Rapids96 pic.twitter.com/5pug4aa7Ea
— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) March 22, 2026
7. Marcel Hartel scores another ‘average MLS goal’
MLS has a growing reputation for being a league which not only produces plenty of goals but also some serious worldies, too. St. Louis tasted victory for the first time under new coach Yoann Damet, who is beginning to instil his vision in Missouri.
St. Louis faced a tough opening run of fixtures against three of the top five in the West, so a home tie against New England presented the Missourians with an opportunity to finally showcase what they are about, and didn’t they just.
St. Louis’ 3-1 win was capped off with this unbelievable effort from Hartel, which you simply have to watch.
OH MY MARCEL HARTEL 🤯
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 22, 2026
What a hit from the @stlCITYsc midfielder! pic.twitter.com/trMKSjoO4J
8. San Jose prove they are the real deal
The Earthquakes might have started the season with three straight wins, but much to their fan bases’ frustration, questions were still raised about whether the ‘Quakes were pretenders or contenders.
This week's clash with 2025 MLS Cup Finalists, Vancouver, was the perfect litmus test to answer those queries, and San Jose responded with a strong 1-0 home victory.
A Beau Leroux piledriver was enough to see off the Whitecaps. SJ kept their fourth clean sheet of the season thanks to a superb shot-stopping display from Daniel; Seattle’s single goal last week is still the only one which they have conceded.
A team full of names many might not know outside of the MLS community, San Jose’s band of homegrown stars, along with Timo Werner, are absolutely loving life in California right now.
An absolute SCREAMER from Beau Leroux to put San Jose up on Vancouver 🚀
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 22, 2026
📺 Apple TV: https://t.co/cqTP9cNDf9 pic.twitter.com/BDSfTmH5pX
9. Cincinnati win, but Pat Noonan’s job should still be under threat
The word unconvincing comes to mind when thinking about Cincinnati’s 4-3 win against Montreal. For years Cinci were annual nearly-men, always one of the best, but never MLS Cup champions.
Finishing in the top three in each of their last three seasons, that streak might be up as the Ohio outfit lies just inside the play-offs with five games gone. Back-to-back-to-back league losses to Minnesota, Toronto, and New England, the latter in which they lost by a 6-1 scoreline was worsened by the bottling of a 3-0 first leg league in the CCC. Cincinnati travelled to Mexico to face Tigres earlier this week, losing by a sorry 5-1 scoreline.
Post-Montreal, Cincinnati have now conceded 14 goals in their last three games (all competitions), shocking numbers for one of the few teams which choose to employ a ‘Designated Player’ contracted defender in the shape of Miles Robinson, who received a red card this weekend.
If it wasn’t for the fact that they were facing Montreal this weekend, things could’ve got even uglier in Cincinnati; however, Noonan lives to see another day.
Down to 10 men, Kévin Denkey scores in the 94th minute to give @fccincinnati their first lead.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 22, 2026
This game 😱 pic.twitter.com/X02Ca7NhHb
10. LAFC set defensive record
The Black and Gold are yet to concede this season, and we are five games in. That’s 450 minutes without the ball crossing the line, enough to set an MLS record for the longest start to a season without conceding a goal.
With close to eight minutes to go until Vancouver’s 13-year-old record was broken, LAFC thought it was over after Myrto Uzuni struck home; however, Marc Dos Santos’ men were blessed by the VAR gods, the goal being ruled offside for an offside Ilie Sanchez obstructing Hugo Lloris’ view.
HUGO LLORIS. AGELESS. 😱
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 22, 2026
WHAT A SAVE FOR @LAFC 🧤 pic.twitter.com/EgkJLGTVJA
The World Cup-winning goalkeeper was on it all game, destroying allegations that he was past it by producing another game-changing save. Whilst the fixture ended 0-0, and Los Angeles dropped points for the first time this season, it was still a celebratory afternoon for the Western Conference leaders, rounding off yet another insane matchweek.
Alec Hayward 
Oliver Seymour 
