The MLS season can be grueling, a 34-game regular season interrupted by continental, global, and domestic competitions. The MLS All-Star Game is next week, marking the unofficial midpoint of the 2025 campaign, and the league’s landscape is starting to take shape.
The Western Conference hasn't quite been the blockbuster show that the East has been this year, but it's still full of storylines, from dramatic on-field performances to lackluster coaching and failed transfers. Expansion side San Diego FC is looking to make history, becoming the first debutant since 1998 to win the Supporters' Shield
In the Midwest, the youngest manager in MLS, Eric Ramsay, is leading an exciting Minnesota United side through the conference. The Loons are playing one of the league's most interesting styles at the moment, winning matches without the ball. In the Pacific Northwest, the Vancouver Whitecaps are excelling at a rate never seen from the Canadian franchise, and it's starting to look like this could be their season.
There have also been disappointments, though. Reigning MLS Cup winners LA Galaxy are having an historically horrible season, while the likes of St. Louis CITY SC and FC Dallas have struggled.
With the summer transfer window about to open, the stakes are rising. It’s the last real opportunity for clubs to bolster rosters ahead of the final push.
GOAL grades each Western Conference team as the second window arrives and the final stretch of the campaign sits on the horizon.
