Soccer <\/p>\n
The Columbus Crew<\/a> scored a late equalizer, an Eastern Conference team scored seven goals and Diego Luna<\/a> scored a banger. It was truly a week unlike any other.<\/p>\n As always: The Power Rankings are voted on by, give or take, 15 people associated with MLSsoccer.com. The author does get a little rush out of moving your team down a few spots, though.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Was anyone really worried?<\/p>\n Even after going down 2-0 to LAFC<\/a>, it just felt like the \u2018Caps would find a way. It\u2019s a strange new world where we\u2019re all expecting Vancouver<\/a> to get the job done, but we\u2019re doing our best to adapt to it quickly. Still missing Ryan Gauld<\/a> to injury, they found a way to earn a 2-2 draw against LAFC (one of their biggest challengers in the Western Conference) thanks to Brian White<\/a>‘s brace.<\/p>\n Vancouver have some of the best underlying numbers we\u2019ve ever seen in MLS. They’re incredible.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n As soon as the Crew went down 2-1 to Philadelphia<\/a>, anyone who\u2019s watched this team under Wilfried Nancy knew to lock in for the inevitable equalizer. They got it from Sean Zawadzki<\/a> in the 93rd minute. They still have just one loss on the season and it came against Inter Miami in a game where they were the better side by a notable margin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The underlying numbers still aren\u2019t big fans, but who cares when you have Evander<\/a>? He picked up a goal and an assist in a 2-1 win over Austin<\/a> to make it 7g\/2a on the season.<\/p>\n Cincy<\/a> have won six of their last seven, all by one goal. I don\u2019t know for sure, but I\u2019d be willing to bet a lot of GAM that no team has won more one-goal games since the start of 2022.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Evander\u2019s got the magic touch. ???? pic.twitter.com\/fnuSxihokN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) May 12, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Union were solid against the Crew, but couldn\u2019t hold onto a 2-1 lead. They aren\u2019t the first or last team to lose a lead against Columbus in stoppage time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n I\u2019ll say it again: If you aren\u2019t throwing the ball into the box every single time, you\u2019re actively making your team worse.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Loons<\/a> love to create marginal advantages via throw-ins and set pieces. That alone would make them a nightmare to play against, but then they quadruple down on putting you into your own personal hell by sitting deep, defending like their lives depend on it and generating extremely high-leverage chances on the counter-attack. There\u2019s no one else like them in MLS right now and it\u2019s becoming must-watch soccer for sickos.<\/p>\n On a related note, they won the above matchup with Inter Miami<\/a> 4-1 and then went studs up on social media<\/a>. They\u2019ve lost just twice this year, once to Vancouver and once to LAFC. This group is for real.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Are warning signs flashing for Inter Miami?<\/p>\n They were bulldozed by Minnesota in a 4-1 loss, making it four defeats in their last five games across all competitions. They\u2019ve arguably been the better team just once in their last seven games. The same issues the underlying numbers (and eye test) were screaming about last year are showing up again and, this time, they aren\u2019t overperforming those numbers by a historic amount.<\/p>\n The Herons are fourth in the Eastern Conference in points per game (1.91) and don\u2019t look much like a team set to challenge last year\u2019s record-setting haul.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Ryan Kent<\/a> made his first start in Seattle<\/a>\u2019s 3-1 win over Houston<\/a>. He\u2019s already up to three assists. Kent might be the genuine product and Seattle might have officially turned the corner after stumbling out of the gate. They\u2019ve picked up 13 points in their last five games.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Ryan Kent goes crazyyyyyyyy pic.twitter.com\/opsL0E9rBp<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Seattle Sounders FC (@SoundersFC) May 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n LAFC went up 2-0 on Vancouver\u2026 and then things got a little too \u201cLAFC.\u201d When Vancouver tied things up at 2-2, it didn\u2019t come as a surprise. Their struggles to kill off games against good teams are lingering.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Nashville<\/a> have picked up 10 points from their last five games and keep playing some of the best ball in MLS. The underlying numbers tend to have them as either their favorite or close to their favorite team in MLS, depending on where you\u2019re looking. It\u2019s not too early to start thinking about them as a contender.<\/p>\n Hany Mukhtar<\/a> is up to five goals and four assists now, by the way. He found the opener for Nashville in their 2-1 win over Charlotte<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Timbers<\/a> took care of business in a 1-0 win over Sporting KC<\/a>. It\u2019s the calmest game they\u2019ve played in a while. Regardless of how they earned them, those three points have them sitting third in the West.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n San Diego<\/a> didn\u2019t falter against St. Louis CITY<\/a>‘s \u201coops, all center backs!