MLS Rankings: Week 12

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’Connell and Sean Donahue contributed rankings. Comments are followed by the ranker’s name and the rank they gave that team.

T1 (+1) – FC Dallas (7-3-4, 25 points)
Make it nine weeks unbeaten, and my pick for the number one spot after blanking the Revs amid the heat and humidity of the Hut. Kudos to Kevin Hartman on the clean sheet century mark. (Brian – 1) … With better finishing Dallas could’ve put up a more dominant score line against the Revs. Will be interesting to see how long they can keep their run going despite missing their MVP for so long. Amazing what they’ve done so far (Sean – 2)

T1 – Los Angeles Galaxy (8-2-6, 30 points)
Lagging as of late, and a 0-0 draw to D.C. is further evidence that the Galaxy are from being the dominant team they were last season. (Brian – 2) … No Donovan will always be a blow to the Galaxy, but you’d expect more against D.C. Still hard to move them from the top. (Sean – 1)

3 (+1) – Philadelphia Union (6-3-3, 21 points)
1-1 draw to Colorado shows that the previous week’s six-goal output was probably more of a product of Toronto’s defense than Philly’s firepower. (Brian – 3) … Getting a draw at Colorado is never easy. Nicely done by the Union. (Sean -4)

4 (+1) – Real Salt Lake (6-3-2, 20 points)
Bounce back with a 2-0 win over Vancouver and may signal that Salt Lake has fully recovered from its the Champions League hangover. (Brian – 5) Looked to have recovered with a home win against Vancouver, only to fall to Columbus on Wednesday. Still work to do to return to their early season dominance. (Sean – 3)

5 (-2) – Seattle Sounders (5-4-6, 21 points)
Goalless draw to Chicago won’t impress many, but the Sounders are still capable of being a dangerous team this year. (Brian – 4) … Not the most impressive road performance, but the Sounders keep picking up points. (Sean – 5)

T6 (-1) – Colorado Rapids (4-3-7, 19 points)
Six consecutive draws – is this how championships are defended? The Rapids need to pick it up to get some wins. (Brian – 6) … Just two wins in seven home matches is worrying for a Colorado team with a supposed strong home field advantage. (Sean – 7)

T6 – New York Red Bulls (4-2-7, 19 points)
Suffer a heartbreaker after a stoppage time equalizer keeps New York out of the win column for the sixth straight game. (Brian – 7) … Gotta wonder what is keeping such a strong squad from getting back in the win column. Missing Marquez and Agudelo will obviously hurt for the next few weeks. (Sean -6)

T8 – Portland Timbers (5-5-2, 17 points)
Shut out by a stingy Chivas defense that helped the Goats earn three points in partnership with Marcos Mondaini’s lone goal. (Brian – 9) … Hard to give this team too much credit with their complete lack of success on the road. (Sean -10)

T8 (+1) – D.C. United (4-4-4, 16 points)
Keep a fierce L.A. attack off the board and claim a hard earned point in the process. If their defense improves, they could be a contender. (Brian – 10) … D.C. continues to get impressive results and shutting down L.A. on the road to grab a point is certainly something to be proud of.(Sean – 9)

T10 – Chivas USA (4-4-5, 17 points)
Their defense rose to the occasion against potent Portland. Now if they can figure out a way to score some goals, they’ll be golden. (Brian – 8 ) … Got a win against a Portland side that’s had no success on the road, but I’m still far from sold on this team. (Sean – 12)

T10 (+1) – San Jose Earthquakes (4-4-4, 16 points)
Quickly rebuilding their season after a disastrous start and are riding high with a five-game unbeaten streak. (Brian – 12) … The Earthquakes are rolling with wins in three of their last four and should find their way up the standings soon. (Sean – 8 )

12 (+1) – Columbus Crew (4-3-6, 18 points)
Steal a point from NY thanks to a stoppage-time leveler, but they have to do more than squeak by to make noise in a decidedly mediocre Eastern Conference.  (Brian – 11) … Draw at New York and win at home against Salt Lake should give the Crew fans some reason for excitement. (Sean -11)

13 (-1) – Houston Dynamo (3-5-6, 15 points)
Loss to San Jose extends their winless streak to seven as the Creamsicles are melting as the summer approaches.  (Brian – 13) … All that’s keeping the Dynamo this high is how poorly the teams below them have been. (Sean – 13)

14 –New England Revolution (3-6-4, 13 points)
Fading fast and without any signs of life in the final third, it may be another long summer in Foxborough. (Brian – 14) … See Houston above. The Revs’ offense looks useless without Perovic. (Sean – 14)

T15 (-1) – Toronto FC (2-5-7, 13 points)
Their 0-0 draw to SKC can only be seen as an improvement after getting pounded for six the previous week. (Brian – 15) … Any of these bottom 4 teams could easily be at the bottom and don’t be surprised if Toronto is there soon. There is little promising about this team. (Sean – 16)

T15 (-1) – Vancouver Whitecaps (1-6-7, 10 points)
Falling to Real Salt Lake 2-0 was expected. It’s hard to watch a team that opened with so much promise stumble so much as of late. (Brian – 16) … Vancouver may not be a playoff team, but they are better than this. Disappointing. (Sean – 15)

T17 – Sporting Kansas City (1-6-4, 11 points)
Probably wished they could’ve played the same TFC team that allowed six goals the week before, but a point is a point for the barnstormers. (Brian – 17) … A draw against a poor Chicago side is hardly the turnaround K.C. fans were hoping for when the team finally had a home game. (Sean – 18)

T17 (-1) – Chicago Fire (1-4-8, 11 points)
Winless streak extended to ten after their 0-0 draw to Seattle. They may have more points than Vancouver and Kansas City, but the Fire are neither an expansion team nor are they undertaking an infinitely long road trip. (Brian – 18) … Chicago have been dreadful, but a tie in a tough match in K.C.’s home opener at their brand new stadium keeps them off the bottom. (Sean – 17)