Soccer <\/p>\n
Orlando<\/a> scored multiple goals in a win, Toronto<\/a> took points off a team in the Shield race, Minnesota<\/a> scored from a set piece, and Evander<\/a> and Lionel Messi<\/a> found the back of the net from outside the box. 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 The Quakes<\/a> should have made sure San Diego<\/a> were dead. Instead, the Chrome-and-Azul did yet another incredibly out-of-character thing for a first-year team and turned a 1-0 deficit in the 80th minute into a 2-1 win despite being outshot 18-5. When you\u2019ve got something special working, you don\u2019t need to be at your best. San Diego are the most remarkable expansion team we\u2019ve ever seen and they\u2019re going to keep pulling off remarkable things.<\/p>\n On a related note: SDFC are on top of the Supporters\u2019 Shield standings with seven games left to play.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Lions had no problems running Sporting KC<\/a> out of the building in a 3-1 win. The last seven games in all competitions for Orlando look like this: 2-1 win, 3-1 win, 1-1 draw, 3-1 win, 5-1 win, 4-1 win, and 3-1 win. They aren\u2019t just winning, they\u2019re pummeling teams. Now, they can see if they can continue that trend in Leagues Cup<\/a> when they face Toluca in the quarterfinals on Wednesday (8:50 pm ET | MLS Season Pass<\/a>).<\/p>\n Regardless of the outcome there, they\u2019ll need to regroup quickly. A huge matchup with Nashville<\/a> is on the way this Saturday.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n If you\u2019re here, I doubt you missed them, but, man, Messi\u2019s goal and assist in Miami<\/a>\u2019s 3-1 win over the Galaxy<\/a> is worth seeking out and watching again (and again). That Messi-led win put Inter Miami in fifth place in the East and just seven points out of first place with three games in hand.<\/p>\n Three wins in those games would put them back on top of the conference and the Shield standings. They may get there if they\u2019re not too worn out from Leagues Cup, where they have a quarterfinal matchup with Tigres UANL on Wednesday. (8 pm ET | MLS Season Pass<\/a>; FS1, UniM\u00e1s).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Evander got a leg up in his beef with his former club. Cincinnati<\/a>\u2019s No. 10 shone in his return trip to Portland<\/a>, delivering a stunning goal and an assist as the new Eastern Conference leaders earned a wild 3-2 win at Providence Park. Evander is up to 16 goals and nine assists on the season now. Over 51 starts in the last two seasons, he\u2019s generated 59 goal contributions.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n After beating the Red Bulls<\/a> in Wednesday\u2019s US Open Cup<\/a> quarterfinal, the Union<\/a> couldn\u2019t pull off the same feat in MLS play on Saturday. They\u2019ve taken eight points from their last five MLS games, all against very manageable competition. That\u2019s not a bad return, but they\u2019re officially out of first in the Shield race. You have to wonder if they\u2019ll be kicking themselves for this stretch at the end of the season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Loons bounced back from last week\u2019s loss to Colorado<\/a> with a critical \u201cthree points are three points no matter how you get it\u201d kind of win against Seattle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Their lone goal came, of course, off a set piece. No team is more adept at brute-forcing their way to a win when they\u2019re not at their best. And they\u2019re going to finish in the top four because of that.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n They got Looned. It happens. As a result, an already pretty open window for LAFC<\/a> to take Seattle\u2019s spot in the top four got even more open this weekend.<\/p>\n But the rest of Seattle\u2019s schedule is relatively friendly. If they can balance Leagues Cup \u2013 they have a winnable quarterfinal meeting with Puebla on Wednesday night (11 pm ET | MLS Season Pass<\/a>; FS1, UniM\u00e1s) \u2013 they may have a chance at holding LAFC off when all is said and done.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Denis Bouanga<\/a> and Son Heung-Min<\/a> are\u2026well, doing their best to figure out how to cohabitate. The good news is that even without them in full sync, LAFC are still incredibly dangerous. They had no problems dispatching New England<\/a> in a 2-0 win over the weekend. A top-four finish is becoming more likely considering their form and their games in hand.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n They may have been the better side, but the \u2018Caps<\/a> couldn\u2019t put Houston<\/a> away for good on Thomas M\u00fcller<\/a>\u2019s debut. That left the window open for Artur<\/a> to slam home a stunning equalizer in the 91st minute.<\/p>\n Vancouver ended the weekend with just a point to their name and an uphill battle to finish at the top of the West. They have a game in hand, but they\u2019re now six points behind San Diego.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Six straight for Charlotte<\/a>. Their latest came in a 1-0 home win over RSL<\/a>. They\u2019ve outscored opponents 11-3 during this six-game run and have pushed themselves within three points of third-place Nashville. There isn\u2019t a hotter team in MLS right now.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s still not quite clicking in Columbus<\/a>. At least not at the level we\u2019ve come to expect. Their 1-1 draw with Toronto over the weekend made it just four points in four MLS games since winning Hell Is Real. Don\u2019t get it too twisted, 45 points in 26 games is a heckuva return for most teams.<\/p>\n But \u201cjust\u201d a 1.73 points per game rate, a +5 goal differential and an increasingly likely finish outside of the top four in the East is below their well-earned expectations. Maybe new DP striker Wessam Abou Ali<\/a>\u2019s debut will elevate them back to their perch.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Sunday’s 2-1 loss to New York City FC<\/a> made it three straight losing efforts. They\u2019re in real jeopardy of falling out of the top four. Fourth-place Orlando is equal on points and games, while Inter Miami and Columbus are lurking just behind them with games in hand. They\u2019re a good, maybe great team, but they\u2019re faltering at a terrible time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Their win over Nashville made it 10 points from the last four games for NYCFC. Every single one of those points feels critical as they hit an absolutely brutal final stretch. Over the final nine games, they\u2019ll have a winnable game against D.C. United but face Cincy, Chicago, Columbus, Charlotte, Miami, Red Bulls, Philadelphia and Seattle.