Below is a selection of the notable performances and moments from the 11 matches played on the 31st matchday of the 2025 MLS regular season on Saturday, August 30 and Sunday, August 31.
Highlights of the matchday included:
- The Philadelphia Union, who sit atop the Supporters’ Shield standings following Matchday 31, became the first team from the Eastern Conference to clinch a berth in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs, courtesy of a 1-0 road win over FC Cincinnati and a draw between the New York Red Bulls and Columbus Crew.
- Minnesota United FC also punched its ticket to the postseason with a draw against the Portland Timbers and a combination of results from around the league. The Loons will head the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs for the second consecutive season and the sixth time since 2019.
- San Diego FC played spoiler in the home debut of Son Heung-Min for LAFC, defeating its in-state rivals, 2-1, at BMO Stadium. Following goals from Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano and Anders Dreyer, the expansion club tied the MLS single-season record (excluding the shootout era) for the most consecutive road wins with seven.
- Behind a pair of goals from forward Dejan Joveljic, Sporting Kansas City surged to a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Joveljic, who scored his 15th and 16th goals of the season, became just the third player in MLS history to record at least 15 goals in consecutive seasons for different teams, joining Raúl DÃaz Arce and Evander.
- Playoff Picture: In addition to clinching efforts from Philadelphia and Minnesota, CF Montréal was eliminated from playoff contention in the Eastern Conference with a draw against Toronto FC. View the complete Eastern and Western Conference tables HERE.
Charlotte FC’s Win Streak Approaches Historic Heights
With their 2-1 win over the New England Revolution, Charlotte FC won its eighth consecutive MLS regular season match and took one step closer to matching history with the victory. Charlotte (50 points, 16-11-2) climbed to third place in the Eastern Conference table, just two points behind FC Cincinnati for second place, entering the final five matches of the season as the club eyes home-field advantage in the conference.
Charlotte started brightly after Brandt Bronico's close ranger header opened the scoring in the 12th minute (Watch Here). New England responded in the 24th minute, breaking Charlotte's four-match shutout streak, before Idan Toklomati reclaimed the lead with a late header in the 87th minute (Watch Here). The club is now the sole owner of the second-longest, single-season winning streak in MLS history (excluding the shootout era) and sits just one win shy of the Seattle Sounders’ historic nine-game winning streak in 2018, which took place from July 21 to Sept. 15.
Charlotte will look to match Seattle's historic streak, as the club hosts Lionel Messi and Leagues Cup 2025 finalists Inter Miami CF on Saturday, September 13th (7:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
California Dreamin’ for San Diego FC
The records continue to pour in for San Diego FC in the club’s expansion season and Sunday night’s 2-1 victory over in-state rival LAFC at BMO Stadium proved no different, tying the league’s single-season road winning streak record in the process. San Diego (56 points, 17-7-5) remains in pole position atop the Western Conference standings and sits just one point behind Philadelphia for the Supporters’ Shield lead.
With goals from Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano (Watch Here) and Anders Dreyer (Watch Here), San Diego won its seventh consecutive road match, tying 2024 FC Cincinnati and 2022 CF Montréal for the longest single-season road winning streak in MLS history (excluding the shootout era). San Diego’s 56 points are also tied for the second-most by an expansion club in its debut season in MLS history, sitting just a single point shy of LAFC’s record 57 points (16-9-9) in 2018.
The victory also moves San Diego closer to a full Californian sweep in its first season, as the club sits a perfect 5-0-0 against teams from the state of California this season, including season sweeps of both the LA Galaxy and LAFC. San Diego’s final in-state battle will take place against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, Sept. 27.
San Diego returns to action following the international break, as the club hosts Minnesota United FC on Saturday, Sept. 13 (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
Philadelphia Strengthen Supporters’ Shield Credentials
On the back of Bruno Damiani's 48th minute goal (Watch Here), the Philadelphia Union tightened its grip on the top spot of the Eastern Conference and the Supporters’ Shield standings with a 1-0 victory over FC Cincinnati on Saturday night, while clinching a berth in the Audi 2025 MLS Cup Playoffs.
The Union (57 points, 17-6-6) secured a playoff spot for the seventh time in eight seasons and opened up a five-point gap over FC Cincinnati in the Eastern Conference race. Philadelphia held onto their one-goal advantage despite a 60th minute red card from Olwethu Makhanya, closing out this implication-filled match with 10 men.
In two weeks, Philadelphia will look to further cement their spot atop the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield rankings when they visit Thomas Müller’s Vancouver Whitecaps on September 14th (9:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
Dejan Joveljic's Historic Night leads SKC to Victory
Behind a pair of goals from forward Dejan Joveljic (Watch Here), Sporting Kansas City overpowered the Colorado Rapids in a 4-2 victory at Children’s Mercy Park on Saturday night. Kansas City (27 points, 7-15-6) stayed alive in the Western Conference postseason picture and sits eight points back of the ninth playoff position with six games to play.
Joveljic, who scored his 15th and 16th goals of the season, became only the third player in MLS history to score 15 goals in consecutive seasons for different clubs, after scoring 15 goals for the Galaxy last year. He is joined on the exclusive list by Raúl DÃaz Arce (D.C. United and New England Revolution, 1997-1998) and Evander (Portland Timbers and FC Cincinnati, 2024-2025) in accomplishing the feat. The goals also marked the 49th and 50th of his MLS career, reaching the 50-goal milestone in fewer than 7,500 minutes of action across five seasons, becoming the fourth active player to accomplish the feat, joining Denis Bouanga, Cristian ‘Chicho’ Arango, and Josef MartÃnez.
Sporting Kansas City returns to action on Sunday, September 7 as the club hosts Austin FC (7 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
Stuver Hits 600 Saves in Austin FC Win
Austin FC scored a pair of goals before the half and took advantage of a late-game miscue to seal a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday night. With the win, Austin (38 points, 10-9-8) climbed to seventh place in the Western Conference standings with seven games remaining on the club’s calendar in regular season play.
A key figure in the club’s recent run of success has been goalkeeper Brad Stuver, who added four saves to his season total on Saturday. With his first two saves, Stuver became the second goalkeeper in MLS history to record at least 600 saves over a five-year span, joining MLS Great and former United States Men’s National Team ‘keeper Tony Meola (620 from 1996-2000). Meola was named an All-Star four times over the span and earned both MLS MVP and Goalkeeper of the Year honors in 2000 for his play. Stuver currently ranks third in MLS with 96 saves this season, after leading the league in the category in each of the past two seasons.
Austin will look to continue its recent run of form as the club takes on Sporting Kansas City at Children’s Mercy Park on Sunday, Sept. 7 (7 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
