Here are Nos. 11-19 of ProSoccerTalk’s weekly countdown following six rounds of regular season play.
(Nos. 1-10 are on deck …so check back)
19. Seattle Sounders – Sigi Schmid’s Sounders are the lone, winless MLS club. Ain’t that something? They could do a lot to vent pressure and get the cart generally out of a ditch by overturning a 1-0 deficit in CONCACAF Champions League semifinal play tonight in Mexico. Don’t bet on it, though.
18. Chicago Fire – One win was just enough to get Frank Klopas’ team off the bottom of the stack … but there’s still reason to be suspicious about this lot. The Fire needed two late goals from Maicon Santos off the bench in order to grab its first win of 2013 – and New York’s shoddy defending and goalkeeping had something to do with it. Still, a win’s a win. For now.
17. Colorado Rapids – Nice to see Edson Buddle back on the field as the Rapids slowly begin to get some important veterans back on the field. Center back Drew Moor should return this week as well following his two-game suspension. Coming off a win over rival Real Salt Lake (the Rapids’ first “W” of 2013) Oscar Pareja’s team travels to meet Chivas USA this week.
16. Toronto FC – Ryan Nelsen’s club is getting closer to where the rookie manager wants it to be. Last year, TFC lost leads. Heck, TFC has pretty much always been the team to lose the leads. Could it be that this year, the club can actually erase them? The Reds did just that on Saturday thanks largely to Darel Russel’s awesome, late strike in a 2-2 draw with Dallas.
15. New England Revolution – One of a bunch of teams that had the weekend off for Round 6. They needed it to steel themselves for telling trips into Seattle (this weekend) and New York over the next two weeks. Of course, the big news – much more important than soccer – is Kevin Alston’s leave of absence for leukemia treatment.
14. D.C. United – United has just two goals in five matches; here’s one reason. Dwayne De Rosario’s health and ability to get back on the field will be a big talker prior to this week’s visit from the rival Red Bulls.
13. New York Red Bulls – Luis Robles, who rescued a wobbly goalkeeping situation around Red Bull Arena last year, just hasn’t been the same in 2013. Of course, he wasn’t getting much help at the end Sunday in Chicago, was he? None of the Red Bulls covered themselves in glory in this one, conceding an early lead and then allowing two near the end in a loss at Toyota Park. Thierry Henry had to come off the bench once again for New York.
12. Portland Timbers – Without question, Saturday’s 2-0 win over Houston was the best front-to-back Timbers’ outing so far under Caleb Porter. Good performances were all over the field, including Jack Jewsbury, who returned once again to right back. Mikael Silvestre seems to have found his feet. The big show-stopper, of course, belonged to PST Player of the Week Diego Chara.
11. Philadelphia Union – It’s not always the loveliest work, but John Hackworth has certainly taught his team how to grind out results. Last week’s 1-1 draw in Columbus is the latest example. By the way, anybody have Jack McInerney (pictured above) in the pool as MLS top scorer? Because the young striker is currently tied for third with three goals this year.
