MLS Player Rankings: Consistent Kamara Takes Top Spot After Week 8
There is no doubt we love to focus on the performances of the superstars in Major League Soccer like Kaka, Sebastian Giovinco and Jozy Altidore.
But there are plenty of players who are worthy of our praise that aren't earning a ridiculous amount of money each week.
One of those under-the-radar players earned the top spot in our weekly list of the top 20 players in the league.
Continue reading on to see who took the No. 1 position away from Giovinco in the Week 8 edition of the MLS Player Rankings.
On the Way out
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Injuries and average performances in Week 8 cost these five players their respective spots on the list.
Players Dropped Out of Rankings
Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake; Week 7 Ranking: 11)
Brek Shea (Orlando City; 13)
Lamar Neagle (Seattle Sounders; 17)
Russell Teibert (Vancouver Whitecaps; 19)
Maurice Edu (Philadelphia Union; 20)
20. Pedro Morales, AM, Vancouver Whitecaps
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Week 7 Ranking: Not Ranked
A week after he fell out of the top 20, Pedro Morales returns thanks to a strong performance in Vancouver's 2-1 defeat at the hands of D.C. United.
The Chilean playmaker opened the scoring in the second minute, when he finished a wide-open shot into the right side of the net.
In the 88 minutes following his goal, Morales continued to set up scoring opportunities. He ended the match with seven key passes, three shots on target and 70 touches.
Morales is averaging 2.8 shots and 3.1 key passes per contest so far this season.
19. Ethan Finlay, RM, Columbus Crew
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Week 7 Ranking: Not Ranked
Ethan Finlay wreaked a ton of havoc on the Philadelphia defense on Saturday night, especially left-back Fabinho.
Finlay powered through Fabinho on the way to his first goal of the season in the 32nd minute, and he left the Union defender behind him in the buildup to his 73rd-minute strike.
The fourth-year player also recorded his fourth assist of the season on Kei Kamara's goal in the 21st minute. The dish moved Finlay into second place on the league assist chart behind Benny Feilhaber.
18. Justin Meram, LM, Columbus Crew
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Week 7 Ranking: Not Ranked
Justin Meram scored the lone goal Finlay did not play a role in on Saturday night at Mapfre Stadium.
The Iraq international netted his third goal of the season on a goalkeeping error committed by Philadelphia's John McCarthy in the 43rd minute of the Crew's 4-1 win.
Meram, who sometimes gets overlooked due to the presence of Kamara and Federico Higuain in the Columbus attack, is the proud owner of three goals and one assist in five games played.
17. Blas Perez, FW, FC Dallas
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Week 7 Ranking: 16
If Blas Perez didn't have four goals to his name in 2015, he probably would have dropped off this week's list.
The FC Dallas forward received a red card in the 59th minute of his side's 1-1 draw with Colorado. Perez earned the sending off after he made contact with Drew Moor's upper body in front of the Colorado net.
The red was the fifth of Perez's MLS career, which began back in 2012. Last season, Perez picked up two ejections for the Hoops.
16. Fabian Castillo, LM, FC Dallas
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Week 7 Ranking: 18
If Fabian Castillo remains in form for most of the 2015 season, he might be able to sign a big contract in Europe.
The Colombian displayed his exquisite skill on FC Dallas' lone goal on Friday night, as he easily cut around Michael Harrington and Axel Sjoberg on the right side of the box.
The delightful piece of skill from the natural left winger came a week after he torched Toronto for a pair of early goals.
15. Giles Barnes, FW, Houston Dynamo
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Week 7 Ranking: Not Ranked
Usually we like to make a case in this weekly piece for a young player to receive more love from fans around the league.
This week, we are changing our tune a bit in order to get Giles Barnes more recognition from across North America.
Barnes, who netted 11 goals in 2014, moved his 2015 total up to four with a brace in Houston's 4-4 draw with Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night.
In his last four matches, Barnes has attempted at least four shots, including five in each of his last two games.
14. Jozy Altidore, FW, Toronto FC
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Week 7 Ranking: Not Ranked
One forward we do not need to single out for the lack of respect from his colleagues is Jozy Altidore.
The top forward on the United States depth chart provided Toronto FC with two second-half goals in the club's 2-0 road victory over Orlando City.
The pair of goals were the first for Altidore since Week 1, when he put two past Vancouver in a victory at BC Place.
13. Felipe, CM, New York Red Bulls
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Week 7 Ranking: 15
Felipe once again controlled the flow of the match on Sunday night in the New York Red Bulls' 1-1 draw with the LA Galaxy at Red Bull Arena.
In the 58th minute, Felipe earned a deserved reward for his hard work, as the ball bounced off his noggin and into the back of the net.
The fortuitous bounce handed the Red Bulls their only goal of the match, and it proved how hard of a worker Felipe is. If he did not make a run into the far part of the box, the ball would have deflected out of play off LA defender A.J. DeLaGarza.
The 24-year-old ended the match with 83 touches, three key passes and three tackles.
12. Obafemi Martins, FW, Seattle Sounders
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Week 7 Ranking: 6
Obafemi Martins and the Seattle Sounders disappointed on the big stage, as they produced three shots on target in their marquee rivalry clash with the Portland Timbers.
Martins recorded 49 touches in the 1-0 Seattle victory, but he failed to make a lasting impact during his 90-minute shift.
The lackluster showing from the Nigerian marked the first time this season he attempted zero shots on target.
