Soccer <\/p>\n
What a couple of weeks in MLS.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Chicago Fire FC<\/a> played a game that involved a team scoring seven goals, Atlanta United<\/a> were unable to win on the road, and Anders Dreyer<\/a> put on a show. 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 and are not the rankings of a lone wolf blogger. The author does get a little rush when the voting moves your team down a few spots, though.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Even after an impressive 3-0 post-CCC Final win<\/a> over Seattle<\/a> the week before, the ‘Caps<\/a> are no longer on top of the Supporters\u2019 Shield standings after a 2-1 loss at Columbus<\/a> last weekend. That\u2019s extremely understandable considering their injuries to key players and the fact that making it to the Concacaf Champions Cup final has cratered teams in the past.<\/p>\n Their blistering early-season pace might be slowing, but don\u2019t let that distract you from how insane that pace actually was and how good this team still is.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Folks, your new Supporters\u2019 Shield leaders.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 16, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n That\u2019s 21-year-old Markus Anderson<\/a> scoring his first MLS goal to give the Union<\/a> a late win over Charlotte<\/a>. These guys are relentless and keep finding ways to win.<\/p>\n When they moved on from Jim Curtin this offseason, Ernst Tanner made a bet that returning to a more high-intensity, high-pressing game model would pay off during the regular season. So far, he\u2019s been right.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Anders Dreyer is the best player in MLS. He\u2019s up to eight goals and nine assists (only one of those is a secondary assist) and leads the league in goal contributions. That\u2019s not a fluke. Per FBref, he paces MLS with 14.1 non-penalty expected goals plus expected assists. The next closest player, Lionel Messi<\/a>, is at 12.2.<\/p>\n He\u2019s creating and finding quality chances at an elite level. Although sometimes it\u2019s fun to avoid worrying about what your xG is going to be and just pull up from deep.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Dreyer added another goal later on as San Diego<\/a> rolled to an impressive 4-2 win in Minnesota<\/a>. They\u2019re second in the West and just two points behind Vancouver.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Nashville<\/a> haven\u2019t lost since April 19. They earned a 2-0 win over Chicago last weekend, extending an 11-game unbeaten run that began with a 7-2 win over that same Chicago side. Hany Mukhtar<\/a> has eight goals and seven assists now, by the way. He\u2019s already matched his goal total from last season.<\/p>\n It helps that Sam Surridge<\/a> is playing at the same level. Surridge has 12 goals and three assists. Nashville\u2019s DPs are thriving.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n They got a 3-1 win<\/a> over Sporting KC<\/a> before heading off to the Club World Cup<\/a>. They couldn\u2019t pull off a result against Chelsea in game one, but still have a real chance to get out of their group if they can deal with Tunisia\u2019s ES Tunis and upset Brazilian superpower, Flamengo.<\/p>\n Maybe new DP Javair\u00f4 Dilrosun<\/a> can help? LAFC<\/a> used the pre-Club World Cup window to sign Dilrosun on loan from Club Am\u00e9rica (and end DP Cengiz \u00dcnder<\/a>\u2019s loan) and they have him through at least July 24. They can purchase the 26-year-old attacker outright if they choose to activate his option.<\/p>\n Previous: Bye | Next: 6\/29 vs. VAN<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Miami<\/a>\u2019s Club World Cup run started with the best game of the season from goalkeeper \u00d3scar Ustari<\/a>. His first-half penalty save kept things scoreless and the Herons held on to a 0-0 draw<\/a> against Egyptian giants, Al Ahly. Miami nearly pulled out a 1-0 win late, but Messi\u2019s inch-perfect curler was pushed away.<\/p>\n They\u2019ll need a few more inch-perfect curlers as they go up against Porto and Palmeiras over the next week.<\/p>\n Previous: Bye | Next: 6\/28 vs. ATL<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Crew came out on top in a battle of teams that finished second in the Concacaf Champions Cup the last couple of seasons. Both teams were missing multiple starters due to international duty, so it\u2019s tough to take too much away.<\/p>\n Would you be at all surprised to see a full-strength rematch further down the road with a trophy on the line?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Orlando<\/a> needed to get back on track defensively after allowing three goals to Atlanta and Chicago in back-to-back games. They regrouped after a bye week to keep a clean sheet against Colorado<\/a> in a 1-0 win on the road. They\u2019re sitting fifth in the East and are one of five MLS teams with a double-digit goal differential.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Loons couldn\u2019t handle Anders Dreyer and San Diego FC, who put four past them in a loss that highlighted some of the potential drawbacks of their low-block-oriented game model \u2013 mainly that they give a player like Dreyer and an elite attacking side like San Diego a whole lot of opportunities to remind everyone how good they are.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n K\u00e9vin Denkey<\/a> is the real deal. The 24-year-old (and briefly MLS\u2019 record transfer fee holder) scored his 11th goal of the season in FC Cincinnati<\/a>\u2019s 1-0 win at New England<\/a>. The Garys needed that one. They were winless in four games prior.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Luca x Kev =???? pic.twitter.com\/KRpqv6d4xN<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) June 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Seattle took a 3-0 beating from a depleted Vancouver side a couple of weeks ago as they prepared to deal with the Group of Death at the Club World Cup. They came up short in a respectable 2-1 showing<\/a> against Copa Libertadores champion Botafogo on Sunday.