Good Friday morning Caps fans, hope you all are having a lovely week and that you are gearing up for a well-earned break this weekend.

The play-in games are in the books, and the MLS Cup playoffs are officially set, teeing up the first of the best-of-three matches this weekend. Not that this affected the Caps, who have been preparing for another date with FC Dallas in what should be one of the more entertaining first-round matchups.

I won’t lie that this opponent is making me a bit nervous. Dallas has been perhaps the hottest team in the league over the last month-and-a-half, and the notion of Ralph Priso having to go toe to toe with Petar Musa in aerial duels is … concerning. Vancouver certainly proved that they can play through this Dallas side and their low block but the transition threat will be much more of a real one for Dallas on Sunday than it was this last weekend. Jesper Sorensen has been quite good about setting up well in these sorts of matches, but no one should be underestimating this tie — and I’m sure the players and coaches won’t be.

Now that the regular season is in the books, I figured I might as well chime in with who, in my opinion, merits the leaguewide awards that are currently being voted on. Wisely, MLS doesn’t give me a selection but the Caps are well represented IRL for most of these awards (the finalists were announced Thursday). Nonetheless, here are my personal award picks:

MVP: Lionel Messi, Inter Miami

Last year Messi didn’t deserve to win MVP. This year? Well, I don’t think anyone can mount a serious argument that he doesn’t deserve to win. He has more goal involvements in his last 10 games than most players do over the course of the entire season and he came within a whisker of Carlos Vela’s single-season record. Not too shabby.

Honorable Mention: Anders Dreyer, San Diego; Petar Musa, Dallas; Evander, FC Cincinnati

Coach of the Year: Jesper Sorensen

This one will likely be the toughest award to decide for voters, but for me, it is quite simple. While you can’t consider non-MLS success in voting for these awards, you can consider the fixture congestion and injuries that the Caps had to deal with due to their deep runs in CONCACAF and Canadian Championship play. Sorensen managed all of that with aplomb and kept Vancouver playing a both entertaining and well-organized style pretty much all season long (save a brief swoon in the summer). While he didn’t end up winning the West, the degree of difficulty to keep the Caps in a Supporters’ Shield race is slightly higher than it was for his competitors. In any other season, Bradley Carnell or Mikey Varas would be runaway winners. But Sorensen deserves his flowers for 2025.

Honorable mention: Carnell; Varas; BJ Callaghan, Nashville SC

Newcomer of the Year: Anders Dreyer, San Diego

This is perhaps the easiest award to hand out. Dreyer turned in one of the best seasons in MLS history for a creative midfielder, on an expansion side, with his fellow DP attacker Chucky Lozano either hurt or banished for a decent chunk of the season. A clear winner.

Honorable mention: Marco Pasalic, Orlando City

Defender of the Year: Olwethu Makhanya, Philadelphia Union

This is also a tough one. If Tristan Blackmon didn’t miss the last chunk of the season (and if the Caps’ defense didn’t hold up well over that span), he would be a clear winner given both his defensive quality and how instrumental he is to how Vancouver plays. But Makhanya has been excellent, a rock alongside Jakob Glesnes in the backline and a clear candidate to move to Europe on a big fee. Michael Boxall is another strong contender but I think Philadelphia’s solidity, which earned them a shield, should be recognized with an individual award as well.

Honorable mention: Blackmon, Boxall

Goalkeeper of the Year: Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United

I think Yohei Takaoka should be getting much more love for this award than he is (he led the league in clean sheets for a reason!) but I think you can make an argument that Taka also benefited from a good structure in front of him. St. Clair was perhaps the sole thing keeping Minnesota in games at times this season and was an even more important cog in how well they performed. Tough to argue against the Canadian for this one.

Honorable mention: Takaoka; Sean Johnson, Toronto FC

Young Player of the Year: Owen Wolff, Austin FC

Another tough one and an award that is challenging because of its vagueness. Much like MVP, what defines the best young player in the league? The best raw talent? The most impactful? The guy who will get sold for the most money? Wolff may not be the answer to all of those questions but he was the most instrumental young player in the league on a team that spent $15 million-plus on their attack in the offseason.

Honorable mention: Obed Vargas, Seattle Sounders; Idan Toklomati, Charlotte FC

Who did I miss? Chime in in the comments and we can kill some time before Sunday night.

Shameless Self Promotion

Kian has a great interview and break down on a massive rookie campaign for Tate Johnson (if MLS still did rookie of the year, he would be a finalist for sure).

Best of the Rest

Thomas Mueller is locked in for the playoff run — wonder why he’s the most decorated German ever?

The Caps will have the upper bowl open for Sunday’s match, something that was once unusual but has now become somewhat routine.

Messi has signed a three-year extension, keeping him in Miami through the opening of that club’s new stadium and beyond.

League-wide attendance is down 5% year-over-year. I guess the Mueller effect can only take you so far.