Cuypers Providing Spark for Fire
Chicago Fire FC are winners of three consecutive matches for the first time since July 2023 and sparking the surge up the standings is forward Hugo Cuypers, who has emerged as one of the best finishers in Major League Soccer. Cuypers currently ranks second in the league with five goals in 2025 and has scored in four consecutive matches, the longest active streak in the league.
With a score against CF Montréal on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV / Apple TV+), Cuypers would become only the third player in club history with goals in five straight games and could propel Chicago to its first four-game winning streak since 2017. The other Fire scorers to have registered at least one goal in five consecutive games are David Accam (five consecutive games, May 6-25, 2017) and Robert Berić (five consecutive games, Sept. 12 – Oct. 3, 2020).
The most consecutive games with a goal in Chicago Fire FC history:
Lucho Eyes Entry in Exclusive 75-75 Club
One of the most prolific players in Major League Soccer history, 2023 Landon Donovan MLS MVP and current FC Dallas midfielder Luciano ‘Lucho’ Acosta continues to etch his name into the league’s history books and sits one goal away from joining elite company. Acosta’s goal against Real Salt Lake on Matchday 5 was the 74th of his nine-year MLS career, leaving him one goal shy of the 75-career goal and 75-career assist marks.
With his next goal, Acosta (74 goals, 97 assists) would become the seventh players in league history to record at least 75 career goals and 75 career assists, joining fellow MLS MVPs Landon Donovan (145 goals, 136 assists), Jaime Moreno (133 goals, 102 assists), Dwayne De Rosario (104 goals, 77 assists), Diego Valeri (86 goals, 91 assists), Preki (79 goals, 112 assists), and Steve Ralston (76 goals, 135 assists). Acosta will look to secure his place in this contributing club on Saturday as Dallas welcomes Sporting Kansas City to Toyota Stadium (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
Diego Fagúndez (73 goals, 76 assists) of the LA Galaxy also sits within striking distance of the 75-75 club and will look to add to his career totals against Orlando City SC at Dignity Health Sports Park on Saturday night (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
The players with at least 75 career goals and 75 career assists in MLS history:
Wolff Coming Up Clutch for Austin FC
Winners of back-to-back games, Austin FC is off to the best start in club history, having taken nine points in the opening five matches of a season for the first time in team annals. Behind that strong start has been the organization’s first Homegrown, Owen Wolff, who has provided the game-winning assist in each of the club’s three victories thus far.
With a game-winning assist at St. Louis CITY SC on Sunday (2:15 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV / Apple TV+ / FOX / FOX Deportes), the 20-year-old would become only the second player in league history to record four game-winning assists in his team’s first six games of the season, joining Sporting Kansas City’s Graham Zusi, who accomplished the feat in 2012 en route to becoming an MLS All-Star, MLS Best XI selection, and Most Valuable Player finalist that season. Wolff’s next assist will also match his career-high of four set last year.
The most game-winning assists by a player in a club’s first six matches of a season:
Orlando City SC Designated Player Trio Making Their Mark
Making the most of the six prime roster spots is a key contributor to success for clubs throughout Major League Soccer, and no one is getting more out of their Designated Players than Orlando City SC.
The trio of Luis Muriel (two goals, three assists), Martín Ojeda (three goals, three assists), and Marco Pašalić (four goals, one assist) have been instrumental to the Lions’ league-leading offense so far in 2025, as the trio has recorded 16 goal contributions en route to the highest-scoring offense in MLS (13 goals) through Matchday 5. Orlando’s Designated Player triumvirate has recorded seven more goal contributions than the next-closest DP combo (Chicago’s Jonathan Bamba and Hugo Cuypers, nine) and are one of only four teams with more than six contributions from their DPs this season.
The most goal contributions by a club’s Designated Players in 2025:
D.C. Leads the Way in xG
What is xG? Per Sportec Solutions, xG (or expected goals) is determined by calculating the probability of success for each shot on goal and summing them up, giving a deeper and more meaningful insight into a team’s goal scoring ability.
Through Matchday 5, D.C. United paces the league with 11.93 team expected goals, with the San Jose Earthquakes (11.69), Philadelphia Union (11.43), Orlando City SC (11.20), and Vancouver Whitecaps FC (10.87) rounding out the top five. Of the top five, Philadelphia (12 goals) and Orlando (13 goals) are outpacing their xG numbers and are joined by Vancouver as the clubs to rank in the top five in both xG and goals scored through Matchday 5.
The highest team expected goals through Matchday 5 in MLS:
