Well, our Verde and Black got their asses thoroughly kicked up north of the border over the weekend, which gave us plenty of reasons to watch the rest of the league play. That being said, it’s not surprising that the Whitecaps lead our rankings this week.
- Vancouver Whitecaps (4): Brian White and the Whitecaps didn’t just beat up Austin on Saturday, but got an impressive result with a stoppage time equalizer in Mexico City to advance to the semis of CCC. Their home match against Miami next week at BC Place should be electric.
- (Tied) Inter Miami (1) and Columbus Crew (2): Well, Miami has drawn two matches in a row in league play, and then plays a hilarious “away” match in Cleveland against the Crew. The DawgPound is supposed to get some rain, and we’ll see how many people show up for an important match to determine control of the East for the time being.
- See above, but credit to the Crew for coming back in St. Louis
- Charlotte FC (6): Montreal finally hosted a match this season, and Charlotte finally turned around their away form to pull off 3 points north of the border. There appears to be a big gap between the top three and the rest of the league.
- FC Cincinnati (9): They beat a struggling DC United team on the road at slightly above half strength. As the Garys become fully healthy in the weeks ahead, this team will likely cement itself as one of the top teams in the league with their steady backline and attacking force returning.
- Minnesota United (5): A draw against a winless Toronto will lead to a slight dip here. Minnesota’s defense remains one of the top in the league despite defending all of the time.
- (T) San Diego FC (3): The Azul and Chrome had already snatched 3 points at altitude up in Utah earlier this season, but they could not achieve the same up in Colorado. However, a 3-2 loss up in Commerce City is respectable as the expansion side remains a force to be reckoned with in the West.
- (T) Portland Timbers (10): The Timbers continue their mostly hot scoring streak with 3 of their last 4 matches having at least 3 goals. They likely need to work a bit on their defense, as giving up 2 to KC isn’t great these days.
- Colorado Rapids (16): The Rapids at home are one of the top teams in the league, and Zack Steffen is having an incredible season. Just imagine if they actually had a decent stadium and fun home crowds like the NWSL team there should. It’s unclear if the current formula for the Pids is sustainable, but it’s fun for now.
- Chicago Fire (11): The Fire outplayed Miami at a sold out Soldier Field on Sunday afternoon. If Jonathan Bamba finished one of his late opportunities, the Fire could have walked away with all 3 points. The Fire still haven’t won at home this season.
- Philadelphia Union (7): Losing Gadzag is really going to hurt as their performance dragged without him up in Queens against NYCFC. Philly is going to need to find ways to create more opportunities quickly or else their hot start will be a mirage.
- Nashville SC (17): Nashville took care of business against an RSL team that struggled mightily on the road this season. Nashville is one of those teams that the stats like a lot better than the results, but we remain a tad skeptical here at the compound.
- Orlando City (13): Orlando has the widest range among our voters with votes ranging from 5 to 22 among our esteemed panel. Getting a draw with 10 men at home is not a bad result, but we clearly don’t know what to make of this Orlando team.
- New York Red Bulls (15): In the meanwhile, getting a result in Orlando is not bad, but they are kicking themselves for not taking all 3 with the man advantage.
- Austin FC (8): A slide down the rankings after a massacre in Vancouver makes sense. They get the Galaxy at home on Saturday with the early kick and a huge opportunity to recover.
- (T) LAFC (18): For once, their league result was better than their CCC result with an epic meltdown in South Florida. Beating San Jose 2-1 should start to rebuild some confidence in LA, but it wasn’t their best performance. With fewer midweek matches, we expect LAFC’s results to pick up.
- (T) NYCFC (20): Beating the newly shorthanded Philly side should begin to build some confidence for the multiborough side.
- Atlanta United (12): The Five Stripes had no business losing to New England at home, but they gave up a PK and didn’t take advantage of their opportunities. For a side that spent record sums in the offseason, it hasn’t all clicked yet in Atlanta.
- (T) Seattle Sounders (22): We were not surprised to see Seattle with their former Frisco players go down to Frisco and snatch a win. This team is another side with too much talent to be this far down the Power Rankings.
- (T) FC Dallas (14): While they are technically tied with Seattle in the Power Rankings, the author here decided to write the Sounders first for clear tiebreaker purposes.
- San Jose Earthquakes (18): There was no way that San Jose would be able to replicate their murder of DC United, but a 2-1 loss in LA was not a bad result for them. They have a golden opportunity for 3 points at home coming up against KC this weekend.
- New England Revolution (26): No one here expected New England to win in Atlanta. We still think they are probably not a playoff team in a loaded east, but more results like this one will have us paying a lot more attention.
- Real Salt Lake (21): No shame in losing 2-1 in Nashville, but they still need to figure out something besides hope Diego Luna can bail out the rest of the team.
- St Louis CITY (23): No real punishment for losing to Columbus (especially with Gadzag), but this team still needs way more creativity going forward.
- Houston Dynamo (24): At the beginning of the season, a draw in Carson would have been a massive point. But now with a man advantage for 60 minutes and the Galaxy’s winless form, they will surely regret not getting all 3.
- Toronto FC (27): Draws against Miami and Minnesota show that the defense is finally clicking for this side. They still should be better than this form, but they are not looking like a total disaster in April as they were to start the season.
- Sporting Kansas City (25): The Timbers didn’t let the interim coach honeymoon continue in Kansas. Going to San Jose will likely turn it into a bit of a nightmare.
- LA Galaxy (29): Diego scored a golazo of a Free Kick to give the Galaxy a point. But the defending MLS Champs (which they won without Puig), should not be winless 8 matches into the season. An early match in Austin may get them back on track.
- DC United (28): At least they only lost by 1 goal this week is the kindest thing we can say.
- Montreal (30): Even coming home was not enough to get them on the win sheet.