Welcome back to season two of Justin and Favian’s Weekly MLS Awards where SBI staff writers Justin Ruderman and Favian Renkel bring you a glimpse at the best of each week in MLS. Weekly awards will be published every Tuesday and cover the previous week, Monday through Sunday. The cutoff for Young Player of the Week eligibility is 22 years old or younger on the date of the match. Other than that, all categories should be rather self-explanatory. Let’s get started with week 1!Player of the WeekJustin Ruderman: Jayden Nelson (VAN)Heading into Sunday I thought this was going to be a tough decision, then Jayden Nelson put forth his best Gareth Bale impersonation, leaving Portland’s Joao Ortiz in the dust as Bale did to Marc Bartra in the 2014 Copa del Rey Final, but instead of finishing chose to square a pass to Sam Adekugbe for his third assist of the match on his Vancouver Whitecaps league debut. At that point, my decision was easy.Adekugbe opens his 2025 account Assisted by Jayden Nelson! https://t.co/mL3a1ITSWV #VWFC | #PORvVAN pic.twitter.com/xkTl6hKHbA— Jayden Nelson Fan Account (@WhitecapsFC) February 23, 2025Of course, Nelson made it even easier when he cut through the Timbers’ defense like a butterknife one more time for a goal of his own to complete the 4-1 battering at Providence Park. As a former Canadian rival playing with Toronto FC, leading a thrashing of a Cascadia Cup rival is a good way to ingratiate yourself with a new fanbase. To quote the legendary Max Bretos on commentary, “A star is born.” There that's better. We love you, @JaydenNelson__ pic.twitter.com/hXJR51Heu1— Jayden Nelson Fan Account (@WhitecapsFC) February 23, 2025Favian Renkel: Cristian Espinoza (SJ)How the best player of the week ended up on the bench of MLS’s Players of the Week lineup is beyond me. The disrespect toward Cristian Espinoza continues, yet he keeps quietly cementing his name in Quakes history. Two assists in the first game is nothing short of impressive—the Argentinian led the league in goal contributions before the Sunday games and guided his team to a dominant 4-0 win. The Bruce Arena era has officially begun, and Espinoza is the first to reap the benefits.Now, if Espinoza can get Chicho Arango on the end of one of his crosses, expect to see his name on this list even more. They already connected once in the match for a disallowed goal, but just know—it’s coming. It seems like people forget there are great Argentines in MLS who don’t wear pink.Take a look at this assist, insane. Ousseni Bouda makes it three!@SJEarthquakes are in dreamland!! pic.twitter.com/N5XkPOakAf— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 23, 2025Young Player of the WeekJR: Brian Gutiérrez (CHI)It’s too bad the Chicago Fire defense couldn’t find the ball except to put it in their own net on Saturday night because Gutiérrez was in peak form, bagging his first MLS brace in 22 minutes to put the Fire ahead on two occasions. The Crew came back both times to eventually win 4-2 in Columbus but nonetheless, these are positive signs for Chicago. Just a kid from Chicago. #cf97 | #CLBvsCHI pic.twitter.com/iUaFacMoxr— Chicago Fire FC (@ChicagoFire) February 23, 2025Newly arrived designated player (DP) striker Jonathan Bamba assisted both of Guti’s goals, highlighting a blossoming relationship between the two attackers in their first game together. If the pair can invite Hugo Cuypers to the party, the Fire might have the ability to outscore opponents even if they can’t keep them out of the back of their own net.FR: Jacen Russell-Rowe (CLB)With the Columbus Crew shocking the MLS world by transferring away what many would argue is the best talent the Black and Gold has ever seen—Cucho Hernández—this team now needs to find new leaders. As if that wasn’t enough, they also sent striker Christian Ramírez to the LA Galaxy, leaving many to wonder: where will the goals come from? Enter Jacen Russell-Rowe. The 22-year-old Canadian striker is primed for a breakout season, and he wasted no time proving it by scoring the Crew’s first goal of the 2025 MLS campaign. While Columbus fans mourn the loss of Cucho and Christian, a 4-2 win over the Chicago Fire offers reassurance. Wilfried Nancy and company seem to have things under control, and Russell-Rowe will be a major part of that. Expect to hear his name often this season.Jacen Russell-Rowe levels it for @ColumbusCrew. pic.twitter.com/euFLigMn0q— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 23, 2025Goal of the WeekJR: Anders Dreyer (SDFC)Tomás Ángel to Anders Dreyer…back to Ángel…back to Dreyer…GOAAAALLL!CAN ANYONE TELL US HOW WE SAY BRACE IN DANISH???????TWO GOALS FOR ANDERS