NEW YORK (Monday, March 16, 2026) – FC Dallas forward Petar Musa was voted the Major League Soccer Player of the Matchday for Matchday 4 of the 2026 MLS season.
Musa scored all three goals in FC Dallas’ 3-3 draw on Saturday against San Diego FC at Toyota Stadium . Musa’s three-goal performance was the second hat trick of his career (June 19, 2024), making him the first player in FC Dallas history to record multiple hat tricks. The Croatian forward has scored five goals in the first four games, which is tied with Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s Brian White for the most in MLS. By scoring three times, Musa scored his 37th, 38th and 39th regular-season goals for Dallas, eclipsing Blas Pérez (36) for the fourth-most goals in club history. Since entering the league in 2024, Musa’s 39 regular-season goals rank as the fourth most in MLS, behind only Lionel Messi (52), Denis Bouanga (45) and Sam Surridge (40).
After Dallas fell behind 2-0 in the first half, Petar Musa halved the deficit in the 41st minute when he volleyed home his rebound from close range . San Diego extended their lead to 3-1, but Musa answered again, this time from the penalty spot in the 54th minute to record his second goal of the night). In second-half stoppage time, the big forward completed Dallas’ comeback and his hat trick as he picked the ball up from a tremendous Bernard Kamungo run and fired it into the roof of the net.
This is the second time Musa has been named MLS Player of the Matchday, after previously earning the award for his performance on Matchday 21 of 2024. Musa joins Ricardo Pepi (twice in 2021) and David Ferreira (2011 and 2012) as the only FC Dallas players to win multiple Player of the Matchday honors in a three-season span since 2010.
Next up for Musa and Dallas is a rivalry matchup with Houston Dynamo FC on Saturday, March 21 (8:30 p.m. ET, MLS on Apple TV) before Musa goes on international duty with the Croatian National Team during the March window.
The MLS Player of the Matchday is selected each matchday of the regular season through both media and fan voting in a process conducted by MLS Communications. A panel of journalists from the North American Soccer Reporters (NASR) comprises 75 percent of the vote, while an Instagram fan vote represents the remaining 25 percent of voting. NASR consists of members of print, television, radio, and online media.
