Our weekly re-ordering of Major League Soccer teams, following 20 rounds of play:
19. D.C. United – What is in the water around Washington, D.C.? United is at 744 minutes and counting without an MLS goal in the run of play. But the women’s team there, the Washington Spirit, has gone even longer without such a goal. So for United, there is that, I suppose.
18. Toronto FC – One day Darren O’Dea is your captain and defensive leader. The next day he’s gone with very little notice but more than a few questions, sold to a club in the Ukraine. Yes, it frees up cap space, but it’s fair to ask about the plan around BMO Field. Specifically, is there one?
17. Chivas USA – After three games on the road, the Goats are finally back at home. In fact, this is one that a recently re-organized side, now showing a little more structure and soon to benefit from Carlos Bocanegra’s leadership could certainly win. Toronto FC is the opposition.
16. Columbus – New England travels to Colorado for a Wednesday match and then finds itself in Ohio for a contest three nights later. That is what you call a “prime opportunity,” and any team with real playoff ambitions must be able to take advantage.
15. San Jose Earthquakes – As inconsistent as the Earthquakes have been, with as many things as have gone wrong around little Buck Shaw Stadium this year, the side is just six points out of a playoff spot. The ‘Quakes have played at least one more match than most clubs, but there are some thin rays of hope.
14. Chicago Fire – Mike Magee has gone so far towards solving the Fire’s attacking issues – but Frank Klopas’ team isn’t going anywhere until the defense gets better. Latest evidence: Sunday’s 3-1 loss at Vancouver.
13. New England Revolution – Monday’s terrific news, that Kevin Alston has rejoined the team and is traveling for a mid-week match at Colorado, helped wash away the bad taste of a home loss to Houston.
12. Colorado Rapids – Anyone else get the feeling the Rapids’ season could go either way? They could climb steadily into a playoff spot or they could tumble down to the wrong side of Seattle and San Jose. If a climb is in the cards, they have to win the home games against mid-level teams, and a match like that is up Wednesday as New England visits.
11. Houston Dynamo – It took a holding midfielder to score two goals – OK, he was only officially credited with one, but he was directly responsible for one recorded as an own goal – to get the Dynamo a huge road win. Still, no Dynamo forward has scored since early May. Yikes!
10. FC Dallas – The team has tumbled from first to fourth lately in the Western Conference standings, unable to score and not nearly as secure in the back. (And that is unlikely to change until center back George John gets healthy enough to join the starting lineup again.)
9. Seattle Sounders – Osvaldo Alonso was back in the starting lineup last week, but the Sounders still fell, this time at Buck Shaw Stadium to San Jose. Now, they’ll be without Alonso again following his late, weekend ejection.
8. LA Galaxy – The Galaxy has allowed eight goals in stoppage time and 15 after the 75th minute. You read it here: there will be no three-peat if center backs Omar Gonzalez and A.J. DeLaGarza and goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini cannot sort out things back there.
7. New York Red Bulls – The weekend’s 4-0 win over Montreal was one of the best yet under young manager Mike Petke. For those wondering whether Thierry Henry could still manage the job (and the significant weight of expectation) at age 35, he leads the team in goals (7) and assists (4).
6. Philadelphia Union – Even Union fans seemed to feel a little badly about the way their team won over Chivas USA. But by season’s end that will be just another three points in the standings, and the Union is looking pretty good for a playoff spot.
5. Montreal Impact – The team is headed the wrong way, now having conceded 12 goals in the last three matches. The latest loss, 4-0 at New York, was a defensive fiasco.
4. Vancouver Whitecaps – No doubt about it now: Brazilian attacker Camilo (pictured above) has displaced Chicago’s Mike Magee as Major League Soccer’s hottest player. With two more strikes Sunday, he has 10 goals in the team’s last nine matches and a league-leading 12 strikes overall.
3. Sporting Kansas City – Looking for a swell game to watch this weekend? Sporting KC’s visit to Utah to meet Real Salt Lake looks like a real crackerjack. RSL is unbeaten in 11 matches across all competitions, while SKC is unbeaten in five MLS matches, now scoring with a forceful regularity.
2. Real Salt Lake – They got a bit fortunate early as FC Dallas misfired in Texas, but Javier Morales’ wonderful goal helped turn the night. A team missing four important leaders won for the first time in Texas, 3-0, at FC Dallas Stadium.
1. Portland Timbers – What a night at typically rocking Jeld-Wen Field, a stoppage time win over the two-time defending champion Galaxy that was easily the top match of Round 20 in Major League Soccer.