Thanksgiving encourages us to come together with loved ones to savor delicious meals, engage in spirited conversations, and reflect on the past year. As the 2025 MLS season approaches its thrilling conclusion, it’s the ideal moment for teams in the Western Conference to look back on their experiences over the year and express what they are thankful for.
Austin FC
As the Verde go around the table thinking about what they are thankful for, two things should be at the forefront of the conversation: a great U.S. Open Cup run and Owen Wolff. Making it to a cup final is always a huge accomplishment and for a team that is still relatively new, this is something they can certainly hang their hat on.
The other thing Austin can look back on with gratitude this year is Owen Wolff stepping up as a playmaker this year. He was able to score double his expected goals (xG) this year, over perform his expected assists (xA) and is a leader in chances created. All of these stats are also far and away higher than last season.
Colorado Rapids
Dinner in the Mile High city is safe in the hands of Zach Steffan this year. While the Rapids’ year might not have been what they had hoped (just missing out on the postseason), one positive they can look to is Zach Steffan improving compared to last year. While he overall made less saves this season, he had a much higher goals prevented number. So even though he is having to make less saves, he’s preventing more goals.
Put another way, while there may be less sides on the table this year, the dishes that are there are top quality.
FC Dallas
FC Dallas is going to have to find a way to include some Croatian dishes to show some love to star striker Petar Musa this Thanksgiving. Musa ended the season with 19 goals and 6 assists and lead the team across nearly every goal-centric stat and per 90 stats.
Dallas can be grateful for their target man, just keep passing him the plates.
Houston Dynamo FC
The Dynamo can be thankful for the new face they have sitting at the table this year: Jack McGlynn. After coming over from Philadelphia in the offseason, McGlynn has become one of Houston’s best chance creators. He led the team in assists, chances (and big chances) created and shots on target per 90 minutes. While Ezequiel Ponce led the team in goals, McGlynn was able to just edge him out in total goal contributions (goals + assists).
McGlynn is definitely going to be in the kitchen cooking up a lot of the sides this year.
LA Galaxy
The Galaxy can spend this Thanksgiving reflecting on just how quickly life can change. Last year, you’re lifting another MLS Cup. This year, you just manage not to be the bottom team in your conference. Even though players like Pec and Paintsil did their best to help this team, the hole left by the injured Puig was just too big to fill. In 2024 Puig totaled created an average of 2.71 chances per 90 minutes. This year Marco Reus was the able to match that average (2.84) but was only able to play 1,487 minutes out of 3,000 minutes.
That is what the Galaxy can be most thankful for though, that next year Puig should be back from injury and this team can return to some sort of normal.
LAFC
The dinner across town in LA is going to be similarly reflective this year as LAFC will be looking back on their time with head coach Steve Cherundolo who announced he would not be returning as head coach next season. Cherundolo and co. can look back on a successful tenure that saw LAFC win an MLS Cup and an Open Cup as well as good runs in the Leagues Cup, Champions Cup and Campeones Cup. The Black and Gold will have to toast with a Hefeweizen as Cherundolo prepares to return to Germany.
LAFC can also be excited about the future though as they look ahead to another season with Heung-Min Son. In just 13 matches in 2025, Son was able to score 12 goals and log 3 assists. The team will definitely be welcoming him to the table while also probably needing to explain what cranberry sauce is.
Minnesota United
The Loons can look back on a solid 2025 season with pride. After finishing fourth in the Western Conference, Minnesota was able to win the three game series against Seattle before falling to conference leaders San Diego. Something interesting about the Loons this year is that they had the lowest average possession percentage in the league, but were top five in interceptions per match and led in clearances. They say that defense wins championships and its looking like the Loons are starting to put some of those defensive pieces together.
The Thanksgiving dinner in Minnesota is going to be a quick one, so if you don’t get your plate fast enough, someone is going to take your food!
Portland Timbers
The Timbers should be thankful for Diego Chara every Thanksgiving. He’s been an absolute staple in the Timbers’ lineup since 2011 and in a lot of ways is the heart and soul of the Portland Timbers. But whether we like to admit it or not, he won’t be in a Timbers shirt forever. The 39-year-old (yes, 39) has been getting more limited minutes lately and only has one more year left on his contract. This begs the question, who will step into these legendary boots?
Enter David Ayala. Ayala is looking more and more like a solid figure to take the reins in the Portland midfield. Not only is he a good passer (he leads the team in accurate passes and long balls per 90) but he’s also a bit of a bruiser. He has the second most tackles per 90 behind Chara and had 51 interceptions this season. On top of that, he has five yellow cards which is just one more than Chara. All in all, I think the Portland midfield is in good hands.
