{"id":11025,"date":"2012-04-11T23:48:48","date_gmt":"2012-04-12T03:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=11025"},"modified":"2012-04-12T00:08:26","modified_gmt":"2012-04-12T04:08:26","slug":"mls-rankings-week-5-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=11025","title":{"rendered":"MLS Rankings: Week 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every week the New England Soccer Today crew will look beyond the standings to rank each of the 19 Major League Soccer (MLS) teams. This week \u00a0Sean Donahue and Ryan Lanigan contributed rankings. Comments are followed by the ranker\u2019s name and the rank they gave that team.<\/em><\/p>\n

1. SPORTING KANSAS CITY<\/strong> (5-0-0, 15 points)
\nKept on rolling with a 1-0 win over the defending champs. Biggest test yet this week with Real Salt Lake on the schedule. (Sean \u2013 1) \u2026 \u00a0They are the first team to start 5-0 since 1998 and have been impressive while doing so. (Ryan \u2013 1)<\/p>\n

2. REAL SALT LAKE<\/strong> (5-1-0, 15 points)
\nSalt Lake keep on winning and could overtake Kansas City if they can get a result at Livestrong Sporting Park on Saturday. (Sean \u2013 2) \u2026 Two wins this week for RSL, handling the Rapids with ease. (Ryan \u2013 2)<\/p>\n

3. SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES<\/strong> (4-1-0, 12 points)
\nTwo weeks into the season it looked like the \u2018Quakes were set for another disappointing season. Now, San Jose has shocked everyone as the second best team in the West thus far. (Sean \u2013 3) \u2026 They finally made Vancouver surrender a goal, but scoring isn\u2019t hard for them with the fantastic Chris Wondolowski. \u00a0(Ryan \u2013 3)<\/p>\n

T4.<\/strong>\u00a0 (+3) HOUSTON DYNAMO<\/strong> (2-1-0, 6 points)
\nNever been a fan of such a big gap in the schedule. I expect a rusty Dynamo on Sunday. (Sean \u2013 6) \u2026 A week off for the Dynamo should have them well rested for their game against Chicago. (Ryan \u2013 4)<\/p>\n

T4. SEATTLE SOUNDERS<\/strong> (2-1-1, 7 points)
\nA draw on the road isn\u2019t a bad result against an improving DC. 5 shots for Montero and still no goals? The Sounders DP needs to start showing the fantastic form he had in preseason. (Sean \u2013 5) \u2026 After a loss, a 0-0 tie with DC United is probably not what they had hoped for, but not a bad result considering United has proved they can score. (Ryan \u2013 5)<\/p>\n

T4.<\/strong> (+4) NEW YORK RED BULLS<\/strong> (3-2-0, 9 points)
\nTwo blowout wins in a row against weak or weakened opposition could\u2019ve been a fluke, but blowing out the Crew? New York might finally be putting it all together. (Sean \u2013 4) \u2026 Thierry Henry and Kenny Cooper are just on fire right now. I\u2019m not sure they can both keep it up for the entire season, but they might decide to alternate scoring multiple goals in a game. (Ryan \u2013 6)<\/p>\n

7.<\/strong> (-3) COLORADO RAPIDS<\/strong> (3-2-0, 9 points)
\nI can\u2019t fault the Rapids too much for being outplayed and losing to a superior Salt Lake team. (Sean \u2013 7) \u2026 One of the most confusing teams in the league, showing at times they are a serious team and then the next minute looking like an expansion team. (Ryan \u2013 7)<\/p>\n

8.<\/strong> (-4) VANCOUVER WHITECAPS<\/strong> (2-1-2, 8 points)
\nThe Whitecaps fall big to San Jose and they still haven\u2019t shown they can get a result against a quality opponent. (Sean \u2013 8 ) \u2026 They set the record for a shutout to start the season but Chris Wondolowski couldn\u2019t be contained for a full 90. (Ryan \u2013 8 )<\/p>\n

9.<\/strong> (+1) D.C. UNITED<\/strong> (1-2-2, 5 points)
\nAfter a big win, not falling to Seattle was a momentum builder for DC. (Ryan \u2013 9) \u2026 Offense was silenced this week, but still impressive to shutout the Sounders. D.C. will need to find the back of the net if they\u2019re going to get a result in New England. (Sean \u2013 9)<\/p>\n

