The Major League Soccer season is about a third finished with the Columbus Crew and Los Angeles Galaxy establishing themselves as the top two teams. Neither team has lost in the 2010 season and have conceded the fewest amount of goals.
The New York Red Bulls have cooled off after a red hot start and only a point above Columbus in the Eastern Conference. The Western Conference remains very crowded with three points separating 2nd and 8th place. The Eastern Conference is much weaker with DC United and the Philadelphia Union having only one win a piece.
It was an unusual week in MLS with only one home team winning and two road teams getting victories. This week’s power rankings are through matches as of Monday, May 17, 2010.
Major League Soccer 2010 Week 8 Power Rankings
- Columbus Crew – Another home win for the Crew who remain undefeated and now are only one point behind the Red Bulls with two games in hand. Robbie Rogers is unlikely to make the World Cup roster so the club should benefit with other teams losing players during the next month.
- Los Angeles Galaxy – A scoreless draw against Toronto was disappointing as the Galaxy had chances but couldn’t convert. The club will now be without Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan due to the World Cup but do have a ten point lead over 2nd place Real Salt Lake.
- Seattle Sounders FC – What a difference a week makes as the Sounders were the first road team to get a victory at Red Bull Arena. Fredy Montero was taken out of the starting line-up but came in the second half and scored the match winner. If he can catch fire, the Sounders could gain ground on the Galaxy during the next month.
- New York Red Bulls – A bad loss for the Red Bulls but they remain on top in the Eastern Conference. They are much improved defensively last season but need to start scoring more goals (8 in 8 matches).
- Real Salt Lake – A 3-1 win at Rio Tinto Stadium has RSL up to second place in the Western Conference. They have been one of the highest scoring teams in the league but will be without striker Robbie Findley who is with the USA National Team.
- San Jose Earthquakes – The Earthquakes played to a 0-0 draw on Saturday against the Revolution. Goalkeeper Joe Cannon has clean sheets in his last three matches.
- Colorado Rapids – The Rapids won at DC was their third road win of the year which is tied for the most in MLS. This is more than they had in the entire 2009 season and a good sign for their playoff chances.
- Houston Dynamo – A 1-3 loss at RSL was disappointing as the Dynamo are still struggling with injuries. As usual, they don’t start off strong but are consistently one of the top teams by October.
- FC Dallas – Dallas had a 1-0 win at Philadelphia until conceding a late goal to make it a 1-1 draw. They are improving and capable of going on a 4 or 5 match winning streak in June.
- Toronto FC – A draw at the Galaxy was TFC’s first point away from BMO Field. They are 3rd place in the Eastern Conference and slowly starting to improve defensively.
- Chicago Fire – The Fire started out each half strong on Saturday against the Wizards but faded in down the stretch. They continue to concede way too many goals on the road (9) compared to home matches (3).
- Kansas City Wizards – The Wizards started fought back on Saturday against Chicago to earn a 2-2 draw. They outplayed Chicago for most of the match but had a few defensive lapses that were the difference.
- Chivas USA – Chivas lost their fifth match of the season on Saturday and now will be without Jonathan Bornstein and Sacha Kljestan who are with the National Team. They’ve lost their last three and not won a match since April.
- New England Revoution – The Revolution had so many injuries they only suited 16 players (rather than the normal 18) but still managed a 0-0 draw against San Jose. When Shalrie Joseph and Taylow Twellman return, the Revolution instantly become one of the top teams in MLS.
- Philadelphia Union – The Union had another strong home crowd and showed some fight with a late goal to get a 1-1 draw. They don’t appear to be a playoff team but will continue to fight and work hard with Piotr Nowak as manager.
- DC United – Another loss for DC United who are dead last in the standings. Manager Curt Onalfo needs to turn it around soon or he could be out of a job.
