MLS Power Rankings: Ties at the top yield scant change

• by Ridge Mahoney  @ridgemax, Jun 12, 2018

The last weekend of MLS play before the start of the World Cup produced ties in games between top teams in the Power Rankings and thus little change.

Of teams in the top one-third, only FC Dallas won, and that victory edged FCD up a notch into fourth place. Retaining the top three spots in order were leader Sporting Kansas City, runner-up Atlanta United, and third-place Portland. Crew SC slipped behind FCD into the fifth, the New York teams kept their places in sixth and seventh, and New England held onto eighth. Further down the rankings the only teams to move up were Vancouver, the Galaxy, and Toronto FC.

Twelve teams play league matches this Wednesday and after a run of Open Cup games, MLS resumes June 23.
 
MLS Results, Week 15:
June 8
Only MLS results are factored into the Power Rankings, which included a team’s record in parentheses (W-L-T) and rank last week.
 
1. SPORTING KC (8-2-5), 1. A gritty goalless game at Providence Park extended SKC’s unbeaten streak to six games. It has lost just once since falling to New York City FC in the season opener and has posted seven shutouts in the last 11 games.
2. ATLANTA UNITED (9-3-3), 2. To those who say the No. 1 USA shirt is no longer his, Brad Guzan retorts, "Not so fast." His nine saves, several of them superb, rescued a point for badly out-played AUFC. A phenomenal cross by Julian Gressel set up Josef Martinez to score his 13th goal with a diving header

3. PORTLAND (6-3-4), 3. The Timbers landed four shots on goal without reward. They have tacked back-to-back ties  onto a six-game winning streak.
4. FC DALLAS (8-1-5), 5. FCD extended its unbeaten streak to seven games after an early own goal and Mauro Diaz penalty kick opened up the lead.
5. COLUMBUS (7-3-6), 4.  Yes, Gyasi Zardes bagged his 10th goal of the season but he and his teammates squandered too many opportunities. Still, Crew SC is unbeaten in its last nine games and hanging tough in a very tough conference.
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6. NY RED BULLS (7-4-2), 6. Typical brilliance from Luis Robles and a bit of luck (two Crew SC shots hit the woodwork) were rewarded with a goal by Alex Muyl that stood up for the point.
7. NEW YORK CITY FC (8-3-4), 7. What turned out to be the farewell game for head coach Patrick Vieira was NYCFC-dominant on the stat sheet (shots: 25-5) but not on the scoreboard. Defender Alexander Callens equalized with a header in the 77th minute. Vieira leaves with an all-time MLS record of 40 wins, 28 losses, and 23 ties. Bonne chance!
8. NEW ENGLAND (6-4-5), 8. The resilient Revs did it again. Teal Bunbury’s ninth goal of the season in the 82^nd minute leveled the score and earned them a third tie in the last four games.
9. LOS ANGELES FC (7-4-3), 9. Two goals by Adama Diomande, including a 90th-minute equalizer, set the stage for Joao Moutinho to score the winner in the seventh minute of stoppage time
10. HOUSTON (6-5-3), 10. A Mauro Manotas penalty kick opened up a 2-0 lead the Dynamo weathered to break a two-game losing streak.
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11. VANCOUVER (6-5-5), 12. Teenager Alphonso Davies personally laid waste to the OCSC defense by scoring a goal and setting up three others in a rampant display. Kei Kamara scored twice to tack on the second win of a six-game unbeaten streak.
12. LA GALAXY (6-7-2), 14. RSL is the latest team to be Zlataned; two goals six minutes apart by Zlatan Ibrahimovic broke open a 0-0 game and Ola Kamara tacked on the third.
13. REAL SALT LAKE (7-7-1), 11. A goal-line clearance by Justen Glad kept the game at 0-0 before the Galaxy took over. The result might have been different had a foul on Corey Baird been deemed the denial of a goalscoring opportunity it appeared to be.
14. CHICAGO (5-7-3), 14. The Fire couldn’t hold a 1-0 lead provided by Bastian Schweinsteiger’s second goal of the season and thus the home record is 3-4-2. It is the only team in the Eastern Conference with a sub-500 home record.
15. TORONTO FC (4-7-2), 16. A timely return of his goalscoring prowess brought Jonathan Osorio a pair of goals and TFC a vital victory. He already has four this year, one fewer than his career mark set in 2013, his first MLS season.
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16. PHILADELPHIA (5-7-3), 13. A modest unbeaten run of four games ended at home. Fafa Picault blasted a shot off the crossbar, scored a re-directed goal that was annulled by him being offside, and failed to beat the keeper one-v-one with the score 0-0.
17. ORLANDO CITY (6-7-1), 17. The Lions equalized six minutes after Muhamed El-Munir was sent off with a second caution but collapsed down the stretch. After winning six in a row, they’ve dropped the last five.
18. D.C. UNITED (2-6-3), 18. Well at least Darren Mattocks is doing his job. He pounced on a rebound to score his sixth goal of the season.
19. MINNESOTA UNITED (5-8-1), 19. The Loons didn’t play last weekend and by the time they play their next game June 23 at Colorado it will be summer.
20. SEATTLE (3-7-2), 20. Albeit against weak opposition, the desperate Sounders came back to win with goals by Nicolas Lodeiro and Magnus Wolff Eikrem.
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21. MONTREAL (4-11-0), 21. A Matteo Mancosu goal into the wrong net less than five minutes after the opening kickoff set the Impact spiraling towards its ninth loss in the last 11 games.
22. COLORADO (2-9-2), 22. It was Johan Blomberg’s turn to take the blame. He lost the ball Houston turned into first goal and committed the penalty-kick foul from which it scored the second. The body count is eight losses in a row.
23. SAN JOSE (2-9-3), 23. The Quakes continue to astonish in a bad way. LAFC tied the match 3-3, in the final minute of regulation and struck again deep into stoppage time. In the last 10 games San Jose has lost seven and tied two.