MLS Power Rankings: Top teams prevail
- by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Sep 6, 2016
The top teams in Soccer America's MLS Power Rankings prevailed despite missing players to the FIFA international break. FC Dallas held onto the top spot by beating
Portland, and both New York teams also won.
Crucial victories by the Revs and Fire kept alive their playoff hopes and inched them up the rankings. Vancouver’s home loss to the Red Bulls dropped the ‘Caps into the cellar.
MLS Results:
Sept. 1
New York City FC 3, D.C. United 2. Highlights
Sept. 3
Chicago 3, Philadelphia 0. Highlights
FC Dallas 3, Portland 1. Highlights
LA Galaxy 2, Columbus 1. Highlights
New England 2, Colorado 0. Highlights
Vancouver 0, NY Red Bulls 1. Highlights
There are two more league games Wednesday, and the regular schedule resumes Friday.
2. TORONTO FC (12-8-7), 2. TFC is on a nice run (5-1-1) in the last seven games but that loss to Montreal at home left a bitter taste heading into the break. Still, TFC is well poised to finish strong; it is at home for five of its last seven games that include a pair against Chicago.
3. NY RED BULLS (12-9-7), 4. By scoring five minutes into the second half, Bradley Wright-Phillips tied David Villa atop the scoring charts with his 17 goal. The goal also earned NYRB its second win and first shutout victory on the road this season. Dax McCarty played his first game since July 31.
4. NEW YORK CITY FC (12-8-8), 3. The equalizer against D.C. United arrived when Villa pounced on a bad pack pass, and Frank Lampard added a second goal when a loose ball ran into his path. Another goal by Lampard in the 93rd minute provided NYCFC a fifth straight home victory.
5. REAL SALT LAKE(12-8-7), 5. After sitting out the weekend, RSL takes a three-game home winning streak into its game with the Galaxy on Wednesday, and plays at Portland Saturday.
6. LA GALAXY (10-4-13), 6. Break? What break? A 2-1 defeat of the Crew on Saturday sets up a midweek game at RSL, and a date back home against Orlando on Sunday. Baggio Husidic came off the bench to score the opener against Crew SC and Giovani dos Santos scored the eventual winner four minutes later as the Galaxy ended a six-game skid without a win. Robbie Keane returned from scoring in his Ireland finale but didn’t play against Columbus.
7. SPORTING KC (11-12-5),7. SKC will have been off nearly two weeks when it hosts Houston on Friday. After another home game next week against the Galaxy, it plays three straight on the road.
8. MONTREAL (9-7-10), 8. The Impact hosts Orlando Wednesday and plays at Philly Saturday. It probably would have preferred to play during the break to take better advantage of a shock 1-0 victory in Toronto that ended a three-game span without a win.
9. COLORADO (11-5-10), 9. Losers of back-to-back games for the first time this season, the Rapids have scored only two goals in the last four. Tim Howard’s callup returned Zac MacMath to the nets for the first time since June 22. He gave away a penalty kick when he uprooted Kelyn Rowe in the box and made just one save while allowing two goals.
10. PHILADELPHIA (11-10-7), 10. The Union started badly when Roland Alberg put the ball in his own net midway through the first half and despite some good work by John McCarthy, making his first start of the season in place of Andre Blake.
11. SEATTLE (9-13-4), 11. As a rough game in Portland Aug. 28 recedes in the rear-view mirror, the Sounders get ready for a crucial road game in San Jose, which is one point higher in the standings.
12. PORTLAND (9-11-8), 12. Seconds after a Lucas Melano shot rebounded off the crossbar, FCD broke away to score the goal that all but assured the Timbers’ fifth defeat in their last seven games. A nice first-time shot by Diego Valeri averted a shutout but not a fourth straight road defeat and continuing questions about a defense tied with Vancouver as the most porous in the conference (44 goals allowed).
13. D.C. UNITED (7-9-11), 13. United led with a Lloyd Sam goal until the 79th minute, when the steal of a Luke Mishu back pass turned into an equalizer. Lamar Neagle scored early in stoppage time to re-tie the game at 2-2, but again D.C. conceded. Thus ended a six-game unbeaten streak that produced 10 vital points; if D.C. can maintain that pace for the remaining seven games, it can sneak into the playoffs.
