MLS Power Rankings: Colorado stays on top
- by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Jun 28, 2016
Portland and Vancouver notched 3-2 victories as Western Conference rivals San Jose and LA Galaxy played to a tie. Philly suffered its first home loss of the season to the Whitecaps after beating Chicago in a high-scoring pair of games.
Most teams play U.S. Open Cup games in midweek as well as another set of league matches during the weekend.
Results Week 16
June 22
Philadelphia 4, Chicago 3. Highlights
LA Galaxy 0, Colorado 0. Highlights
Real Salt Lake 2, NY Red Bulls 1. Highlights
June 25
Seattle 0, New York City FC 2. Highlights
Philadelphia 2, Vancouver 3. Highlights
Orlando City SC 3, Toronto FC 2. Highlights
D.C. United 2, New England 0. Highlights
Columbus 1, NY Red Bulls 1. Highlights
Montreal 2, Sporting KC 2. Highlights
San Jose 1, LA Galaxy 1. Highlights
FC Dallas 2, Real Salt Lake 0. Highlights
June 26
Portland 3, Houston 2. Highlights
Only MLS results are factored into the Power Rankings, which include a team’s record in parentheses and rank last week.
1. COLORADO (9-2-5), 1. The Rapids are getting it done with contributions from all hands. In his first professional start -- two months after debuting as a sub -- rookie defender Dennis Castillo thwarted the Galaxy with a goalline clearance. Midfielder Michael Azira added four interceptions -- he’s among the league leaders with 57 -- as the Rapids bagged their sixth shutout. Tim Howard is eligible to make his club debut on the Fourth of July, appropriately enough.
2. FC DALLAS (9-5-4), 2. A masterclass match by Mauro Diaz helped FCD end a modest three-game winless streak. He assisted on both goals after going pointless in those three games. Goals by Kellyn Acosta and Fabian Castillo were enough to subdue RSL. At home, FCD is 6-0-3 and its goal difference of 10 (16 scored, six allowed) is tied for the league lead.
3. PHILADELPHIA (7-5-5), 3. Six goals conceded in two home games justifiably raises concerns, though the Union is still plus-8 at Talen Energy Stadium, where it has also scored a league-leading 20 goals. Roland Alberg, who has stepped into the breach when Vincent Nogueira’s contract was terminated by mutual agreement June 16, bagged a hat trick against the Fire and produced another goal with a shot off the woodwork. He scored again on Saturday.
4. REAL SALT LAKE (8-5-3), 4. Heading into a busy run of games, RSL fielded many backups against FCD after beating the Red Bulls. A deflected shot by Jordan Allen consummated a comeback after Yura Movsisyan had equalized with his sixth league goal. Sunday Stephen’s facial injury in the midweek game gave an opportunity to Omar Holness, who marked his recovery from suffering a seizure and injuring a shoulder playing for the USL Monarchs in March.
5. NY RED BULLS (7-8-2), 5. They were stung in the final seconds at Columbus after taking a lead with a Bradley Wright-Phillips goal and lost at RSL, but still have taken 10 points from the last five games. Yet they also squandered a lead in the midweek game after Gideon Baah converted a ball from Sean Davis seven minutes after the opening kickoff.
6. VANCOUVER (7-7-3), 8. Goals by Andrew Jacobson, Kekuta Manneh, and Christian Bolanos helped the ‘Caps win their fourth victory in the last seven games and get back to the .500 mark they have been unable to scale only once this season (when they were 6-5-2 in mid-May). Uruguayan striker Octavio Rivero did not suit up amid rumors he’s about to depart to Chile.
7. PORTLAND (6-6-5), 11. Maybe things are falling into place for the defending champs. They rallied at a raucous Providence Park behind Lucas Melano and Diego Valeri, who converted two penalty kicks after setting up Melano to score the first goal. No other team has accrued 11 points in its last five games.
8. MONTREAL (5-4-6), 9. Goals by Lucas Ontivero and Ignacio Piatti were matched by SKC equalizers in a match that typified the Impact's recent struggles to win; all six ties have come in the last eight games.
