MLS Week 34 best players - ranked
By Chris Smith
It's business time in MLS with the end of the regular season just a week away.
The race for the Playoffs is red-hot with neither Conference anywhere near resolved. In the West, there's a five-way battle for the final three post-season spots, while the East still has six times fighting over three places.
If ever there was a time for players to stand up and be counted, it's now. And some certainly pulled out their very best in Week 34. Here are our top five individual performances:
5. Franco Fragapane (Minnesota United)
As the season has gone on, it's become increasingly clearer that Franco Fragapane is the solution to Minnesota United's longstanding problem on the left flank. At the weekend, he proved why once again.
The Argentine winger lashed home from inside the area to draw the Loons level in their eventual 2-1 win over SKC on Sunday. He also created one chance and completed two dribbles, but it was perhaps his work on the other side of the ball that impressed the most, with Fragapane making a match-high nine tackles, six of which came inside the SKC half.
You'd do well to find any full-back (or winger for that matter) in MLS relishing the prospect of going toe-to-toe with Fragapane right now.
4. Jack McGlynn (Philadelphia Union)
Them Union homegrowns, huh?
With the Playoffs already assured and bottom-of-the-table FC Cincinnati in town, Sunday night felt like the perfect time for Jim Curtin to throw a load of his youngsters in at once and, boy, was he rewarded.
Paxten Aaronson caught the eye with another stunning goal, but Jack McGlynn was the biggest standout of all the young talent on show.
The 18-year-old run the game with his assist for Aaronson's strike one of four chances created on the night, while he completed the second-highest number of passes of any Philadelphia player, and came agonizingly close to scoring himself with a shot that was dragged just wide.
We all know what happens when Union youngsters put on a show and it won't be long until McGlynn starts drawing admiring glances.
3. Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes)
Speaking of 18-year-olds, anyone wishing to justify Cade Cowell's inclusion in this week's column need only stop at his glorious solo goal against RSL at the weekend. But we'll do you one better.
Cowell is raw but immensely talented. When he's on it, he has the ability to tear your defense to shreds. That's what he did here with an assist for Carlos Fierro's goal to go nicely alongside his own strike, while he completed three dribbles and made the RSL backline look stupid at times.
And the teenager put in the hard yards defensively, too, making four tackles - only Nathan (9) and Judson (5) managed more among Quakes players.
It's been a tough few months for Cowell, but this was a timely reminder of what he's really capable of.
2. Taty Castellanos (NYCFC)
Taty Castellanos' brace against Inter Miami finally puts him top of the MLS Golden Boot standings and it's about time, considering he's topped the xG charts for months now.
To his credit, even when he's wasteful or frustrating, Castellanos always contributes, whether through his work rate, ability to draw fouls, or create for others.
He pretty much did all that in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday, assisting Talles Magno's strike to put the game to bed and contesting more offensive aerial duels than any other player on the pitch (3), while he also attempted eight dribbles. Even though he only completed two of them, Castellanos' direct nature scared the life out of the Miami defense.
"He has grown throughout the season. He’s maybe the best striker in the league," declared NYCFC boss Ronny Deila after the match. Who are we to argue with him?
1. Lucas Zelarayan (Columbus Crew)
If the Crew somehow manage the impossible and climb above the Playoff line, they'll owe a huge debt of gratitude to Lucas Zelarayan.
The newly-minted Armenia international has been on fire recently and was at it again on Saturday, scoring twice (his second was an absolute peach) to inspire a 3-1 comeback win at DC United.
Zelarayan also created six chances and on another night, could have left Audi Field with a hat-trick of assists. As it stands, he has 11 goals and four assists on the season - pushing up on MVP numbers in a side that has struggled to live up to their MLS Cup champions tag.
Honorable mentions: Paxten Aaronson, Daniel Gazdag, Hany Mukhtar, Will Yarbrough, Pedro Santos, Miguel Berry, Albert Rusnak, Chris Wondolowski.