Another week, another dominant performance for Houston Dynamo 2.
Picking up their first MLS NEXT Pro Team of the Matchweek honor with their dominant 5-0 win over Portland Timbers2, Dynamo Dos are the last team in the league standing to have yet to concede a goal.
Also perhaps overdue, Crown Legacy FC striker Rodolfo Aloko gets his first Player of the Matchweek nod for his work in a 3-0 win over Inter Miami II.
Orlando City B needed a match-winner this weekend in a tight road test at Carolina Core FC, and Orlando Academy midfielder Caleb Trombino played the part in a super sub role to earn this week's Rising Star of the Matchweek.
Here's a closer look at this week's honor winners:
A 5-0 outing will make any coach happy. Sourcing goals from five different players should make interim head coach Jeremy Hurdle and Co. feel confident that this Dynamo Dos group has match-winners all over the field at any given moment.
Hosting Timbers2 on Sunday, Arthur Sousa and Matthew Arana took turns assisting each other's goals. Midfielder Tomas Wiesner made it 3-0 just before the halftime whistle.
It didn't stop there, though, as second-half substitutes JJ Bell and Vinicious Silva racked up the score in the closing minutes of the game.
That output, plus a sturdy defensive effort that limited previously unbeaten T2 to only three shots on target, made Dynamo 2 the biggest winner of the weekend.
Emerging as one of the promising newcomers in the league, Aloko's introduction boasts 5g/2a through his first three weeks with Crown Legacy FC on loan from Croatian side NK Kustošija.
The 19-year-old striker, hailing from Benin's latest masterpiece, was a 1g/1a contribution to CLFC's dominant 3-0 win over Inter Miami II on Sunday to keep his side at the top of the East.
He opened the scoring with an expertly handled run on the counter in the 25th minute, where despite having two Miami defenders marking him, Aloko made enough space to receive a through ball from Hugo Mbongue and take it into the box for a calm and cool finish.
Dizzying the Miami defense again in the 53rd minute, Aloko took a loose ball in the box to the endline boundary before acrobatically putting it at the mouth of the goal for Nimfasha Berchimas to finish.
The MLS NEXT Pro record for goals scored in a month is seven, and Aloko looks to be on a warpath to tie or break it if he can maintain his blistering pace.
In the academy scene, Orlando's Caleb Trombino played the hero in OCB's road trip to Carolina Core.
Coming on as a sub in the 84th minute, the 16-year-old came up clutch in the fifth minute of stoppage time when he got loose on a set piece for a slam-dunk header to win the match.
Saturday marked Trombino's second MLS NEXT Pro appearance, following a start in Matchweek 1 against Huntsville City FC.
It's only taken the youngster 76 minutes to open his professional account, immeditatley making him one to watch this season.
