Five breakout stars in Major League Soccer

Central defender Finn Surman | Portland Timbers

Portland (3-1-2) closed its 2024 season disastrously, losing 5-0 at home in the MLS Cup play-in game against Vancouver. Clearly, a rebuild was needed during the offseason — and coach Phil Neville started by overhauling his defensive line.

Surman — an unheralded defender from New Zealand coming off three seasons back home with Wellington Phoenix — is the star of this new chapter. The 21-year-old has started all six of Portland's regular-season games and looks cemented into the team's best 11. In Portland's 3-1 win over the Houston Dynamo on March 30, Surman's positioning (and his breakneck speed) powered the Timbers.

Midfielder Quinn Sullivan | Philadelphia Union

It's tough to stand out when your little brother Cavan is a once-in-a-generation phenom who made his professional debut at age 14, but Sullivan has found a way for Philadelphia (4-0-2). The 21-year-old attacking midfielder is thriving under the watchful eye of new manager Bradley Carnell. 

Philadelphia's success stems from its relentless forward press, and Sullivan is the engine that makes it happen. His four assists this season are a big part of Philadelphia's league-leading 13.92 expected goals (XG). (XG is a metric that quantifies the quality of a scoring opportunity, assigning a value to each shot based on several factors, to predict the likelihood of a goal being scored.) 

Forward Luis Muriel | Orlando City

Orlando (3-1-2) usually takes a while to get going. In 2024, it needed 10 games to sort out its structure and figure where its goals would come from.

Things look different in 2025. Orlando needed just one game — a 4-2 loss in its home opener against the Philadelphia Union — to pull itself together. The team is unbeaten in its past three MLS games and leads the league in goals with 15.  

Muriel, Orlando's mercurial Colombian forward, is the reason why: He's partnered beautifully with new signing Marco Pasalic to ease himself into the finest goalscoring form of his career.

Ignatius Ganago | New England Revolution

New England (1-1-3) had its first multiple-goal game in its fifth match, so let's not pretend Cameroonian forward Ganago is on this list for his attacking form. 

But watch Ganago operating among his peers and you'll see a player with speed, intelligence and breathtaking physicality. He has only been with the Revs for a few weeks and already looks like the most motivated player on the team. Ganago is the shot of adrenaline tired, stressed-out New England desperately needed.