{"id":5960,"date":"2011-08-18T21:04:43","date_gmt":"2011-08-19T01:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=5960"},"modified":"2011-08-18T21:08:32","modified_gmt":"2011-08-19T01:08:32","slug":"mls-rankings-week-22","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=5960","title":{"rendered":"MLS Rankings: Week 22"},"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

1. LOS ANGELES GALAXY<\/strong> (13-3-9, 48 points)
\nAlthough they were off last weekend, the Galaxy made a huge splash in the transfer market by signing Robbie Keane. As Stevie Nicol said during his PressPass interview, \u201cthe strong get stronger.\u201d (Brian \u2013 1) \u2026 Off from league action, but add Robbie Keane and win their CCL opener. (Sean \u2013 1)<\/p>\n

2. FC DALLAS<\/strong> (12-6-7, 43 points)
\nConceded a pair of penalties against Philly in their 2-2 draw, but their historic 1-0 win over Pumas\u00a0 – the first time an American club won in 25 tries down in Mexico \u2013 may give them some considerable momentum down the stretch. (Brian \u2013 2) \u2026 Gave away two points in Philly, but pick up a historic win in Mexico. Have I mentioned MLS MVP David Ferreira is likely to return before the playoffs? (Sean \u2013 2)<\/p>\n

3.<\/strong> (-1) SEATTLE SOUNDERS<\/strong> (11-5-9, 42 points)
\nFollowed up a disappointing scoreless draw to Chivas USA with a 4-1 throttling of Comunicaciones in CCL play. They\u2019ll need a similar performance against Dallas this weekend. (Brian \u2013 3) \u2026 Unlucky not to find the back of the net against Chivas with numerous opportunities including a missed PK. Impressive CCL debut despite an early red card. (Sean \u2013 3)<\/p>\n

4. COLORADO RAPIDS<\/strong> (10-6-10, 40 points)
\nWinners of four of their last five, the Rapids are building a formidable run in the final third of the season. Their 3-2 win over Metapan will only bolster their confidence against Chivas USA. (Brian \u2013 4) \u2026 The Rapids can count themselves lucky in their win over San Jose, but the defending Champs keep rolling with an impressive win in their midweek CCL opener. (Sean \u2013 4)<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> (+1) COLUMBUS CREW<\/strong> (10-7-7, 37 points)
\nGet three unanswered goals against the hapless Revs as the Crew pad their point lead over Philly \u2013 who they\u2019ll be playing this week in a titanic Eastern Conference showdown. (Brian \u2013 5) \u2026 Overpowered the Revs in a quick recovery from their loss to the Rapids. (Sean \u2013 5)<\/p>\n

6.<\/strong> (+2) PHILADELPHIA UNION<\/strong> (8-5-10, 34 points)
\nThey may have been lucky to get not one, but two, penalties against Dallas, but either way, they\u2019ll be playing for the top of the standings this week against Columbus. (Brian \u2013 6) \u2026 Sure they tied Dallas at home\u2026 thanks to two penalties\u2026 but Philadelphia is now winless in four. (Sean \u2013 7)<\/p>\n

7.<\/strong> (+1) SPORTING KANSAS CITY<\/strong> (8-7-9, 33 points)
\nOff last weekend, but came back to claim a 3-1 win over Portland. Will Graham Zusi\u2019s form steer Sporting to one of the three Eastern Conference playoff spots? (Brian \u2013 8 ) \u2026 Recovered from their first loss in 14 games to trounce Portland 3-1. Kansas City may still challenge for tops in the East. (Sean \u2013 6)<\/p>\n

8.<\/strong> (-3) REAL SALT LAKE<\/strong> (10-6-6, 36 points)
\nStunning 1-0 loss to Toronto leads me to believe that Salt Lake may not be as primed for a deep playoff run this season. (Brian \u2013 7) \u00a0\u2026 Sorry Salt Lake, but losing to Toronto is inexcusable. (Sean \u2013 8 )<\/p>\n

9.<\/strong> (+1) D.C UNITED<\/strong> (7-6-9, 30 points)
\nPummeled Vancouver with a 4-0 win in which four different DC goalscorers emerged. But again, until they can put together some consistency, it\u2019s hard to believe they\u2019ll make an impact in November. (Brian \u2013 10) \u2026 De Rosario means D.C. can now never be counted out. (Sean \u2013 9)<\/p>\n

10.<\/strong> (-3) CHIVAS USA<\/strong> (7-8-9, 30 points)
\nTwo weeks ago, it was Chivas offense that led the way to points. Last weekend, it was their stifling D that kept them level with Seattle in their 0-0 draw. (Brian \u2013 9) \u2026 Very lucky for Seattle\u2019s wastefulness in their scoreless draw. Still not sold on this team. (Sean \u2013 11)<\/p>\n

11. HOUSTON DYNAMO<\/strong> (7-7-11, 32 points)
\n2-1 victory over Portland nudged the Dynamo up the standings, but they\u2019re lethargic strike rate is holding them back from advancing further. (Brian \u2013 11) \u2026 Grabbed a dramatic equalizer against New England, but with better finishing they could\u2019ve won in a blowout. Can Houston get their offense on track? (Sean \u2013 10)<\/p>\n

12.<\/strong> (-1) NEW YORK RED BULLS<\/strong> (6-6-13, 31 points)
\nAnother game, another draw for the underachieving Red Bulls. Don\u2019t look now, but with K.C., Philly, and Columbus all improving, the Red Bulls are in sudden danger of hitting the links early this fall. (Brian \u2013 12) \u2026 Way too talented to be playing as bad as they are right now. Was Emirates Cup win just a fluke? (Sean \u2013 12)<\/p>\n

13. PORTLAND TIMBERS<\/strong> (7-12-5, 26 points)
\nLost a pair of games to Houston and K.C. and suddenly, the playoffs are becoming a mirage for the expansion side. (Brian \u2013 13) \u2026 Tough road trip for the Timbers and I think they left their playoff hopes at Livestrong Sporting Park. (Sean \u2013 13)<\/p>\n

14.<\/strong> (+2) TORONTO FC<\/strong> (4-11-11, 23 points)
\nPunk\u2019d Salt Lake with an astonishing 1-0 win, but let\u2019s not get too far ahead of ourselves: Toronto\u2019s going nowhere in the league. (Brian \u2013 14) \u2026 Shocking win for Toronto, but can they build on it? My initial reaction is \u2018no\u2019. (Sean \u2013 14)<\/p>\n

15. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES<\/strong> (5-9-10, 25 points)
\nSquander the lead late to a resurgent Rapids side and all but watch their playoff dreams disappear in the process. (Brian \u2013 15) \u2026 Will feel hard done by the calls that went against them, but unfortunately San Jose have put themselves in a position where they need results, not excuses. (Sean \u2013 15)<\/p>\n

16.<\/strong> (-2) NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION<\/strong> (4-11-10, 22 points)
\nIf there was any doubt that the Revs aren\u2019t built for the playoffs, I introduce to you the second half of the Revs 3-1 loss to Columbus. (Brian \u2013 16) \u2026 Two lucky first half leads followed by two epic second half collapses. Better luck in 2012. (Sean \u2013 16)<\/p>\n

17.<\/strong> (+1) CHICAGO FIRE<\/strong> (2-7-14, 20 points)
\nIt\u2019s only fitting that the two teams with the highest draw totals battle to a 2-2 tie last weekend. At least it was an exciting tie. (Brian \u2013 17) \u2026 A road draw in New York would\u2019ve been impressive four months ago, now it\u2019s just comical the new ways the Fire find to get ties. (Sean \u2013 17)<\/p>\n

18.<\/strong> (-2) VANCOUVER WHITECAPS<\/strong> (3-12-9, 18 points)
\nThe end of the season can\u2019t come soon enough, as the \u2018Caps get torched for four goals against D.C. Best they can hope for at this point is to finish above Toronto for bragging rights up north. Hey, it\u2019s something, right? (Brian \u2013 18) \u2026 Remembered to cover De Rosario, forgot about the other nine players. Another bad night for Vancouver. (Sean \u2013 18)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Galaxy retain their lead at the top of the rankings, but there are a few changes below them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4829,"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":[72,69,66,65,5,62,46,61,49,73,70,67,74,64,1274,76,63,68,71,75],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/galaxylogofeature.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\/5960"}],"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\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5960"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5969,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5960\/revisions\/5969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}