pic.twitter.com/AFcaFar4Nq— San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) February 24, 2025A play-by-play of the counterattack goal that secured San Diego FC’s first win in club history, courtesy of yours truly. Dreyer’s thunderous finish off the underside of the crossbar extended the SDFC lead to 2-0 in stoppage time, putting the historic victory to bed in iconic fashion. What else could the GOTW be?FR: Jeremy Ebobissse (LAFC)Jeremy Ebobisse is a name that many around MLS seem to have forgotten. After struggling through the tough years with the San Jose Earthquakes, he never quite reached his full potential in the Black and Blue. That all changed this offseason when he joined LAFC, tasked with easing the goal-scoring burden alongside Olivier Giroud.King Jebo wasted no time making his mark, scoring a stunning goal in his LAFC debut to help secure all three points in their home opener. This is also the first goal for MLS in the 2025 season. The first MLS goal of 2025 belongs to Jeremy Ebobisse! @LAFC pic.twitter.com/zdbfEgsQFc— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) February 22, 2025Team of the WeekJR: San Diego FCAs I wrote in my game recap for MLSSoccer.com, it is one thing to win your first game as an expansion team, but to do it at the defending MLS Cup champions? That’s a whole different level of impressive. And it was.First season.First match.FIRST WIN.@sandiegofc just did that in the home of the reigning champs! pic.twitter.com/1EY4Rnc7wQ— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 24, 2025San Diego did not come in fearful or cautious. Instead, they came in confident and assured with conviction in Mikey Varas’s tactical game plan. They knew they wanted to dominate the game through possession and that is exactly what they did in the first half, imposing themselves on the Galaxy before breaking the scoring open in the second half to snap the home side’s unbeaten streak at DHSP which had lasted the entirety of last season. Anders Dreyer said they wanted to kill the party. They may have done that in Los Angeles but they subsequently created one in San Diego.FR: San Jose EarthquakesWith a new coach at the helm and a less-than-stellar showing in their Coachella preseason, Bruce Arena has everyone right where he wants them. Despite fielding two players who had never started before—Beau Leroux and Jamar Ricketts—Arena’s squad dominated a fatigued and depleted Real Salt Lake side fresh off their CONCACAF Champions Cup match.The San Jose Earthquakes have the potential to be a playoff team, but if they keep playing like this, they could be the best team in California and a top contender in the Western Conference.The @SJEarthquakes strike first! Jamar Ricketts slots it home finishes with an acrobatic celebration. #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/zyN7jQJzYU pic.twitter.com/Yh8dCqU7G6— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 23, 2025Best thing we saw this weekJR: A new MLS teamIn what is likely to be the most literal interpretation of this award all season, I was in attendance to see Major League Soccer welcome team No. 30 in the league’s 30th season. A nice round number. Perhaps this could be the end of expansion? No, you’re right. Probably not.Welcome to MLS, San Diego FC! pic.twitter.com/y8FPnvXvSr— Justin Ruderman (@JustinRuderman_) February 24, 2025If we are to have further expansion franchises join the fray, they are moments we should savor not dread, because there will not be too many more and this is a very unique, very MLS experience. In the wide world of football, it is not often you get to witness the birth of a brand new club from scratch play the first game in club history. That is what I and 25,224 of my closest friends got to enjoy on Sunday night and it is a moment I will never forget.FR: Sunday Night SoccerEver found yourself on a Sunday night wishing there was some MLS action to watch with your family? Well, this season, Apple TV and MLS heard the complaints about fans having to pick and choose between multiple games instead of having one primetime matchup. They made a change, and it’s already paying off.In the first edition of this new setup, San Diego FC played their inaugural match against the LA Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park, shocking the reigning champions in front of the entire league. Thanks to Apple TV’s changes, every MLS fan got to witness the statement win. This is just one of the many positive updates for 2025, proving that if fans are loud enough, Apple will listen.First of ManyAnders Dreyer bagged our first @MLS goal. (and our second one, tbf) pic.twitter.com/Nyu3MpN3xS— San Diego FC (@sandiegofc) February 24, 2025