The Major League Soccer season hasn’t been kind to some teams, and the growing gaps in each conference standings highlight which clubs are struggling the most.
The highest-profile of the struggling teams is Orlando City, who entered its fourth MLS campaign with a ton of promise. Ahead of Friday’s matchup with Atlanta United, the Lions sit 10th in the Eastern Conference with 13 losses in their last 15 league games.
Only the Chicago Fire have put together a worse mark in the East, as they sit dead last with eight consecutive league losses. One more on Thursday in Columbus will match Orlando’s horrendous nine-game losing streak from earlier in the season.
Over in the Western Conference, the worst team in MLS resides at the bottom of the standings: the San Jose Earthquakes.
Under first-year manager Mikael Stahre, the Quakes were supposed toward being a contender, but with just three wins and 17 points, the only positive storyline coming out of the Bay Area is Chris Wondolowski’s chase of the MLS all-time scoring record.
Although the Colorado Rapids have impressed since the addition of Kellyn Acosta, they still sit 11th in the West and are nowhere close to the red line under first year coach Anthony Hudson. The players brought in by Hudson haven’t worked out for the most part, with the trade for Acosta being the lone bright spot.
Joining the league’s bottom four teams in the pit of misery is Houston, who suffered a heartbreaking defeat at home to Real Salt Lake on Saturday to drop it 10 points beneath sixth place. The only good news for the Dynamo is they have a chance to win a trophy at home in the U.S. Open Cup final on September 26.
Vote in the poll below who you think is the MLS side in the biggest mess at this point in the season.
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