MLS Week 10 Power Rankings

28 ( - ) – Vancouver Whitecaps – Vanni Sartini’s ‘Caps “won” at home on Sunday. This “win” is only prolonging the inevitable. 0.77 points per game is still pretty bad. This team can celebrate winning one trophy this season – the Wooden Spoon.

27 (↓4) – Sporting KC – Two wins out of 11 games with only eight goals doesn’t really cut it. They’re missing a legitimate goal scoring threat. One positive – they somehow managed to earn a 0-0 draw against NYCFC last week.

26 (↓7) – Inter Miami – That’s more like the pink team that we have known for the past few seasons. Two consecutive scoreless losses to the Revs and Charlotte has dropped Miami to the basement of the Eastern Conference. Also, what happened to Gonzalo Higuain?

25 (↓5) – Seattle Sounders – Well, they won the CCL. Great. Seattle is currently in the basement of the league with Vancouver. Although it’s 11 games into the season, they better start winning soon or the supporters will hear the blues a-callin’, with tossed salad and scrambled eggs. Good night, Seattle!

24 ( - ) – San Jose Earthquakes – Hey, they won a game! Will they compete for a playoff spot? Probably not. They’re wildly inconsistent, which makes it hard to figure this team out. Jeremy Ebobisse looks like a good signing, but he doesn’t have the defensive support, as the Quakes are conceding an average of 2.3 goals per game.

23 (↑2) – New England Revolution – The Revs finish this round of MLS play with a win and a draw. It helps that they played Inter Miami and Columbus, two mediocre teams. Striker Adam Buksa is scoring again, which helps to win games. However, defence continues to be a problem, with this team conceding almost two goals per game. Will Matt Turner’s return help? Take a look at these highlights from this past week’s match against Columbus – it could have easily been 5-5.

22 (↑2) – D.C. United – This team lives in the world of absolutes. They either win or lose – they’re the only team in MLS without a draw this season. D.C. had an impressive 2-0 win over Houston following a 3-0 defeat to Columbus a week prior. Their new DP signing Taxi Fountas has made an immediate impact with four goals in four games. If Taxi continues with his goal scoring prowess, it will definitely fix D.C.’s lack of goals.

21 (↓9) – Toronto FC – Remember when TFC beat Philly at home? That seems like a distant memory now. They’ve been bitten the injury bug. Two losses to Cincinnati doesn’t help. Also, a “loss” to Pro Referees, er, Vancouver means Toronto is plummeting in the standings and rankings. Hopefully this team can string together a few respectable performances when they have some more starters available.

20 (↑6) – FC Cincinnati – Three wins in a row! They did play TFC twice, which certainly helps their points total. However, Cincy did travel to Minnesota and beat a pretty good Loons team. While I’m not willing to say this team is going to make the playoffs, they’re trending in the right direction. Consistent defence and goalkeeping (i.e. - Roman Celentano and not Kenneth Vermeer) will help their cause.

19 (↓1) – Atlanta United – Atlanta lost team captain Miles Robinson to an achilles injury this weekend. His absence will have a huge effect on the team. They lost Brad Guzan to the same injury in April. Loanee striker Ronaldo Cisneros seems to finally be paying off, as he had a first half hat-trick against Chicago. It was the team’s first win in MLS since April 3rd.

18 (↑4) – Charlotte FC – With a win over Miami, this expansion team is just one spot out of the playoff race. I guess manager Miguel Ramirez’s tone has changed slightly as this team no longer looks like they’re “screwed”. Yet, with only 10 goals in 11 matches, Charlotte needs to score more. Perhaps the addition of Andre Shinyashiki will help. It also helps that this team plays in the Eastern Conference.

17 (↓2) – Portland Timbers – Portland has only two wins this season - Vancouver and Austin. The Timbers are seemingly content with draws. Also, this team has scored one goal in their last four matches. Thankfully their defence is keeping them in games. Portland is on the precipice of disaster if they don’t start scoring more goals.

16 (↑1) – Colorado Rapids – With the addition of a scoring threat in Zardes, Colorado should improve. They certainly played well against Portland, but then promptly lost to San Jose. They’re inconsistent and lacking finishing right now. Perhaps they’ll take a bit of time, but I wouldn’t count out the Rapids quite yet.

15 (↓4) – Houston Dynamo – Three losses in a row, including defeats to Texas rivals Dallas and Austin, doesn’t bode well for the Dynamo. Their most recent game saw them lose to a mediocre D.C. United squad. What is happening? They’re not pressuring enough with their midfield and relying on their defence to stop goals. They’re only generating 3.7 shots per game, which is 20th in the league.

