{"id":5256,"date":"2011-06-28T23:05:44","date_gmt":"2011-06-29T03:05:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=5256"},"modified":"2011-06-28T23:06:33","modified_gmt":"2011-06-29T03:06:33","slug":"mls-rankings-week-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=5256","title":{"rendered":"MLS Rankings: Week 15"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week the New England Soccer Today crew will look beyond the standings to rank each of the 18 Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. This week Brian O\u2019Connell and Sean Donahue contributed rankings. Comments are followed by the ranker\u2019s name and the rank they gave that team.<\/em><\/p>\n

T1. FC Dallas<\/strong> (9-4-4, 31 points)
\nWalloped Portland 4-0 in front of the home supporters and look dangerous going into the summer. (Brian \u2013 3) \u2026 Huge victory over Portland proves the loss to K.C. was a fluke. Dallas has lost just once in their last 12 matches. (Sean -1)<\/p>\n

T1. Los Angeles Galaxy<\/strong> (9-2-8, 35 points)
\nDid they really settle for a scoreless draw to San Jose last week? This season just gets more bizarre by the week. (Brian \u2013 2) \u2026 \u2026 The return of Landon Donovan should greatly aid the Galaxy who are struggling to find consistency in the absence of their captain, but they\u2019ll need someone to step-up in goal in Rickett\u2019s absence. (Sean \u2013 2)<\/p>\n

T1. Seattle Sounders<\/strong> (8-4-7, 31 points)
\nSix games unbeaten and the Sounders are finally awakening from their early season slumber. And they\u2019re getting contributions from all over the pitch \u2013 just ask journeyman Roger Levesque. (Brian \u2013 1) \u2026 Recovered from a shaky start to beat the Revs and go six games unbeaten. Have played four teams well under .500 during that stretch however (Sean \u2013 3)<\/p>\n

4. Real Salt Lake<\/strong> (7-3-5, 26 points)
\nDraw to Fire was tough to watch, but rebound nicely against Toronto. Although they may not be in top form, Salt Lake is still one of the deepest teams in MLS. (Brian \u2013 4) \u2026 Big win over Toronto breaks a streak of three consecutive draws and could be just what Real needs going forward. (Sean \u2013 4)<\/p>\n

5. Columbus Crew<\/strong> (6-4-6, 24 points)
\nThey\u2019ve won three of their last four, including last week\u2019s 4-1 annihilation of the Rapids. Still, it\u2019s hard for me to believe in them (or anyone else in the Eastern Conference, for that matter). (Brian \u2013 5) \u2026. With wins in three of their last four, the Crew are the hottest team at the top in a very weak Eastern Conference right now and it\u2019s tough to rank them this high. (Sean \u2013 5)<\/p>\n

6. Philadelphia Union<\/strong> (7-4-5, 16 points)
\nScoreless draw to SKC is followed up with a dramatic three-goal comeback against a typically-stingy Chivas defense. Yes, you read that correct. Three goals scored by the Union. In one game. (Brian \u2013 6) \u2026 A .500 record and just one win in June? Hardly the performance of contender. (Sean \u2013 6)<\/p>\n

7. New York Red Bulls<\/strong> (5-3-9, 24 points)
\nI get that they\u2019re missing a bunch of players right now, but the Red Bulls are easily the most disappointing side in MLS. But I wouldn\u2019t worry too much about it, especially after they traded away Dwayne DeRosario for Dax McCarty straight up. SMH. (Brian \u2013 7) \u2026 Poor month for the Red Bulls, but at least they should be aided by several players returning from the Gold Cup. Not sure McCarty is who they needed in their midfield however\u2026 (Sean -7)<\/p>\n

T8. San Jose Earthquakes<\/strong> (5-5-5, 20 points)
\nDraw to L.A. was pretty impressive, although not putting one through when striker-turned-keeper Mike Magee went between the sticks was a wasted opportunity. (Brian \u2013 9) \u2026 Disappointing Draw to LA under the circumstances, but the Earthquakes have still lost just once in their last 10 matches. (Sean – 8 )<\/p>\n

