MLS Examiner Week 10 Power Ranking: my ballot

May 27, 7:57 AMChicago Fire ExaminerRoman Kashuba

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Keller is keeping Seattle competitive, but for how long? (AP)

Chivas USA retains its top spot in the MLS Examiner Power Rankings, but with wins turning into draws Chivas is losing ground, and the road ahead is a tough one for the Goats (Chicago, Seattle, @ Houston, @ Columbus).  Seattle's recent struggles, coupled with Houston's recent form (4 wins in five games) and Kansas City's well-deserved draw with Chivas has bumped the Sounders all the way to seventh.  The table may not reflect Seattle's struggles just yet, but my rankings do.  

1)  Chivas USA - A dollhouse of a pitch in Kansas City makes it easier to defend in short-handed situations, but even so Chivas needed to do better with a two-man advantage and ten minutes of game time. The Goats are finally getting a taste of life in the Eastern Conference and they're finding it hard to swallow. Chivas is now 1-1-2 in games against the Eastern Conference, with their only win coming against a 10-man Crew team deep into their early season slump.

2)  Chicago Fire - It seems the pristine pitch at Toyota Park tempted the Fire to play the beautiful game in lieu of a winning game. Unpredictable artificial surfaces have hampered the home team more than the visiting Fire. Pulling out back-to-back wins in games in which they have been outplayed has the Fire back on top of the Eastern Conference. With the early season draws-that-felt-like-losses now balanced by wins-that-could-have-been-losses, the Fire must be happier with their undefeated status.

3)  D.C. United - The draw at home to Real Salt Lake opened the door for TFC. The race at the top of the East will keep all involved sharp and battle-tested for the playoffs. D.C.'s fate lies in the continued contributions of their young rookie talent.   

4)  Toronto FC - They're a good club, but beating the dead horse that is New England doesn't boost their standing.  A win in Houston will.

5)  Houston Dynamo - With two games in hand on Chivas, Houston could be within striking distance of the top of West by end of June. Is anyone surprised?

6)  Kansas City Wizards - Pushing Chivas to their limit raised a lot of eyebrows. Now sustaining that level of play will be crucial to the Wizards' playoff chances in the loaded East.

7)  Seattle Sounders FC - Three draws in three road games would be acceptable if Houston wasn't nipping at their heels. With Columbus at home and Chivas on the road, Seattle should settle into the middle of the pack over the next two weeks, but the play of Kansas City and Houston forced the Sounders down my rankings before they are forced down the table.

8)  Colorado Rapids - Playing the Sounders to a draw should be considered a good result, but with the Sounders looking more and more like a mid-table team, the draw simply reinforces the Rapids own mediocre look.   

9)  Columbus Crew - The week off saw New England lose to TFC putting the Revs only a point ahead of Columbus, with both teams limping through nine games. While Columbus has looked dangerous through long stretches, the Revs have taken several beatings dropping their goal difference to -8. And thus the team relaxing at home gains on the team that reminded us just how bad they can be.

10) New England Revolution - Sharlie Joseph has done an admiral job as a striker, but when your offense relies on hopeful long balls to score, your defense needs to post shutouts with regularity. Hoping for the improbable on both sides of the ball is an equation for failure.

11) Real Salt Lake - Holding the league's number two offense scoreless is no small feat, but the scoreless draw in D.C. had more to do with some nausea-inducing United finishing than with the Royal's defending. Disregarding this game as an outlier would be more reasonable than reading too much into it.

12) LA Galaxy - The good news is the defense is stingier than it was last season, the bad news is the Galaxy has decided to take their points one at a time.

13) New York Red Bulls - The chances were there against Chicago, but the finishing wasn't. Juan Carlos Osorio already smeared his boys in the media, leaving the motivational options limited for future lackluster performances.

14) FC Dallas - The last time Dallas scored more than a goal they won. They'll win the next time they do as well, but don't hold your breath.

15) San Jose Earthquakes - Nothing's changed in the Bay area. When a team dreams of a draw, the whole league suffers. Something tells me more than a couple USL sides would have put up more points than the Earthquakes have thus far.

LATER: New York Red Bulls 0-1 Chicago Fire, match report and analysis

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