Below is a selection of the notable performances and moments from the 14 matches played on the 23rd matchday of the 2024 MLS regular season on Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29.
White’s Hat Trick Leads Whitecaps on Historic Comeback in 4-3 Victory
After falling behind 2-0 just 12 minutes into the match, Vancouver striker Brian White took the game into his own hands and recorded his second hat trick in a Whitecaps uniform in a 4-3, come-from-behind victory over St. Louis CITY SC. With the win, Vancouver (28 points, 8-7-4) climbed to eighth place in the Western Conference.
White became the first player in Whitecaps history to record multiple hat tricks and his trifecta was the fifth overall hat trick in the club’s MLS history (Watch All Three Goals Here). His first hat trick came against the San Jose Earthquakes on October 2, 2021.
The Whitecaps erased a two-goal deficit to win for the fourth time in club history and the first since October 20, 2021, against the Portland Timbers, where they also fell behind 2-0. The club hadn’t overcome a two-goal deficit to win at home since June 15, 2013, against the New England Revolution.
Bogusz Leads LAFC, Extends Unbeaten Run
The Western Conference representative in each of the last two MLS Cups presented by Audi, LAFC is once again a force to be reckoned with in MLS play and extended their unbeaten run to nine matches with a 3-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids. Emerging as LAFC’s newest superstar is midfielder Mateusz Bogusz, who recorded his first-career MLS hat trick tonight (Watch All Three Goals Here) and has recorded at least one goal contribution in each of the club’s nine matches during the current unbeaten run.
Bogusz became the sixth different LAFC player to score a hat trick, joining Chicho Arango, Denis Bouanga (two), Adama Diomande, Diego Rossi (two), and Carlos Vela (two). The six different players to record a hat trick are the most in MLS since the club entered the league in 2018.
With a goal contribution in nine straight matches, Bogusz tied FC Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta for the longest goal contribution streak in MLS this season. Bogusz's streak began on May 11 and he has totaled nine goals and four assists over the stretch.
LAFC sits atop the Western Conference with 40 points (12-4-4) and will face off in one of the most anticipated El Tráfico matches in history as they face the second-place LA Galaxy (40 points, 11-3-7) at the historic Rose Bowl on July 4 (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
Cucho, Rossi Come Up Big for the Crew
After recording his third career MLS hat trick last weekend, Crew forward Juan ‘Cucho’ Hernández authored another brilliant performance on Saturday night, recording a goal and two assists in Columbus’ 5-1 victory over the streaking New England Revolution. The win was the Crew’s 40th regular-season victory over the Revolution, which is tied for the most wins by an MLS club against a single opponent in league history. The club has scored nine goals across their last two matches, the third time in club history that they have scored nine-or-more goals in a two-game span.
The Crew fell behind 1-0 early in the match, before Hernández leveled the score in the 17th minute after receiving a long pass from Christian Ramírez and playing a low line drive past the Revs ‘keeper (Watch Here). The goal was Cucho’s 10th of the season, as he became the ninth different player in club history to score at least 10 goals in consecutive seasons and the first since Lucas Zelarayán from 2021-23.
With assists on the club’s second (Watch Here) and third goals (Watch Here) of the night, Hernández became the second player in Crew history to record at least three goal contributions in consecutive matches, joining Stern John, who accomplished the feat on August 16 and 22, 1998.
Joining Hernández in the fun was fellow forward Diego Rossi, who also notched three goal contributions (one goal, two assists) in the win. Rossi and Hernández are the first pair of Crew teammates with at least three goal contributions in the same match since Ethan Finlay and Ola Kamara on Sept. 17, 2016 against Orlando City SC.
Portland Erases Two-Goal Deficit, Secures Late Victory
Comebacks were a common theme on Saturday night and the Portland Timbers played the role of spoiler in a 3-2 victory over Minnesota United FC. The Timbers have won each of their last three matches and are unbeaten across their last seven, dating back to May 25.
After falling behind 2-0 midway through the first half, the Timbers received a first-half stoppage time score from Evander (45’+8’, Watch Here) to cut the deficit to one. Santiago Moreno scored the game-tying goal in the 73rd minute (Watch Here) before Jonathan Rodríguez snatched the victory in the 92nd minute (Watch Here).
For the second time this season and just the third time in club history, Portland came back from a two-goal deficit to win a match. They accomplished the feat earlier this season against the Portland Timbers (May 15), as they erased a 2-0 margin by scoring four goals in the 75th and later.
Thiaré’s Heads-Up Play Steals Win for Atlanta United
With the match tied 1-1 in the 97th minute, Atlanta United striker Jamal Thiaré snuck behind the Toronto FC goalkeeper, stole a prospective clearance, and fired a right-footed shot into the net for a game-winner in the waning minutes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday (Watch Here). The win extended Atlanta’s current unbeaten streak to four matches and was their first home victory since March 31.
Thiaré’s goal, his fifth of the season, was scored at 96:56, marking the third-latest game-winning goal in club history. The two later game-winners both occurred during the 2023 season: February 25 against San Jose (98:03) and April 23 against Chicago (98:10).
Late-Game Goals Power CF Montréal to Victory
With time ticking away in the second half, CF Montréal broke a 2-2 draw with a Dominic Iankov score in the 89th minute (Watch Here) and sealed the victory with a 92nd minute goal from Ruan (Watch Here) in a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Union at Stade Saputo.
Only three times in their club’s MLS history has CF Montréal scored two-or-more goal in the 89th minute of a match or later and all three instances have come against the Philadelphia Union (March 18, 2023 and August 12, 2017). Montréal improved to 3-2-4 at home this season and have scored at least two goals in six of their nine home matches in 2024.
Montréal striker Josef Martínez scored his 108th career goal in the first half, tying Jason Kreis for the eighth-most goals in MLS history. Next up on the all-time leaderboard is Ante Razov (114 career goals).
Alba and Gressel Help Miami Notch 13th Win with 2-1 Victory
Going on the road to a tough environment in GEODIS Park, Inter Miami CF received first-half goals from Ian Fray (Watch Here) and Jordi Alba, the latter of which was on a sensational strike from outside the 18-yard box (Watch Here), in a 2-1 victory over Nashville SC.
The victory was Miami’s 13th of the season, which is the second-most in a single season in club history, trailing only the 2022 season (14 wins). In 2022, the club won their 13th match in their 32nd match of the regular season, a feat they accomplished on Saturday night in only their 21st match of the 2024 season.
With his assist on Fray’s first-half goal, Miami defender Julian Gressel recorded his 100th career goal contribution (26 goals, 74 assists), making him the 12th active player to reach the milestone.
