Very quietly, there's a goalkeeper battle happening at FC Dallas. Two weekends ago, veteran Chris Seitz staked his claim in a 2-0 home win over Real Salt Lake to take the No. 4 spot in the Castrol Index.
This past weekend, Peruvian international Raúl Fernández did him three better.
Fernández returned from a weekend of international action to backstop surprising FC Dallas to a 1-0 win in New England, seeing his team to the top of the Western Conference and himself to the top the Castrol Index Weekly Top 20 for Week 5. FCD are off to their best-ever start to the regular season, having picked up 12 points from five outings, and stellar play in goal – whether it happens to be Seitz or Fernández – is a big part of the reason why.
Coming in at No. 2 is a guy MLS fans should be very familiar with: current Golden Boot leader Mike Magee. The LA Galaxy attacker picked up his fifth goal of the season in a 2-2 draw at Toronto, and were it not for some heroics from TFC's Joe Bendik, could easily have had another.
Robbie Findley finally got the first marker since his return to Real Salt Lake, the opener in their 2-1 win over Seattle, before limping off after 14 minutes. It's rare to see such a brief stint earn such a high score in the Index, but such was Findley's influence in his brief appearance. See how players collect points in the Castrol methodology here.
Findley's fill-in strike partner, rookie Devon Sandoval, got his second straight Index appearance, coming in at No. 5 thanks to a night of hard work and multiple scoring chances created. He didn't finish as well as he'd have liked, but the guy at No. 4 – Chivas USA's Eric Avila – certainly did, notching a Goal of the Week nominee in his team's 2-1 win over Vancouver.
Castrol Index Week 5 Top 20 Performers
Rank |
Player |
Position |
Team |
Minutes |
Opponents |
Points |
1 |
Raúl Fernández |
Goalkeeper |
FC Dallas |
90 |
New England Revolution |
1,443 |
2 |
Mike Magee |
Midfielder |
LA Galaxy |
90 |
Toronto FC |
1,430 |
3 |
Robbie Findley |
Forward |
Real Salt Lake |
14 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
1,162 |
4 |
Eric Avila |
Midfielder |
Chivas USA |
90 |
Vancouver Whitecaps |
1,144 |
5 |
Devon Sandoval |
Forward |
Real Salt Lake |
90 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
1,101 |
6 |
Will Johnson |
Midfielder |
Portland Timbers |
90 |
Colorado Rapids |
1,001 |
7 |
Will Bruin |
Forward |
Houston Dynamo |
82 |
San Jose Earthquakes |
965 |
8 |
Tally Hall |
Goalkeeper |
Houston Dynamo |
90 |
San Jose Earthquakes |
960 |
9 |
David Ferreira |
Midfielder |
FC Dallas |
90 |
New England Revolution |
929 |
10 |
Jon Busch |
Goalkeeper |
San Jose Earthquakes |
90 |
Houston Dynamo |
919 |
11 |
Matt Besler |
Defender |
Sporting Kansas City |
90 |
Montreal Impact |
875 |
12 |
Luis Gil |
Midfielder |
Real Salt Lake |
62 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
873 |
13 |
Graham Zusi |
Midfielder |
Sporting Kansas City |
90 |
Montreal Impact |
856 |
14 |
Luis Robles |
Goalkeeper |
New York Red Bulls |
90 |
Philadelphia Union |
825 |
15 |
Nick Rimando |
Goalkeeper |
Real Salt Lake |
90 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
816 |
16 |
Joao Plata |
Forward |
Real Salt Lake |
76 |
Seattle Sounders FC |
814 |
17 |
Giles Barnes |
Midfielder |
Houston Dynamo |
70 |
San Jose Earthquakes |
804 |
18 |
Juan Toja |
Midfielder |
New England Revolution |
90 |
FC Dallas |
802 |
19 |
Brad Evans |
Midfielder |
Seattle Sounders FC |
80 |
Real Salt Lake |
778 |
20 |
Jimmy Nielsen |
Goalkeeper |
Sporting Kansas City |
90 |
Montreal Impact |
778 |