MLS Power Rankings: Unlikely duo holds top spots
- by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, May 10, 2016
Seattle took a big jump by winning its fourth game in the last six as many other teams faltered. New York City FC won at RFK Stadium to win its second straight game. On the downside, defeats for FC Dallas and Sporting Kansas City dropped them each a few more notches.
MLS Week 10:
May 6
Orlando City 1, New York Red Bulls 1. Highlights
May 7
Toronto FC 1, FC Dallas 0. Highlights
Colorado 1, Real Salt Lake 0. Highlights
Columbus 4, Montreal 4. Highlights
Vancouver 2, Portland 1. Highlights
Seattle 2, San Jose 0. Highlights
Houston 2, Sporting KC 0. Highlights
May 8
LA Galaxy 4, New England 2. Highlights
D.C. United 0, New York City FC 2. Highlights
Only MLS results are factored into the Power Rankings, which include a team’s record in parentheses and rank last week.
1. LA GALAXY (5-1-3), 1. After running rings around the Revs while ringing up a 3-0 lead, the Galaxy conceded twice and had to ride out a nervous 20 minutes before sub Steven Gerrard added a fourth goal in stoppage time. Robbie Keane showed no rust from recent knee surgery while scoring twice on assists from Gyasi Zardes, and Giovani dos Santos cracked home a thunderous volley in addition earning an assist.
2. COLORADO (6-2-2), 3. Jermaine Jones punctuated yet another powerhouse performance by sharply finishing a nice series of passes as the Rapids ran their home mark to 5-0-0. The victory atoned a defeat by the same score at RSL in April and extended Colorado’s unbeaten streak to five games.
3. TORONTO FC (4-3-2), 4. The new, expanded BMO Field lived up to its billing and the home team came through as well. Rookie Tsubasa Endoh thrilled a sellout crowd of 30,025 by scoring his first MLS goal on a pass from Sebastian Giovinco, who had struck the woodwork on a shot few minutes earlier. Keeper Clint Irwin posted a fourth shutout; last year, TFC logged just five in 34 games.
4. REAL SALT LAKE (5-2-2), 2. After starting the season with a six-game unbeaten streak, RSL has lost two of its last three but wasn’t outplayed at Colorado. RSL controlled 54.3 percent of possession and generated 13 shots, seven of them in the final 32 minutes after sub Joao Plata -- absent because of injury the past two games -- entered the match. Juan Martinez put two of his five shots on target.
5. MONTREAL (4-3-3), 5. A goal in stoppage time by former Columbus attacker Dominic Oduro capped a three-goal comeback to earn the Impact its third straight tie. A minute after Didier Drogba’s penalty kick started the rally, Ignacio Piatti drove a spectacular dipping shot inside the far post for his second goal of the game. In those three games, IMFC has scored seven goals and conceded seven.
6. PHILADELPHIA (4-3-1), 9.The Union sat out last weekend and has two biggies on the docket: at home Wednesday against the Galaxy and at Montreal Saturday.
7. SEATTLE (4-4-1), 14. Keyed by Erik Friberg and Osvaldo Alonso -- each of whom earned an assist -- the Sounders’ midfield controlled the game for significant periods and got the goals they needed from Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris, who also played a ball that Friberg relayed to Dempsey. The Sounders may be trending in the right direction; they have earned more points, seven, in the last three games than they did in the previous six.
8. SAN JOSE (4-3-3), 7. The Quakes were probably worthy of a point at CenturyLink Field, but Chris Wondolowski stroked a penalty kick off the base of the post and a curling free kick by Simon Dawkins clanked off the crossbar as their 22-game scoring streak ended. They have extracted only two points from five road matches. San Jose puts its home unbeaten record (4-0-1) on the line Wednesday against Houston.