14 (↑7) – Columbus Crew – With a win over D.C. and a draw against the Revs, Columbus is slowly improving. They’re getting goals from multiple sources, with seven different players scoring so far. They’re not conceding a lot of goals either, averaging 1.1 goals per game, which is 10th in the league. Perhaps the Crew can make a run for the playoffs in the Eastern Conference.

13 (↓3) – Chicago Fire – This team is close to earning their previous moniker as the “Tire Fire.” With three straight losses, and no wins since March 19th, this team is in trouble if they don’t start scoring. They’re tied with Vancouver for a league-worst seven goals scored, and the Whitecaps have played one less game. Perhaps relying on a 17-year-old keeper might not be the best strategy. Slolina’s form has been a bit off, hence the poor results.

12 (↑2) – NYCFC – They’re moving up in the standings, having won three out their last four games. They drew against a pretty average SKC team, failing to score a goal after scoring bagging 14 in their previous three matches. NYCFC had chances to score, but didn’t finish. One thing to watch – “the Valentin Castellanos to Europe” rumours are surfacing once again. They might be down a DP striker when the summer transfer window opens.

11 (↑4) – Montreal Club de Foot/Impact? – Montreal has consecutive wins over Atlanta and Orlando City. Le Club to Foot (nee Impact) has not lost in the league since March 12, when they were still in the CCL. With five wins in their last six games, Montreal is threatening to overtake Philadelphia for the Eastern Conference lead. If only they could decide on a name...

10 (↓1) – Real Salt Lake – RSL had the unenviable task of heading into Nashville and playing in their fancy new stadium, and promptly lost. However, Salt Lake was victorious over the Galaxy at home the previous week. Defensively, RSL is pretty solid. Their problem is goal production, having only scored 10 this season. Tate Schmitt, one of their leading goal scorers with two goals, is a left back. Bobby Wood is the only other multiple goal scorer on RSL.

9 (↑4) – Nashville SC – They’ve finally moved into GEODIS Park and are undefeated after two matches. Nashville is at home for 15 out of their remaining 24 games, so there is a potential for this team to climb the Western Conference standings. Flights to Seattle, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and San Jose could take their toll on the team’s performance.

8 (↓1) – Orlando City – Orlando lost 4-1 to Montreal but had a few key injuries. The previous week was another win against Charlotte. They’re currently sitting 4th in the East. They’re heading to Toronto this week, and will play Austin afterwards. Austin should be a good test for this Orlando team.

7 (↓1) – Minnesota United – Consecutive losses see the Loons drop down one spot this week. Defensively, this team has a good record, having only conceded nine goals. Dayne St. Clair leads the league with an 83.7% save percentage. They need more consistent scoring, as Robin “General” Lod has three goals to lead the team.

6 (↑2) – New York Red Bulls – The Red Bulls are the Road Warriors of MLS right now, winning their first five away matches. They have scored 16 goals while only conceding eight. That’s impressive. We’ll see how this team fares against tougher opponents like Philadelphia.

5 ( - ) – Austin FC – 20 points from 10 games! 20! They lost 1-0 to the Galaxy this week. It seems to be a bit of a hiccup in a string of wins. They’re scoring loads of goals and not conceding very many. That’s a formula for success. We’ll see how they fare against RSL and LAFC in the coming weeks.

4 (↓2) – FC Dallas – Why is Dallas ranked so high? They’ve only conceded seven goals this season. Also, along with Philadelphia and LAFC, they’ve only lost one game so far. They dropped a couple of spots because of a questionable draw at SKC. They’ll challenge for top spot in the league if they can maintain their current form.

3 (↑1) – LA Galaxy – TFC West seems to be doing really well under Vanney’s guidance! With Victor Vasquez, Raheem Edwards, Eriq Zavaleta, and Mark Delgado, they’re moving up the rankings. Also, did you see Mark(y)’s goal against Austin?

2 ( - ) – Philadelphia Union – What a match against LAFC. It’s a shame that it was on at 11:00 pm Eastern on Saturday night. Watch the highlights below. Philadelphia is still the best in the East.

1 ( - ) – LAFC – This team is still no. 1, and deservedly so. They’re not at full strength, and still getting results. LAFC is on pace to amass 78 points this season, thus breaking the record set by New England at 73 points.