9. LA GALAXY (5-3-8), 6. A road point against a big rival in front of a huge crowd (50,816) is always laudable, yet the Galaxy took a 1-0 lead it squandered as it failed to win for a seventh straight game. Steven Gerrard delivered a cross that Giovani dos Santos headed home. Gyasi Zardes and Robbie Keane have completed their international duties and the Galaxy doesn’t return to league play until Monday against the Whitecaps.
10. SAN JOSE (5-4-7), 7. After twice ringing shots against the crossbar former Galaxy striker Chad Barrett struck in the 90th minute at Stanford Stadium to earn the Quakes a point. Shea Salinas’ crossing has been very good this season; it’s a bit puzzling that he chalked up just his fourth assist. The Quakes are stuck in a rut of ties with four in their last five games.
11. NEW YORK CITY (6-5-6), 12. A second goal in as many games by Frank Lampard carried a taint of controversy -- the ball appeared to bounce in off his arm, not his chest -- but NYCFC deserved to win its league-leading fourth road game. Roland Matarrita tacked on a late goal.
12. ORLANDO CITY (4-3-8), 13. The Lions are unbeaten in their last five games after a thrilling last-second victory courtesy of a Kaka penalty kick in the 100th minute. Kevin Molino assisted on goals by Cyle Larin and Adrian Winter and is tied for the team lead with five.
13. TORONTO FC (5-6-4), 10. Late goals in each half weren’t enough to avert a loss inflicted by a penalty-kick goal in the 100th minute of play thanks to time added on for injuries and substitutions. Jonathan Osorio registered assists on goals by Jordan Hamilton and Justin Morrow in between, keeper Clint Irwin injured himself taking a goal kick -- but Drew Moor was whistled for a foul that yielded the PK.
14. SPORTING KC (6-8-4), 14. Both times his team fell behind in Montreal. Dom Dwyer came up with the tying goals. A great cross by Roger Espinoza and final ball from Benny Feilhaber earned the assists. SKC has five points from its last three games, but only two wins in the past 13. It is still in the playoff sextet. There’s your Eastern Conference in a nutshell.
15. D.C. UNITED (5-6-5), 15. United edged into the playoff tier but its record at RFK (4-4-1) and goal ledger of 16 scored and 16 tells the real story. The goals were good ones: Lamar Neagle polished off a sweet move by volleying a Luciano Acosta cross, and then ran onto a feed from Alvaro Saborio to square a ball that Sean Franklin, storming up from the depths, hammered off the bottom of the crossbar. Only one splendid save from Bill Hamid was required.
16. NEW ENGLAND (4-5-7), 16. After winning three of their last four, the Revs were maybe due for a clunker, and faltered on the road for the fourth time in 2016. Their next league match is at Montreal, but league pride will be on the line for their Open Cup game at the NASL Cosmos.
17. COLUMBUS (3-5-7), 17. He hasn’t been in the lineup very long but Ola Kamara is doing his best to erase memories of namesake Kei Kamara. A goal in the third minute of stoppage time, his fifth tally in nine games, rescued a home point for Crew SC.
18. HOUSTON (3-8-5), 18. A 2-0 lead that included a 50th MLS goal for Will Bruin – who ended an 11-game scoring drought -- melted away on poor defending and a questionable penalty kick called for a foul on goalkeeper Joe Willis. Willis had relieved a dehydrated Tyler Deric at halftime. Boniek Garcia assisted on both goals as interim head coach Wade Barrett endured his first defeat after starting out with three ties.
19. SEATTLE (5-9-1), 19. Two near-misses by Jordan Morris -- his slide to poke in a rasping cross from Aaron Kovar came up just short and he shot barely wide after running onto a nice ball out of the back from Andreas Ivanschitz -- summed up the Sounders’ performance. Falling behind to an apparent handball goal further frustrated a crowd of 47,537 as well as a team that has lost four of its last five.
20. CHICAGO (2-7-5), 20. A bad hour -- during which Philly scored four -- followed a second-minute strike by David Accam. Goals by Razvan Cocis and Khaly Thiam were not enough to avert a fifth loss in the last seven games.
