Below is a selection of the notable performances and moments from the 13 matches played on the 17th matchday of the 2025 MLS regular season on Saturday, May 31 and Sunday, June 1.
Highlights of the matchday included:
- Away from MLS action, the Los Angeles Football Club defeated Club América of LIGA MX, 2-1, in a one-game playoff to clinch the final berth in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup behind Denis Bouanga’s game-winning goal in the 115th minute (Watch Bouanga’s Goal Here). With the victory, LAFC becomes the third Major League Soccer club to qualify for the 2025 Club World Cup, FIFA’s newly expanded premiere club world championship, joining Seattle Sounders FC and Inter Miami CF in the field of 32 teams.
- Inter Miami CF’s Lionel Messi became the second player in league history to record multiple career games with at least five goal contributions, as he scored twice and added three assists in the Herons’ 5-1 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night. Messi is following up his Landon Donovan MLS MVP campaign of 2024 with a solid sequel, recording 10 goals and six assists in just over 1,110 minutes of action this year.
- Three clubs kept their unbeaten streaks of at least eight matches alive: the Philadelphia Union (nine matches) with a 0-0 draw vs. FC Dallas, the New England Revolution (nine matches) with a 3-0 win at CF Montréal, and Nashville SC (eight matches) with a 2-2 draw vs. New York City FC.
- Seven players recorded multi-goal games across Matchday 17, including Chicago’s Hugo Cuypers, New England’s Ilay Feingold, Kansas City’s Dejan Joveljic, Miami’s Lionel Messi, Minnesota’s Tani Oluwaseyi, Nashville’s Sam Surridge, and New York City’s Hannes Wolf.
- The LA Galaxy secured their first victory over the 2025 campaign by a 2-0 margin against Real Salt Lake on Saturday night. 21-year-old Lucas Sanabria and Joseph Paintsil each scored in the winning effort.
Messi Contributes to Five Goals in Inter Miami Victory
In a battle of Eastern Conference contenders, Inter Miami CF jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first 24 minutes of action and never looked back in 5-1 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night. Miami (29 points, 8-3-5) has won consecutive matches and climbed to third place in the Eastern Conference table and fifth in the Supporters’ Shield standings.
In the middle of the action was reigning Landon Donovan MLS MVP Lionel Messi, who contributed to each of the club’s five goals in the match, scoring twice and adding three assists. The Argentine superstar played helper on Miami’s first goal of the match, finding Tadeo Allende on a beautifully-placed long ball from midfield, who then rifled a right foot past the Columbus ‘keeper in the 12th minute (Watch Here). Messi scored the club’s second (15’, Watch Here) and third goals (24’, Watch Here), before assisting on the Herons two second-half goals, scored by Luis Suárez (64’, Watch Here) and Fafa Picault (89’, Watch Here).
Messi is the second player in MLS history to notch at least five goal contributions in a game multiple times in his career, joining Diego Rossi (two such games). Messi previously recorded six goal contributions (one goal, five assists) on May 4, 2024. He is only the third player in MLS history to notch at least two goals and three assists in a single match, joining Alex Pineda Chacon (June 9, 2001) and Rossi (March 10, 2018).
Messi, who has five goals and four assists in his last three matches, will lead Inter Miami CF into action at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, where they will face Al Ahly FC (Egypt) at Hard Rock Stadium on Saturday, June 14, before matches against FC Porto (Portugal) on Thursday, June 19 and Palmeiras (Brazil) on Monday, June 23.
20-Year-Old Feingold Powers Revolution to 3-0 Win
The New England Revolution extended their unbeaten run to nine matches with a 3-0 victory over CF Montréal on Saturday night, featuring a breakout performance from 20-year-old defender Ilay Feingold. The Revolution (23 points, 6-4-5) broke a streak of four consecutive draws with the win and continue to ascend in the Eastern Conference standings.
