MLS NEXT Pro Honors: Matchweek 29

Decision Day is in the books, and it'll go down as a historic one. 

CT United FC, by way of their 7-2 rout of Inter Miami CF II, earned a playoff berth, marking the first-ever independent side to do so in their inaugural season, and grab their first Team of the Matchweek selection in the process. 

Huntsville City FC are heading to the postseason for the second year in a row. But that was far from guaranteed before their 2-1 win at Red Bull New York II. Getting in on both goals, striker Zidane Yáñez earns his first Player of the Matchweek nod for coming up clutch with his side's season on the line. 

On the Academy side, 16-year-old Real Salt Lake Academy winger Nicholas Silva notched his first professional goal to help Real Monarchs sign off from the season on a high note as they showed grit in a 2-1 home win over Ventura County FC. For that, he earns his first MLS NEXT Rising Star of the Matchweek spotlight. 

Read more about Matchweek 29's winners below:

Safe to say head coach Shavar Thomas got his guys up for the occasion. 

The Coywolves went into Decision Day controlling their own playoff destiny, needing to earn two points to ensure safety.

The response was a dominant 7-2 win over Miami II that more than did the job. In fact, it was the most they've scored all season, which will double as a little extra club history. 

The heroes were summer newcomer Bryan Destin and Barnabás Tanyi, who each rattled off hat-trick performances, with midfielder Daniel D'Ippolito adding the last goal in stoppage time. 

For Destin, burning his former club makes for a pretty wild statistical clip of 8g/1a in 581 minutes since returning to MLS NEXT Pro. For Tanyi, ending his debut with 23 goal contributions (16g/7a). is tied for best in the league. 

Ending their inaugural season in seventh, CT United will be up for selection in the Pick-Your-Opponent pool, but after signing off from the regular season scoring seven, it'll be a tough choice for another team to make. Interesting times ahead.

Huntsville City entered Decision Day on the outside looking in. 

Not only needing the win, but they also needed results elsewhere to go their way. 

With a date at defending MLS NEXT Pro Cup champs RBNY II, with weather as an obstacle, it was a lot to overcome. 

That didn't matter to Yáñez, who kept a cool head and did what needed to be done with a goal and assist to get HCFC the 2-1 win they needed. Getting breaks from NYCFC II and Atlanta United 2, his performance ended up being enough to get HCFC into the Eastern Conference play-in round. 

Originally an RBNY Academy player, Yáñez switched to NYCFC II in 2021. He joined Huntsville City on loan earlier this season and was later fully transferred to parent club Nashville SC. Born in New Jersey, Yáñez, 18, represents Chile on the international stage and has made appearances at the U15, U16, and U17 levels, in addition to joining the senior team as a guest earlier this year.

No playoff stakes were on the line when Real Monarchs hosted Ventura County FC for their season finale. 

There's still a point to prove in signing off against a top-three side in the Western Conference. 

For 16-year-old Silva, it was a great opportunity to be bold, and that paid off as he notched his first professional goal in first-half stoppage time.

In his debut season with Real Monarchs, Silva comes away with 1g/1a in 380 minutes across nine appearances.