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MLS Power Rankings

 So after seven weeks I've decided to shift a little bit. While I enjoy doing the recaps, there are other avenues to get most of the information so I'm going to try to give my Top 8/Bottom 5 power rankings and then talk about things that stuck out to me. Let's get into those rankings!

Top 8

1. FC Cincinnati 5-2-0 Last Week: 2 FCC took down the Union in a huge Eastern Conference matchup. It says a lot about Pat Noonan's squad that they haven't played extremely well, Vasquez and Brenner haven't been scoring at the same clip as last season and they're still sitting atop the standings. 

2. LAFC 4-2-0 Last Week: 4; I know I have them jumping a really good Seattle team, but they're balancing being undefeated in MLS with making a solid CCL run. Carlos Vela has been critical of his play but they are still rolling. Denis Buoanga's hat trick keeps him the hottest player in North America right now. 

3. Seattle Sounders 5-1-1, Last Week: 3; I'm a hypocrite. Last week I included a Minnesota United team that I correctly predicted losing to the Chicago fire because they had just beaten my previous number one team. Which is what Seattle just did. Josh Atencio's brilliant strike opened the flood gates for the Sounders as they cruised past the St. Louis squad at Lumen Field. Side note: it destroys me to see the Sounders playing on a field with half scratched out XFL lines. 

4. NE Revs 5-1-1 Last Week: 6; The Revs weren't exactly tested in their big win at home against Montreal. If they keep all of their pieces they should challenge for the Shield, or at least home field advantage in the Eastern Conference. 

5. Atlanta United 4-2-1 Last Week: 4; A draw in New York against NYCFC is a good result. The summer transfer window could be a big turning point for this team, assuming Almada and Miles Robinson both find their next landing spots. Then they can focus all of their energy on winning a trophy. 

6. St. Louis City SC 5-0-2 Last Week 1; Well we've now seen the first losing streak in the young existence of this franchise. Seattle is a tough place to play and they played the first 65 minutes of that game pretty close. I still think this is a team that will be hanging around all season. 

7. Columbus Crew 4-1-2, Last Week NR; At this point you can't deny the run the Crew are building. Aidan Morris is gaining attention at the International level and they are just playing really good soccer right now. It took a bit of luck as DC missed some chances on goal in the first half. 

8. Nashville SC 3-2-2, Last Week 7; I saw an interesting stat yesterday, both teams haven't scored in a Nashville SC game this season. As I've preached all season, don't let Nashville score first.

Bottom 5

25. Portland 1-2-4 Last Week NR; If you take away the goal in the first five minutes of the season Portland are 0-3-4 and sharing the 28th spot with Kansas City. It's a shame to see Portland at this level, but  Evander hasn't produced like he was supposed to and they just aren't finding the back of the net. 

26. LA Galaxy 0-3-3 Last Week t-24; This team has some problems. They finished off a 3-0 loss to Houston down two players. They just can't seem to get it together. 

27. Charlotte FC 1-2-4 Last Week 28; Charlotte may have earned the 28 spot after losing 3-1 to RSL, but the Kansas City display has been so bad I'm rewarding Charlotte for actually winning a game this season. 

28. Sporting KC 0-4-3 Last Week t-24; It pains me to type, but not as much as it pains me to see Sporting play. They dropped a home game to the Rapids, who aren't exactly competing for trophies this season. Again, I plan a large SKC write up in the near future. 

29. CF Montreal 1-0-5 Last Week 29; You can see at times where Montreal are building and that's important. This is as true of a rebuild as we will see in MLS.


One of the biggest results that weren't listed in the ranking is the Dynamo win. Ben Olsen has the team playing well and the sky is the limit in Houston this season. Also watch out for the Chicago Fire, they are starting to gel as a team and Kei Kemara has been such a great addition for them this season. Look out for more this week and next as we get set for the USMNT versus Mexico next week in Phoenix and a big slate of games in Major League Soccer!

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