Is How We Voted at risk of turning into a column all about Lionel Messi?
To spoil the mystery that should have been spoiled upon seeing the headline, for a second straight round of matches, I voted for Messi for MLS Player of the Matchday when submitting my ballot to the North American Soccer Reporters – and he won the final vote, handily. This column exists to explain my choices, though Matchday 17 also felt like one of the easiest rounds of voting I've faced in my few years casting ballots.
It's not usually this clear-cut, but Messi is not your usual, run-of-the-mill MLS star. It's still a worthy exercise to explain why he got another Player of the Matchday and to lay out the case for the No 2 player on my ballot, a suddenly goal-dangerous wingback from a suddenly unbeatable New England Revolution.
Read on for more on Messi's latest masterclass, the final tabulated results of his second straight Player of the Matchday win, and the full list of players to land on the Team of the Matchday, which includes the two goal-makers from New York City FC.
The HRB Ballot, Matchday 17
1. Lionel Messi, Inter Miami CF
Two goals and two assists (we don't count those "secondary assists" MLS still likes to tout, but he did have one of those, too) on Saturday against Columbus Crew after he had two goals and one assist on Wednesday against CF Montréal. Messi is as locked in as it gets right now as his Inter Miami CF team finds some stability in the form of a three-match unbeaten run.
Miami and Columbus finished in the top two spots in the Eastern Conference last season, so this was a much-anticipated clash in South Florida. On Matchday 17, the Crew got dismantled by Messi and appeared to pay the price for losing starting goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to injury before their trip to the Sunshine State. Columbus backup goalkeeper Nicholas Hagen had a rough showing filling in, making a mess of what became Messi's first goal before getting chipped while far off his line for Messi's second.
The brace was nice, but better was Messi's playmaking vs the Crew, as his over-the-top pass in the 13th minute opened up Columbus and sent Tadeo Allende in on goal, where he claimed the game's first goal. The "secondary assist" Messi earned came during a very well-worked team goal finished off by Luis Suárez, while his second actual, bonafide assist was similar to his first, playing Fafa Picault in behind the defense with a long pass.
Involved in all five goals against one of the best teams in MLS, no matter who was in goal: This was Messi at his peak. Significant that this was also Messi's 13th appearance in MLS this season, meaning he's already nearly matched the 19 league appearances he made over the entire 2024 season. It's been up-and-down for the Herons so far under new manager/ex-Messi teammate Javier Mascherano, but they're now heading into the FIFA Club World Cup with Messi approaching his top form.
2G, 3A, and another Player of the Matchday in the bag. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/knB1nL7wbs
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 2, 2025
2. Ilay Feingold, New England Revolution
A defender with two goals and one assist deserves Player of the Matchday recognition, though Feingold wasn't on the four-player shortlist MLS released for the Instagram fan vote that comprises 25% of the vote total for the award. His trio of goal contributions might come with the slight caveat that they all occurred once CF Montréal went down to 10 players, but he and fellow wingback Peyton Miller had huge games at Stade Saputo.
Feingold assisted Miller on New England's opener shortly after halftime and the Revs never looked back, with Feingold scoring their second and third goals – with Peyton Miller returning the favor and assisting Feingold's second. With the three goal contributions, Feingold at just 20 years old became the third-youngest player to ever have that many goal involvements in one game for New England.
FeinGoat’s world, we’re just living in it. 🐐🔥#NERevs pic.twitter.com/sOcCbMB0N5
— New England Revolution (@NERevolution) June 1, 2025
Feingold also deserves credit for playing a part in another strong defensive showing from New England. The Revs have one of the league's best defenses through the first half of the season, only conceding 14 goals in their 15 matches, so Feingold is contributing on both sides of things and did so again vs Montréal. On top of the goal contributions, he was successful in winning two tackles, had three ball recoveries, completed a team-high four crosses, and completed 81% of his 42 attempted passes.
It was an all-around performance from Feingold and it helped New England extend its unbeaten streak to nine straight MLS matches (with a US Open Cup loss to Chicago Fire FC mixed in there, to be fair). Seems like a distant memory when the Revs opened the season without scoring a goal of their own (Thiago Martins own goal, only) in four straight.
Official MLS Player of the Matchday: Messi
Not a close vote, and rightfully so. Messi is the first player this season to go back-to-back with this award and the second player – after Philadelphia Union striker Tai Baribo – to win Player of the Matchday twice in 2025. Messi has been named Player of the Matchday eight times now since moving to MLS in the summer of 2023 and appears to be hitting a god-like run of form just as Miami gets ready to compete in the FIFA Club World Cup, which begins on June 14. Tani Oluwaseyi from Minnesota United FC scored a brace in a road win over Seattle Sounders, the Fire duo of Hugo Cuypers and Philip Zinckernagel had multiple goal contributions in an away win over Orlando, but none of them approached Messi.
MLS Team of the Matchday - Matchday 17
Starters: John Pulskamp (SKC) - Peyton Miller (NE), Alexander Hack (RBNY), Ilay Feingold (NE) - Hannes Wolf (NYC), Gabriel Pirani (DC), Eduard Löwen (STL), Lionel Messi (MIA) - Hugo Cuypers (CHI), Dejan Joveljić (SKC), Tani Oluwaseyi (MIN)
Coach: Javier Mascherano (MIA)
Bench: David Bingham (CLT), Conner Antley (DC), Lucas Sanabria (LA), Luca de la Torre (SD), Keaton Parks (NYC), Robin Lod (MIN), Philip Zinckernagel (CHI), Cameron Harper (RBNY), Sam Surridge (NSH)
Big showing for New York City FC on the heels of the 2-2 draw in Nashville, with Hannes Wolf in the Starting XI thanks to his draw-rescuing brace and Keaton Parks fittingly on the bench after emerging from New York City's bench to change the game with two assists. I remain convinced Parks should be credited with Wolf's second goal – I'm dubious Hannes ever got a touch on it – but those guys made a huge impact in the final 45 minutes at GEODIS Park. Both those New England wingbacks I mentioned above, Feingold and Miller, earned spots in the Starting XI, and the overall lineup was dominated by the Eastern Conference, with 14 names (players and coach included) from the Eastern half of the league listed for this Team of the Matchday.
