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SBI MLS Power Rankings: Week 15

Whitecaps (Getty)


It's a good time to be a Vancouver Whitecaps fan.

After back-to-back wins, the Whitecaps are unbeaten in four and have pushed up to the No. 5 slot in this week's SBI MLS Power Rankings. And to make matters better, Designated Player signing Barry Robson will finally be eligible to play come June 27.

Elsewhere in the rankings, Real Salt Lake and D.C. United retained the top spots in the pecking order, while Sporting Kansas City rode its second-straight win to a position back in the top three.

Here are this week's SBI MLS Power Rankings (as voted on by SBI staff):

SBI MLS POWER RANKINGS (WEEK 15)

1. (Last week — 1) REAL SALT LAKE (10-3-2, 32 points)

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Last week: Beat Chivas 3-0 on Saturday

This week: Wednesday vs. Los Angeles, 9 p.m.; Saturday vs. San Jose, 9 p.m., Saturday

Outlook: RSL got back at a Chivas side that stole a win at Rio Tinto Stadium earlier this season, grabbing a 3-0 result on the road behind Fabian Espindola's brace. The coming week brings a Western Conference final rematch against the Galaxy and a tough clash with San Jose.

2. (2) D.C. UNITED (9-4-3, 30 points)

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Last week: Beat Philadelphia 1-0 on Saturday

This week: Sunday at New York, 7 p.m.

Outlook: United didn't control the match against Philadelphia, but Ben Olsen's side absorbed pressure and capitalized on Branko Boskovic's superb set-piece service to Chris Pontius. In a scary development for the rest of the Eastern Conference, United are as healthy as they've been all season.

3. (5) SPORTING KANSAS CITY (9-3-1, 28 points)

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Last week: Beat Toronto 2-0 on Saturday

This week: Wednesday at Seattle, 10 p.m.; Saturday vs. Philadelphia, 7 p.m.

Outlook: Kansas City is looking like its old self again, winning back-to-back contests after being mired in a four-game winless stretch. Seeing C.J. Sapong get back on the score sheet is particularly encouraging, as is seeing the team's depth get tested — and pass.

4. (4) SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES (8-3-3, 27 points)

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Last week: Idle

This week: Wednesday at Colorado, 9:30 p.m.; Saturday at Salt Lake, 9 p.m.

Outlook: After going nearly a month without playing a league game, San Jose returns to action with key Western Conference matches against Colorado and Salt Lake. The return of Chris Wondolowski from U.S. national team duty will be most welcome.

5. (9) VANCOUVER WHITECAPS (7-3-4, 25 points)

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Last week: Beat Colorado 1-0 on Saturday

This week: Wednesday vs. New York, 10:30 p.m.; Saturday at Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m.

Outlook: As disappointing as it was to see surging rookie Darren Mattocks sent off, it was just as rewarding for Vancouver fans to see the team hold the fort defensively and then grab the late winner against Colorado, courtesy of Sebastien Le Toux.

6. (3) NEW YORK RED BULLS (8-4-2, 26 points)

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Last week: Lost to Chicago 3-1 on Sunday

This week: Wednesday at Vancouver, 10:30 p.m.; Sunday vs. D.C. United, 7 p.m.

Outlook: With Thierry Henry and Rafa Marquez again sidelined and Heath Pearce a bust in defensive midfield, New York had its long unbeaten run snapped against Chicago. But New York can jump back into first place with wins over Vancouver and rival D.C. this week.

7. (6) SEATTLE SOUNDERS (7-4-3, 24 points)

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Last week: Lost to Montreal 4-1 on Saturday

This week: Wednesday vs. Kansas City, 10 p.m.; Sunday at Portland, 5 p.m.

Outlook: What is going on in the Emerald City? After expansion Montreal thrashed the Sounders on Saturday, Seattle is now winless in five games. The return of Osvaldo Alonso from suspension will be absolutely critical.

8. (7) HOUSTON DYNAMO (5-4-4, 19 points)

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Last week: Beat Dallas 2-1 on Saturday

This week: Wednesday vs. Toronto, 9 p.m.; Saturday at Montreal, 7:30 p.m.

Outlook: After claiming El Capitan for the second straight year with a win over rival Dallas on Saturday, Houston will enjoy another match at BBVA Compass Stadium before going on the road to see another team's new digs: Montreal's renovated Saputo Stadium.

9. (8) COLUMBUS CREW (5-4-4, 19 points)

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Last week: Tied New England 0-0 on Saturday

This week: Saturday at Chicago, 8:30 p.m.

