MLS Player Rankings: Giovinco, Kamara Surge Toward Top
Major League Soccer returned to its attacking ways in Week 7, with plenty of star performances in the final third.
The league, which is still experiencing a drop off in goals from 2014, witnessed impressive outings from some of its stars and a few underrated players over the four days of action this week.
Two players who caught our eye were Sebastian Giovinco and Kei Kamara, both of whom are near the top of this week's MLS Player Rankings.
Continue reading on for a look at who ranks where in the latest list of the top 20 players in MLS.
On the Way out
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Six players dropped from the top 20 this week due to lackluster showings, injuries and standout performances from this week's new entrants.
Players Dropped Out of Rankings
Jaime Penedo (LA Galaxy; Week 6 Ranking: 11)
David Villa (New York City FC; 14)
Marcelo Sarvas (Colorado Rapids; 17)
Pedro Morales (Vancouver Whitecaps; 18)
Amobi Okugo (Orlando City; 19)
Ike Opara (Sporting Kansas City; 20)
20. Maurice Edu, CB, Philadelphia Union
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Week 6 Ranking: Not Ranked
Although center-back may not be Maurice Edu's preferred position, he is shining in the middle of the back four for the Philadelphia Union.
Edu's leadership was on display in two matches in Week 7, as he turned in two strong shifts against New York City FC and the New England Revolution.
He earned an assist on C.J. Sapong's equalizer at Yankee Stadium on Thursday night, and he created a free-kick that led to Cristian Maidana's 42nd-minute goal against New England on Sunday at PPL Park.
On the defensive side of the pitch, Edu and center-back partner Steven Vitoria have provided rookie goalkeeper John McCarthy with a calming presence in defense as the young netminder adjusts to MLS.
19. Russell Teibert, CDM, Vancouver Whitecaps
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Week 6 Ranking: Not Ranked
Russell Teibert continues to earn a ton of praise each week for his performance next to one of the league's best defensive midfielders in Matias Laba.
Teibert added another skill to his arsenal on Saturday night, as he created the lone Vancouver goal against Real Salt Lake with a cross from the left wing.
If the young Canadian keeps up his strong play, we could see a defensive trio of Teibert, Laba and Gershon Koffie more often.
18. Fabian Castillo, LM, FC Dallas
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Week 6 Ranking: Not Ranked
Fabian Castillo absolutely torched Nick Hagglund on his two goals in the first 10 minutes of FC Dallas' 3-2 win over Toronto FC.
The dynamic Colombian sped past the outmatched Hagglund in the first minute on his way to a goal. He then twisted around the helpless defender in the 10th minute before he completed his brace.
The 10-minute spurt of impressive skill reminded us a bit of the span of matches in August 2014 in which Castillo dominated the entire league.
17. Lamar Neagle, AM, Seattle Sounders
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Week 6 Ranking: Not Ranked
For the Seattle Sounders to have the best attack in the league by the time the season ends, Lamar Neagle needs to do what he did on Saturday against the Colorado Rapids.
The underrated winger provided the Sounders with two goals in the 3-1 win at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. The two goals were the first two of the season for the 27-year-old.
In an odd coincidence, Neagle put five of his six shots on target for the second consecutive week.
16. Blas Perez, FW, FC Dallas
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Week 6 Ranking: Not Ranked
Blas Perez found the back of the net for the first time since March 14 in FC Dallas' bounce-back victory over Toronto.
The Panamanian forward also recorded his first assist of the season on Castillo's second strike of the night.
Perez and the Hoops will be on a payback mission on Saturday, when they visit a Colorado team that blew the doors off their defense in Week 5.
15. Felipe, CDM, New York Red Bulls
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Week 6 Ranking: Not Ranked
The highest-ranking new entrant to the list this week is New York Red Bulls midfielder Felipe.
The offseason acquisition from the Montreal Impact is a part of a terrific midfield trio alongside Sacha Kljestan and Dax McCarty.
Despite their strong play, the Red Bulls are not on the radar of many on a national level because of the lack of games they've played.
Felipe and the Red Bulls will receive plenty of attention in Week 8, when the defending champion LA Galaxy visit Red Bull Arena.
14. Clint Dempsey, FW, Seattle Sounders
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Week 6 Ranking: 13
Clint Dempsey extended his streak of contributing to at least one Sounders goal to six regular-season games on Saturday.
The United States men's national team captain earned his third assist of the season on Neagle's first goal of the night against Colorado.
In his 69-minute shift, Dempsey handed out five key passes, but only put one shot on target.
13. Brek Shea, LB, Orlando City
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Week 6 Ranking: 12
A wrench was thrown into Orlando City's plans in the 34th minute of Saturday night's clash with the Columbus Crew, when Rafael Ramos was sent off for a boneheaded challenge.
Ramos' booking forced Brek Shea to stay in his own half for most of the match, as Columbus pounded on the pressure at Mapfre Stadium.
Through six games, Shea is averaging two tackles and two interceptions per game.
12. Benny Feilhaber, CM, Sporting Kansas City
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Week 6 Ranking: 16
If we polled a large group of MLS fans on who the assist leader was after seven weeks, not many would select Benny Feilhaber with their first guess.
Feilhaber extended his lead at the top of the league assist chart in the 22nd minute of Sporting Kansas City's loss to the Galaxy.
The United States international played a perfect ball to the feet of Krisztian Nemeth in tight space on Sporting KC's lone goal of the match.
