{"id":6150,"date":"2011-09-02T23:54:57","date_gmt":"2011-09-03T03:54:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=6150"},"modified":"2011-09-03T00:04:28","modified_gmt":"2011-09-03T04:04:28","slug":"mls-rankings-week-24-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/?p=6150","title":{"rendered":"MLS Rankings: Week 24"},"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> (14-3-9, 51 points)
\nHurricane Irene wipes out their high-stakes match against New York; face a tough match at K.C. on Labor Day. Well, tough for most teams that don\u2019t have three DPs and an airtight defense. Just saying. (Brian \u2013 1) \u2026 \u00a0Squad depth will be tested with seven games in September. If they can make it through this month in first, they\u2019ll really be worthy of the top spot. (Sean \u2013 1)<\/p>\n

2. SEATTLE SOUNDERS<\/strong> (13-5-9, 48 points)
\nClobbered the Crew with six goals, and pretty much reinforced the idea that even the best in the East can\u2019t bring it against the West. Thank you for that, Lamar Neagle & Co. (Brian \u2013 2) \u2026 A near perfect August \u2013 capped by slaughtering the best team in the East 6-2 – has the Sounders in position to catch the Galaxy if they suffer any slip-ups. The domestic double of MLS Cup and the U.S. Open Cup is certainly a possibility, but with some help the Supporter\u2019s Shield and CONCACAF Champion\u2019s League could make it an unprecedented year of success. (Sean \u2013 2)<\/p>\n

3. FC DALLAS<\/strong> (13-7-7, 46 points)
\nHeroic 3-2 win over K.C. put Dallas back on track \u2013 that is, until they lost a 1-0 squeaker to Seattle. Makes you wonder whether the Hoops are getting a little ahead of themselves after a sensational summer. (Brian \u2013 3) \u2026 Still can\u2019t solve the Sounders, but Dallas haven\u2019t lost to a team outside of the top 2 since July 9th. (Sean \u2013 3)<\/p>\n

4.<\/strong> (+2) SPORTING KANSAS CITY<\/strong> (9-8-9, 36 points)
\nDrop a late-game stunner to Dallas; if they want to be taken seriously, they may want to avoid squandering two-goal leads. But, at least their loss was somewhat respectable compared to the one Columbus endured. (Brian \u2013 4) \u2026 Bunbury\u2019s dumb red made it hard on Kansas City, but there is no excuse for giving up two goals so late in the game. Kansas City may be going to the playoffs, but the invincibility of their impressive unbeaten run appears long gone. (Sean \u2013 5)<\/p>\n

5.<\/strong> (+2) REAL SALT LAKE<\/strong> (11-7-6, 39 points)
\nEek out a 1-0 win over Chivas USA, but more importantly, earn back the respect of their coach in the process. Now, a real test against Seattle awaits this weekend. Get the popcorn ready for this one. (Brian \u2013 6) \u2026 Call me a sucker, but grinding out a result on the road despite being down a man for 66 minutes gives me hope \u2013 again \u2013 that Real Salt Lake is ready to go on a run. (Sean \u2013 4)<\/p>\n

6.<\/strong> (-2) COLORADO RAPIDS<\/strong> (10-7-11, 41 points)
\nThe Rapids may want to hide for a while after dropping a 2-0 loss to Chicago. Yeah, that\u2019s right: THE CHICAGO BLEEPIN\u2019 FIRE.\u00a0 (Brian \u2013 5) \u2026 Three disappointing results in a row (through all competitions) and now the Rapids head to LA. Oh, and Salt Lake have 4 games in hand. Expect a drop in the standings soon. (Sean \u2013 6)<\/p>\n

7.<\/strong> (-2) COLUMBUS CREW<\/strong> (11-8-7, 40 points)
\nSporting the best record in the East isn\u2019t enough after the Crew get their hard hats handed to them after the 6-2 demolition. Way to rep for the EC, guys. (Brian \u2013 7) \u2026 3-7-3 on the road. They may be the best in the East, but they are not a contender. (Sean \u2013 7)<\/p>\n

8. HOUSTON DYNAMO<\/strong> (8-8-11, 35 points)
\nIt only stood to reason that the winless-on-the-road Dynamo wouldn\u2019t win on away from Robertson Stadium. But a 1-0 loss to the hapless Whitecaps? Not the stuff playoff pushes are made of. (Brian \u2013 8 ) \u2026 Kept their awful road record going with a loss to the Whitecaps, but the crap around them means they stay at 8. (Sean \u2013 8 )<\/p>\n

9. CHIVAS USA<\/strong> (7-10-10, 31 points)
\nDespite having the man advantage against Salt Lake, the Goats can\u2019t buy a goal, as their offense lets them down\u2026again. In other news, (Brian \u2013 9) \u2026 Amazing. After a good streak Chivas USA are winless in four. Who would\u2019ve guessed? Oh yeah, Chivas and \u201cconsistency\u201d have never belonged in the same sentence. (Sean \u2013 10)<\/p>\n

