What We Learned: San Diego's stars shine,top football players Philly inch closer to Shield

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Between a pair of high-stakes regular-season matchups between teams near the top of each conference, Leagues Cup knockouts, and summer transfer window debutants, this past weekend’s slate of games had it all.

Let's look back at the latest batch of matches involving MLS teams to examine some of the most interesting things we’ve learned. And if you want to read up on the other key moments of Matchday 31 in detail, check out Matt Doyle’s latest column.

Onwards.

Sunday night’s matchup between San Diego FC and LAFC was supposed to be about Son Heung-Min. The South Korean superstar was making his debut in front of the BMO Stadium crowd after playing his first three MLS games on the road. It was the last match of the weekend, kicking off in Los Angeles after the Leagues Cup final had concluded up in Seattle. The stage was set, then, for Son.

But it wasn’t LAFC’s brand-new star who showed out. No, it was San Diego FC’s star-filled attack that stole the show in just the way we’ve come to expect from the newcomers. Because San Diego spend so much time drawing the opposing press with intricate buildup play, they’ve led the league in time spent in the “fast break phase of play,” according to data cited by John Muller for The Guardian. The thinking goes: draw the press, kickstart a transition attack, profit.

And against LAFC? Those fast break-style direct runs worked a treat. First, Chucky Lozano raced in behind the host’s backline to score, then Anders Dreyer finished off the scoring after a darting run of his own in the second half:

WHAT A BALL

Anders Dreyer puts it away. Beautiful from San Diego to take the lead in LA. pic.twitter.com/T5zQOKcjWs

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 1, 2025

With elite attackers and a clear on-field strategy that makes them even better, San Diego FC are five points clear on top of the West.

When the Philadelphia Union met FC Cincinnati on Saturday, the top two teams in the Eastern Conference — and two of the top three teams in the Supporters’ Shield standings — were doing battle.

The result? An impressive win for the visiting Union that put them even closer to claiming the Shield.

The 1-0 scoreline in favor of Philadelphia doesn’t capture just how effective Bradley Carnell’s team was on the day. Most notably, they pressed FC Cincinnati to the point of confusion and created more than a few chances on the back of transition attacks - not unlike this one that led to Bruno Damiani’s game-winner:

Real confusion in the build-out from Cincy here. Can't do that against anyone, most of all the Union. pic.twitter.com/3gWEQ0WaC2

— Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) August 31, 2025

Defending in their 4-2-2-2 setup, the Union had a ton of success forcing Cincinnati to play around their shape, rather than through it. This pass map from MLS Analytics on Bluesky illustrates that theme perfectly. Look at the U-shaped possession from the hosts, with precious little incision into the most dangerous parts of the field:

If anything, Saturday reminded us that the Philadelphia Union are deep (they triumphed without starters Andre Blake and Indiana Vassilev in the lineup) and they’re worthy of their best-in-class +19.7 xG differential, as per FBref. They’ve got the inside trade to the Shield.

I’ve given the Seattle Sounders credit time and time again this season for building a wildly deep roster on the back of their varied talent pipeline that draws from their academy setup, the SuperDraft, and MLS NEXT Pro. That pipeline helped build Brian Schmetzer’s starting lineup for his team’s 3-0 victory over Inter Miami in Sunday’s Leagues Cup final — and Osaze De Rosario was a key part of it all.

The 24-year-old striker has had a unique career path, from being the son of MLS legend Dwayne De Rosario to playing in the lower levels in Canada, moving to Ukraine, playing in the Canadian Premier League, and then being signed by the Tacoma Defiance in MLS NEXT Pro. Oh, and along the way? He became a Guyana international.

Finally, after a journey that spanned years and multiple continents, De Rosario found stability in Seattle. After starting the year with the Defiance, he earned a first-team contract earlier this season and has quickly blossomed into a legitimate goal threat against other elite teams. Don’t believe me? Just ask Inter Miami, who watched as De Rosario opened the scoring against them on Sunday.

OSAZE DE ROSARIO ??@SoundersFC lead Miami in the @LeaguesCup final! pic.twitter.com/M766TjM9PV

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 1, 2025

A true physical specimen with high-level off-ball movement in the box, De Rosario’s development curve has looked like a straight line pointed to the sky over the last six months. He’s gifted to the point where I can’t imagine Seattle haven’t started getting calls from other teams around the league asking how much it would take to acquire the striker.

Remember his name, reader. Not just ‘De Rosario’. But ‘Osaze De Rosario’.

You don’t need me to tell you that things have been bleak for the LA Galaxy in 2025.

They’re currently favorites to take home the Wooden Spoon, sitting on just 19 points at a 0.7 points-per-game pace through 27 games. After Riqui Puig’s ACL injury in last year’s Western Conference final and some major roster tweaks that reshaped the team’s midfield and striker position, the Galaxy haven’t been able to string together wins this year.

But on Sunday? They enjoyed a flash of momentum-building optimism. By taking down Orlando City in the Leagues Cup Third-Place Match, the Galaxy were rewarded with a spot in next year’s Concacaf Champions Cup. That means Puig, when he’s back and fully healthy for the start of next season, will have the chance to lead the Galaxy in continental play for the first time since he arrived in California.

Sure, Sunday’s match truly was a third-place game. But for a struggling team in desperate need of something to hold their hat on? It felt an awful lot like a final.

The Quakes’ clash with Austin FC on Saturday had all sorts of potential Audi MLS Cup Playoffs implications. Both teams were sitting in the Western Conference Wild Card spots with a chance to jump into the automatic playoff spots. Austin did exactly that following a 3-1 win, leapfrogging the Colorado Rapids and moving into seventh place in the West.

San Jose, on the other hand, remain in ninth — the final playoff spot — and have nothing but an incredibly familiar issue to blame. For Bruce Arena’s team, it was their leaky defending that came back to bite them yet again. According to FBref, only three teams have allowed more non-penalty xG than the Earthquakes on a per 90 minute basis in 2025: the LA Galaxy, the Colorado Rapids, and Sporting Kansas City.

The Quakes undoubtedly know their own biggest weakness. They went and signed an in-prime, self-proclaimed ball-winner in Ronaldo Vieira from Sampdoria to help tighten things up in their own half. It’s early days on the Vieira signing with the 27-year-old now just fresh off his first start, but his transition defending was sloppy on Saturday. Toss in a mental lapse from rookie center back Reid Roberts and an own goal in the second half, and San Jose found themselves in the unenviable position of being the first team outside of D.C. United to concede three goals to Austin FC in a single game.

For San Jose to make the playoffs, it sure looks like they need to right the defensive ship. That’s proving to be easier said than done.

• Voices: Joseph Lowery
• What We Learned
• Match Reaction
• San Diego FC
• Philadelphia Union

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