With two goals and an assist on Saturday, Feingold (20 years, 281 days old) became the third-youngest player in club history to record at least three goal contributions in a match (Watch Highlights from His Performance Here). Former Revolution Homegrown Diego Fagúndez owns the top two youngest marks, recording three goal contributions at both 18 years, 108 days old on June 2, 2013, and 18 years, 192 days old on August 25. Feingold’s brace marked the first multi-goal game of his young career.
New England returns to action against FC Cincinnati at Gillette Stadium on Saturday, June 14 (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
Cuypers’ Terrific Two Minutes Powers Chicago
After taking a 1-0 advantage in the fifth minute on a goal from Philip Zinckernagel (Watch Here), Chicago Fire FC forward Hugo Cuypers took over the match for a two-minute span, scoring in the 31st and 32nd minutes to power a 3-1 Fire victory over Orlando City SC on Saturday night. Chicago’s win was the club’s third in four matches as it continues its climb up the Eastern Conference table.
Cuypers, who is one of seven players in MLS with at least 10 goals this season, became the first MLS player to score in successive minutes since the Columbus Crew’s Miguel Berry on Aug. 27, 2021. He is just the second player in club history to accomplish the feat, joining Przemyslaw Frankowski, who scored goals in the 42nd and 43rd minutes against New York City FC on November 8, 2020. Cuypers has scored at least 10 goals in each of his two seasons with the Fire.
With his game-opening goal, Zinckernagel scored in his third consecutive match, who became the first Fire player since Cuypers in 2024 to record a goal-scoring streak of three-or-more games in their first season with the club.
Chicago will travel to the nation’s capital to take on D.C. United on Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV) as they look to keep their strong form alive.
Loons Earn First Victory in Seattle in 3-2 Sunday Night Slugfest
Winless in their first eight trips to Seattle in the club’s brief history, Tani Oluwaseyi scored twice to power Minnesota United FC to the club’s first road win over the Sounders, 3-2, on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire. Minnesota (28 points, 7-3-7) climbed to third place in the Western Conference table and owns a 3-2-4 road record this season.
Four of the game’s five goals were scored in an eight-minute span from the 51st minute to the 58th minute. Oluwaseyi opened the scoring in the 51st minute following some fancy footwork from Robin Lod (Watch Here), before the Finnish midfielder added a goal of his own, scoring from the penalty spot just three minutes later (54’, Watch Here). Seattle cut its deficit to one with a goal from Kalani Kossa-Rienzi in the 55th minute (Watch Here), who slotted one past the ‘keeper following a strong cross from Pedro de la Vega. The high-scoring sequence closed just three minutes later, as Oluwseyi completed his brace in the 58th minute (Watch Here).
Sunday match marked only the ninth time in MLS history that two teams combined for four goals in eight-or-fewer minutes in a single half and the first since 2019 (Minnesota United vs. New York City FC on April 13).
Minnesota returns to MLS action on Saturday, June 14, as they welcome expansion side and Western Conference contender San Diego FC to Allianz Field (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
Surridge Continues Scoring Surge for Nashville
One of the hottest players in Major League Soccer through Matchday 17 resides in Nashville, as forward Sam Surridge showcased his sizzling form against New York City FC on Saturday night, scoring twice in the club’s 2-2 draw. Surridge has five goals, including two multi-goal games, across his last three matches in MLS play and sits second in the Golden Boot presented by Audi race with 11 scores in 2025.
With his first goal on Saturday (Watch Here), Surridge became the fourth English-born player to record multiple 10-goal seasons in Major League Soccer, joining Bradley Wright-Phillips (five seasons), Dom Dwyer (four), and Wayne Rooney (two). Surridge’s 11 goals are just one shy of his MLS-high of 12 set in 2024.
Nashville SC (29 points, 8-4-5) extended its unbeaten streak to eight games dating back to April 26 and currently sits in fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. The club will aim to keep their unbeaten streak intact as they travel to face Chicago Fire FC on Saturday, June 14 (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
