D.C. United's Chris Pontius is the new Pat Noonan.
The former Revolution forward always had a knack for scoring against New York, and now Pontius has taken over that mantle after adding another two goals against the Red Bulls on Sunday night in a 3-2 loss.
The performance by the D.C. United striker, who also registered a hat trick against the Red Bulls earlier this season, was good enough to land him the No. 1 ranking in the Week 16 Castrol Index. The Southern California native continues to excel since moving to the forward position on a fulltime basis. His eight goals are good for fifth on the MLS scoring charts.
Sunday's I-95 derby saw two other players make the list of the Top 20 performers, with New York's Jan Gunnar Solli figuring at No. 4 and Red Bulls right back Brandon Barklage coming in at No. 17. In a good week for the Red Bulls, Heath Pearce (No. 10) also factors into Week 16's best players after scoring midweek in Vancouver.
The other defenders to crack into the list were Columbus Crew center back Josh Williams (No. 11), Montreal's Hassoun Camara (No. 12) and Seattle's Patrick Ianni (No. 20), who is also up for the AT&T Goal of the Week.
Vancouver's Joe Cannon represents the goalkeeper fraternity and comes in at No. 13.
Weekly Top 20 Performers - Week 16+ Powered by Castrol Index
Rank |
Player |
Position |
Team |
Minutes |
Points |
vs. |
1 |
Chris Pontius |
Forward |
D.C. United |
90 |
1,712 |
New York |
2 |
Ryan Johnson |
Forward |
Toronto FC |
90 |
1,667 |
New England |
3 |
Jack McInerney |
Forward |
Philadelphia |
72 |
1,579 |
Sporting KC |
4 |
Jan Gunnar Solli |
Midfielder |
New York |
90 |
1,403 |
D.C. United |
5 |
Kris Boyd |
Forward |
Portland |
90 |
1,392 |
Seattle |
6 |
Danny Koevermans |
Forward |
Toronto FC |
90 |
1,377 |
Houston |
7 |
Sanna Nyassi |
Forward |
Montreal |
88 |
1,356 |
Houston |
8 |
Tony Tchani |
Midfielder |
Columbus |
90 |
1,355 |
Chicago |
9 |
Kyle Beckerman |
Midfielder |
Real Salt Lake |
90 |
1,344 |
LA Galaxy |
10 |
Heath Pearce |
Defender |
New York |
90 |
1,303 |
Vancouver |
11 |
Josh Williams |
Defender |
Columbus |
90 |
1,300 |
Chicago |
12 |
Hassoun Camara |
Defender |
Montreal |
90 |
1,288 |
Houston |
14 |
Will Bruin |
Forward |
Houston |
90 |
1,234 |
Toronto FC |
13 |
Joe Cannon |
Goalkeeper |
Vancouver |
90 |
1,206 |
New York |
15 |
Fabián Espíndola |
Forward |
Real Salt Lake |
90 |
1,184 |
San Jose |
16 |
Robbie Keane |
Forward |
LA Galaxy |
90 |
1,171 |
Vancouver |
17 |
Brandon Barklage |
Defender |
New York |
90 |
1,151 |
D.C. United |
18 |
Felipe Martins |
Midfielder |
Montreal |
90 |
1,140 |
Chivas USA |
19 |
Mike Magee |
Midfielder |
LA Galaxy |
75 |
1,128 |
Vancouver |
20 |
Patrick Ianni |
Defender |
Seattle |
90 |
1,124 |
Sporting KC |
