Now that we’re at the MLS midseason break for the World Cup, let’s discuss the Top 5 winners and losers from each side of the league. We’ve already done the Eastern Conference so it’s onto the West and let’s start with the winners. As a reminder, these can be teams as a whole, specific aspects of a team, players, coaches, or anything in between. In other words, there’s no rules. Let’s get into it!
San Jose Earthquakes
If you had told me on the first day of the season that San Jose would be tied for top of the West, I would’ve thought you were insane. After a mediocre 2025 that saw the Earthquakes miss out on a playoff spot due to having one fewer win than Real Salt Lake, they decided to gut the roster. Cristian Espinoza, their best player ever since he arrived in 2019, left on a free transfer. Their best defender Rodrigues also left on a free. So did top scorer Josef MartÃnez. Star striker Chicho Arango was loaned back to his native Colombia due to personal reasons. That’s 31 goals and 21 assists gone without receiving a single dollar in transfer fees.
Yet somehow, someway, Bruce Arena has this club playing their best football since 2012. They’re tied for the most wins in the league with 10 and tied for the second-most goals scored. Their defense has been great too, conceding the third-fewest goals. The scary thing is that they could’ve been playing even better if not for injuries. Timo Werner, their only notable offseason acquisition, had four goals and five assists in just seven games before getting hurt. The very next game, homegrown star Niko Tsakiris went down. They’ve only won one of their four games since then. This break has come at a great time for San Jose as it means Werner and Tsakiris can get back to full fitness. When they do return, the Quakes have a very good chance at beating Espinoza’s Nashville to the Supporters’ Shield.
Heung-Min Son’s Playmaking
Fresh off a fairytale ending to his legendary Tottenham Hotspur career, Heung-Min Son came into MLS and scored goals for fun. He scored 12 goals in 13 games including a brace in LAFC’s Western Conference quarterfinal loss to Vancouver Whitecaps. However, his playmaking was lacking. He only provided four assists in those games.
This season, the Korean has turned from scorer to provider. He leads MLS in assists with nine along with San Diego’s Anders Dreyer. That puts him on pace to end the season with 20 assists, a mark that has only ever been hit three times in league history. Sonny has also been doing it in continental play. He’ll finish as the top assister in Concacaf Champions Cup with seven including two in the semifinal against Toluca. Son’s 16 assists is already a career-high and it’s only halfway through the season.
Real Salt Lake’s Young Talent
As previously mentioned, Real Salt Lake barely snuck into the last playoff spot in the West last year. At the midseason mark in 2026, they’re third in the conference. This is despite an underwhelming start to the season for their big names up front. New DP Morgan Guilavogui only has one goal to his name. Last season’s striker acquisition Victor Olatunji also only has one goal. So then how are RSL doing so well?
The answer is that their young attackers have really started to break out. Olatunji has been stuck on the bench because Sergi Solans has burst onto the scene in his rookie season. After being drafted with the last pick of the first round in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft, Solans transferred from Oregon State to UCLA and was the star man as they won the Big Ten Championship. He signed with Real Salt Lake this past offseason and has been a huge surprise. The Girona academy product has scored six goals and added three assists. He’s Real Salt Lake’s joint top scorer.
Tied with Solans on goals is 19 year old winger Zavier Gozo. He’s taken a huge leap after his first season as a MLS regular in 2025. Six goals and five assists is what he’s produced so far. His electric pace and dribbling ability have made Gozo a nightmare for defenders. These performances haven’t gone unnoticed, as the U.S. youth national has attracted interest from several huge European clubs including Aston Villa and Atletico Madrid.
Gozo isn’t the only 2007-born winger for RSL. Aiden Hezarkhani has emerged as a valuable asset in his first real MLS season, starting 8/13 of his appearances. He’s chipped in with two goals. Diego Luna is already a known quantity at this point but his return from injury has been a huge boost. Moon Man has scored four goals and provided three assists in nine games. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to make the USMNT World Cup roster, but knowing Luna that will only motivate him to have an even better second half of the season.
Petar Musa
Tied with Lionel Messi for second place in the Golden Boot race is FC Dallas striker Petar Musa. The Croatian has been a reliable goal threat since joining in 2024 but this could very well be his best season yet. Musa has scored 12 goals in 13 games (just like Son last year) and is the main reason why FC Dallas are fourth in the West. His debut campaign ended with 16 goals and last year was a step up to 18, but now he’s on pace to finish with 27. The former Benfica man is already tied for the most goals in a season in FC Dallas history and is likely to shatter his own record.
Musa’s eye for goal has earned him a spot on Croatia’s World Cup roster. He’ll be hoping he can contribute off the bench as his nation looks to make it back to back to back semifinal appearances. He’s in the absolute prime of his career and scoring goals for fun in MLS, so keep an eye out for him against the world’s best this summer.
Seattle Sounders’ Defense
The final Western Conference winner in the first half of the season is Seattle Sounders and their rock solid defense. It’s fair to say Seattle has been underwhelming to start the year as they currently sit sixth in the conference, but stifling their opponents hasn’t been an issue. They’re tied with Nashville for the fewest goals conceded with 11 and have kept five clean sheets along the way.
A huge part of that success has been the play of Andrew Thomas. The Moscow-born goalkeeper had huge shoes to fill as he took over the starting job from MLS legend Stefan Frei. If anything, the shoes weren’t big enough. Thomas leads the league in save percentage at 78.8% and is tied for the most goals prevented with 6.00 alongside Matt Turner. Former MLS Defender of the Year finalist Jackson Ragen has been immense as always at center back. He’s won 73% of his aerial duels and is the commanding presence leading the back line by example. If the Sounders can just figure out how to score goals, they’ll be a contender for MLS Cup.
