MLS Power Rankings: Red Bulls move up a spot
- by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Sep 4, 2017
The Red Bulls moved up a spot with a 2-2 tie at FC Dallas despite not closing out a game they twice led by a goal playing against 10 men.
The Chicago Fire ended its six-game winless streak with a victory in Montreal, Kei Kamara hit his first pro hat trick for the Revs, and Gyasi Zardes netted his first goal of 2017 in a rare Galaxy home victory.
MLS Results, Week 26:
Sept. 2
Montreal 0, Chicago 1. Highlights
FC Dallas 2, New York Red Bulls 2. Highlights
New England 4, Orlando City 0. Highlights
LA Galaxy 3, Colorado 0. Highlights
Only MLS results are factored into the Power Rankings that include a team’s record in parentheses and rank last week.
1. TORONTO FC (16-3-8), 1. Streaks of four straight wins and nine games unbeaten go on the line Saturday at home against San Jose.
2. NEW YORK CITY FC (14-7-5), 2. NYCFC is also on a nice roll (4-1-2) heading into home games Wednesday (Sporting Kansas City) and Saturday (Portland).
3. SEATTLE (11-7-9), 3. Head coach Brian Schmetzer and his staff will be monitoring closely the nine Sounders called up for international duty. They host the Galaxy Sunday.
4. NY RED BULLS (12-10-4), 5. The first road tie of the season should have been a victory. Up a man, NYRB twice conceded equalizers that negated a strong game from Sacha Kljestan, who rifled a shot into the top corner for the first goal and lifted a delicate free kick that Aaron Long nodded in for the second.
5. SPORTING KC (10-5-10), 6. Its game Wednesday at Yankee Stadium is one of three in a row against Eastern Conference teams, or four if you count U.S. Open Cup final Sept. 30 against the Red Bulls. SKC is unbeaten (2-0-6) against the East so far in 2017.
6. MONTREAL (10-10-6), 4. So much for the home-field advantage. After losing to league kingpin TFC, 3-1, last weekend at Stade Saputo, the Impact fell again. It conceded the only goal nine minutes after debutant Deian Boldor was sent off early in the second half when referee Baldomero Toledo used VAR to change his yellow card to red.
7. VANCOUVER (11-9-5), 7. The ‘Caps start a busy and vital run of games Saturday against Real Salt Lake. All of their next four games are at home and three are against Western Conference rivals that trail them in the standings.
8. PORTLAND (11-9-8), 8. The Timbers make their last trip of the regular season to the Eastern Conference for a match with NYCFC. They are 1-3-0 this season in the Eastern time zone.
9. HOUSTON (10-8-8), 9. The only Western Conference team unbeaten at home (8-0-3) takes on the only such team without a road win, Colorado (0-11-2).
10. ATLANTA UNITED (10-8-6), 10. Finally! The first MLS game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium takes place Sunday. Can AUSC calm its nerves and shake loose the rust of playing just three games since Aug. 6?
11. REAL SALT LAKE (10-13-5), 11. With 18 points in its last nine games, RSL is at Vancouver on Saturday to start a run of three matches against the Cascadia teams it is chasing.
12. SAN JOSE (10-11-6), 12. The Quakes ended a skid of five straight road losses by winning at StubHub Center before the break, and their task this week is much tougher: at TFC.
13. COLUMBUS (13-12-3), 13. Ten points in the last four games have solidified Crew SC’s place in the playoff tier with just six games to play; the transfer of defender Nicolai Naess to Heerenveen puts a little more pressure on Jonathan Mensah, Josh Williams, and rookie Alex Crognale.
14. FC DALLAS (9-7-10), 14. As a reward for its courageous 2-2 tie in which it scored twice playing 10 against 11 following the ejection of Jacori Hayes, FCD gets the daunting task of opening Atlanta’s new stadium. A great game by Michael Barrios, who won the penalty kick converted by Mauro Diaz, highlighted a remarkable team effort.
15. D.C. UNITED (8-15-4), 15. United resumes play on a three-game win streak and gets a very good opportunity to extend that run against Orlando City at RFK.
16. MINNESOTA UNITED (7-14-4), 16. How’s this for schedule craziness? After a home game this weekend against Philly, the Loons fly cross-country to play Vancouver midweek, then take the short trans-Canada shuttle to Montreal for a Saturday game. Jet lag? You betcha.
17. CHICAGO (13-9-5), 17. Twenty minutes after scoring a vital goal that helped the Fire snap a six-game winless streak, Bastian Schweinsteiger left the match with what he said was tightness in his right quadriceps. He punched home a low cross from Matt Polster, who rode a tackle near the byline before centering a ball converted by Schweinsteiger.
18. PHILADELPHIA (8-12-7), 18. Four games without a victory makes just about every remaining match a must-win, starting Saturday at Minnesota United.
19. NEW ENGLAND (9-12-5), 19. A Kei Kamara hat trick -- his first as a professional -- and a record-tying, four-assist game by Lee Nguyen gave the Revs’ playoff hopes a much-needed boost. Kamara has scored 97 goals in 278 regular-season MLS games and 102 including playoffs.
20. L.A. GALAXY (7-14-6), 22. Dominant performances by Roman Alessandrini and Jermaine Jones and a first goal of the season for Gyasi Zardes marked a victory that also ended an incredible 350-minute goalless streak at StubHub Center.
21. ORLANDO CITY (8-12-7), 20. Two of the goals were conceded after defender Jose Aja departed with his second caution. The winless streak is eight games, during which the Lions have conceded 17 goals and scored six.
22. COLORADO (6-16-4), 21. The Rapids went down in dismal fashion despite the debut of newcomer Stefan Aigner off the bench in the second half.