Outlook: Don't look now, but after a scrappy point on the road against New England, the Crew are unbeaten in six and moving up the Eastern Conference standings. With just 13 goals allowed this season, Columbus is playing disciplined soccer.

10. (11) CHICAGO FIRE (6-5-3, 21 points)

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Last week: Beat New York 3-1 on Sunday

This week: Saturday vs. Columbus, 8:30 p.m.

Outlook: Even with Arne Friedrich sidelined, Chicago still grabbed a 3-1 win over the Red Bulls thanks to goals from Gonzalo Segares, Patrick Nyarko and Chris Rolfe. With Rolfe back from injury, this team's attacking depth can be imposing.

11. (10) COLORADO RAPIDS (6-7-1, 19 points)

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Last week: Lost to Vancouver 1-0 on Saturday

This week: Wednesday vs. San Jose, 9:30 p.m.

Outlook: Colorado's struggles on the road continued Saturday, as the Rapids dropped to 2-6-0 away from home with a loss to 10-man Vancouver. With Edu now firmly in the mix, it'll be intriguing to see what buttons Oscar Pareja chooses to push up top.

12. (15) MONTREAL IMPACT (4-7-3, 15 points)

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Last week: Beat Seattle 4-1 on Saturday

This week: Wednesday at Chivas, 10:30 p.m.; Saturday vs. Houston, 7:30 p.m.

Outlook: Sure, it made sense that Montreal would be fired up for its first game at renovated Saputo Stadium. But a 4-1 shellacking of Seattle? That was a surprisingly thorough performance from the expansion side. Look for rookie Andrew Wenger to get into the flow of things now that he is finished commuting back and forth from Duke.

13. (13) NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION (5-7-2, 17 points)

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Last week: Tied Columbus 0-0 on Saturday

This week: Saturday at Toronto, 5:30 p.m.

Outlook: Considering New England is 1-6-0 away from Gillette Stadium, the Revolution can't afford to drop points at home the way they did against Columbus on Saturday. They will, however, have a good chance to improve upon that road mark this weekend at lowly Toronto.

14. (12) CHIVAS USA (4-7-3, 15 points)

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Last week: Lost to Salt Lake 3-0 on Saturday

This week: Wednesday vs. Montreal, 10:30 p.m.; Saturday at Dallas, 9 p.m.

Outlook: The pre-hiatus optimism sparked by the savvy acquisitions of Danny Califf and Juan Agudelo was quickly snuffed by Salt Lake, which traveled to the Home Depot Center and easily dismissed the home side. But this week brings two very winnable games: home against Montreal and at Dallas — that is, if Chivas can find a way to turn around its home form, as they are 1-6-1 at the HDC.

15. (16) LOS ANGELES GALAXY (4-8-2, 14 points)

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Last week: Beat Portland 1-0 on Sunday

This week: Wednesday at Salt Lake, 9 p.m.; Saturday vs. Vancouver, 10:30 p.m.

Outlook: The Galaxy are a team desperately in need of a turning point. Will Sunday's shutout win over Portland end up being it? If Los Angeles fares well this week against the likes of Salt Lake and Vancouver, it just might.

16. (14) PORTLAND TIMBERS (3-6-4, 13 points)

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Last week: Lost to Los Angeles 1-0 on Sunday

This week: Saturday vs. Seattle, 5 p.m.

Outlook: The new forward partnership of Danny Mwanga and Kris Boyd needs time to mesh, but this season may be a lost cause by the time they find some chemistry. Perhaps a Cascadia Cup win over the struggling Sounders will be the spark Portland needs?

17. (18) PHILADELPHIA UNION (2-8-2, 8 points)

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Last week: Lost to D.C. United 1-0 on Saturday

This week: Saturday vs. Kansas City, 7 p.m.

Outlook: The start of the John Hackworth era looked an awful lot like the Peter Nowak era, as the Union's league-worst attack again failed to score and they paid dearly for a single lapse defensively. On the plus side, Freddy Adu continues to show glimpses of truly breaking out.

18. (17) FC DALLAS (3-9-4, 13 points)

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Last week: Lost to Houston 2-1 on Saturday

This week: Saturday vs. Chivas, 9 p.m.

Outlook: It's hard enough for Dallas to play without 2010 MVP David Ferreira, and playing without 2011 MVP finalist Brek Shea these past few matches has turned out to be too much, especially when Dallas' defense, with 26 goals allowed, is the league's worst.