\u201d setup and pulled out a 2-1 win. It\u2019s been an up-and-down stretch for the league\u2019s newest team, but they\u2019re still winning more than they\u2019re losing.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Orlando<\/a> spent the last few weeks fighting against their instinct to score and allow as many goals as possible. They kept five clean sheets and played to four 0-0 draws over the last five games. Then they relapsed last weekend in a 3-3 draw against New England<\/a>, featuring a Mart\u00edn Ojeda<\/a> hat trick. That\u2019s five draws in their last six games.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Charlotte have slid into a three-game losing streak after falling 2-1 to Nashville over the weekend. A road trip to Orlando isn\u2019t exactly a get-right game either. The Crown have some things to sort out.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n After keeping a clean sheet for four straight games, the Revs dove headlong into chaos against Orlando in what ended up as a 3-3 draw. They\u2019ve had better overall performances over the last few weeks, but it\u2019s by far their best attacking showing this season. With the draw, New England have earned 13 points over their last five games and climbed into an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs spot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n If you love hearing the first 30 seconds of \u201cBulls On Parade\u201d by Rage Against the Machine, you\u2019ve never had a better night than Saturday night at Red Bull Arena. New York<\/a> piled on seven goals in a 7-0 demolition of a hapless Galaxy<\/a> side. We\u2019ll see if that gets this group back on track after a lackluster set of performances.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Quakes<\/a> played their way to a surprisingly quiet 2-0 win over Colorado<\/a> last weekend. It\u2019s their first clean sheet since Matchday 1 against RSL<\/a>.<\/p>\n A narrative-laden matchup with New England is waiting for them on Saturday, but first, they get to host Inter Miami. It\u2019s a big week for the Quakes.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Dallas<\/a> rescued a 1-1 draw at home thanks to Anderson Julio<\/a>. They\u2019ll get a boost going forward from Petar Musa<\/a> returning to the starting lineup, but they\u2019ve also only won once in their last six.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Nothing is reassuring about becoming the first team this year to lose to CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a>. Maybe a double game week featuring a trip to D.C.<\/a> and a Hudson River Derby can get them back on track.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Real Salt Lake (@realsaltlake) May 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n If you need more than that, we\u2019ll tell you Luna has scored in three straight games and RSL couldn\u2019t quite hold onto the lead in a 1-1 draw with Dallas. Still, what\u2019s important here is Luna is a bonafide star. If the rest of RSL can start to grow into the season a little more, Luna can carry them a little further up the standings in the crowded West.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Chicago<\/a> took full advantage of whatever is going on in Atlanta<\/a> and earned a 2-1 win that snapped a six-game winless streak and gave them their first home win of the Gregg Berhalter era. A win over the Five Stripes isn\u2019t anything to write home about right now, but this is still a different kind of Fire team than we\u2019ve seen the last few seasons. They have a clear understanding of how they want to play in a way Chicago teams haven\u2019t had in a long time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Make it three straight losses for Austin after they got a front-row seat to the Evander Show over the weekend. They\u2019ve scored just eight goals on the season and have a -7 goal differential. The underlying numbers suggest there\u2019s reason to hold out some hope for this $30 million attack, though. No one in MLS has a worse disparity in goals scored minus expected goals created. Odds are they\u2019ll start living up to their price tag a little more often at some point in the future.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Rapids are winless in four after their 2-0 loss to San Jose. Something’s gotta give soon, right?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Sporting KC have flip-flopped with wins and losses since Kerry Zavagnin took over as interim coach. After losing against Portland last weekend, that bodes extremely well for their Rivalry Week meeting with St. Louis.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Toronto<\/a> have two wins on the season after a 2-0 win over D.C. United. They\u2019re up to 13th in the East with 10 points.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A Femi Awodesu<\/a> red card shortly after scoring his first MLS goal derailed Houston\u2019s effort to take down Seattle. The Dynamo have just one win in their last five.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Black-and-Red are last in the East in goal differential (-12). Not great.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n St. Louis are now winless in eight. Tough times, tough times.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 CF Montr\u00e9al (@cfmontreal) May 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n
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