<\/p>\n They may have the toughest run-in of anyone. This four-game run might end up being the difference between one of the East\u2019s final playoff spots and 10th place.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n NOTHING I LOVE MORE THAN SEEING PEPE DANCE ???????? pic.twitter.com\/tCY9xOTHyI<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 New York City FC (@newyorkcityfc) August 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n It always feels like Chicago are on the brink of giving up a last-second winner or equalizer. They avoided that trend this weekend when Brian Guti\u00e9rrez<\/a> delivered an 87th-minute winner in their 3-2 win over St. Louis<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Fire have earned 11 points over their last five games and are still clinging to one of the final playoff spots in the stacked East. They\u2019ve got eight games left to hold off the New Yorks and break a playoffless streak that started in 2018.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Red Bulls had the unenviable task of needing all three points against the Union. Especially unenviable for them, considering they hadn\u2019t won a single game against Philly since 2019.<\/p>\n They only put two shots on frame, but that was enough to (finally) get the job done and pull out a huge 1-0 win. They\u2019re still below the playoff line, but they\u2019re right behind Chicago and NYCFC. Keeping pace with that group after winning one of their toughest remaining games feels huge.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Summer We Broke The 7-Year Drought ???? pic.twitter.com\/3oWYY50YQu<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) August 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The Rapids took full advantage of facing a struggling Atlanta United<\/a> side and rolled to a 3-1 win behind a stunning 2g\/1a performance from Rafael Navarro<\/a>.<\/p>\n They\u2019ve taken six points from their first two games without Djordje Mihailovic<\/a> and have pushed their way up to seventh in the West with seven games left. It\u2019s starting to feel like they\u2019ll cross the finish line in a playoff spot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Austin<\/a> have now lost just once in their last eight MLS games and they\u2019re undefeated since losing Brandon Vazquez<\/a> to an injury on July 10 following a 1-1 draw with Dallas<\/a>. That hasn\u2019t been enough to push them up the standings much, but they are above the line with a game or two in hand on most everyone they\u2019re chasing or being chased by.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Oof.<\/p>\n San Jose held a 1-0 lead deep into their in-state matchup with San Diego. Instead of closing it out, they allowed two goals after the 80th minute, and San Diego took all three points. It\u2019s a loss for San Jose that keeps them right on the edge of the playoff line in the West. They may be a better side than the rest of the teams scrapping for a final playoff spot, but they\u2019ve shot themselves in the foot far too often this season.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Portland welcomed back Evander with\u2026not quite so open arms, and he responded by putting on a show. The Timbers put up a helluva fight, though, and nearly pulled out a wild comeback in a 3-2 loss to Cincy. Great game, tough result.<\/p>\n They\u2019re fading out of the top four picture in the West and it\u2019s going to be tough to put themselves back in it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n A 1-0 loss to Charlotte have RSL a point below the playoff line with just eight games left. A five-game run of Minnesota, Seattle, Sporting KC, LAFC and LAFC again is not what they needed right now.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Dallas have been better without Lucho Acosta, but they\u2019re running out of time. A 1-1 draw against Austin is a fine result. It\u2019s just not the kind of result you need when you\u2019re chasing three or four teams for the West\u2019s final playoff spots.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Artur didn\u2019t care one bit that Vancouver outplayed Houston on the night. All that really mattered was that he got a chance to kick the ball as hard as he possibly could at the goal in the 91st minute of a 1-0 game. He found the back of the net from the top of the box and the Dynamo swiped a point from Vancouver.<\/p>\n Now, they\u2019re three points behind the playoff line with a very manageable schedule in front of them over their last eight games.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Toronto has been relishing a spoiler role lately. They\u2019ve only taken five points from their last five games, but those five points include a 1-0 win over San Diego and 1-1 draws against Philadelphia and Columbus. Mihailovic has an assist in both of his first two TFC appearances, by the way.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Revs and recent returnee Matt Turner<\/a> couldn\u2019t handle LAFC in a 2-0 loss. With eight games to go, and 11 points between them and the playoff line, we can probably call it a wrap on 2025 for New England. They may have some big decisions to make soon.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Things have been trending up, but they\u2019re running out of time to avoid the Wooden Spoon. A shock run to the Leagues Cup semifinals would help ease the pain a little, though. LA face Pachuca on Wednesday night (11:45 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n St. Louis nearly had a 2-2 draw in Chicago, but only nearly. Still, they\u2019re five points ahead of the last-place Galaxy. The rest of the year is about avoiding the Spoon at all costs. It seems like they\u2019ll survive.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Alexey Miranchuk<\/a> is in form, but that\u2019s about all that\u2019s going right for Atlanta right now. This \u201chighlight\u201d<\/a> is all you really need to know about their 3-1 loss to Colorado (and the entirety of their 2025).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n They didn\u2019t lose, but they also didn\u2019t win. So. Still second from the bottom of the East.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n SKC\u2019s faint playoff hopes may have met their end in Saturday\u2019s 3-1 loss to Orlando. Closing an eight-point gap (and jumping four teams) is just too much to ask.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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