Soccer <\/p>\n
El Tr\u00e1fico delivered, Lionel Messi<\/a> scored two goals in a game and D.C. United<\/a> lost 2-1. 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 gets a little rush out of moving your team down a few spots, though.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n On Wednesday, Cincinnati<\/a> nearly matched Paris Saint-Germain\u2019s margin of victory against the Herons<\/a>. But Miami got up off the mat with speed after the 3-0 loss<\/a>. Lionel Messi added (yet another) brace to his tally as they steamrolled the Red Bulls<\/a> in a 5-1 win. He\u2019s up to six braces in seven matches. And the Herons are seven points out of first place in the Supporters’ Shield standings with three games in hand.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Nashville<\/a> picked up a huge 3-0 win<\/a> over the Crew<\/a> midweek and then avoided a letdown game against Toronto<\/a> on Saturday. A six-point week has them sitting second in MLS with 10 games remaining. A two-goal week has Sam Surridge<\/a> up to a league-best 18 goals on the season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Four points for the Union<\/a> this week. You can expect them to keep piling up points down the stretch. Over their final 10 games, they\u2019ll only face two teams above seventh place in the conference standings. Things are shaping up nicely for a side that\u2019s just one point behind the Shield leaders.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n They\u2019re still leading the Western Conference despite a disappointing week against two Canadian sides. A weird stumble against Toronto kicked the week off, then they needed a second-half equalizer to find a point against Vancouver<\/a>. As good as they\u2019ve been this year \u2013 we\u2019re still talking about the best expansion side ever, most likely \u2013 growing pains still pop up from time to time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Other than a nightmarish 60 minutes against Columbus, Cincy have been as hot as any side in the league. They\u2019ve won six of their last seven \u2013 including Wednesday\u2019s 3-0 dismantling of Miami \u2013 and are sitting atop the Supporters\u2019 Shield standings. The underlyings still aren\u2019t on their side, but who cares when Evander<\/a> is. The Brazilian added a brace against Miami to bring his season totals to 15 goals and eight assists. He\u2019s piled up 30 goals and 27 assists in his 50 MLS appearances over the last two seasons.<\/p>\n And it helps when Luca Orellano<\/a> does things like this…<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Crew laid a brick in their follow-up to Hell is Real. Nashville pummeled Columbus 3-0 on Wednesday. They bounced back with a 2-1 win over D.C., but the Nashville match felt like a reminder that this Crew side doesn\u2019t have the consistent high gear recent versions have. No one in MLS has fewer losses, but this side isn\u2019t winning as often as their competition for the Shield. Will they add a DP in the summer transfer window as they push for a trophy?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n That\u2019s a bit more like it. Vancouver whomped Houston<\/a> 3-0<\/a> and then earned a 1-1 road draw against first-place San Diego<\/a>. They\u2019ve got two of their most critical players back in Brian White<\/a> and Sebastian Berhalter<\/a>, they\u2019re getting healthier, and maybe, just maybe, they\u2019re starting to level out a bit after a rough patch.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n LAFC<\/a> were seconds away from a six-point week and a fourth straight win. But center back Eddie Segura<\/a> picked up a stoppage-time red card, and the Galaxy<\/a> responded with a stoppage-time equalizer in El Tr\u00e1fico. They\u2019re still in a solid position to make a run at the top of the West \u2013 seven points behind with three games in hand \u2013 but you can\u2019t help but wonder if those two dropped points could make an impact further down the line.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Over the last three games, the Sounders<\/a> have scored nine goals and allowed seven. It\u2019s been an odd stretch, but they\u2019re still undefeated in their five matches since the FIFA Club World Cup<\/a>. Suddenly, they\u2019re not that far away from the top of the conference. San Diego are six points ahead, but Seattle have a game in hand.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Tough week for the Loons<\/a>. They followed up a 1-0 loss<\/a> to LAFC by allowing a 90+2\u2019 equalizer in Portland<\/a>. That\u2019s a missed opportunity to stay even on points with San Diego at the top of the West.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The underlying numbers love<\/em> Orlando City<\/a>. The standings\u2026 not so much.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a weird year for the Lions and a rough stretch the last few weeks. Their 2-1 win over the Revs<\/a> is their only win in the last five matches. They should have had another on Wednesday, but blew a 1-0 lead<\/a> to NYCFC<\/a> after allowing two goals in the dying moments of the match.