Castrol Index Weekly Top 20: Unheralded Andrew Dykstra has DC United climbing in Week 6

MLSsoccer staff

Suddenly, D.C. United are the hottest team in the league. And the man they can thank most is their goalkeeper – an unheralded backup who hadn't played an MLS minute since 2010, but has now won two in a row.

Andrew Dykstra will probably hold onto that starting job for a bit longer, and for this week anyway, he's also got a hold of the No. 1 spot in the Castrol Weekly Top 20. He won the honors thanks to his performance in a 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls, United's second shutout win on the trot.

Fellow 'keeper Jaime Penedo claimed the No. 2 spot thanks to his strong showing in the LA Galaxy's 1-0 win over Vancouver, while a trio of Designated Player MVP candidates – LA's Robbie Keane, the Seattle Sounders' Clint Dempsey, and the Columbus Crew's Federico Higuaín – rounded out the top five.

Dempsey won his second straight Player of the Week award thanks to his two goals in Seattle's 3-2 win at previously unbeaten FC Dallas, while Keane had the game-winner vs. the 'Caps and Higuaín had the Crew's only goal in a 1-1 draw at San Jose.

See how players collect points in the Castrol methodology.

Castrol Index Week 6 Top 20 Performers


Rank	Player	Position	Team	Minutes	Opponent	Points
1	Andrew Dykstra	Goalkeeper	D.C. United	90	New York Red Bulls	1,443
2	Jaime Penedo	Goalkeeper	LA Galaxy	90	Vancouver Whitecaps	1,353
3	Robbie Keane	Forward	LA Galaxy	90	Vancouver Whitecaps	1,330
4	Clint Dempsey	Midfielder	Seattle Sounders FC	90	FC Dallas	1,185
5	Federico Higuaín	Forward	Columbus Crew	90	San Jose Earthquakes	1,147
6	David Texeira	Forward	FC Dallas	85	Seattle Sounders FC	1,123
7	Kyle Beckerman	Midfielder	Real Salt Lake	90	Philadelphia Union	1,094
8	Chris Wondolowski	Forward	San Jose Earthquakes	90	Columbus Crew	1,081
9	Quincy Amarikwa	Forward	Chicago Fire	90	Montreal Impact	1,072
10	Luis Robles	Goalkeeper	New York Red Bulls	90	D.C. United	1,057
11	Clint Irwin	Goalkeeper	Colorado Rapids	90	Toronto FC	1,046
12	Troy Perkins	Goalkeeper	Montreal Impact	90	Chicago Fire	1,021
13	Maurice Edu	Midfielder	Philadelphia Union	90	Real Salt Lake	1,008
14	Kevin Alston	Defender	New England Revolution	90	Houston Dynamo	998
15	Edson Buddle	Forward	Colorado Rapids	90	Toronto FC	948
16	Álvaro Saborío	Forward	Real Salt Lake	90	Philadelphia Union	901
17	Steve Clark	Goalkeeper	Columbus Crew	90	San Jose Earthquakes	876
18	Bobby Boswell	Defender	D.C. United	90	New York Red Bulls	824
19	Erick Torres	Forward	Chivas USA	90	Portland Timbers	819
20	Davy Arnaud	Midfielder	D.C. United	66	New York Red Bulls	818