MLS Winners and Losers: Peyton Miller’s rise, a new star emerges & more

It’s in the title, folks. Every week during the MLS season, Backheeled is here to dive into the biggest Winners and Losers from around the league. Let’s get right to it!

Winner: Morgan Whittaker, Colorado’s new star

To be honest, it’s been a rough week for the Rapids. They were blown out at home midweek in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals and then they blew a 3-1 lead at home against the Seattle Sounders to draw 3-3 back in regular season play on Saturday night. Still, none of that overshadows the brilliant start to life in MLS for their shiny new Designated Player Morgan Whittaker.

Whittaker, who joined the Rapids for a club-record reported $10.7 million transfer fee, made his first league start against the Sounders and was nothing short of brilliant. The 25-year-old attacker was dynamic throughout, showing top-tier dribbling ability with a game-high four successful take-ons. Not to bury the lede too far, he also registered a brace, scoring his first two goals for his new club. I’m going to work my way backwards to talk about the goals, starting with his second goal. This, folks, is an example of pure class: 

Filthy. The flick up and volley into the top corner is outstanding and serves as a great example of Whittaker’s quality. Also, he does well to find Aaronson out wide and then follow the run to get the ball back for the shot.

The first goal might be even more encouraging, though:

The highlight doesn’t do it justice. While you can again see Whittaker’s technical proficiency with a lovely across-the-body finish to the far post, what isn’t shown is his savvy run. The former Middlesbrough man baits his defender by casually moving into the center of the box and doesn’t accelerate until he sees the perfect opening and finds himself in a great goalscoring position. That is repeatable and will lead to more goalscoring opportunities.