MLS Winners and Losers GFXGOAL

MLS Winners and Losers: Cavan Sullivan shows his big game credentials, Evander makes it look easy, but does Canada have a goalkeeping problem?

And there's your final matchweek of MLS for six weeks. Are you going to miss this thing? At times, MLS's regular season seems to sort of tick along. That's the issue in a league where there are playoffs at the end of the year; the middle of the season can just feel like it lacks a spark. There's no immediate jeopardy here.

The flip side, of course, is that chaos reigns supreme. Everyone feels like there's something to play for, week in, week out. And that leads to all sorts of weird scorelines. For example, heading into Sunday's match with Miami, Philadelphia had scored 14 goals in 14 games. That's a decent mark. Then they went and put four past the MLS Cup holders. Further up the Atlantic coast, Montreal had lost by more than three goals in two of their last six matches. They put four past D.C. United in a 4-4 tie.

And then there was the insane stuff out West. San Diego, so effective last year, conceded in bunches again and had another man sent off. The best team in MLS, meanwhile, might be Nashville, which got just 20 minutes off the bench from Sam Surridge and still managed a remarkably tidy 2-1 win over NYCFC. We don't get any of this for six weeks, now, with the World Cup taking precedent in the North American soccer scene. The arrival of the world's game here, of course, is no bad thing, but we might just miss this wonderful product for the next couple of months.

GOAL runs down the winners and losers of the final matchday of MLS action before the World Cup break...

  • EvanderGetty

    WINNER: Evander

    Nature is healing. MLS is mad again. San Diego keep getting players sent off. And Evander is making this game look so, so easy. This is the good thing about the Brazilian No.10. There is no real nonsense to his game. Running, pressing, the modern bits of football that define footballers of the highest level? Those are all ignored here. Evander just absolutely loves to play football.

    He told GOAL in January that he sometimes just watches Ronaldinho highlights. And while he wasn't exactly busting out elasticos against Orlando, his care-free style was in full effect in a 6-2 win. He two, assisted three, and absolutely ran the game on Saturday afternoon. He is the ninth player in MLS history to register five goal contributions in a game. The other eight, you'd imagine, probably didn't make it look this simple.

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  • Inter Miami CF v Philadelphia UnionGetty Images Sport

    LOSER: Lionel Messi

    Right, then. Well, that was a mixed game. Messi was, in truth, a bit wayward in the first half. There were moments here and there, but nothing fully compelling. Sure, he walked down the tunnel at halftime with two assists, but his performance felt a bit incomplete. And he didn't do much to help himself in the second.

    It is not clear exactly where Messi got injured. Some reports suggested he clutched his leg after taking a free kick. Regardless, after 72 minutes, the Argentine great strolled off the pitch, grabbing the back of his leg, and looking a lot like a man who knew something was wrong. Argentina's World Cup preparations start in a week. Messi and Rodrigo De Paul have reportedly been running double training sessions to be ready. Inter Miami manager Guillermo Hoyos said after the game that his removal was just a precaution. Still, this would seem to be an odd time for a just-in-case kind of sub.

    Something could be wrong here.

  • Cavan Sullivan Philadelphia Union Getty

    WINNER: Cavan Sullivan

    Alright then, kid, turns out you can play a bit. It seems weird to say, given that he didn't score, assist, or touch the ball all that much, but Cavan Sullivan was, by far, the Union's most effective player Sunday evening. Everything about the teenager was lively and incisive.

    He ran with the ball, and he pressed when he didn't have it. One lovely pass started a quite sublime flowing attack that led to a Union goal. Most importantly, in a team that looks lacking in belief, Sullivan offered a real sense of youthful verve and quality. It is no coincidence that when Bradley Carnell removed him, the Union barely registered an attack. Yes, Sullivan is still very raw. Yes, he still makes the wrong decision. But this was a night when plenty were watching. And it was a night when he showed up in full.

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  • Dayne St. ClairGetty

    LOSER: The Canadian goalkeepers

    You would have thought, by now, that one of the two big-name Canadian goalkeepers in MLS would have seized the starting job for Jesse Marsch's side this summer. MLS is, after all, a league with some pretty frail defenses. Goalies tend to have shots to save here. Even the best of teams often get exposed.

    Well, if the last few months were a duo of extended tryouts, then it's difficult to say which of Dayne St. Clair or Maxime Crepeau made their case. First, Crepeau. He looked like a tidy piece of business for Orlando when they acquired him on a free in January. What they have, instead, is an inconsistent keeper at the back of a historically bad defense. Orlando are leaking goals at the moment, and Crepeau isn't doing them many favors. He made two clear errors in a 6-2 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday. The Lions are on pace to concede nearly 100 goals.

    St. Clair, meanwhile, turned down big money from Minnesota to move to Miami. The rationale? He wanted to prove he could do it when the lights are shining brighter. And with more eyes, he has shrunk. St. Clair has looked good in moments, but he gave away a penalty and made another error in Miami's 6-4 win over the Union. Is either of the two ready to start a World Cup game?

  • Brian White, Vancouver WhitecapsImagn

    WINNER: Brian White

    So it's official: Brian White is not going to the World Cup. Yes, it always felt like a bit of an outside chance. In another cycle, a world in which Haji Wright wasn't scoring, or Ricardo Pepi loses his shooting boots, White would be a fine backup No. 9. Instead, he will watch from home while the USMNT do their thing.

    In truth, it had been a difficult run of form for White in recent weeks. Heading into Saturday's Western Conference showdown with San Diego, White hadn't scored in a month. Vancouver, meanwhile, had won just one of four. And with German star Thomas Muller still searching for form, things were a little shaky in Canada (not to mention all that other stuff). They needed a spark against a wayward San Diego. And White stepped up. He scored two, assisted two and had a hand in all four goals as Vancouver made it look easy against a team that pushed them to the very limit just over six months ago. Despite his omission, his MLS credentials cannot be questioned whatsoever.

  • Nico Estevez Austin FCGetty

    LOSER: Austin FC

    Yeah, it's harsh to pick on a club as a whole. A lot of teams have bad games. This is allowed to happen in a very long season, playing in one of the least predictable leagues out there. The issue is, Austin FC's struggles stretch back well earlier into the week. On Monday, Austin cleaned house. They fired Sporting Director Rodolfo Borrell and Head Coach Nico Estevez - pretty much out of nowhere - and appointed Davy Arnaud as interim ahead of their match against St. Louis CITY.

    It must be pointed out here that St. Louis played some really good stuff in the 3-0 win that followed. Marcel Hartel was clever off the right. Daniel Edelman was good in the middle. On nights like these, you can see something forming for Yoann Damet's men. But Austin FC needed to show something here, too. Instead, they got two shots on target, zero big chances created, and an expected goals from open play of 0.06. No new manager bounce to be found here.