9. PORTLAND (3-4-3), 8. Eleven saves by keeper Jake Gleeson weren’t enough to stave off the ‘Caps, who dominated play before and after Nat Borchers’ tap-in polished off a Darlington Nagbe pass at the end of a crisp attacking sequence. On both goals, Gleeson could have done better but the same can be said for many Timbers; they have conceded 18 goals in 10 games (1.8 per game) this season after posting a 1.15 figure last year.
10. FC DALLAS (5-4-2), 6. A third straight shutout extended FCD’s losing streak to three games, during which it has been outscored, 8-0. On Wednesday, FCD hosts the Portland, which it beat at Providence Park, 3-1, last month.
11. VANCOUVER (4-5-2), 15. Rookie Masato Kudo wasn’t among the prominent offseason acquisitions, but his equalizer and assist on the winner sparked a 2-1 comeback victory that was just the ‘Caps second in the last seven matches. The ‘Caps controlled 57.1 percent of the possession and outshot Portland, 26-9.
12. NEW YORK CITY FC (3-3-4), 18. Seldom since it joined MLS last year has NYCFC played a more consistent game on the road, logging 55.1 percent of the possession at RFK. Khiry Shelton capped off a strong game by scoring a clinching goal to go along with a secondary assist on David Villa’s game-winner.
13. ORLANDO CITY SC (2-2-5), 10. The Lions fell behind at home and struggled to generate many attacks; of their 12 shots Kevin Molino put the only one in the net when a tackle knocked the ball from Cyle Larin right into his path. Head coach Adrian Heath stayed with his starters; the only sub, Servando Carrasco, played just two minutes.
14. D.C UNITED (2-4-4), 11. Home cooking isn’t the answer to United’s problems. NYCFC scored twice four minutes apart early in the second half. Its RFK record dropped to 2-3-1 after it produced zero shots on goal though Marcelo Sarvas hit the post with a free kick.
15. CHICAGO (1-2-4), 12. The Fire faces a week full of travel after sitting out last weekend. It plays at Vancouver Wednesday and crosses the country to New England for a Saturday match.
16. SPORTING KANSAS CITY (4-5-2), 13. After getting off three shots in the first 10 minutes at Houston, SKC lost momentum and gave up two goals late in the first half. After sitting out six games with a strained hamstring, midfielder Soni Mustivar returned to the lineup and right back Chance Myers saw his first action in nearly a month after sitting out with a thigh injury. Its winless streak is six games, during which it has scored four goals and hasn’t posted a shutout.
17. NEW YORK RED BULLS (3-6-1), 17. The Red Bulls generated just five shots, yet took the lead in Orlando City but ended up with their first tie of the season. Bradley Wright-Phillips ran onto a ball from Sacha Kljestan to score his third goal of the season. Defender Aurelien Collin started his first game for the Red Bulls against the team that traded him to New York; a close offside decision annulled a Collin foul that would have yielded a penalty kick.
18, COLUMBUS (2-4-3), 16. So how does Crew SC cope with a blown three-goal lead following a squabble between Kei Kamara and Federico Higuain -- both of whom scored twice -- regarding the taking of a penalty kick? After conceding twice within a minute, a win still was in hand until Oduro capped a miserable night by equalizing in stoppage time. The answers best come quickly; next up are the high-flying Rapids.
19. HOUSTON (2-5-2), 20. A six-game winless streak ended after the Dynamo broke open a goalless game with two goals late in the first half. Giles Barnes smashed home a feed from Erik Torres in the 30th minute and in stoppage time played a ball that Cristian Maidana crossed for Andrew Wenger to drill into the net.
20. NEW ENGLAND (1-3-7), 19. Trailing, 3-0, at StubHub Center, the Revs woke up after Lee Nguyen departed in the 60th minute but are still winless in six games. His replacement, Femi Hollinger-Janzen, set up Juan Agudelo for a goal three minutes after Kelyn Rowe nailed a shot into the top corner. The Revs nearly grabbed a point, but an Agudelo shot hit the woodwork. In those six games, New England has conceded 13 goals.