11. Clint Dempsey, FW, Seattle Sounders
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Week 7 Ranking: 14
Rarely do we describe a Clint Dempsey goal as lucky, but that is exactly what his goal in the 77th minute on Sunday night was.
Dempsey tapped the ball into the net after Portland goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey bobbled a save on the goal line.
The USMNT captain has hit the back of the net at least once in his last four clashes with the Timbers.
10. Lloyd Sam, RM, New York Red Bulls
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Week 7 Ranking: 8
Lloyd Sam was not at 100 percent for Sunday night's match at Red Bull Arena, but he still made a key run that created the lone Red Bulls goal.
Sam moved inside from his position on the right wing and brought the ball into the box before he dished a pass over to Sal Zizzo. Zizzo's cross found Bradley Wright-Phillips, whose shot deflected off the head of Felipe and into the net.
Look for the former Leeds United man to have a big match on Wednesday night if he starts against Colorado. Also in line for Sam in Week 9 is a showdown on the flank with New England's Chris Tierney on Saturday.
9. Mix Diskerud, CM, New York City FC
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Week 7 Ranking: 10
Nothing out of the ordinary happened to Mix Diskerud's individual game on Friday night at Toyota Stadium.
Although his side went down a man in the first half, Diskerud continued to provide consistency in the middle of the park for Jason Kreis' team.
Diskerud led NYCFC in touches with 66, and he completed three key passes in the attacking half. One number that was a bit low on Friday was his pass accuracy, which sat at 77.8 percent when the final whistle blew.
8. Harry Shipp, AM, Chicago Fire
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Week 7 Ranking: 5
Harry Shipp came a few feet away from putting his second goal of the season past NYCFC goalkeeper Ryan Meara.
The Chicago midfielder drilled the left post with an attempt from inside the box in the 51st minute of the Fire's 1-0 victory over the expansion side.
Shipp will face his toughest test of the season on Sunday, when he faces the Sporting KC defense inside the raucous Sporting Park.
7. Bradley Wright-Phillips, FW, New York Red Bulls
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Week 7 Ranking: 7
Just like Shipp, Wright-Phillips was on the verge of tingling the strings in the back of the net, but he met a brick wall in the form of Jaime Penedo.
Wright-Phillips put a terrific chance on goal in the 13th minute, but Penedo denied him at point-blank range. The attempt was one of two put on target by the Englishman in the 1-1 draw with the Galaxy.
Since being shutout from the attempts column in Week 1, Wright-Phillips has 11 shots on target in five contests.
6. Benny Feilhaber, CM, Sporting Kansas City
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Week 7 Ranking: 12
Not only is Benny Feilhaber challenging Diskerud for the best hair in MLS, he is producing at a rapid rate in the final third as well.
The league leader in assists turned into a scorer during the final 10 minutes of the insane eight-goal thriller at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday night.
Feilhaber netted his first strike of the season from the spot in the 83rd minute before he lashed a ball into the right side of the goal in stoppage time.
5. Omar Gonzalez, CB, LA Galaxy
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Week 7 Ranking: 9
Omar Gonzalez thrived against the Red Bulls' high-pressure system on Sunday, as he limited the host side to a few legitimate attacking chances.
The United States international made 12 clearances, five interceptions and four tackles in the draw at Red Bull Arena.
Gonzalez is currently averaging 8.4 clearances, 3.5 interceptions and one foul per game.
4. Kaka, AM, Orlando City
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Week 7 Ranking: 4
Believe it or not, we have realistic expectations for how Kaka will fare in his first MLS season, which is why we're not going to overreact to his mediocre showing in Week 8.
For the second consecutive week, Kaka failed to attempt a single shot. However, last week he had an excuse since the Lions were down a man for 60 minutes.
The Brazilian and his teammates will use Week 9 to rest up before they host New England on May 8 at the Citrus Bowl.
3. Sebastian Giovinco, AM, Toronto FC
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Week 7 Ranking: 1
Giovinco got the most out of his 29 touches on the balmy pitch at the Citrus Bowl on Sunday night.
The little Italian made three key passes, and he provided Altidore with an assist on the forward's second strike of the match.
Outside of a few key involvements, Giovinco did not dazzle like he did in the final 10 minutes against FC Dallas in Week 7.
2. Octavio Rivero, FW, Vancouver Whitecaps
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Week 7 Ranking: 3
In Vancouver's 2-1 loss to D.C. on Saturday night, Octavio Rivero proved to us he can slot into the role of distributor if need be.
Rivero found an open Morales at the top of the box during the buildup to the midfielder's second-minute goal.
The co-Golden Boot leader tried to score his sixth of the season, but he missed out on that opportunity. However, he did record six shots and won four aerial battles against the physical D.C. defense.
1. Kei Kamara, FW, Columbus Crew
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Week 7 Ranking: 2
A strong argument can be made that Kamara has been the best player in MLS during the first two months of the season.
Kamara scored his fifth goal and recorded his second assist in Columbus' blowout victory at home over Philadelphia on Saturday night.
In all but one of his seven matches, Kamara has at least one shot on goal. On three occasions in 2015, Kamara hit at least three attempts on target.
If he continues to provide Gregg Berhalter's side with a consistent threat up top, Kamara could be a viable candidate for the Most Valuable Player award.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
All statistics obtained from MLSSoccer.com and WhoScored.com.
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