19. Chivas USA – The Chelis era is over – and wasn’t that ridiculously fast? The first match upon removal of the increasingly erratic club’s charismatic manager didn’t go well, a 2-0 loss at home to Seattle.
18. D.C. United – Don’t be fooled by D.C. United moving out of last place. It really looks like a head-scratcher considering Ben Olsen’s team lost (again, this time to Chicago) to prolong the club record 11-game winless streak. Thing is, Chivas USA just looks worse now.
17. Toronto FC – Some of the writers around Toronto felt the Reds deserved better than a 1-1 draw at home to Philly. Then again, good teams find a way; poor or average teams don’t. Doneil Henry’s needless sending off didn’t help.
16. Chicago Fire – Mike Magee (pictured above) certainly didn’t leave the scoring magic back in L.A.; the former Galaxy man scored his first for Chicago in a 2-0 win over D.C. United. Meanwhile, they appear to be moving on, accepting life without defensive brain Arne Friedrich.
15. San Jose Earthquakes – Maybe things will go a little better in Champions League, because they just aren’t falling right in league play. (San Jose fell in Utah over the weekend, 3-0.) The ‘Quakes drew Montreal and a Guatemalan side (TBD) in Champions League group play.
14. Vancouver Whitecaps – Kenny Miller scored! Wait a minute, he’s still with the club? A 2-1 win at New York was impressive enough, but then you consider that key men Darren Mattocks, Gershon Koffie and Nigel Reo-Coker all sat out and it becomes more so. (Even if the Red Bulls were reduced to 10 in the second half.)
13. Columbus – Terrible news for the club as midfielder Eddie Gaven, the real glue around Crew Stadium over the last couple of seasons, suffered a season-ending knee injury last week in a U.S. Open Cup match. Justin Meram looks like the man who needs to step in and step up – but it’s a big ask considering all the little things Gaven did.
12. Philadelphia Union – You know, it’s really just cut-and-paste at this point. So here goes: “Jack McInerney scored again.” He’s up to a league-leading 10. Oh, but this part is new: his name was on the 35-man preliminary U.S. Gold Cup roster list.
11. New England Revolution – Hottest club in MLS? Jay Heaps’ Revs have won four in a row and are unbeaten in five straight in all competitions. And they put a five-spot on the champs last week, the first time the club had hit net that often in a match since 2004.
10. Colorado Rapids – Atiba Harris scored both goals in a 2-2 draw with Dallas, but left back Chris Klute was just as impressive as the Rapids remained unbeaten in six league matches. (Oscar Pareja’s club did crash out of Open Cup play last week in a third-round loss at Orlando City.)
9. Seattle Sounders – Last in the West fairly recently, Sigi Schmid’s Sounders have climbed to sixth, one spot out of the playoff zone. And they have a game or two in hand on all the teams in front of them.
8. LA Galaxy – Goalkeeper Carlo Cuducini was so humbled by a 5-0 loss in New England, he apologized to the fans about it. Robbie Rogers made a second appearance, again off the bench.
7. New York Red Bulls – A loss at home to Vancouver (a club that rarely win on the road) brought down the Red Bulls’ seven-game unbeaten streak. All in all, we’ve seen a lot better from Mike Petke’s club. Meanwhile, ability to stay on the doggone field was Jamison Olave’s issue at Real Salt Lake – and his second half expulsion will be a sore point.
6. Real Salt Lake – Javier Morales, 33, is reminding all those young midfielders around Rio Rinto that he’s not quite ready to yield his spot just yet. Another big match from the RSL playmaker steered his side to a 3-0 win over San Jose.
5. Houston Dynamo – The “good” was a 1-1 draw at Columbus, but the “bad” is in an injury list that’s getting alarmingly long. Adam Moffat and Eric Brunner went off during the match in Ohio, an unfortunate turn for Dominic Kinnear’s team, which is already shorthanded due to international absences.
4. Sporting Kansas City – Hot-headedness was rampant, on the sidelines and on the field, as KC lost at home for the third time this year. Yes, third. We double checked. (Montreal on Saturday joined previous 2013 Sporting Park conquerors Portland and Seattle.)
3. Portland Timbers – The club backed up Caleb Porter’s bold U.S. Open Cup predictions before the Timbers took the weekend off in MLS play. Up this week: a trip into Toyota Park to meet Chicago.
2. Montreal Impact – Not sure what it is about Sporting KC that drives manager Marco Schallibaum so crazy, but he was sent off at halftime. It didn’t bother the club, apparently, as the Impact went on to a big 2-1 win at Sporting Park.
1. FC Dallas – Dallas will now deal with life minus its top striker and starting goalkeeper, Blas Perez (pictured above) and Raul Fernandez, who will be away on international duty. Perez had both goals as Dallas tied Colorado on the road, 2-2. He has a team-leading five strikes this year.