<\/p>\n Next up: Atl\u00e9tico Madrid and then UEFA Champions League winner Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n Previous: Bye | Next: 6\/28 vs. ATX<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n New York City FC<\/a> capitalized on a gift from Atlanta United and took off running from there. They cruised to a 4-0 home win that featured a brace from Hannes Wolf<\/a>. He\u2019s up to eight goals and three assists now on the season. It sure seems like NYCFC have found someone to rely on who’s not Alonso Mart\u00ednez<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The bad news: Reports<\/a> are that DP Jonathan Rodr\u00edguez<\/a> will be out for the rest of the season after undergoing knee surgery.<\/p>\n The good news: The Timbers<\/a> have earned seven points in their last three games and should have had nine. They gave up a late equalizer to San Jose<\/a>, but they\u2019ve quietly worked their way up to fourth in the West. Portland are one of nine MLS teams to reach the 30-point mark this season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Red Bulls<\/a> only put one of their 13 shots on target in a 2-1 loss in Austin<\/a>. That defeat ended a three-game winning streak. They\u2019ll get a weekend off to think about it before a potential get-right game against Toronto<\/a> next Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n You could feel Chicago getting out some frustration a couple of weeks ago when they pummeled D.C. United<\/a>, 7-1<\/a>, in D.C. I\u2019m going to guess they\u2019re the first team in MLS history (soccer history?) to win a game where they score seven goals and lose a game where they allow seven goals in the same season.<\/p>\n They couldn\u2019t keep that momentum, though. The same Nashville side that beat them, 7-2<\/a>, earlier this year beat them 2-0 last weekend. On a related note: Chicago have scored and allowed 66 total goals this year. That\u2019s the highest mark in the league.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Revs couldn\u2019t find the net and a nine-game unbeaten run that began after a 1-0 loss<\/a> to FC Cincinnati ended with a 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati. That nine-game run pulled them out of the bottom of the East and on the edge of a playoff spot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Preston Judd<\/a> scored a Wondo goal in stoppage time to give the Quakes a draw at Providence Park. That goal gave them a point and kept them from losing for just the second time in 10 games. For as chaotic as they\u2019ve been at times this year, the results have become relatively consistent.<\/p>\n This sure seems like a playoff team.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Despite a goal from Wilfried Zaha<\/a>, a 90+8\u2019 winner for Philadelphia sent Charlotte home empty-handed in a 2-1 loss. After entering the year with a ton of expectations, Charlotte are below the playoff line on points per game.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Brandon Vazquez<\/a> scored the equalizer (for the wrong team) and then delivered the closer for Austin in a 2-1 win over the Red Bulls. Sometimes you\u2019ve just gotta get one to get you going, right?<\/p>\n Austin as a whole may be starting to get going, too. They beat Colorado, 2-0<\/a>, the week before. That\u2019s back-to-back wins and, even more importantly, back-to-back games with more than one goal. That doubled their season total.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Y’all mind if we put on some white noise before bed? pic.twitter.com\/3ACeLAPOyM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Austin FC (@AustinFC) June 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Dallas<\/a> put four past Sporting KC in a 4-2 win. They\u2019ve been far from perfect this year, but they\u2019ve worked their way up to ninth place in the West on points per game. It seems like they\u2019ve been slowly but surely trending in the right direction for a while now.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A little bit of aura farming on this one from Lucho ???? pic.twitter.com\/Jw0IKQBSnT<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FC Dallas (@FCDallas) June 15, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n You\u2019d think a team from Canada might struggle with Hell in the Shell, but CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a> and Prince Owusu<\/a> shrugged off the heat and beat the Dynamo<\/a> 3-1 in Houston. That\u2019s back-to-back 3-1 losses at home for the Dynamo.<\/p>\n It\u2019s bad enough on its own, but, man, against Sporting KC and Montr\u00e9al?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n That\u2019s three straight losses for the Rapids after falling 2-0 to Austin a couple of weeks ago and 1-0 to Orlando City on Saturday. They\u2019ve lost six of their last eight and are below the playoff line on points per game. They\u2019re also set to miss Zack Steffen<\/a> for 4-6 weeks due to a knee injury. Things could be going better.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n They spent the last couple of weeks losing 3-1 to LAFC and 4-2 to FC Dallas. It could have been a better two weeks.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Another game, another critical defensive mistake that gifts the opponent a goal. Brooks Lennon<\/a>\u2019s misplayed backpass opened the floodgates in the Bronx as Atlanta fell 4-0 to NYCFC.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Despite missing Diego Luna<\/a> to national team duty, Real Salt Lake<\/a> found a way to win their first game since April 26. Johnny Russell<\/a> scored his first goal with his new team and 18-year-old Zavier Gozo<\/a> scored his second goal with his only team in a 2-0 win over D.C. United.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n St. Louis<\/a> have scored three goals twice this season. Both games were against the Galaxy<\/a>. The first ended 3-0. There wasn’t much defense in this one, though. St. Louis allowed three of their own in a 3-3 draw.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Toronto didn\u2019t play last weekend. They won\u2019t play this weekend either. They actually haven\u2019t played all of June. By the time they play again, it will have been 25 days between matches.<\/p>\n\n
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