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Six points would have been preferred, especially with a 1-0 lead late in the second half against Sporting KC<\/a>, but four points isn\u2019t bad. A win over Orlando and a draw with SKC have NYCFC in eighth place and looking increasingly safe in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs race. The next step is to pull themselves out of a Wild Card spot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A six-point week featuring three goals and two assists from Pep Biel<\/a> have Charlotte<\/a> suddenly looking like a bona fide playoff side again. They\u2019ve won three straight and earned 10 points in their last four matches. Biel is up to 10 goals and 12 assists, and The Crown are up to seventh in the East.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n They were a few minutes away from a six-point week, but a late (and avoidable) equalizer in Atlanta<\/a> kept them from taking all three points on Wednesday. It\u2019s the kind of result a fringe playoff team can\u2019t afford many of. We\u2019ll see how much they regret losing those two points at the end of the year.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Timbers put together a fantastic tifo performance last week, and a less inspiring on-field performance. Just one point for Portland over two games. They needed a stoppage-time equalizer against Minnesota to get it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It feels probable that very few, if any, teams in MLS history have scored five goals in one game and allowed five goals in another game during the same week\u2026 but the Red Bulls pulled it off. A three-point week isn\u2019t awful, all things considered; however, this team just isn\u2019t able to string together positive results consistently. There\u2019s a chance they miss the playoffs for the first time in well over a decade unless things change quickly.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Four of their last five games have, for better or worse, involved someone<\/em> scoring three goals. Both sides scored three in a stunning Colorado<\/a> comeback on Wednesday. The Rapids erased a 3-0 deficit in the second half against Seattle.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Quakes<\/a> have one win in eight games and are down to ninth in the West with a few teams fast on their heels. Can Bruce Arena’s side draw a line in the sand and turn things around?<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n RSL<\/a> took down Portland midweek and nearly earned a draw against Cincy before Luca Orellano decided otherwise. Still, that\u2019s 13 points over the last six games. RSL have quietly snuck back up to one point within the playoff line.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Just one game for Austin last week. They earned all three points and scored two goals in a game for the third time in the last five games.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Jack McGlynn<\/a> took a moment to convert a penalty (and maybe take a quick jab<\/a> at the team that traded him), but that\u2019s pretty much all Houston got out of last week. Vancouver thumped them 3-0 midweek and they drew 1-1 with Philly.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Dallas<\/a> capped a four-point week by bulldozing St. Louis<\/a> in a 3-0 win. They looked great doing it, too. The new (old?) Burn kits are outstanding. Dallas as a team are\u2026 not as outstanding, but they\u2019re still hovering around the playoff line. They\u2019re four points back with a game in hand on ninth place.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Even when it\u2019s objectively been a rough season, the Galaxy still know how to make LAFC miserable. A stoppage-time equalizer from Maya Yoshida<\/a> completed a comeback from 3-1 in the latest El Tr\u00e1fico to go completely off the rails. They didn\u2019t lose to LAFC this season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A one-point week is nothing to write home about, but SKC have only lost once in their last five now. It\u2019s a five-point gap between them and ninth place right now.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Things are\u2026 unravelling for the Revs. They haven\u2019t won since May 31 against CF Montr\u00e9al<\/a>. They allowed five goals to the Red Bulls in the second half on Wednesday before a 2-1 home loss to Orlando. Their playoff hopes are evaporating very quickly.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Toronto have pulled off some inexplicable victories this year, but their 1-0 midweek win<\/a> over San Diego is one of the upsets of the season. They couldn\u2019t pull off the same trick against Nashville on Saturday, but any points they can get while they wait on new Designated Players to arrive are great points.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Five Stripes salvaged a point late against Chicago, looked sharp in the first half against Charlotte, and then it all went haywire. Still just four wins on the year.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n St. Louis got rolled by Dallas in a 3-0 loss this weekend. The possibility of a Wooden Spoon is getting a little more real each week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Three straight 2-1 losses for D.C. now. They\u2019re still looking for the new-manager bounce after parting ways with Troy Lesesne<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Montr\u00e9al made some cash from transferring center back George Campbell to West Brom<\/a>. That\u2019s the only real positive from the week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n