6. SAN JOSE (5-4-3), 10. Another late show, starring Wondo as goalscorer, got the point at home. In Big D, Jahmir Hyka sombreroed centerback Matt Hughes
before tapping home the winner. If the Quakes, who had won only two of previous last eight games, can down the Galaxy at home this weekend, they have significantly altered course.
7.
VANCOUVER (5-5-1), 11. The ‘Caps play Tuesday in the Canadian Championship, so used its rather low percentage of possession (41.7 percent) and the passing of Cristian Bolanos (two
assists) to post its third win and second shutout in the last four games. Tim Parker’s first MLS goal -- in his 54th appearance – capped the victory.
8. PORTLAND
(5-4-3), 6. Down to 10 men when Diego Chara was sent off for flinging his hand into the face of Ignacio Piatti, the Timbers extended their winless streak to four games and
upped their goals-allowed total to 20. Until his dismissal in the 18th minute he’d been ever-present so far this season, a season that has gone a bit askew after a powerful start.
9. HOUSTON (6-5-1), 5. The Curse of the Road is confirmed. The Dynamo conceded two first-half goals in Philly and launched 24 crosses to no avail. In Atlanta, a storm delay of nearly an hour
sparked a four-goal onslaught before Erick "Cubo” Torres converted a penalty kick in stoppage time. A 12th different lineup in 12 games included veteran DaMarcus Beasley up top at
left wing.
10. COLUMBUS (6-6-1), 8. Sometimes in MLS, things happen fast. Two minutes after nailing a thunderous strike to open the scoring, Ola Kamara fluffed an excellent
chance. Two minutes after his miss, Crew SC conceded a goal that was followed by another 10 minutes later. Here’s a disturbing stat: at least two goals allowed in five of the last six games. The
play of centerback Jonathan Mensah may have improved somewhat but he’s anchoring a leaky defense.
11. ATLANTA UNITED (4-4-3), 13. There are hat tricks and then there
are hat tricks. For the first of his MLS career, Miguel Alimiron lined two left-footed lasers high into the net and then went low from the penalty spot. Julian Gressel scored his second
goal in as many games by deftly side-footing a loose ball into the bottom corner. Two more assists by Yamil Asad upped his count to five. Yeah, this team can come at you from a lot of
directions.
12. PHILADELPHIA (4-4-4), 15. Speaking of count, that’s four -- count ‘em, four -- victories in a road for Philly, which got goals from Ilsinho in
each game and had posted four straight shutouts prior to conceding a goal to Colorado. A great left-footed free kick by Haris Medunjanin for the winning goal against the Rapids
punctuated his role in the team’s winning streak. He and Ilsinho are rising up the list of central midfield tandems and providing a solid spine for Fabian Herbers and Fafa
Picault.
13. ORLANDO CITY (6-4-2), 7. The effort expended gaining a 1-1 tie at San Jose cost the Lions their first home loss of the season, and also extended
their winless streak to five games, during they’ve conceded 12 goals. A nice first-time strike by Carlos Rivas from near the penalty spot gave the Lions a 1-0 lead it could not hold.
NYCFC scored twice in the first half and when Cyle Larin hit a penalty kick against the post in the 64th minute hopes of a comeback died.
14. NEW ENGLAND (4-4-4), 14. The
Revs needed just a few minutes to respond after falling behind and then struck again through Diego Fagundez, who registered just his second two-goal game in 164 league appearances. New England
has won two in a row to stop the rot of a five-game winless skid, and this weekend takes its only regular-season trip to Red Bull Arena.
15. L.A. GALAXY (4-5-2), 18. This is it how
it occasionally works in MLS: get a great goal (Giovani Dos Santos), solid goalkeeping (Brian Rowe), and a bit of luck (opposition own goal). Eight points in the past four games has
edged the Galaxy to the edge of the playoff tier and sets up another great California Clasico Saturday in San Jose.
16. NY RED BULLS (5-6-2), 12. In an excellent game, NYRB halted a three-game losing streak but couldn’t parlay a superb overhead goal
by Bradley Wright-Phillips and Luis Robles’ save of a penalty kick into a badly needed victory. It plays three straight on the road after hosting the Revs this weekend.
17. MONTREAL (3-4-4), 16. That was quick. A pair of goals by Ignacio Piatti enabled him to tie and pass Marco di Vaio as the team’s all-time leading scorer. His
35th and 36th goals were enough to secure the victory, though Kyle Fisher and Ambroise Oyongo also scored. The Impact has won three of the last six games after starting off without a
victory in the first five games but is still four points out of the playoff tier.
18. SEATTLE (3-5-4), 17. The Sounders, plagued all season with shots off the woodwork, got a
deflected goal by Harry Shipp and Stefan Frei notched his third shutout of the season. Brad Evans played 66 minutes at right back in his first start since late August. Just
two victories in the past nine games isn’t much of a foundation to host Portland Saturday at CenturyLink in the first of three meetings this season.
19. REAL SALT LAKE (3-8-2),
22. Stung by a goal in the fourth minute, RSL snapped a four-game winning streak against NYCFC with a goal and assist by Albert Rusnak, who set up the winner for Aaron Maund with a
corner kick after equalizing six minutes before halftime. RSL stayed with Seattle thanks to some Nick Rimando saves -– including a stop of a Clint Dempsey penalty kick -- but he
could do nothing with Shipp’s deflected shot.
20. D.C UNITED (3-6-2), 19. A third straight loss – by shutout -- and another poor home performance prompted head coach
Ben Olsen to call for replacements during the summer transfer window. The attack has been anemic – incredibly, United has been blanked in seven of its 11 games – and not even seven
saves by Bill Hamid was enough.
21. MINNESOTA UNITED (3-7-2), 20. For the second week in a row, Christian Ramirez put the ball into his own net and this time it came
18 minutes after he’d scored the tying goal. Otherwise, only a golazo by Dos Santos got past keeper Bobby Shuttleworth, whose sharp work kept the Loons in the hunt.
22.
COLORADO (2-8-1), 21. The dark forces enveloping Colorado turned on Caleb Calvert, who scored his first pro goal in the 15th minute and departed in the 69th after being cautioned twice: for
arguing with the referee, then coming back onto the field without permission. You can’t make this stuff up.
"This weekend the league plays its last full slate of games prior to the FIFA international dates in early June, during which MLS will play a reduced schedule."
That is not correct. MLS has 10 games this weekend (May 26-28) but then has a full slate of 11 games on the weekend of June 2-4. The FIFA break doesn't start until after that.