T10.<\/strong> (-1) PHILADELPHIA UNION<\/strong> (8-6-10, 34 points)
\nHurricane Irene moves their match against New England to September 7th; if the Union can\u2019t beat the Revs at home, well, they probably won\u2019t get far in the postseason. (Brian \u2013 10) \u2026 Got an extra week off to think about how they are throwing away their season. Tough trip to RSL this weekend won\u2019t help. (Sean \u2013 11)<\/p>\n

T10.<\/strong> (+2) PORTLAND TIMBERS <\/strong>(9-12-5, 32 points)
\n1-0 win over Chivas inches them back into the playoff picture; now, they\u2019ll have to keep getting results to keep themselves there. (Brian \u2013 12) \u2026 Two wins in a row. The Timbers have a lot of losses, but going for three points, rather than settling for draws, has kept the Timbers in the hunt in a season where the tie is the norm. (Sean \u2013 9)<\/p>\n

12.<\/strong> (-1) D.C.UNITED<\/strong> (7-7-10, 31 points)
\nAnother match scrapped due to Irene; they\u2019ll head west for an interesting late-season matchup against Chivas USA next weekend saturated with playoff implications. (Brian \u2013 11) \u2026 Remember how D.C. rested players \u2013 and lost \u2013 against Kansas City? Something ironic about how they then had to play starters in their reserve match\u00a0 when Irene forced them to postpone their match last weekend. (Sean \u2013 12)<\/p>\n

T13.<\/strong> (+1) CHICAGO FIRE<\/strong> (4-7-15, 27 points)
\nShock the defending champs with a 2-0 win and earn some temporary respect within the league.\u00a0 OK, so maybe \u201crespect\u201d is a bit strong. Maybe \u201cacceptance\u201d is a more appropriate word. (Brian \u2013 14) \u2026 Yes, it\u2019s too little too late, but unbeaten in their last four and two wins in a row shows the Fire have some life in them yet. (Sean \u2013 13)<\/p>\n

T13.\u00a0 NEW YORK RED BULLS<\/strong> (6-6-14, 32 points)
\nIrene keeps the Red Bulls from a potential embarrassment against L.A.\u00a0 Luckily, a home game against Vancouver awaits for the underachievers. But even then\u2026these are the six-win Red Bulls we\u2019re talking about. (Brian \u2013 13) \u2026 Idle New York gets some extra time to figure out how to play as a team. Can they save their season. (Sean \u2013 14)<\/p>\n

15.<\/strong> (+1) TORONTO FC<\/strong> (4-12-12, 24 points)
\nJust about ready to cash in three points before the Reds revert to their old form and drop points on the pitch, this time due to a late equalizer. Way to go Toronto. At least there\u2019s still Champions League to play for. (Brian \u2013 15) \u2026 A wrong offside call kept Toronto from going up 2-0, but there\u2019s no excuse for a late game collapse. Even their reserves are winless! (Sean \u2013 15)<\/p>\n

16.<\/strong> (+2) VANCOUVER WHITECAPS<\/strong> (4-13-9, 21 points)
\nDon\u2019t look now, but the \u2018Caps have doubled their win total in a matter of days! Hey, four out of 26 ain\u2019t bad! Just ask the Revs! (Brian – 17) \u2026 Two wins in four games won\u2019t get Vancouver to the playoffs, but it does give some positives heading towards the offseason. (Sean \u2013 16)<\/p>\n

17.<\/strong> (-3) NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION<\/strong> (4-11-11, 23 points)
\nSaw their weekend match at Philly moved to September 7th. Spoiler alert: the last time the Revs had an extended break before playing Philly, they were dismantled 3-0. (Brian \u2013 16) \u2026 Unfortunately for the Revs, games last more than 45 minutes. Will they have learned what to do in the second 45 during their long break? (Sean \u2013 18)<\/p>\n

18.<\/strong> (-2) SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES<\/strong> (5-10-11, 26 points)
\nChris Wondolowski saves the \u2018Quakes from an embarrassing loss, but it wasn\u2019t enough to snap their 13-game winless streak. The boys of summer they ain\u2019t. (Brian \u2013 18) \u2026 A blown offside call kept the game close and allowed Wondolowski\u2019s late equalizer. Can they carry that momentum forward? (Sean \u2013 17)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Despite the Irene-shortened week of action, there is lots of movement in our rankings this week.<\/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":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nesoccertoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/06\/galaxylogofeature.jpg?fit=490%2C225&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6150"}],"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\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6150"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6153,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6150\/revisions\/6153"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nesoccertoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}