Real Salt Lake
Real Salt Lake can be thankful for Diego Luna in 2025. Not only has he continued to improve compared to last year, he is also stepping up more at the national team level – appearing in 16 games for the Yanks. While he had solid numbers last year, this year really felt like a breakout season for him, with his emergence with the national team and earning an All-Star appearance.
Diego Luna is definitely sitting at the head of the table in Salt Lake.
San Diego FC
San Diego has a lot to be thankful for this year. In their first year as a club, they finished top of the Western Conference, had an MVP finalist and are still alive in the playoffs (playing in the conference final on Nov. 29). So yeah, lots to be grateful for. A lot of this success comes from San Diego’s two delightful Danes, Anders Dryer and Jeppe Tverskov. Dryer had an MVP-caliber season this year leading the team in most attacking categories, and Tverskov was a solid presence in the midfield helping with chance creation.
There’s still work to be done in San Diego, but hopefully they take a moment to reflect on a stellar season.
Seattle Sounders
The Sounders are likely most thankful to have Jordan Morris back in the mix. After missing a few matches and having limited minutes in 2025 due to injury, Morris was able to come back late in the season just in time to help the Sounders beat Minnesota in Game 2, score a goal in Game 3 only to lose on penalties. While disappointing, the Sounders are surely happy to have him back and healthy going into 2026. Even though their playoff run might not be what they wanted, the Sounders still can be appreciative of the silverware they did win this year, the Leagues Cup.
Any season that results in a trophy is a success and the Sounders will surely be thankful for their shiny new centerpiece.
San Jose Earthquakes
While there’s bound to be some disappointment in San Jose after just missing out on the playoffs, there are definitely positives that the Earthquakes can take away from this year. Two of these positives just happen to have the same name: Cristian. While Josef Martinez might have led the team in goals, Cristian Espinoza and Cristian Arango are just as instrumental in San Jose’s attack. Cristian Espinoza leads San Jose in playmaking and chance creation statistics and ended the 2025 season with a team-leading 8 assists. Cristian Arango, on the other hand, served as another dangerous attacking option finishing just one goal behind team lead Martinez but leading in overall goal contributions. This is just the start of the Arena tenure at San Jose, but it already looks like some of the pieces are coming together.
Give both the Cristians the wishbone and see who gets to make a wish for 2026!
Sporting Kansas City
A season to forget in Kansas City, that’s for sure. While it may be easy to say that Sporting should be thankful that this season is done, reflect on the Vermes era or appreciate the new direction of a new CSO, this Thanksgiving Sporting should reflect on something outside of soccer. 2025 saw the tragic and unexpected passing of former Kansas City player Gadi Kinda at just 31 years old. A Sporting player from 2020 to 2024, Kinda was a beloved player in Kansas City before his move back to Israel.
This holiday should be a reminder to share your appreciation and love for those you care about and be thankful for the time you have with one another, because very few things are certain in life and tomorrow is never guaranteed.
St. Louis City SC
There’s a new person running Thanksgiving in St. Louis this year which could mean a lot of change. After a disappointing 2025, St. Louis City parted ways with sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel in August and recently announced his replacement, Corey Wray.
Wray will lead the team in a new direction going into 2026 and St. Louis can certainly be thankful for something new and different and hopefully better.
Is dad doing a “non-traditional” Thanksgiving next year? Time will tell.
Toronto FC
While Toronto may not be grateful for their 2025 on the field, they can certainly be grateful for the front office this year. Signing Djordje Mihailovic from Colorado in the summer seems to be just the shot in the arm Toronto needed. In just 10 games with Toronto, Mihailovic bagged four goals and two assists. His future with Toronto, though, looks like it will be more focused on chance creation – an area he excels in.
If 2026 gets off to a better start than 2025, Toronto will have Mihailovic and the front office to thank next year too!
Vancouver Whitecaps
Vancouver can be thankful for a great 2025 season, but there’s still games left to play! After finishing second in the Western Conference, the Whitecaps have progressed all the way through the postseason into the conference final. A lot of this success can be attributed to multiple players on the team but I think a special shoutout goes to Sebastian Berhalter who has been finding his form for both club and country. While Brian White may be the team’s leading goal scorer, Berhalter has been the team’s creative focal point all season – leading in metrics like chances created, accurate long balls and expected assists. His freekick game also seems to have taken a step up this season too.
Lastly, Jesper Sorensen deserves some credit too. Since taking over the Whitecaps, they’ve had a 53% win rate, won the Canadian Championship and are one game away from being in the MLS Cup final. Oh yeah, and he signed Thomas Müller in August.
What are you most thankful for in the 2025 MLS season? Leave a comment below!
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