His fifth assist handed him a lead of two over a conglomerate of eight players in the race to be the league's top passer.
11. Javier Morales, AM, Real Salt Lake
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Week 6 Ranking: 9
Javier Morales picked up a groin injury in the buildup to Real Salt Lake's Western Conference showdown with Vancouver, per Chris Kamrani of the Salt Lake Tribune.
If he is healthy enough to start in Week 8, he will face off against a New England side he has scored against on one occasion in his MLS career.
His lone goal versus Jay Heaps' side came last season on July 4.
10. Mix Diskerud, CM, New York City FC
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Week 6 Ranking: 7
Mix Diskerud missed both of NYCFC's contests in Week 7 due to separate issues.
He was absent from Thursday's match against Philadelphia due to his international commitment with the United States, while he sat out Sunday's clash with the Portland Timbers due to an ankle injury, per Soccer by Ives' Ives Galarcep.
According to Galarcep's report, Diskerud should not miss much time, which would put him in line to start on Friday night in Chicago.
9. Omar Gonzalez, CB, LA Galaxy
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Week 6 Ranking: 15
No one, not even Omar Gonzalez, expected the defender to score with a body part other than his head in the Galaxy's win over Sporting KC.
Gonzalez scored his first goal of the season with his right shin in the waning moments of the match at the StubHub Center.
Despite only playing for 12 minutes off the bench, Gonzalez contributed in a major fashion ahead of the trip to Red Bull Arena in Week 8, which will be a good litmus test for the Galaxy early in the season.
8. Lloyd Sam, RM, New York Red Bulls
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Week 6 Ranking: 8
Lloyd Sam turned in an average shift for the Red Bulls on Friday night, but he did record an assist on one of his few key contributions.
In the 35th minute of the 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, Sam sent in a cross from the right wing that found Mike Grella at the far post.
The assist was the first of the season for the Englishman, who also has three goals to his name in 2015.
7. Bradley Wright-Phillips, FW, New York Red Bulls
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Week 6 Ranking: 6
Bradley Wright-Phillips' shining moment on Friday night came in front of goal, but he was not the player celebrating at the end of an attacking move.
The forward tipped the ball over to Kljestan with his foot in the 29th minute as he earned his third assist of 2015.
The assist helped Wright-Phillips match his total in the stat category from his first two seasons with the club.
6. Obafemi Martins, FW, Seattle Sounders
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Week 6 Ranking: 10
Placing the ball into the back of the net was the easy part of Obafemi Martins' fourth goal of the season.
Before he slotted his shot past Colorado goalkeeper Clint Irwin, Martins pulled down an Andy Rose pass with exquisite class.
Martins' focus will now turn to the first Cascadia Cup clash of the season with Portland. The Sounders earned seven points against the Timbers in 2014.
5. Harry Shipp, AM, Chicago Fire
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Week 6 Ranking: 2
Harry Shipp's long layoff is almost over, as the Chicago Fire will take to the pitch for the first time in 22 days on Friday night against NYCFC.
If the first few weeks of the season are any indicator of how Shipp will play against the expansion side, Fire fans will be in for a treat at Toyota Park.
4. Kaka, AM, Orlando City
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Week 6 Ranking: 4
Kaka didn't do anything special in Week 7 to improve his spot on the list, but he also didn't do something that would cause a dramatic drop.
The 32-year-old Brazilian made three key passes for 10-man Orlando City in the club's third defeat of the season.
Kaka also completed 95.7 percent of his 47 passes in the game ruined by the Ramos red card.
3. Octavio Rivero, FW, Vancouver Whitecaps
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Week 6 Ranking: 1
The league's top scorer took four shots in Vancouver's fifth victory of the 2015 campaign, but none of Octavio Rivero's attempts challenged Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Nick Rimando.
In the 1-0 win, the Whitecaps only recorded one shot on target, which came on Darren Mattocks' game-winner in the second half.
Rivero will face a difficult test in the form of D.C. United's Bobby Boswell on Saturday night, when the Black and Red visit the Whitecaps at BC Place.
2. Kei Kamara, FW, Columbus Crew
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Week 6 Ranking: 5
Columbus took full advantage of its man advantage in front of the home fans, as it put two goals into the back of the net following Ramos' dismissal.
Kamara played a key role in both of those strikes by recording a goal and an assist in the 3-0 win.
In the 55th minute, Kamara tracked down Cristian Higuita in the box and played a ball over to Justin Meram, who placed the Crew's second goal into the net.
Five minutes later, Kamara chipped his fourth strike of the season over an incoming Donovan Ricketts.
Kamara's current goal total is one less than the combined number he put together in his two previous seasons with Columbus at the start of his MLS career.
1. Sebastian Giovinco, AM, Toronto FC
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Week 6 Ranking: 3
Say what you want about Giovinco's inability to play a full 90 minutes in a Toronto FC shirt, but he did leave us awestruck with two late goals on Saturday night.
Giovinco turned in two world-class efforts in the Reds' defeat to FC Dallas in the 83rd and 89th minutes.
In the buildup to his first goal, Giovinco barely kept the ball in play before he played a cheeky chip over FC Dallas goalkeeper Chris Seitz.
The Italian fooled Seitz on his second goal, as his free-kick dropped perfectly into the left side of the goal.
Despite recording three goals and two assists in five matches, we have not seen the best out of Giovinco yet. Once we do, Toronto could be an unstoppable machine in attack.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from MLSSoccer.com and WhoScored.com.
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