MLS Moments of Matchday 3

By Anonymous (not verified), March 14, 2025

For Immediate Release
MLS Communications

Below is a selection of the notable performances and moments from the 15 matches played on the third matchday of the 2025 MLS regular season on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9.

Highlights of the matchday included:

Eight clubs are still unbeaten in the 2025 regular season and two clubs have started a perfect 3-0-0 – the Philadelphia Union and Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
The Union currently lead MLS in goals scored (10) and goal differential (+7), are tied for the most points (9), and are one of two clubs (San Diego FC) with multiple road wins.
St. Louis CITY SC produced a 3-0 shutout victory on Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire, becoming the fifth MLS team in the past 10 years to not concede a goal within the opening three games of a season.
Seven goals were scored by fullbacks on Matchday 3, including debut MLS goals for Leonardo Barroso (Chicago Fire FC), Kalani Kossa-Rienzi (Seattle Sounders FC), and Tate Johnson (Vancouver Whitecaps FC).
Multiple teenagers made their first career MLS start on Matchday 3 – Julian Hall (New York Red Bulls, 16), Aleksandr Guboglo (CF Montréal, 17), Harbor Miller (LA Galaxy, 17), Johnny Shore (New York City FC, 17), and Tate Johnson (Vancouver Whitecaps FC, 19).

Philadelphia Union Stay Perfect in 2025

The Philadelphia Union continued their hot start to the 2025 MLS season with a 2-0 road victory over the New England Revolution on Saturday night. With the win, the Union have begun the season with a perfect 3-0-0 record for the first time in club history.

Union forward Tai Baribo scored his MLS-leading sixth goal in the 76th minute (Watch Here), joining Ante Razov (1999) as the second player in MLS history to score six goals in the first three games of an MLS season.

In another series of firsts, Jovan Lukić scored his first MLS goal with a screamer from outside of the box in the 90+7’ (Watch Here), which included Indiana Vassilev ’s first assist in a Union jersey. With Lukić’s goal, the Union tied the fourth-best goal differential (+7) in MLS history through the first three games of a season.

Philadelphia will host Nashville SC in an afternoon matchup at Subaru Park next Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV / Apple TV+ / FOX / FOX Deportes).

Vancouver and San Diego Setting the Western Conference Pace

Matchday 3 concluded with two surprise teams sitting atop the Western Conference – Vancouver Whitecaps FC (9 points, 3-0-0) and San Diego FC (7 points, 2-0-1). For Vancouver, they had two unlikely goal scorers in their 2-0 win over CF Montréal – fullbacks Mathías Laborda and Tate Johnson. The Whitecaps are flying under new head coach Jesper Sørensen and have started an MLS season 3-0-0 for the first time in club history.

Right behind Vancouver is expansion side San Diego FC, which notched its second win in club history at Real Salt Lake. San Diego got two second-half stoppage time goals, including the winner from Designated Player midfielder Anders Dreyer. Dreyer became the first player in MLS history to score two game-winning goals within the first three matches of an expansion club’s first season after previously doing so on Matchday 1 at the LA Galaxy.

Both clubs can continue their hot form next Saturday when Vancouver travels to face FC Dallas (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV) and San Diego FC host the Columbus Crew in their second-ever game at Snapdragon Stadium (10:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

Seattle Run Riot in Rout of LAFC

The kryptonite for Seattle Sounders FC over the past three years has been the Black and Gold of LAFC, but at home on Saturday afternoon, the Rave Green flipped the script in a dominant 5-2 win. Seattle became the first club this season to score five goals in a match, which included a historic game-winning goal by Jordan Morris (Watch Here). With the goal, Morris eclipsed Raúl Ruidíaz (86) for the most goals across all competitions in club history.

Seattle’s victory was led by a pair of Tacoma Defiance alumni – Kalani Kossa-Rienzi and Paul Rothrock. On the opening weekend of MLS NEXT Pro, the effect of the pro player pathway was felt as Kossa-Rienzi scored the first goal of the match, while Rothrock contributed both a goal and an assist. After the end of Matchday 3, 12 different MLS NEXT Pro alumni have already scored in MLS play this season.

Seattle and LAFC will next take the field on Tuesday night in Leg 2 of Concacaf Champions League action. Both clubs will go on the road for the second leg, with LAFC up 3-0 on the Columbus Crew and Seattle tied with Cruz Azul (Mexico) at 0-0.

St. Louis CITY SC Shuts Out LA Galaxy on Sunday Night Soccer

On Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire, St. Louis CITY SC continued their stellar defensive start to the season and blanked the defending MLS Cup presented by Audi champions LA Galaxy, 3-0, at Dignity Health Sports Park. The victory was the first in MLS action for new St. Louis head coach Olof Mellberg, who has built a strong defensive foundation in 2025. St. Louis became just the fifth team in the past decade – and the 11th in MLS history – to not concede a goal within the opening three matches of a season.

Goalkeeper Roman Bürki stole the show in net, making eight saves and shutting out a Galaxy side that accumulated 1.88 xG (expected goals) on Sunday evening. Bürki, the 2023 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year, will look to continue the season-opening clean sheet streak next Saturday when they host the highest-scoring team on Matchday 3, Seattle Sounders FC (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).

Chicago Fire FC Come-From-Behind at the Death

The first win of the Gregg Berhalter era in Chicago was in come-from-behind fashion on the road at FC Dallas on Saturday night. The Fire trailed 1-0 with just 10 minutes remaining but roared back thanks to goals from Andrew Gutman (82'), Leonardo Barroso (84' ), and Hugo Cuypers (90+1’) down the stretch to snatch all three points. It also marked the first time in club history that they had scored at least three goals after the 80th minute or later in a comeback road victory.

Homegrown goalkeeper Chris Brady also played a key role in the win, making five saves, which included stopping FC Dallas striker Petar Musa’s penalty kick in the 90+5’ to preserve all three points. The Fire will look to build upon their late-game performance when they travel to face Toronto FC next Saturday (2:30 p.m. ET, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV / Apple TV+).