The first big midweek slate of games of the Major League Soccer season means it's the first time in its history that there's a second installment of How We Voted in one week.
If it feels like you just read about Emil Forsberg's Player of the Matchday performance from Matchday 12, it's because you did – but there's some Monday, Friday symmetry coming back again to explain the vote I cast with the North American Soccer Reporters for MLS Matchday 13's Player of the Matchday.
In now two straight Matchdays, my vote went to a player who scored goals to hand LA Galaxy their latest embarrassing loss. Our ballots get two slots, and my No 2 from Matchday 13 is a familiar name for Hudson River Blue readers, though his standout vote-getting performance came against, not for, New York City FC.
Read on for the why behind my latest Player of the Matchday votes, plus the final results of the actual Player of the Matchday vote and the latest MLS Team of the Matchday.
The HRB Ballot, Matchday 13
1. Tai Baribo, Philadelphia Union
This is the second time I've voted for the Philadelphia striker, and it comes after he scored the goals to draw the Union level with, then beat the LA Galaxy in a 3-2 come-from-behind win.
We have to talk LA Galaxy before we get to Baribo's goals and his stellar start to the 2025 season. The reigning MLS Cup winners remained winless this MLS season and were coming off a 7-0 obliteration courtesy of the New York Red Bulls as they visited Subaru Park to face the Union. Yet they jumped out to a surprising 0-2 road lead after 37 minutes and, for at least a little while, it seemed like the Galaxy might finally get a win.
Tai Baribo made sure that didn't happen, continuing to find the back of the net with ease this season, but in a more clutch fashion than your average goal binge. His match-winner at 90'+6' wiped out any hope the Galaxy had of earning even one point from their trip to Chester, Pennsylvania.
Bedoya ➡️ Uhre ➡️ off the head of Tai FOR THE WIN!!!!#DOOP | 🐍 3-2 ⭐️ pic.twitter.com/6QqaoRrljb
— Philadelphia Union (@PhilaUnion) May 15, 2025
Baribo is up to 10 goals already, atop the MLS Golden Boot leaderboard through 13 Matchdays. His two headers to beat the Galaxy were powerful, well-placed, and unstoppable for LA goalkeeper John McCarthy. All 10 of Baribo's goals are of the non-penalty variety, and he's done it while not being a high-volume shooter peppering the opposing goal – he's tied for second in the league with 0.40 goals per shot and is fifth with 0.26 non-penalty expected goals per shot (npxG/Shot).
He pops up in the right spots to score and can get his goals in multiple different ways, and Baribo embodies the traits of a classic, prolific MLS striker. Call him a poacher, call him whatever, it's been working for a Philadelphia squad that finds itself all the way up in 2nd Place in the Eastern Conference after 13 matches.
2. Luis Barraza, DC United
Barraza put in a classic "Do you miss me now?" performance against his former New York City FC team. Traded to DC United early in the MLS offseason following the 2024 ascension of Matt Freese to clear-cut first-choice New York City goalkeeper, Barraza stonewalled his former teammates. The keeper made five saves and collected his first clean sheet in his sixth MLS start with his new DC team, standing on his head to be the reason why DC held on for a 0-0 draw despite NYCFC pushing repeatedly for a winning goal.
He denied Alonso Martínez three different times, once impressively stretching to palm away a curling shot from the Costa Rican. The stats say it was a performance that translated to Barraza preventing 1.7 goals.
He and Matt Freese were each excellent in this game and made the big saves that were needed to keep both teams off the scoresheet. It was a strong night for goalkeepers around MLS, as CJ Dos Santos of San Diego FC warranted some consideration for his performance in a 2-0 win over Colorado Rapids. Dos Santos saved a penalty and made five total saves in that game, but neither he nor Freese were better than Barraza at Audi Field.
Baribo's heroics mean I couldn't in good conscience put Barraza first as my Player of the Matchday, but his back-to-haunt-you game against New York City was still worth a spot on the ballot.
Official Player of the Matchday: Tai Baribo
Tai Baribo is the mid-week player of the matchday, with over half of the vote!
— North American Soccer Reporters (@soccerreporters.bsky.social) May 15, 2025 at 5:18 PM
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A lopsided win for Baribo in this vote as his brace stood out from the midweek malaise that was present in some of these Wednesday night games – like, for example, that 0-0 draw between DC and NYCFC. Clutch goals, deservedly, get you attention and Baribo came through and delivered the win for Philadelphia, so it's hard to argue with his selection. Anders Dreyer pops up again in the voting for this award after a secondary assist and a goal in San Diego FC's home win over Colorado, he's been consistently deserving of consideration for these votes this season and is having a "MLS Best XI" type of a debut season.
MLS Team of the Matchday
Starters: Luis Barraza (DC) - Felipe Andrade (HOU), Nathan Harriel (PHI), David Brekalo (ORL) - Hany Mukhtar (NSH), Beau Leroux (SJ), Martín Ojeda (ORL), Tadeo Allende (MIA) - Cengiz Ünder (LAFC), Tai Baribo (PHI), Anders Dreyer (SD)
Coach: Oscar Pareja (ORL)
Bench: CJ Dos Santos (SD), Christopher McVey (SD), Luca Petrasso (MTL), Jordi Alba (MIA), Célio Pompeu (STL), Marco Reus (LA), Brandon Vazquez (ATX), Dejan Joveljić (SKC), Kévin Denkey (CIN)
Orlando City SC and San Diego FC each had the most representatives this Matchday (three) after they each picked up two-goal wins at home over conference rivals. The Orlando win was a 3-1 over Charlotte FC and came thanks to another great game from midfielder Martín Ojeda, who made his second straight Team of the Matchday a few days after placing No 2 on my last Player of the Matchday ballot for the hat trick he scored last Saturday. Luis Barraza gets the start in goal as a little more salt gets rubbed into that NYCFC wound.