14. ORLANDO CITY (6-7-13), 14. The Lions return after a 10-day break at Montreal and then continue on to the West Coast for a game against the Galaxy. An increased training regimen imposed by head coach Jason Kreis and a run of three games in nine days left the players fatigued yet buoyed by a victory that is NYCFC’s only defeat in the last five weeks.
15. SAN JOSE (7-8-11),15. The Quakes at least got into scoring mode despite losing a friendly to Pachuca, 4-3, while sitting out the league schedule. Next up is a must-win against Seattle at home, where San Jose has tied two and lost one of its last three while scoring just one goal.
16. CHICAGO (6-12-8), 18. If the Fire isn’t the most perplexing team in MLS it is certainly among the finalists. It ran its home unbeaten streak to 12 games as Michael de Leeuw scored a goal and assisted on another by Arturo Alvarez. Several sharp saves by Sean Johnson, who recorded his fifth shutout, staved off Philly’s attempts to rally.
17. COLUMBUS (5-10-11), 16. Crew SC played the Galaxy even for most of the game, but surrendered two quick goals late in the match. Adam Jahn came on as a sub and scored his first Crew SC goal in the 92nd minute.
18. NEW ENGLAND (7-12-9), 20. Despite squandering a penalty kick that Lee Nguyen banged off the goalpost, the Revs snapped a shutout streak of 373 minutes and a six-game winless skid. He played up front with Juan Agudelo, who converted a feed from Gerson Koffie to score in the 12th minute. Early in the second half Chris Tierney cashed in a nice linkup between Kelyn Rowe and Diego Fagundez.
19. HOUSTON (5-11-10), 17. The Dynamo filled a gap in its league schedule by playing Chivas to a 0-0 tie. It has loaned “Cubo” Torres to Cruz Azul; Torres this season has played in just 11 MLS games (four starts) and registered one assist.
20. VANCOUVER (8-13-7), 19. Head coach Paul Robinson watched the second half from a suite after being ejected for disputing a throw-in as the ‘Caps fell to their fifth loss in the last six games. They failed to put a single shot on goal: Erik Hurtado missed the target with six shots and had another blocked.
Crucial victories by the Revs and Fire kept alive their playoff hopes and inched them up the rankings. Vancouver’s home loss to the Red Bulls dropped the ‘Caps into the cellar.
MLS Results:
Sept. 1
New York City FC 3, D.C. United 2. Highlights
Sept. 3
Chicago 3, Philadelphia 0. Highlights
FC Dallas 3, Portland 1. Highlights
LA Galaxy 2, Columbus 1. Highlights
New England 2, Colorado 0. Highlights
Vancouver 0, NY Red Bulls 1. Highlights
There are two more league games Wednesday, and the regular schedule resumes Friday.
Only MLS results are factored into the Power Rankings, which include a team’s record in parentheses and rank last week.
1. FC DALLAS (15-7-6), 1. By playing a role in all three goals Mauro Diaz, enabled FCD to stretch its lead atop the Western Conference and perhaps garner a few MVP votes as well. He converted a PK, started the sequence finished off by a thunderous Victor Ulloa shot and served up the free kick that Walker Zimmerman headed home.2. TORONTO FC (12-8-7), 2. TFC is on a nice run (5-1-1) in the last seven games but that loss to Montreal at home left a bitter taste heading into the break. Still, TFC is well poised to finish strong; it is at home for five of its last seven games that include a pair against Chicago.
3. NY RED BULLS (12-9-7), 4. By scoring five minutes into the second half, Bradley Wright-Phillips tied David Villa atop the scoring charts with his 17 goal. The goal also earned NYRB its second win and first shutout victory on the road this season. Dax McCarty played his first game since July 31.
4. NEW YORK CITY FC (12-8-8), 3. The equalizer against D.C. United arrived when Villa pounced on a bad pack pass, and Frank Lampard added a second goal when a loose ball ran into his path. Another goal by Lampard in the 93rd minute provided NYCFC a fifth straight home victory.
5. REAL SALT LAKE(12-8-7), 5. After sitting out the weekend, RSL takes a three-game home winning streak into its game with the Galaxy on Wednesday, and plays at Portland Saturday.
