MLS Power Rankings: RSL and Timbers move up
- by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Jun 6, 2016
MLS Week 14 Results:
June 1
Philadelphia 3, Columbus 2. Highlights
Portland 1, San Jose 0. Highlights
D.C. United 0, Seattle 2. Highlights
June 2
LA Galaxy 0, Sporting Kansas City 0. Highlights
FC Dallas 1, Houston 1. Highlights
New York City FC 2, Real Salt Lake 3. Highlights
Facts regarding non-league games are mentioned in the comments but only league matches are factored into the Power Rankings, which include a team’s record in parentheses followed by its rank last week.
1. COLORADO (8-2-4), 1. The Rapids will be represented at the European Championship by DP Shkelzen Gashi; Albania plays its first game Saturday against Switzerland.
2. FC DALLAS (8-4-4), 2. A field saturated by rains that necessitated a delay of nearly two hours didn’t deter Fabian Castillo, who raced up field to hit a cross that Ryan Hollingsworth smacked into the net. Chris Seitz got the start in goal and for now at least looks like the No. 1.
3. PHILADELPHIA (6-3-5), 3. A goal and assist by Chris Pontius drove the Union back from a 1-0 deficit and Fabian Herbers’ late goal turned out to be the winner as Philly parlayed back-to-back road ties at Orlando City and Colorado last week into an important home victory. Pontius has scored three goals and chalked up three assists in the last eight games, all of which Philly has won or tied.
4. LA GALAXY (5-2-6), 4. A feeble offensive effort -- one shot by Mike Magee, not on target -- still yielded a point. Four saves by Brian Rowe helped him earn his second shutout of the season.
5. VANCOUVER (6-6-3), 5. A young lineup fell to the NASL's Ottawa Fury, 2-0, in the Canadian Championship. The second leg is next week at B.C. Place.
6. REAL SALT LAKE (7-4-2), 8. How do you score three goals with only two shots on goal? You get sharp finishes from Yura Movsisyan and Juan Martinez and a Javier Morales cross that winds up in the net off an opponent. RSL won twice during a five-game road trip necessitated by instillation of a new field at Rio Tinto.
7. SAN JOSE (5-4-5), 6. The Quakes lost at Providence Park for the second time this season despite playing the second half 11 against 10. Nine of the Quakes 14 shots missed the target.
8. MONTREAL (5-4-4), 7. The Impact lost the first leg of its Canadian Championship semifinal at Toronto FC, 4-2.
9. NEW YORK RED BULLS (6-7-1), 9. Two more weeks to savor a three-game winning streak.
10. TORONTO FC (4-5-4), 10. The Reds beat Montreal, 4-2, in a Canadian Championship semifinal first leg.
11. ORLANDO CITY SC (3-3-7), 11. The Lions play at Jacksonville in the U.S. Open Cup next week.
12. PORTLAND (5-6-4), 14. Defender Liam Ridgewell headed home Diego Valeri’s free kick to establish an early lead and led a solid defensive effort as the Timbers held on with 10 men for the entire second half. Dairon Asprilla departed with a red card in first-half stoppage time yet Portland scraped out its first shutout of 2016.
13. NEW YORK CITY FC (4-5-6), 12. NYCFC blew a 1-0 lead at home and stumbled to its fourth straight game without a win despite a 20-8 edge in shots. David Villa set up Jack Harrison’s first MLS goal and landed five of his 10 attempts on target but only a stoppage-time penalty kick showed up on the scoreboard.
14. D.C UNITED (4-6-4), 13. Blanked by Seattle for the sixth consecutive game, United lost at home for the fourth time in eight matches. Only two of its 15 shots were on goal and it conceded two goals four minutes apart late in the match.
15. SPORTING KC (5-8-3), 16. SKC earned its first shutout in the last 11 games by denying the Galaxy a shot on goal. Dom Dwyer rolled a clear chance well wide of the far post and Chance Myers headed over the bar from a good cross by Jimmy Medranda.
16. COLUMBUS (3-5-5), 15. Crew SC scored first at Philadelphia (Ola Kamara) and very late (debutant Cristian Martinez) – both from assists by Ethan Finlay – but fell to its first defeat in five games. A very weak red card dismissed Conor Casey three minutes after he came on as a sub.
17. NEW ENGLAND (3-4-7), 17. New FieldTurf is being installed at Gillette Stadium, where the Revs next play July 6.
18. SEATTLE (5-7-1), 18. Left back Joevin Jones carried the day at RFK; his saved shot rebounded nicely for Jordan Morris to score the winner, and four minutes later Jones iced the victory by scoring himself. Thus ended a three-game losing streak.
19. HOUSTON (3-7-4), 19. A blast off the foot of Ricardo Clark -- certainly not the first one he’s hit in MLS -- earned the Dynamo a tie that also extended its road winless mark to a team-record 16 games.
20. CHICAGO (2-5-5), 20. The Fire hosts Indy Eleven in the U.S. Open Cup next week.