19. (19) TORONTO FC (1-10-0, 3 points)

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Last week: Lost to Kansas City 2-0 on Saturday

This week: Wednesday at Houston, 9 p.m.; Saturday vs. New England, 5:30 p.m.

Outlook: Paul Mariner made some notable tactical adjustments in his first match since taking over for Aron Winter, but he can't repair Toronto's dilapidated roster with a couple lineup tweaks. It's time for Toronto to start rebuilding its personnel — again.

Comments

  1. Right but still, I like the chances as my RSL have a better chance winning the cup when you have to play LA three times. Cheers, Eurotrash. You bring the league “recognition” and we will take the league’s silverware.

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  2. Not to mention that attacking from the wing is easily defended if you have a decent back line and a coach who coaches the game properly. Seattle will need to find something new to break this fall. They will likely go sign something expensive. What happened to the depth everyone was bragging about 7 games ago? Reality is, no MLS team has depth. You can’t with that small of a roster. Two key injuries and every team starts sucking.

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  3. actually I think Toronto should be ranked above the Union. They actually beat them… besides, at the risk of sounding rude, one could argue that what we’re seeing from Toronto isn’t as big a surprise as what’s been happening in Philly.

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  4. 1. Only 3 of the top 7, there is such a big dropoff after 7 that to group the top 10 together makes no sense.
    2. Vancouver are damn good, they are a serious contender. Rennie is coach of the year, exactly the type of coach these teams should go out and get instead of hiring MLS lifers and retreads.

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  5. Agreed… playing Hainault and Taylor at the same time poses a liability when it comes to speed, but I think Creavalle needs another shot. He was at fault on the 3rd Vancouver goal, but his MLS debut was decent.

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  6. I think we should be able to get 6-9 points from TFC home, Montreal away, Philly home. But I wonder if the “we’ll play catch up” set looked down the schedule to July, which starts with Chicago KC DC KC Montreal, with a TFC break followed by home-away NY, and then at some point in here CCL games.

    Our record has actually been muddled all season, trending towards OK, so I see the quality of the summer upgrades as pivotal. If Boniek is good and we acquire 1-2 more quality players, this could be a competitive team. If Boniek is all we get or even worse not as sold, I think our chances of silverware are less than the “homestanders” would have you think.

    One key move that needs to be made is Ashe needs to hit the bench. A rather soft Dallas team was going after him all evening with significant success. And that issue is not necessarily on the radar of the “Boniek fixes everything” bunch.

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  7. Seattle is 7-4-3. I think they are slipping and Estrada is out but IMO there is a good-mediocre gap in MLS and until Seattle drops some more they’re entitled with their record to be treated like the worst of the best…
    Houston was .500 when last weekend started and beat a bad Dallas team at home; the Fire have 3 losses in 5 games just the same; and Columbus just tied the Revs.

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  8. It’s refreshing to see that the top of the table looks completely different from this time last year. Especially with teams like DCU, SJ, and VAN up there.

    Hoping my Dynamo can gain some ground on the pack and make up for the road stretch and a weak performance at the Whitecaps.

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  9. 6 of the top 10 are from the East.

    7th place really hurts when Vancouver is in 5th.

    Still think that KC-Seattle will be a great game tomorrow.

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  10. Sounders could easily go 7 or 8 without a win. They almost always attack from the wings, but their strikers are not great headers, and their current FBs have done nothing to support the attack. Seattle will need to step it up to hold onto 4th in the west.

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  11. People are acting like it’s indicative of the team, but they’re a bunch of reserves where one of them played over the weekend for like 20-30 minutes, no reserve game with Houston if they sit this one, they probably had some steam to blow off. They went exactly where the local young folks go.

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  12. One look at the records of Seattle and the chasing pack will tell you why Seattle is still at the tail end of a lead group of winning teams and not amidst the peloton as you suggest they should be.

    Mind you, the Fire are closing in, but I think you’re overdrawing the Montreal issue, Houston beat #2 DC in their stadium opener, the event tends to inspire teams to punch above their weight class.

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  13. Is there any point having Toronto FC on the list? We should add one of the NASL/USL teams.

    The DC v. Red Bulls game Sunday night is massive. This is the first MLS game I am really anticipating in a long time.

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  14. So you lose 4-1 in Montreal and only drop one spot? Ives must have really been impressed by that showing against Cal FC. Seattle should have dropped to 10th behind Dynamo, Crew, & Fire.

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  15. I find it funny, but not shocked that they could not even out run a Houston cop. Talk about being out of shape.

    Reply

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