Still-perfect Montreal Impact surge to top of the MLS Power Rankings

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<strong>1</strong>

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<p>The perfect record is no fluke. This squad is efficient, organized on defense and clean in possession. The real test is whether they can survive a potential injury to Alessandro Nesta and a schedule that sees RBNY, Sporting KC and LA in the next three games.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-MTL-v-TOR/recap" target="_blank">Won vs. Toronto, 2-1</a></li><li><strong>This Week: </strong>Saturday vs. New York (4:30 pm, <a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul>

<strong>2</strong>

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<p>Call it a CCL hangover or just call it what it was &ndash; a sloppy performance &ndash; but it was shocking to see the Galaxy defense gift two points to 10-man Chivas USA in the 89th minute of Sunday&#39;s SuperClasico. There&#39;s still a lot to love about this Galaxy side, but they showed this weekend that even the best teams aren&#39;t going to be &quot;on&quot; 100 percent of the time.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-17-LA-v-CHV/recap" target="_blank">Drew vs. Chivas USA, 1-1</a></li><li><strong>This Week: </strong>Saturday vs. Colorado (10:30 pm, <a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul>

<strong>3</strong>

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<p>Hey, the &#39;Caps are perfect, too! After a bye weekend to fine-tune an exciting, new-look midfield, Vancouver take their 100 percent record on the road for the first time in 2013.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong>Bye</li><li><strong>Next League Game: </strong>Saturday at Houston (8:30 pm, <a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul>

<strong>4</strong>

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<p>With two goals allowed through three games, United are over the moon at how their backline is coming together &ndash; and after that barrage at RBA, they should be. But something just isn&rsquo;t right with their offense, which has scored exactly once (via a blown offside trap at that). Lionard Pajoy isn&rsquo;t working as a hold-up guy and Nick DeLeon can&rsquo;t blaze down the wing for 90 minutes. Deliver us, DeRo!</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-NY-v-DC/recap" target="_blank">Drew at New York, 0-0</a></li><li><strong>This Week: </strong>Saturday vs. Columbus (3:30 pm, NBCSN)</li></ul>

<strong>5</strong>

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<p>Dominic Kinnear publicly targeted diving after the Texas Derby, but privately he&#39;ll be ruing his side&#39;s set-piece defending and poor marking on the winner. It hasn&#39;t been an easy week, CCL exit included, but Houston still have the makings of a title contender. Need to figure out what&#39;s dogging Will Bruin.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week:</strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-17-DAL-v-HOU/recap" target="_blank">Lost at FC Dallas, 3-2</a></li><li><strong>This Week:</strong> Saturday vs. Vancouver (8:30 pm, <a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul>

<strong>6</strong>

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<p>Oh, you Goonies. Even when the majority of them &ndash; Gordon, Lenhart, Ch&aacute;vez, Beitashour, etc. &ndash; are in the sick bay, the Quakes find a way to get it done. Or at least get something done: A draw on the road against this Crew side will seem more impressive by the season&#39;s end.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week:</strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-CLB-v-SJ/recap" target="_blank">Drew at Columbus, 1-1</a></li><li><strong>This Week: </strong>Saturday vs. Seattle (10:30 pm, <a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul>

<strong>7</strong>

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<p>Anyone in the RSL locker room will tell you a draw against struggling Colorado was not the ideal result. The key factor here is just how fast the young center backs learn that without J&aacute;msion Olave around anymore, they can&#39;t be as aggressive as they&#39;ve been in the past and expect someone to clean up their mess if they make a mistake.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-RSL-v-COL/recap" target="_blank">Drew vs. Colorado, 1-1</a></li><li><strong>This Week:</strong> Saturday at FC Dallas (8:30 pm, <a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul>

<strong>8</strong>

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<p>If anyone knows what to make of this year&#39;s Sporting KC so far, call us. At times, they look like world beaters. At times, they look like &ndash; dare we say it? &ndash; the Chicago Fire. Twenty shots but only three on target? Hey, at least they didn&#39;t let the Fire&#39;s anemic attack beat them. &nbsp;</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-SKC-v-CHI/recap" target="_blank">Drew vs. Chicago, 0-0</a></li><li><strong>This Week:</strong> Saturday at New England (4 pm, <a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul>

<strong>9</strong>

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<p>Not all together a bad week for the Sounders, who made some history in the CONCACAF Champions League and then went ahead and sealed one of the biggest signings of the year in MLS. And as for that Timbers result? Well, Meat Loaf said it best: Two out of three ain&#39;t bad.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-SEA-v-POR/recap" target="_blank">Drew vs. Portland, 1-1</a></li><li><strong>This Week: </strong>Saturday at San Jose (10:30 pm, <a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul><ul></ul>

<strong>10</strong>

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<p>Wherefore art thou, Eddie Gaven? In the continued absence of their outside playmaker, the Crew are struggling to create many good chances going forward. And if Federico Higua&iacute;n doesn&#39;t assert himself a little more than he did this past weekend, C-Bus could see themselves rolling out of the PRs&#39; Top 10. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-CLB-v-SJ/recap" target="_blank">Drew vs. San Jose, 1-1</a></li><li><strong>This Week: </strong>Saturday at D.C. United (3:30 pm, NBCSN)</li></ul>