T8. Sporting Kansas City<\/strong> (4-6-5, 17 points)
\nYeah, that\u2019s right \u2013 I put them over five teams with higher point totals. And why not? They\u2019re undefeated in their last five, and have turned a corner now that they have a place to play.\u00a0 (Brian \u2013 8 ) \u2026 Looks like a new home was just what Sporting needed. K.C. is on the way up. (Sean \u2013 9)<\/p>\n

T10. D.C. United<\/strong> (4-5-6, 18 points)
\nCan\u2019t hold onto three points against H-town, as Brian Ching scores a last-minute leveler. What is this team? And where are they going? (Brian \u2013 10) \u2026 Zero wins in June and D.C. have hardly impressed lately. Outshot and out-possessed at home by Houston.(Sean \u2013 11)<\/p>\n

T10. Houston Dynamo<\/strong> (4-6-7, 19 points)
\nRally back twice against D.C., but the fact remains that their defending hasn\u2019t been up to snuff this season. (Brian \u2013 11) \u2026 Outplayed D.C., but Houston has just one win since April. (Sean \u2013 10)<\/p>\n

12. Colorado Rapids<\/strong> (5-5-7, 22 points)
\nWhere do I start with Colorado? They\u2019re mediocre at home, they\u2019re mediocre on the road, and then they get crushed by Columbus. Is this how championships are defended? (Brian \u2013 12) \u2026 Colorado hasn\u2019t just been losing lately, they\u2019ve been getting trounced. Just one win in their last nine matches. Yikes (Sean \u2013 12)<\/p>\n

13. Chicago Fire<\/strong> (2-4-11, 17 points)
\nDon\u2019t look now, but the Fire are unbeaten in their last seven, albeit, only one of those seven is actually a victory. Yet, it\u2019s still an improvement over their 11-game winless streak. (Brian \u2013 13) .. If Chicago could just learn to turn their ties into wins, they\u2019d be golden. A smaller schedule in July could help.\u00a0 (Sean \u2013 13)<\/p>\n

14. Chivas USA <\/strong>(4-7-5, 17 points)
\nSlumping badly, and Saturday\u2019s embarrassing 3-2 loss is proof that the Goats still have work to in the front and back. (Brian \u2013 14) \u2026 Blew a great chance for some road points in Philly and the struggles continue for Chivas. (Sean \u2013 15)<\/p>\n

15. Vancouver Whitecaps<\/strong> (2-7-8, 14 points)
\nThe only team in the bottom four to actually pull off a victory in their last five games. But, it\u2019s little consolation, as the Caps keep coming up short. (Brian \u2013 16) \u2026 A nice little run with a draw at Seattle and a win over Philly was positive for Vancouver, but they were halted by a streaking K.C. this weekend. (Sean \u2013 14)<\/p>\n

16. Portland Timbers<\/strong> (5-7-3, 18 points)
\nIt wasn\u2019t long ago that the Timbers were one of the hottest teams in MLS. Now? Well, they must have plunged themselves into a tub of ice water since, with only one point in their last five matches. (Brian \u2013 15) When the highlight of June was a blown two goal lead in a 3-3 home draw, you know you had a bad month. (Sean \u2013 16)<\/p>\n

17. New England Revolution<\/strong> (3-8-6, 15 points)
\nWinless in their last seven, but perhaps the most troubling statistic is that they\u2019ve only recorded two multi-goal games this season. (Brian \u2013 17) \u2026 The signs of life they\u2019ve been showing the past few weeks were present in the first 20 minutes against Seattle, but in the last 70 minutes the Revs looked as poor as ever. (Sean \u2013 17)<\/p>\n

18. Toronto FC<\/strong> (2-7-9, 15 points)
\nLoss to Salt Lake was expected. Then again, there are very few instances when a loss isn\u2019t expected when Toronto steps onto the pitch. (Brian \u2013 18) \u2026 Worst defense in the league along with a poor offense is getting this team nowhere. (Sean -18)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle are tied atop our rankings this week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5257,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/dallaslaseattlefeature.jpg?fit=490%2C225","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5256"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5259,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions\/5259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}