Another whirlwind week of MLS NEXT Pro action is over, which means it's time to spotlight the top performers from the Matchweek.
Carolina Core FC earned their first-ever Team of the Matchweek honor with a commanding 5-0 win over NYCFC II.
Player of Matchweek 4 goes to Yu Tsukanome for his hat trick for the ages in Tacoma Defiance's 5-3 comeback thriller against a regional rival.
The MLS NEXT Rising Star honor stays in the Inter Miami Academy for another week, thanks to forward Mateo Saja's performance in Matchweek 4.
Read more about Matchday 4's winners below.
MLS NEXT Pro Team of Matchweek 4: Carolina Core FC
Carolina Core FC made a statement with their 5-0 win over NYCFC II on Saturday.
Head coach Donovan Ricketts will be left thrilled with CCFC using five different goal scorers en route to the largest margin of victory in club history and the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season overall.
A hot start saw the Foxes put three goals on NYCFC II in the first 20 minutes, and they only allowed four shots in the match (none on goal) before adding insurance in the closing stages.
"We had a solid all-around team performance,” Ricketts said postgame. “We controlled the game both in and out of possession."
The win was their first in MLS NEXT Pro play in 2025 and landed them above the playoff line in the Eastern Conference once the dust settled on Matchday 4
MLS NEXT Pro Player of Matchweek 4: Yu Tsukanome
The 24-year-old Japanese forward led the way in the Defance's thrilling 5-3 comeback against Cascadia rival Whitecaps FC2.
Entering the match in the 67th minute, Tsukanome was looking at the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreboard but dug deep to spur the comeback on with a hat trick.
After Jackson Khoury broke through the stout WFC2 defense in the 70th minute, Tsukanome needed no invitation to join in on the fun. He leveled the match with a point-blank finish in the 74th minute and then sealed the victory with strikes in the 76th and 88th.
His three-goal shift marked the first hat trick of the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season.
Tsukanome signed with Tacoma in December of 2023 and has nine goals and two assists all-time in matches for the Defiance.
MLS NEXT Rising Star of Matchweek 4: Mateo Saja
What are they feeding those kids in the Inter Miami Academy?
Saja earned the MLS NEXT Rising Star award for his goal against Atlanta United 2. He follows teammate Yuval Cohen, winner of the Rising Star award in Matchweek 3 and the Monthly honor in March.
Saja's goal kickstarted the game on Sunday before a day-long rain delay resulted in it being finished at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Monday. In all, he went for 77 minutes in one of the more unusual shifts he'll have in his career.
The 18-year-old Argentine has already equaled his goal tally with Inter Miami II from last year and looks primed to set a new high watermark with several weeks of season to go.
