MLS Stats Zone: Zack Steffen's resurgence, final third efficiency, new talented playmakers

After five matchweeks in the 2025 Major League Soccer regular season, there are some early surprises in the standings in both the Eastern and Western Conferences.

Out West, the reigning MLS Cup champion LA Galaxy are languishing in 14th place with just two points, while the Vancouver Whitecaps are the only team in the conference with a double-digit point total.

In the East, Inter Miami has 10 points with a game in hand on most of its opponents, but the Philadelphia Union lead the conference while just three points separate second and 10th place.

There have also been some strong individual performances to start the season, a handful of which we'll cover here.

Zack Steffen's Shot-Stopping Resurgence

Zack Steffen was the worst shot-stopper in the 2024 MLS season based on Post-Shot Expected Goals faced (PSxG) minus goals allowed.

The American 'keeper faced shots on target worth a total of 45.9 PSxG but allowed 57 goals, meaning he allowed 9.1 goals more than expected for an average goalkeeper. That was 1.1 goals worse than the next-closest goalie.

This season, it's a completely different story.

Steffen ranks as the best shot-stopper in MLS, allowing four goals despite having faced shots worth 6.6 PSxG. He's done that having played just four matches — one fewer than most other starting goalies in the league.

In Colorado's season-opening match at St. Louis City, Steffen saved 1.68 PSxG from five shots on target to keep a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw. He also shut out Austin FC, who had five shots on target worth a total of 0.74 PSxG.

Steffen also starred against the San Jose Earthquakes in a 2-1 road win for the Rapids.

San Jose out-shot Colorado 27-9, with 11 of the Quakes' shots being on target. Steffen saved 10 of them, giving him a 'goals prevented' stat of 1.37 for the match.

Final Third Efficiency

Only five teams who have played five matches so far are averaging two goals per game — Charlotte FC, Chicago Fire FC, Orlando City SC, Philadelphia Union, and Vancouver Whitecaps — and only Vancouver ranks in the top five league-wide in average possession.

It's the same story when looking at touches in the attacking third or attacking penalty area. Only Vancouver ranks among the top five teams.

This tells us two things: Direct play leads to goals, and the Whitecaps must be great at navigating tight spaces.

As United States Men's and Women's National Team fans know, it is hard to score against a well-structured defense, especially a defense set up in a low block.

Vancouver has the personnel to navigate those defenses with Ryan Gauld and Jayden Nelson on either side of striker Brian White, most other teams don't have two star-quality wingers who can dribble past opponents regularly. So, those teams have to find other ways to get defenses off balance.

Orlando, for example, ranks third in through balls completed (12) and second in defensive actions leading to shots (five).

Philly ranks eighth from last leaguewide in passes attempted and third from last in pass completion percentage. But, the team sits right in the middle of the pack in progressive passing distance, illustrating how the team likes to move the ball forward quickly.

Chicago, despite being in the bottom 10 of possession, has thrived by getting the ball to newly-signed winger Jonathan Bamba, who is fifth in the league with 12 carries into the penalty area. He and striker Hugy Cuypers have formed a lethal partnership up front, as Cuypers has five goals and Bamba has three assists.

MLS' New Star Playmakers

Including the aforementioned Bamba and Nelson, the early stages of this MLS season have seen some new stars step up and produce in a big way for their respective teams.

League veterans including Carles Gil of the New England Revolution and Kai Wagner of Philadelphia are still providing great service to their teammates, but a handful of other players are playing at their standard, too.

San Jose Earthquakes right wing-back Cristian Espinoza has thrived this season under manager Bruce Arena. He's been on the Earthquakes since 2019, meaning he's played on some bad teams, but he has stepped up this season as he ranks in the top 10 in assists, expected assists, key passes, passes into the penalty area, crosses into the penalty area, total crosses, corner kicks taken, shot-creating actions, and goal-creating actions.

Charlotte FC's Pep Biel, who joined midway through the 2024 campaign, seems to be hitting his stride. His four assists are the joint-most in the league, and he's in the top 10 in expected assists, completed through balls and goal-creating actions.

Portland Timbers playmaker David Costa, signed from French club Lens ahead of the season, has started well. He leads the league in progressive carries with 27 and ranks in the top 10 in expected assists, completed through balls, successful take-on percentage, and carries into the penalty area.

Vancouver's Pedro Vite has also raised his game at the start of his fourth MLS season. He has 12 passes into the penalty area and four goal-creating actions, and his team has created 4.4 more xG than its opponents in Vite's 359 minutes on the pitch this season.

Young American attacking midfielders/wingers Quinn Sullivan and Owen Wolff, of the Union and Austin FC respectively, also stack up well in playmaking stats. Wolff has three assists and is tied for 10th in expected assists, while Sullivan has two assists, is tied for fifth with four crosses into the penalty area and is tied for sixth with four goal-creating actions.

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