<strong>11</strong>

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<p>Dallas&#39; roster says it should be able to compete for a playoff spot, a sentiment that was tested last week after wilting against Chivas USA. FCD almost gave up a lead again with Houston in town, but Kenny Cooper and a fortunate 90th-minute bounce returned &quot;El Capit&aacute;n&quot; to Frisco. Top of the West? Sure. Convincing? Not yet.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-17-DAL-v-HOU/recap" target="_blank">Won vs. Houston, 3-2</a></li><li><strong>This Week: </strong>Saturday vs. Real Salt Lake (8:30 pm, <a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul>

<strong>12</strong>

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<p>Caleb Porter has said it again and again since preseason: The Timbers have heart. It hasn&#39;t exactly been a pretty three weeks in the Rose City and Porter still hasn&#39;t won an MLS game, but the draw in Seattle must have felt like something close. A week off should get them on the same page before a winnable game in Colorado.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-SEA-v-POR/recap" target="_blank">Drew at Seattle, 1-1</a></li><li><strong>Next Game: </strong>March 30 at Colorado</li></ul>

<strong>13</strong>

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<p>Mike Petke says it&rsquo;s coming together, but Thierry Henry is somewhere else &ndash; literally. He blew out of RBA without speaking to reporters after the 0-0 draw with D.C., a week after delivering a series of three-word answers after the late loss at SJ. Something isn&rsquo;t sitting well with Titi, and New York aren&#39;t going anywhere until that&rsquo;s righted.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-NY-v-DC/recap" target="_blank">Drew vs. D.C. United, 0-0</a></li><li><strong>This Week: </strong>Saturday at Montreal (4:30 pm;&nbsp;<a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul>

<strong>14</strong>

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<p>It wasn&#39;t the most pleasing performance of the weekend, but the second game-winning goal in two weeks from Jack McInerney makes it worthwhile. Battling the poor play on both sides and the rough weather conditions at PPL Park, the Union still have work to do, but S&eacute;bastien Le Toux is back in form with Philadelphia, and the youth movement is slowly paying dividends.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-PHI-v-NE/highlights" target="_blank">Won vs. New England, 1-0</a></li><li><strong>Next Game: </strong>March 30 at New York</li></ul>

<strong>15</strong>

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<p>They weren&#39;t exactly played off the field by Philadelphia, but the Revs have considerable work to do this season. Andrew Farrell and Jos&eacute; Gon&ccedil;alves both look like they can be strong defenders if they cut down the silly mistakes, but Juan Toja and Lee Nguyen aren&#39;t clicking yet in midfield. Jay Heaps will need them playing well as a unit if they want to make a real push up the standings this season.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-PHI-v-NE/highlights" target="_blank">Lost at Philadelphia, 1-0</a></li><li><strong>This Week: </strong>Saturday vs. Sporting Kansas City (4 pm, <a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul>

<strong>16</strong>

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<p>If these rankings were calculated in &quot;respect&quot; points, you can bet Chivas would be near the top. As it stands, though, Chel&iacute;s&#39; men rose a spot after showing they are no pushovers when, despite being a man down for 50 minutes, they snatched a late equalizer to claim a dramatic draw against their city rivals.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-17-LA-v-CHV/recap" target="_blank">Drew at LA, 1-1</a></li><li><strong>This Week: </strong>Sunday at Chicago (5 pm, UniMas)</li></ul>

<strong>17</strong>

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<p>No team in the league (maybe the Quakes) has had tougher luck with injuries than the Rapids, who suffered a major blow when Matt Pickens went down in a heap. The good news is that Clint Irwin was game for the challenge, Pablo Mastroeni will likely be back next week and Deshorn Brown is the best rookie forward in the league.</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-RSL-v-COL/recap" target="_blank">Drew at Real Salt Lake, 1-1</a></li><li><strong>This Week: </strong>Saturday at LA (10:30 pm, <a href="http://live.mlssoccer.com/mlsmdl/" target="_blank">MLS Live</a>)</li></ul>

<strong>18</strong>

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The season is only three games old, but Ryan Nelsen&#39;s group has already convinced us that the &quot;lovable loser&quot; tag is a thing of the past. The new TFC pluck away and battle through matches, arguably deserving more out of their derby loss vs. league-leading Montreal.<br><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-MTL-v-TOR/recap" target="_blank">Lost at Montreal, 2-1</a></li><li><strong>Next Game: </strong>March 30 vs. LA</li></ul>

<strong>19</strong>

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<p>270 minutes. Zero goals. <em>Stat don&#39;t lie.</em> But, hey, the defense, makeshift as it is, has improved with each game. So there&#39;s that.&nbsp;</p><ul><li><strong>Last Week: </strong><a href="//www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2013-03-16-SKC-v-CHI/recap" target="_blank">Drew vs. Sporting Kansas City, 0-0</a></li><li><strong>This Week:</strong> Sunday vs. Chivas USA (5 pm, UniMas)</li></ul>