The second half of the season will be crunch time for those expecting to be in this year's MLS NEXT Pro Cup playoff race. Chattanooga FC showed that urgency in an Eastern Conference statement 4-0 win over defending champs Red Bull New York II, putting themselves in a class of their own for the Team of Matchweek 14 selection.
In a similar position out West, Ventura County FC are riding back-to-back wins. Handing Houston Dynamo 2 their first loss of the season in 3-1 fashion, Dylan Vanney's 1g/2a performance stood above the rest for Player of Matchweek 14.
The Orlando City SC Academy has another star in the making. 16-year-old winger Matthew Belgodere played the hero in Orlando City B's wild 3-2 comeback win over Carolina Core FC to earn the MLS NEXT Rising Star of the Matchweek.
Read more about Matchweek 14's winners below.
After losing the momentum of a three-game winning streak in Matchweek 13, Chattanooga FC's response was one of the biggest storylines in the league in MW14.
Led by mainstay Tate Robertson's first-half brace, Isaiah Jones and Alex Krehl added insurance for a dominant 4-0 win over RBNY II.
"For us, that was by far the most complete performance of the season," interim head coach Richard Dixon said postgame. "We were consistent in what we set out to do from the get-go, both in and out of possession.
A very valuable three points against second-place RBNY II is a big statement from the Boys in Blue, who are fighting to host playoff games at Finley Stadium for the second year in a row.
Vanney, 18, continued his breakout year in Saturday's big win.
Dynamo Dos have been the hardest team to score on all season, and he cracked the code with a two-assist, one-goal second half by playing helper for Julian Placias and Gabriel Arnold before finding space for a free header to put the game out of reach.
The big performance rose Vanney's season tally to 7g/3a.
Vanney, a regular in the MLS NEXT Rising Star selections over the past two seasons, went professional with VCFC in May and recently earned a first-team call-up with the LA Galaxy shortly after.
Orlando City B just can't stay out of the weekly honors section.
This week, their heroic 3-2 comeback win over Carolina Core was completed by Belgodere of the OCSC Academy.
He jumped into a 2-2 deadlock in the 59th minute and marauded to the 83rd, where he fired in his first professional goal from distance. A strike every bit as stylish as it was important, Belgodere very well may take both Rising Star and Goal of the Matchweek honors.
Belgodere becomes the fourth Orlando Academy player to earn the Rising Star nod in 2026, following Caleb Trombino in Matchweek 3, Nicolas Lasheras in Matchweek 8, and goalkeeper Luca Maxim in Matchweek 10.