6. LA GALAXY (10-4-13), 6. Break? What break? A 2-1 defeat of the Crew on Saturday sets up a midweek game at RSL, and a date back home against Orlando on Sunday. Baggio Husidic came off the bench to score the opener against Crew SC and Giovani dos Santos scored the eventual winner four minutes later as the Galaxy ended a six-game skid without a win. Robbie Keane returned from scoring in his Ireland finale but didn’t play against Columbus.
7. SPORTING KC (11-12-5),7. SKC will have been off nearly two weeks when it hosts Houston on Friday. After another home game next week against the Galaxy, it plays three straight on the road.
8. MONTREAL (9-7-10), 8. The Impact hosts Orlando Wednesday and plays at Philly Saturday. It probably would have preferred to play during the break to take better advantage of a shock 1-0 victory in Toronto that ended a three-game span without a win.
9. COLORADO (11-5-10), 9. Losers of back-to-back games for the first time this season, the Rapids have scored only two goals in the last four. Tim Howard’s callup returned Zac MacMath to the nets for the first time since June 22. He gave away a penalty kick when he uprooted Kelyn Rowe in the box and made just one save while allowing two goals.
10. PHILADELPHIA (11-10-7), 10. The Union started badly when Roland Alberg put the ball in his own net midway through the first half and despite some good work by John McCarthy, making his first start of the season in place of Andre Blake.
11. SEATTLE (9-13-4), 11. As a rough game in Portland Aug. 28 recedes in the rear-view mirror, the Sounders get ready for a crucial road game in San Jose, which is one point higher in the standings.
12. PORTLAND (9-11-8), 12. Seconds after a Lucas Melano shot rebounded off the crossbar, FCD broke away to score the goal that all but assured the Timbers’ fifth defeat in their last seven games. A nice first-time shot by Diego Valeri averted a shutout but not a fourth straight road defeat and continuing questions about a defense tied with Vancouver as the most porous in the conference (44 goals allowed).
13. D.C. UNITED (7-9-11), 13. United led with a Lloyd Sam goal until the 79th minute, when the steal of a Luke Mishu back pass turned into an equalizer. Lamar Neagle scored early in stoppage time to re-tie the game at 2-2, but again D.C. conceded. Thus ended a six-game unbeaten streak that produced 10 vital points; if D.C. can maintain that pace for the remaining seven games, it can sneak into the playoffs.
14. ORLANDO CITY (6-7-13), 14. The Lions return after a 10-day break at Montreal and then continue on to the West Coast for a game against the Galaxy. An increased training regimen imposed by head coach Jason Kreis and a run of three games in nine days left the players fatigued yet buoyed by a victory that is NYCFC’s only defeat in the last five weeks.
15. SAN JOSE (7-8-11),15. The Quakes at least got into scoring mode despite losing a friendly to Pachuca, 4-3, while sitting out the league schedule. Next up is a must-win against Seattle at home, where San Jose has tied two and lost one of its last three while scoring just one goal.
16. CHICAGO (6-12-8), 18. If the Fire isn’t the most perplexing team in MLS it is certainly among the finalists. It ran its home unbeaten streak to 12 games as Michael de Leeuw scored a goal and assisted on another by Arturo Alvarez. Several sharp saves by Sean Johnson, who recorded his fifth shutout, staved off Philly’s attempts to rally.
17. COLUMBUS (5-10-11), 16. Crew SC played the Galaxy even for most of the game, but surrendered two quick goals late in the match. Adam Jahn came on as a sub and scored his first Crew SC goal in the 92nd minute.
18. NEW ENGLAND (7-12-9), 20. Despite squandering a penalty kick that Lee Nguyen banged off the goalpost, the Revs snapped a shutout streak of 373 minutes and a six-game winless skid. He played up front with Juan Agudelo, who converted a feed from Gerson Koffie to score in the 12th minute. Early in the second half Chris Tierney cashed in a nice linkup between Kelyn Rowe and Diego Fagundez.
19. HOUSTON (5-11-10), 17. The Dynamo filled a gap in its league schedule by playing Chivas to a 0-0 tie. It has loaned “Cubo” Torres to Cruz Azul; Torres this season has played in just 11 MLS games (four starts) and registered one assist.
20. VANCOUVER (8-13-7), 19. Head coach Paul Robinson watched the second half from a suite after being ejected for disputing a throw-in as the ‘Caps fell to their fifth loss in the last six games. They failed to put a single shot on goal: Erik Hurtado missed the target with six shots and had another blocked.
