Shield Watch: MLS Supporters’ Shield favorites state their cases after Matchday 19

We are already halfway through the 2025 MLS season. With that, there is a clear top five teams that are all beginning to state their cases for the chance to win the Supporters’ Shield. Right now, the Philadelphia Union holds pole position after matchday 19!

Union, MLS — Image Credit: Philadelphia Union

MLS Supporters’ Shield Watch after Matchday 19

For those unfamiliar with the MLS Supporters’ Shield, it’s a trophy awarded to the team that finishes the regular season with the best overall record/points total. Now that the 2025 season is in its back half, it’s time to look at the teams high up the standings in the Eastern and Western Conferences and pushing for the Shield!

1st Place: Philadelphia Union – 37 points from 18 games played

At the midway point of the year, the Philadelphia Union is the best team in MLS! Their combination of new coach Bradley Carnell’s willingness to implement a breakneck style of pressing and a roster full of young and hungry players has resulted in their major successes in the first half of the season.

This past week, Philly had to deal with missing six regular starters thanks to callups to the Concacaf Gold Cup and injuries. With other players asked to be the “next man up,” the Union was able to grind out a 2-1 win. They scored just before halftime thanks to a Jesus Bueno golazo; Wilfred Zaha tied the match with just 12 minutes to spare, and with everybody thinking it was going to be a 1-1 draw, Markus Anderson scored for Philadelphia on the last kick of the game!

The Union has a grit that gets results. They never say die and look to be the best team in the East. That will also translate into being a top-tier contender for MLS’s Supporters Shield!

Next match: @ Chicago Fire | Wednesday, June 25 | 8:30 pm EST

2nd Place: Vancouver Whitecaps – 35 points from 17 games played

Vancouver has been statistically the best team in MLS all season, and they did so while making a run to the Concacaf Champions Cup Final. After their brutal 5-0 loss to Cruz Azul down in Mexico, things have been hit or miss for Vancouver. Two weekends ago, they faced Seattle and won 3-0; this past week, they went to Columbus and faltered.

A matchup between Vancouver and Columbus could be seen as an MLS Cup preview. Both sides were missing a handful of players due to international callups and injuries. That didn’t stop both sides from trading goals inside the first 10 minutes, but Columbus had more quality on the day, winning 2-1.

The Whitecaps’ loss meant that their MLS-best points per game dropped to 2.06, which is now tied with Philadelphia. Vancouver has a game in hand on Philly, but they are now two points behind the leaders and will have to keep their high-flying form up to regain momentum to retake the top spot.

Next match: vs San Diego FC| Wednesday, June 25 | 10:30 pm EST

3rd Place: San Diego FC – 33 points from 18 games played

The top of the MLS table is full of surprises as the expansion side of San Diego FC sits in third place, with just four points off the shield! Head Coach Mikey Varas has his side buzzing, and the whole city is behind them. They’re showing they are the cream of the California team crop.

San Diego took down a tough Minnesota United side this past weekend in a 4-2 thriller. Minnesota took the lead twice in the first half and was up 2-1 at the half, but San Diego scored three unanswered in the second to get three huge points!

These three points were the difference between San Diego finishing matchweek 19 in third place rather than sixth or seventh, which is where they would have been if they had drawn or lost to Minnesota. This team has some fight and will have a say on who finishes atop the West and the Shield standings this year.

Next match: @ Vancouver Whitecaps| Wednesday, June 25 | 10:30 pm EST

4th Place: FC Cincinnati – 33 points from 18 games played

Cincinnati is a team that has long stayed near the top of the Eastern Conference, but has some work to do to fight for the top spot in their conference and MLS’s Supporters’ Shield standings. They’re a team that doesn’t score many goals, but also has a defense near elite status.

This was true in their match last weekend, a 1-0 win over the New England Revolution. Cincy and New England both had 10 shots, three of which were on target. The difference was that Cincinnati could create two big chances from their three shots on target, one of which was put home by Kevin Denkey in the 26th minute. This club will be good-to-great in 2025, but can they contend for top places?

Cincinnati has had to deal with changing player personnel and injuries all season. With all of that, they are still just four points off of the top of the East and the Shield. Whether they can contend will be answered if and when they play well against the teams above them.

Next match: @ CF Montreal | Wednesday, June 25 | 7:30 pm EST

5th Place: Nashville SC – 32 points from 18 games played

Rounding out the top five of MLS’s elite teams is one that many thought wouldn’t be up this high up the table halfway through the year: Nashville SC. They are third in the East, only five points behind Philly, a team Nashville beat at Subaru Park earlier this season. Can BJ Callaghan’s boys keep scrapping their way to the top of the Shield standings?

Nashville had a confident 2-0 win at the Chicago Fire this past weekend. In a game where the away side had less possession, shots, shots on target, and expected goals, Nashville scored twice and kept a clean sheet. Their attack pairing of Surridge and Mukhtar got the goals and propelled Nashville into the top five of MLS teams.

While Nashville is in the top tier of MLS sides competing for the Supporters’ Shield, it is also one slip-up away from falling to 10th place in the Shield standings. Just three points separate it from Miami, so we will see if Nashville can continue to stay relevant as the summer rolls along!

Next match: @ New England Revolution | Wednesday, June 25 | 7:30 pm EST

Rounding out the top 10

MLS is a league of parity, and its competitive nature has shown that there is a big difference between a win, a draw, or a loss on any given week. The top two teams are two to four points up on third, fourth, and fifth-placed teams; however, the difference between third and 10th place in the MLS’s Shield race is only four points. This means there will be a lot of movement in the standings throughout this second half of the season, so let’s look at the teams that round out the top 10.

6th place: Columbus Crew – 31 points from 18 games played
7th place: Orlando City – 30 points from 18 games played
8th place: Minnesota United – 30 points from 18 games played
9th place: Portland Timbers – 30 points from 18 matches played
10th place: Inter Miami – 29 points from 16 games played

Teams like the ones above are formidable MLS sides. They could even make a playoff run to MLS Cup. All of them could make their way into the top five of the Shield standings if a few more results go their way. That’s the beauty of this league as the season goes on. There is always a clear top few clubs; however, if any of the teams on the fringe of greatness can string a run of results together, the race for the Supporters’ Shield will become much more interesting.