Soccer <\/p>\n
Minnesota United<\/a> scored off a Michael Boxall<\/a> throw-in, Lionel Messi<\/a> scored an AT&T Goal of the Year contender and Sporting Kansas City<\/a> pulled off a win for the ages (statistically). It was truly a week unlike any other.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n As always: The Power Rankings are voted on by, give or take, 15 people associated with MLSsoccer.com. The author gets a little rush out of moving your team down a few spots, though.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Hany Mukhtar<\/a> converted a penalty kick in the 101st minute and the Nashville SC<\/a> players paid tribute to Diogo Jota in a 1-0 win over the Philadelphia Union<\/a> that put them one point behind first-place FC Cincinnati<\/a> in the Supporters\u2019 Shield standings.<\/p>\n Nashville have earned four straight wins and are unbeaten in their last 14 games across all competitions. Sam Surridge<\/a> remains the Golden Boot presented by Audi leader with 16 goals. The underlying numbers like them more than any team in the Eastern Conference.<\/p>\n B.J. Callaghan’s side is a bona fide contender.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Milan Iloski<\/a> scored his eighth goal in five matches, but that wasn\u2019t enough to keep San Diego<\/a> out in front of the Houston Dynamo<\/a>. They blew multiple leads in a 4-3 loss.<\/p>\n San Diego have a lot of the same traits as other great expansion sides we\u2019ve seen in recent MLS seasons. They score when they want, but there are still some issues defensively. Yet they\u2019re hanging out at the top of the West 21 games into their debut season.<\/p>\n How do they respond?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n K\u00e9vin Denkey<\/a> and Evander<\/a> each scored in Cincy\u2019s 2-1 win over Chicago<\/a>. Both have 12 goals on the season. On a related note, the Garys lead the East and Shield standings with 42 points. Isn\u2019t it amazing what happens when you swing and connect on your two big DP signings?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Ev to Kev \u26a1\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/IHNpoJIQOL<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 FC Cincinnati (@fccincinnati) July 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Cavan Sullivan<\/a> made his first career start, but that\u2019s the only good news to report for Philly after allowing a late, match-winning penalty to 10-man Nashville. They\u2019re starting to develop a rep for being flat-track bullies. In 11 tries this year, the Union have only three wins over teams above the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs line.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s like Lionel Messi just wanted another challenge after coming back from the FIFA Club World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n The most out-of-character giveaway in the sport’s history led to CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a> taking a 1-0 lead two minutes in. He made up for it later in the half with a vintage golazo, then did a little extra in the second half:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The greatest of all time ???? pic.twitter.com\/gr4vRt7QHX<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Inter Miami CF (@InterMiamiCF) July 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Lol, I mean, come on\u2026<\/p>\n Miami<\/a> rolled to a 4-1 win. They have a few games in hand on everyone they\u2019re chasing. Would you really<\/em> be surprised if they\u2019re in the Shield conversation again in a few weeks?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Columbus<\/a> went to Seattle<\/a> and played one of the most entertaining 1-1 draws you\u2019ll see this year. Their quality on the ball never stops being worth a close watch.<\/p>\n As entertaining as it was, it felt like they could have come away with a win if someone could find a game-changing moment. DP signing D\u00e1niel Gazdag<\/a> hasn\u2019t delivered those moments since arriving from Philadelphia. He\u2019s still looking for his first goal with the Crew.<\/p>\n While we\u2019re here: Wilfried Nancy agreeing to end the match after Stefan Frei<\/a>\u2019s head\/neck injury was a stand-up move. He deserves his flowers for it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Whitecaps<\/a> just can\u2019t outrun their absences right now. That was extremely apparent in their 3-0 loss at the Galaxy<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n Hopefully, things will soon return to normal. Even if it remains unclear when Ryan Gauld<\/a> will return, Vancouver will get Brian White<\/a> and Sebastian Berhalter<\/a> back from Concacaf Gold Cup<\/a> duty. Everything is still on the table for them.<\/p>\n The fact they haven\u2019t fallen off a cliff after a deep Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> run and multiple absences is remarkable in its own right.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Orlando<\/a> went down 2-0 in Charlotte<\/a>, then found a way back to a draw over the last 25 minutes of the match. It\u2019s been an odd series of results lately for a pretty good soccer team. They\u2019ve earned just seven points over their last six games with losses to Atlanta<\/a> and Chicago thrown into the mix. The good news is that forward Ramiro Enrique<\/a> is finding his footing again. He has three goals and an assist over the last three matches.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n No match for LAFC<\/a> over the weekend after the flooding in Central Texas. Resources and organizations to donate to can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Make it three straight games with a goal from a Michael Boxall long throw-in. Seriously, how is every team in the league not trying these at every opportunity?<\/p>\n That goal led to a 2-1 Minnesota win at Dallas<\/a> and gave them a 5W-2L-4D away record. That\u2019s the best in the Western Conference and third-best in MLS behind Philadelphia and Cincinnati.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Jo\u00e3o Paulo<\/a> is set to miss the rest of the year after tearing his ACL during training last week and Stefan Frei could be out for a moment after a scary collision at the end of Seattle\u2019s 1-1 draw with Columbus sent him to the hospital.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Thank you \u2014 truly…. It means more than I can put into words.<\/p>\n I feel the support, and I\u2019m thankful for every single one of you. ????????????