MLS Power Rankings: Week 12
Not much changed atop this week's Power Rankings, but is that D.C. United creeping back into the Top 10? Two solid results in a row — a win at Portland followed by a gritty draw at LA — impressed the committee enough to give Ben Olsen's bunch a boost. Disagree with ours? Vote for your own!
All match times for this week's games are ET; only MLS regular-season games reflected on schedule.
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OK, so they were a Charlie Davies scuff away from losing their unbeaten streak and falling from their perch atop the rankings. And they were pretty lost without Landon Donovan. And the forward line is something less than imposing. But in the end, they did keep a clean sheet. As long as they do that, they won’t drop much, if at all.
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The Revs did a very, very good job of shutting down FCD’s passing lanes and breaking up the game. That’s why it’s paramount to have players like Marvin Chávez who can break a game open with a single moment of individual brilliance. They’re now unbeaten in nine straight, and haven’t missed a beat since David Ferreira went down.
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It’s easy to get lost in the beauty of Danny Mwanga’s breathtaking equalizer. What made it really special is the ball movement leading up to it, something that’s been largely missing for the Union this year. Losing Justin Mapp hurts, but the rest of the midfield looks like it can pick up some of the slack.
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Can’t argue much with a point on the road, especially since the team is still trying to find an identity. It would help if Fredy Montero looked up for the fight on a weekly basis, but the mercurial striker’s heart doesn’t appear to be in it. Expect mid-summer reinforcements. |
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Are they back? Tough to say, since they weren’t facing a particularly good defense. Regardless, RSL looked active and dangerous even before Jean Alexandre did his Ruud van Nistelrooy impersonation. The backup defensive midfielder looked like he’s been playing forward all his life. A few more performances like that and the move will be permanent.
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The pain of giving up a last-minute equalizer should be matched by the pain of an entirely indifferent hour of soccer preceding it. If Columbus had been able to finish even reasonably well, the 1-1 draw could have ended as a multi-goal loss. It looks more like an issue of passion than one of personnel or tactics.
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Like the Sounders and Red Bulls, the Rapids are just trying to muddle through absences and try to put together a string of results. A draw at home in which they coughed up the lead is not the result they wanted, of course, but it’s what we should have expected: They’ve now drawn an MLS-record six in a row overall, and four straight at home. |
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One of the favorite pastimes of US soccer fans is asking, “What would happen if elite athletes from ‘other’ sports chose soccer?” The answer is Ethan White. It’s not often you see a 5-foot-10 guy (no way he’s 6-feet) dominate the box on both sides of the ball, but that’s just what he did against LA. There’s a reason the DC defense is back, and it’s him.
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Last week, DP striker Andrés Mendoza complained about MLS not being his "preferred style of play." Then on Saturday, he produced two shocking misses — one a wide-open header that could be the miss of the year. It begs the question: Which league's style does that fit?
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Obligatory “Chris Who?” lead-in. Unbeaten in five, the midfield is humming with Brad Ring the unsung hero, and Simon Dawkins provided the league with probably the most emotional moment of the year so far (emotional good moment, anyway). What’s not to like about the Quakes?
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They didn’t exactly take care of business against Vancouver midweek, but the comprehensive win over Portland on the weekend was nicely done. Offensively they miss the space Ale Moreno opens up, but with Marcos Mondaini back, they can hit on the break very, very nicely.
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They tightened up the defense after coughing up three goals against DC last weekend but left their offense in Oregon. The Timbers are punchless on the road, and their forwards have yet to figure out how to get on the same page. No reason for panic just yet, but there’s cause enough for some concern at the least. |
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There’s a legit possibility that the trip to San Jose was a “trap” game, sandwiched between the 2-2 draw with FC Dallas and a two-game homestand. Whatever the cause, the Dynamo looked dead to the world in the second half, and they paid for it. This has been an inconsistent and frustrating team over the past month.
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Shalrie Joseph decided to stay with his club instead of going on international duty with his country, and it didn’t make a lick of difference. Yes, they held Dallas to a single goal, but FCD created 19 scoring chances to just three for New England. This is a team with no answers at the moment. |
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They won’t be sending a tape of Frank Klopas’ first game in charge to Oneonta, but the new Fire head coach will take the zero and be happy with it. The winless streak has now hit 10 games, and things probably won’t be looking up until Marco Pappa gets back from Gold Cup duty with Guatemala. |
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There’s not a lot of good things to hang your hat on up at BMO Field. The best we can say at the Power Rankings Committee is that Danleigh Borman and Richard Eckersley look pretty good at the fullback slots, and Nathan Sturgis returned with a solid positional performance in the scoreless home draw with Sporting KC.
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They finished their odyssey with two straight draws on the road and have given up multiple goals just once in their last five contests. They have a lot of ground to make up, but 17 of their final 24 games are at home. Sporting are the obvious team to pick for “huge second-half run” honors. |
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Dead-cat bounce for the Tom Soehn era. Yeah, the tie at Chivas was a nice get, but they couldn't keep up with what had been a struggling Real Salt Lake team. They haven’t scored multiple goals since April 2, and haven’t won since First Kick. Not a happy time north of the 49th parallel. |