10.<\/strong> (+5) FC DALLAS<\/strong> (2-2-1, 7 points)
\nInjuries are really piling up for FC Dallas, but the club did well to grind out a result against New England. If they can get healthy, there\u2019s no reason they can\u2019t move up in the standings. (Sean \u2013 10) \u2026 \u00a0Dallas did well to play until the final whistle, even if it was extended an extra, extra period of time. (Ryan \u2013 12)<\/p>\n

T11.<\/strong> (+3) CHICAGO FIRE<\/strong> (1-1-1, 4 points)
\nLosing Cory Gibbs to injury hurts. Can Arne Friedrich step in? (Sean \u2013 14) \u2026 The Fire also had a bye heading into their game with a Dynamo, which could end up being the second biggest game of the week. (Ryan \u2013 10)<\/p>\n

T11.<\/strong> (-2) NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION<\/strong> (2-3-0, 6 points)
\nVery poor first half, but the Revs looked to turn things around in the second period before losing their concentration late to suffer their third loss of the season. (Sean \u2013 13) \u2026 Surrendering a late, late goal to lose was not exactly what the team was looking for but they showed flashes of brilliance in the midfield in the second half. \u00a0(Ryan \u2013 11)<\/p>\n

T11.<\/strong> (+5) CHIVAS USA<\/strong> (2-3-0, 6 points)
\nThis is one strange team. Chivas can\u2019t get anything at home, but have come away with two stunning road victories this season. (Sean \u2013 11) \u2026 A great come from behind win for the Goats over Portland. (Ryan \u2013 13)<\/p>\n

14.<\/strong> (-3) LOS ANGELES GALAXY<\/strong> (1-3-0, 3 points)
\nEven if the Galaxy was 100% healthy and in top form, a loss is Kansas City shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise. Under the current circumstances it\u2019s to be expected. (Sean \u2013 14) \u2026 They did a great job defending, but had to drop nine, often ten guys back to do so. (Ryan \u2013 14)<\/p>\n

15.<\/strong> (-3) Columbus Crew<\/strong> (2-2-0, 6 points)
\nA crushing 4-1 defeat at home against the Red Bulls exposes the Crew\u2019s weaknesses after they took advantage of two weakened foes the previous two matches. (Sean \u2013 15) \u2026 The Crew ran into New York at the wrong time. (Ryan \u2013 15)<\/p>\n

16. <\/strong>(-3) PORTLAND TIMBERS<\/strong> (1-3-1, 4 points)
\nYikes. The wheels have officially fallen off in Portland. Too much quality to be losing these games. (Sean \u2013 16) \u2026 They aren\u2019t having any problems scoring and Nagbe has looked fantastic. But they have stopped playing late in games, conceding game-winners late in back-to-back games. (Ryan \u2013 16)<\/p>\n

17.<\/strong> (+2) MONTREAL IMPACT<\/strong> (1-4-1, 4 points)
\nSure it was home against a tired Toronto, but it\u2019s the first win is an important step for Montreal. (Sean \u2013 17) \u2026 Getting the first win for an expansion team is always a good thing. (Ryan \u2013 17)<\/p>\n

T18. PHILADELPHIA UNION<\/strong> (0-3-1, 1 point)
\nDid they pull themselves together in their week off? (Sean – 19) \u2026 The good news is they didn\u2019t lose but the bad is that they didn\u2019t play. (Ryan \u2013 18)<\/p>\n

T18.<\/strong> (-1) TORONTO FC<\/strong> (0-4-0, 0 points)
\nChampions League hopes went up in flames and now Toronto must turn their MLS season around immediately if they have any playoff aspirations. (Sean \u2013 18) \u2026 Maybe they are a little fatigued but teams are starting to look forward to playing Toronto now. (Ryan \u2013 19)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kansas City holds strong to the top spot and the top 3 remains the same, but there is lots of movement below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10871,"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\/2012\/04\/sportingkclogo.jpg?fit=490%2C240&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11025"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11025"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11025\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11036,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11025\/revisions\/11036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10871"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11025"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11025"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11025"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}