<\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Stefan Frei (@Stefan24Frei) July 7, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Seattle remain fifth in the West, three points behind Portland<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s been an odd, stop-and-start stretch for NYCFC<\/a>. But they\u2019re playing good ball, just rolled to a 3-1 win over Toronto<\/a> and are reportedly adding a DP No. 10 named Nicol\u00e1s Fern\u00e1ndez Mercau from LaLiga side Elche CF. The Pigeons are worth keeping an eye on down the stretch.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n San Jose<\/a> are unbeaten in four, but have just two wins in their last nine matches after a 1-1 draw with New York<\/a> over the weekend. It\u2019s not perfect, but they can take some solace in how they\u2019re getting results defensively nowadays. They\u2019ve allowed seven goals in their last six matches. That\u2019s improvement!<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n David Da Costa<\/a> scored from deep and the Timbers earned a 2-1 win over the Revs<\/a>. He hasn\u2019t been Evander, but the All-Star midfielder is up to three goals and eight assists on the season.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Portland are fourth in the West and four points behind third-place Minnesota with a game in hand. They\u2019re on the edge of being among the best the conference has to offer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n To the Fire\u2019s credit, they only really seem to lose against good teams. Their latest setback to a good team came this weekend when they fell 2-1 at FC Cincinnati.<\/p>\n The Lantern<\/a> has the defining stat of Chicago\u2019s season here: Six of Chicago\u2019s eight defeats have come against the top four teams in the East.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Red Bulls went cross-country to earn a point against a dangerous San Jose side. You take that result just about every time.<\/p>\n That\u2019s three straight draws and four games without a win, though. It seems like RBNY are comfortably in the middle of the pack in the East.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Lawrence Ennali<\/a> tore his ACL last August. He marked his return to the starting lineup by doing this:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Lawrence Ennali is electric. pic.twitter.com\/QpOMHf3EIw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) July 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n DP forward Ezequiel Ponce<\/a> followed that up by scoring his first brace for the Dynamo to make it three goals in two games and to guide Houston to their biggest result of the year, a 4-3 comeback win at San Diego.<\/p>\n Now eighth in the West, the Dynamo are a team you want to start paying close attention to.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Revs are crashing back down to Earth. After a lengthy unbeaten run, they\u2019ve picked up just one point from their last four games. Their loss to Portland over the weekend kept them at 11th in the East and four points below the playoff line.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Louvre isn\u2019t grand enough. Make a new one specifically for this:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Suffice it to say Colorado<\/a> will normally win if they play like this in the future.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Charlotte were on their way to a much-needed 2-0 win over Orlando before the wheels came off. The Lions scored twice inside the final 21 minutes and the Crown ended the night with one point instead of three.<\/p>\n Charlotte are 10th in the East, have just two wins in 12 games and Patrick Agyemang<\/a> is reportedly nearing a move to EFL Championship side Derby County.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Austin<\/a>\u2019s match with LAFC was postponed after devastating flooding in Central Texas. Resources and organizations to donate to can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Diogo Gon\u00e7alves<\/a>\u2019 43rd-minute goal and subsequent tribute<\/a> to Diogo Jota was the highlight of RSL<\/a>\u2019s 3-2 win over St. Louis<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Diogo Gon\u00e7alves with a remarkable finish for @RealSaltLake<\/a> and then pays tribute to the late Diogo Jota ???????????? pic.twitter.com\/aw1B85hsJz<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 6, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n RSL\u2019s playoff hopes are picking up steam, by the way. They\u2019re four points out of ninth in the West with a game in hand.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Are\u2026 SKC about to pull this off?<\/p>\n The post-Peter Vermes era has been relatively kind to them so far. Yeah, they\u2019ve earned a couple of wins that could politely be called \u201cimprobable\u201d (remember when they beat LA without taking a shot?), but three points are three points.<\/p>\n The three points they stumbled into against Colorado<\/a> over their weekend made it seven points from their last three games and put them three points back of the playoff line.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Dread it. Run from it. The Michael Boxall long throw-in comes for everyone eventually.<\/p>\n Dallas couldn\u2019t handle it in their 2-1 loss to Minnesota. They\u2019ve lost three in a row heading into a trip to LAFC this Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Galaxy might be waking up?<\/p>\n Joseph Paintsil<\/a> scored a brace in a stunning 3-0 win over the Whitecaps to make it eight points in five games for LA. That\u2019s not going to save their season, but they\u2019re pulling themselves out of what seemed like a certain Wooden Spoon finish.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Is that light on the horizon?<\/p>\n Last week, Toronto reached mutual agreements with Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi to terminate their contracts. It\u2019s the end of a spectacular era.<\/p>\n Whatever they do next will determine the fate of a historically proud club.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A road point is a road point and that\u2019s all we need to say about last weekend\u2019s 0-0 draw with D.C. United<\/a>.<\/p>\n Oh, by the way, MLS-record signing Emmanuel Latte Lath<\/a> hasn\u2019t scored since March 29.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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