MLS Power Rankings: Sporting KC stays on top with comeback victory
- by Ridge Mahoney @ridgemax, Jun 26, 2018
Sporting Kansas City, first in Soccer America's MLS Power Rankings, retained the top spot by rallying from two goals down to beat Houston, 3-2. Top 10 teams swapped places as a result of head-to-head encounters: Portland took second from Atlanta by garnering a 1-1 tie at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and Los Angeles FC (up to eighth) and Crew SC (down to ninth) flipped positions via a 2-0 LAFC victory.
MLS Results, Week 17
June 23
Sporting KC 3, Houston 2. Highlights
NY Red Bulls 3, FC Dallas 0. Highlights
Philadelphia 4, Vancouver 0. Highlights
Orlando City 0, Montreal 2. Highlights
Colorado 3, Minnesota United 2. Highlights
Real Salt Lake 1, San Jose 1. Highlights
Seattle 1, Chicago 1. Highlights
Los Angeles FC 2, Columbus 0. Highlights
June 24
Atlanta United 1, Portland 1. Highlights
New York City FC 2, Toronto FC 1. Highlights
Only MLS results are factored into the Power Rankings, which includes a team’s record in parentheses and rank last week.
1. SPORTING KC (9-2-5), 1. After a pair of Ike Opara errors dropped SKC into a two-goal hole, Daniel Salloi led a determined comeback by scoring in the 59th minute and setting up the winner for Khiry Shelton in the 88th. In between those goals Diego Rubio equalized shortly after entering the match.
2. PORTLAND (6-3-5), 3. Eight saves by Jeff Attinella helped the Timbers extend their unbeaten streak to nine games, though the last three are ties. Defender Larrys Mabiala headed his second MLS goal.
3. ATLANTA UNITED (10-3-4), 2. An equalizer by Julian Gressel was all AUFC had to show for 20 shots, nine of which were on goal, and 68.2 percent of possession. Darlington Nagbe limped off in the 57th minute with an apparent thigh injury.
4. NEW YORK RED BULLS (9-4-2), 5. Midfielders Tyler Adams, Sean Davis and Kaku all earned assists as the Red Bulls prevailed despite playing a man down from the 27th minute when Daniel Royer was sent off.
5. NEW YORK CITY FC (9-3-4), 5. The home debut of head coach Domenec Torrent hit a bump when David Villa left the game injured, but Jo Inge Berget scored twice after halftime. He had tallied only once in his first 12 league appearances. NYCFC has picked up 10 points in its last five games.
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6. FC DALLAS (8-2-5), 4. FCD didn’t look ready for battle and thus a four-game win streak crashed despite playing with a man advantage for more than an hour. A very peeved Kellyn Acosta was subbed out well before halftime. On the plus side, Paxton Pomydal played 28 minutes off the bench in his first action since undergoing meniscus surgery in early April.
7. NEW ENGLAND (6-4-6), 7. Revs sat out the league program and host D.C this weekend.
8. LOS ANGELES FC (8-4-3), 9. The absence of Mexican international Carlos Vela didn’t faze LAFC; two other internationals did the scoring in the opening minutes. Laurent Ciman drilled home a free kick and Adama Diomande scored his fourth goal in as many games four minutes later.
9. COLUMBUS (7-5-6), 8. Trailing, 2-0, after
just eight minutes, Crew SC managed just one shot on frame and is winless in the last five games.
10. HOUSTON (6-6-3), 10. What had looked like an impressive victory in a tough venue
devolved into a depressing defeat. Mauro Manotas scored twice but a 2-0 halftime lead dissolved under pressure.
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11.
VANCOUVER (6-6-5), 11. Unbeaten in their previous six games, the ‘Caps were outshot, 25-2, and lost Yordy Reyna to a late red card that will force him to miss the game Saturday
against Colorado.
12. LA GALAXY (6-7-2), 12. For the second straight weekend, the Galaxy didn’t play a league match. It will have been idle for 21 days when it plays the Quakes
Saturday at Stanford Stadium.
13. REAL SALT LAKE (7-7-2), 13. A Damir Kreilach goal from a corner kick established a 1-0 lead that lasted only about 10 minutes. The tie snapped a
six-game home winning streak for RSL. Kyle Beckerman reached a league milestone for field players by making his 300th appearance for the same team, more than any other player.
14.
CHICAGO (5-7-5), 14. In another impressive display, Aleksandar Katai scored his sixth goal of the season and also rang a shot off the woodwork. He set up Alan Gordon with a chance
for a late winner that failed to connect. Fire has one win and three ties in the last four games, which is its longest unbeaten run of the season.
15. PHILADELPHIA (6-7-3), 16. The Union stopped a two-game losing skid by jumping
on top early and riding back-to-back goals by Borek Dockal. He danced through several challenges to score his second, and a penalty kick earned by Corey Burke and converted by
Ilsinho confirmed the result.
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16. MONTREAL (6-11-0), 17. With three wins in the last four games the Impact is just three
points out of the playoff tier as it hits the midpoint of its schedule. An early own goal provided a lead and Ignacio Piatti scored late to ice the victory.
17. TORONTO FC (4-8-3), 15.
Leading, 1-0, on the road with a Victor Vazquez goal, TFC looked fragile instead of formidable and once again came up short against a worthy opponent.
18. D.C. UNITED (2-6-4), 18.
The games will be coming thick and fast for United, which has played the fewest matches and is less than three weeks away from moving into its new stadium.
19. MINNESOTA UNITED (5-9-1),
19. Loons let a pending road victory slip away. Superheroes Miguel Ibarra and Christian Ramirez scored goals that provided leads the Loons could not protect and the conceded again
deep into stoppage time They have lost two in a row and four of the last six.
20. COLORADO (3-9-3), 22. At this point, any victory is historic, and the Rapids also rallied for the win
that ends their losing skid at eight games. Tommy Smith’s goal in the 97th minute finished off a wild game in which Joe Mason and Edgar Castillo also tallied.
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21. SEATTLE (3-8-3), 21. Finally Clint Dempsey scored his first goal of the season, which tied him with Fredy Montero
on the team’s all-time list with 47. He equalized midway through the second half but the Sounders couldn’t use all that remaining time to score again.
22. ORLANDO CITY (6-9-1),
20. Interim head coach Bobby Murphy switched to a 3-4-3 formation and moved a few players in and out of the starting lineup to no avail. Defender Lamine Sane’s own goal in the
13th minute started the slide and the Lions managed just one shot on goal.
23. SAN JOSE (2-9-5), 23. Seven saves by keeper Andrew Tarbell and a 10th goal of the season by Danny
Hoesen earned the Quakes a tie though they are winless in the last seven games and possess about one-half of the points accrued by teams on the playoff line.
