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The LA Galaxy, Columbus Crew, and Real Salt Lake have clearly set themselves apart as the League’s top teams. DC United, Philadelphia Union, and Chivas USA have set up camp at the bottom. Toronto FC is climbing in the rankings thanks to the scoring prowess of Player of the Week Dwayne De Rosario, now just one goal short of tying MLS goal leader Edson Buddle (9). The New England Revolution finally pulled together a respectable 90 minutes, but lost clutch goalkeeper Preston Burpo to a challenge by Dane Richards which shattered his leg and had players and fans covering their faces in horror.
1. LA Galaxy: (-) The Galaxy met the most competitive team in the League, Columbus Crew, and definitively beat them 2-0. Academy product Tristan Bowen, 19, and rookie Michael Stephens scored the goals, which made the suffering worse for the ambitious Crew. At this point, something needs to be said about the coach who built this team and turns out results, who of course is Bruce Arena, who is already is dusting off a shelf for the Coach of the Year Award.
2. Columbus Crew: (-) The 2-0 loss to LA sets a new bar for the Crew and one they’ll be working on because it’s very possible these two teams could meet in the MLS Cup finals. Meanwhile, Columbus will have their hands full this week when they travel to San Jose on Wednesday and on Saturday visit the Rapids, who are coming off another win.
3. Real Salt Lake: (-) Real Salt Lake beat the Kansas City Wizards 4-1 with goals by Fabian Espindola, Robbie Russell, Ned Grabavoy, and Alvaro Saborio, who also won MLS Player of the Month for scoring four goals and three assists in May. Saborio is now is a three-way tie with Union’s Sebastien Le Toux and Revolution’s Zack Schilawski for third-highest MLS goal leader with five apiece. RSL should collect three more points when they visit DC United on Saturday.
4. San Jose Earthquakes: (-) The Quakes lost 1-3 to Toronto, but their steady performance holds them in fourth place. Ramiro Corrales scored the lone goal. The Quakes have a tough week ahead because Columbus visits on Wednesday and they travel to Dallas on Saturday.
5. Houston Dynamo: (-) The Dynamo lost 2-3 to Philadelphia, but they have Brian Ching back which is good and keeps them in fifth place. Ching scored one of Houston’s goals, which must of felt good after missing a spot on the World Cup roster, and Eddie Robinson scored the other. Houston has a tough road trip this week, traveling east for the Red Bulls on Wednesday and then west for the Galaxy on Saturday.
6. Toronto FC: (+3) Now second in the East, Toronto jumps three spots this week with the 4-1 defeat of San Jose. Dwayne De Rosario scored two of those goals and earned his second 2010 Player of the Week award, the sixth in his career and with eight goals now crouches only one goal behind league-leader Edson Buddle (9). Chad Barrett scored the other goal. TFC will likely pick up three more points when Kansas City visit on Saturday.
7. Colorado Rapids: (+1) Colorado shut out Seattle 1-0 with a lone unassisted goal by Conor Casey. Columbus will be a challenge when they visit on Saturday.
8. New York Red Bulls: (-2) The Bulls lost again and this time 3-2 to the ill-fated New England, now minus their goalkeeper Preston Burpo after Dane Richards broke his leg going for a 50-50 ball. Tim Ream scored a spectacular own goal against his own keeper and Juan Pablo Angel scored a spectacular goal in the correct net. New York has a tough week ahead with Houston visiting on Wednesday and then a road game at the undefeated Galaxy on Saturday.
9. Seattle Sounders: (-2) Seattle were shut out 1-0 by Colorado, but could reverse their fortunes when New England visit on Saturday.
10. Chicago Fire: (-) The Fire tied with Dallas as predicted, with Brian McBride predictably supplying the lone goal in the 1-1 result. The Fire could pick up three points when Philadelphia visits on Saturday.
11. FC Dallas: (-) Dallas remains steady after tying the Fire 1-1 with Ferreira getting the goal. The home game vs. the Quakes should be a good one as the teams are fairly evenly matched.
12. New England Revolution: (+2) The misfortunes of the Wizards and Chivas push the Revolution up two notches after their 3-2 win over the Red Bulls, even though keeper Preston Burpo was lost to a season-ending injury when Dane Richards hurtled into the box and broke his leg. Marko Perovic scored the go-ahead goal, NY scored an own goal, then Zack Schilawski followed up with the game winner for his fifth of the season, putting him in a three-way tie for third-place goal leader with Alvaro Saborio and Sebastien Le Toux. The Revolution had a greatly improved performance that night and if they keep that form with Chris Tierney paired with Shalrie Joseph in the middle and back-up keeper Bobby Shuttleworth is up to the task, they might collect three more points when they visit plummeting Seattle on Saturday.
13. Kansas City Wizards: (-1) The Wizards lost 1-4 to Real Salt Lake with Josh Wolff supplying the lone goal assisted by Davy Arnoud. There's more trouble ahead at Toronto this Saturday.
14. Chivas USA: (-1) Chivas lost 2-3 to DC United with goals by Braun and Galindo. They’ll have a tough time at the Red Bulls' new stadium this Saturday.
15. Philadelphia Union: (-) The Union beat Houston 3-2 which is quite an achievement, but they’ve dug themselves deep into the ground with a 2-5-1 record. Philadelphia stands a fighting chance of a point at Chicago on Saturday.
16. DC United: (-) DC United beat Chivas 3-2, but with a 2-8-0 record they have a lot to prove and they probably won’t this Saturday when RSL visits.
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Comments
Disagree a lot with this list:
1. LA Galaxy
2. Real Salt Lake
3. Columbus Crew
4. Toronto FC
5. Colorado Rapids
6. San Jose Earthquakes
7. Red Bull New York
8. Houston Dynamo
9. New England Revolution
10. FC Dallas 96
11. Chciago Fire
12. Kansas City Wizards
13. Seattle Sounders FC
14. D.C. United
15. Philadelphia Union
16. C.D. Chivas USA
Tyler, I was tempted to raise Toronto higher also, but they had a rough start and need to show consistency. This is a tough week for the Bulls, Crew, Quakes, and Dynamo with two games each, so we'll see where things fall on Saturday.
pro soccer examiner? i have to agree with tyler...most of this list is way off. power rankings are supposed to be decided on a week to week basis...not on a teams "rough start"
Adam,
You say "power rankings are supposed to be decided on a week to week basis." And what's the criteria? Maybe you're thinking about the regular season table where only numbers equate to quality, and undeserved penalties, 10-man thuggish defense, and questionable officiating determine stature. No. Who's coming into the squad, who's injured, chemistry, technical direction, and individual players coming into their own determine quality and long-term success.
Take New York for example. They worked off adrenalin - new players, new coach, new stadium - but that only lasts so long. Too much individualism, too much success too fast after a dysfunctional 2009 - there's an internal hangover you can't wish away, though I'm not writing them off long-term. Although far and away top of the table, I didn't buy in and never placed them close to the top. (continued)
(continued) - New England - although most rankings only placed them mid-table this year, it was still too high. They had the fortune of starting 2010 vs. the least successful teams in MLS and even then, staffed by few true professionals, they struggled forcing easily-read formulaic play on superior players in a progressing league.
Look at Real Salt Lake last year - and even early season this year. Last year they were in the rankers' doghouse till the play-offs. Not mine. Their play had a creative consistency and developing attacking style they were working on, they weren't just after a quick result. That will bring long-term success. It's worth it to take early season losses/ties to keep the integrity and develop your own game. That's what I'm looking at in MLS, week by week.
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