A few weeks ago, we marveled at the Western Conference dominance atop the Pro Soccer USA power rankings. And while that hasn’t really changed — the top five teams in Week 9 are from the West — its the City of Angels that finds itself front and center this week.
Los Angeles Football Club held on to its top spot following a 1-1 draw with Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday, while the LA Galaxy moved up a spot with their sixth win in seven unbeaten games after knocking off Real Salt Lake, 2-1.
Minnesota United moved into the top 10 following a 1-0 win over D.C. United, their first at Allianz Field and the New York Red Bulls advanced three spots after a much-needed win over FC Cincinnati.
The Major League Soccer Power Rankings are created by averaging the rankings submitted by a committee of Pro Soccer USA’s editor and writers.
(1) Los Angeles Football Club (7-1-2, 23 points): Carlos Vela leveled for LAFC, which maintained its position as kings of the west with a 1-1 draw against Seattle Sounders FC at CenturyLink Field Sunday. (3) LA Galaxy (7-1-1, 22 points): The Galaxy have enjoyed home cooking this season, improving to 6-0-0 at home for the first time since their inaugural season after defeating Real Salt Lake, 2-1, Sunday thanks to Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s late winner. (2) Seattle Sounders FC (5-1-3, 18 points): The Sounders played down a man for much of the match and ended with nine men, yet they still battled LAFC to a 1-1 draw thanks to Jordan Morris’ opening-minute goal. (4) FC Dallas (5-2-2, 17 points): FC Dallas extended an unbeaten streak to three games with a 0-0 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday at Toyota Stadium. The Texas Derby against the Dynamo is next. (5) Houston Dynamo (5-1-1, 16 points): The Dynamo rebounded from their first loss of the season to defeat Columbus, 2-0, Saturday with Mauro Manotas and Tomas Martinez scoring in each half. (6) D.C. United (5-3-2, 17 points): It was a mixed bag for the Black-and-Red in Week 9, with the first win at Columbus since 2007 followed by a loss in Minnesota Sunday. (8) Philadelphia Union (4-3-2, 14 points): Kacper Przybylko’s first MLS goal in the 66th minute was the equalizer the Union needed for a 1-1 draw against the host Whitecaps. (7) Toronto FC (4-2-1, 13 points): Jonathan Osorio put Toronto FC in front, but the Reds couldn’t hold onto the lead, suffering a 2-1 home loss to the Portland Timbers. (11) Minnesota United FC (4-3-2, 14 points): After two draws to open Allianz Field, the Loons finally celebrated their first win at their new home, beating D.C. United 1-0 on Sunday. (9) Sporting Kansas City (2-2-4, 10 points): Sporting roared back from a 3-1 deficit to draw the New England Revolution 4-4 thanks to a Krisztian Nemeth brace against his former club. (13) Orlando City SC (3-3-3, 12 points): Nani struck for his fifth goal as the Lions battled NYCFC to a 1-1 draw in the Bronx Saturday afternoon. (10) Columbus Crew SC (4-5-1, 13 points): Make it four straight losses for Crew SC, who failed to score in three of those defeats, after Week 9 defeats to D.C. United and the Houston Dynamo. (15) New York City FC (2-1-6, 12 points): Heber has played a role in each of NYCFC’s last four goals and the Cityzens took seven out of a possible nine points from their three-game week, capping it with a 1-1 draw against Orlando City SC. (16) Montreal Impact (5-3-2, 17 points): What a week for the Impact, who followed a 3-0 win over the New England Revolution with a 1-0 home victory over the Chicago Fire on Sunday with new signing Omar Browne striking for the late winner. (12) Real Salt Lake (3-5-1, 10 points): Donny Toia canceled out Uriel Antuna’s first-half goal, but RSL fell to the LA Galaxy, 2-1, snapping a two-game winning streak. (18) Atlanta United FC (2-3-2, 8 points): It wasn’t pretty, but the defending MLS Cup champions earned the three points they desperately needed with a 1-0 victory over the Colorado Rapids with Julian Gressel scoring the 74th-minute winner. (20) New York Red Bulls (2-4-2, 8 points): Connor Lade is the longest-tenured Red Bulls player and came up with one of the club’s most important goals of the season in a 1-0 win over FC Cincinnati. (19) New England Revolution (2-6-2, 8 points): The Revs rebounded, sorta, from a 3-0 home drubbing to the Impact to battle Sporting Kansas City to a wild 4-4 draw. (14) Chicago Fire (2-4-3, 9 points): The Fire suffered back-to-back 1-0 road defeats, falling at New York City FC Wednesday and Montreal on Sunday. (17) FC Cincinnati (2-5-2, 8 points): It’s three consecutive losses without a goal for the expansion side following a 1-0 defeat to the Red Bulls which extended a winless streak to five games. (23) Portland Timbers (2-5-1, 7 points): The Timbers are streaking in the other direction now, a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC on Saturday the club’s second in a row. (21) San Jose Earthquakes (2-5-2, 5 points): The Quakes are now unbeaten in three straight games after consecutive Week 9 road draws against the Sounders and FC Dallas. (22) Vancouver Whitecaps FC (1-5-3, 6 points): Doneil Henry put the Whitecaps up late in the first half, but Vancouver settled for a 1-1 home draw after Przybylko’s second-half equalizer. (24) Colorado Rapids (0-7-2, 2 points): Saturday’s 1-0 loss at Atlanta was the Rapids sixth straight defeat, extending their season-long winless streak to nine games.Pro Soccer USA writers Dylan Butler and Robert Jonas contributed to this report.
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Original author: Dylan Butler, Pro Soccer USA