2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 12
As a number of players leave MLS to fulfill international obligations, the league marches on with their most recent slate of matches.
This week, a new team takes over at the top spot in this week's Power Rankings in the form of FC Dallas. Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Galaxy move down a couple of while Real Salt Lake goes for another crack at the top.
Let's go ahead and take a look at this week's Major League Soccer Power Rankings.
18. Sporting Kansas City
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Returning to the bottom of this week's MLS Power Rankings are the sorry bunch from Peter Vermes's Sporting Kansas City, who will hope that Livestrong Sporting Park is a breath of fresh air after a scoreless draw with Toronto FC at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario.
“It was great to get a clean sheet tonight,” Vermes told SportingKC.com's Andrew Wiebe following the match. “The guys have taken it to heart that we have given away some easy goals. I think they realized in the last couple games that it has to stop.
“It’s not up to us to make the game when we are playing away from home. That was really their job. They tried not to get stretched out and tried to play long balls out of the back the whole time. It was a little different than how they try to play normally, which is pass the ball and play out of the back.”
Sporting open their 2011 home campaign at Livestrong with a match against the Chicago Fire on Thursday, June 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. CT/10:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN2.
Sporting will then travel to Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas to take on the team sitting at the top of our Power Rankings this week, FC Dallas. Kickoff at the Oven is scheduled for Sunday, June 12 at 6:00 p.m. CT/7:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by KSMO-TV.
17. Toronto FC
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Aron Winter's Toronto FC check in at 17th in our Power Rankings after a scoreless draw with Sporting Kansas City at BMO Field.
This came off news that defender Adrian Cann tore his ACL during training last Tuesday.
“I can confirm that Adrian has torn his ACL and will miss the rest of the season,” Winter told reporters during training. “It is a disappointment because Adrian has had a good start to the season and has been playing well, we will certainly miss his presence in the lineup.
"While it is difficult there is now an opportunity for younger players like Nana Attakora and others.”
The younger players will need to turn the tide, or else Toronto are looking at their MLS Cup Playoff aspirations go up in smoke.
Up next for Toronto is a match with the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center is Carson, California. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, June 11 at 10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by GOLTV Canada.
16. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
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The Vancouver Whitecaps are one of two teams officially in a state of flux. Last Monday, the team announced that it had officially sacked Teitur Thordarsson as manager, replacing him with Tom Soehn, who is also the director of soccer operations.
Apparently, it did not turn out the way they planned it.
On Wednesday, the Caps drew 1-1 with Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center. Camilo equalized in the 48th minute for Vancouver.
"We had a lot of ups and downs," Soehn told WhitecapsFC.com's Simon Fudge. "I thought we had a really poor start to the match, and they really came at us. We knew they would show a lot of energy.
"But then I thought we found our way into the game and we started to possess the ball a little bit and created a couple really good opportunities. But creating chances isn’t enough; we have to start burying some of them and putting our opponents on their heels."
On Saturday, the slide continued as Vancouver got shut out 2-0 against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.
“This one’s different,” captain Jay DeMerit told MLSSoccer.com's Brandon Timko. “The other ones we showed enough character to create chances and get a result. Today, we just didn’t even really show up to create those chances or even build an attack. It’s hard to put your finger on it right now. We’ll have to look at the tape to see where tactically and effort-wise we got it wrong.”
“It’s been a whirlwind week,” rookie defender Bilal Duckett remarked. “We’ve just been trying to soak up the tactics and changes, but it’s mostly been said on a white board. We haven’t had a whole lot of time to go through it.”
It will not get any easier for Vancouver as they take on the Seattle Sounders in a renewal of the Cascadia Cup on Saturday, June 11. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by TSN2 and Fox Soccer Channel.
15. New England Revolution
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So, how long are the New England Revolution going to keep Steve Nicol as their manager? On Saturday, the club added another one to the L column in the form of a 1-0 defeat to FC Dallas.
“A lot of the problems we had tonight were giving the ball away," Nicol told reporters following the match. "We either gave it away or didn’t give a good pass when we were not under any pressure. We turned it over too many times and away from home, that is always going to lead to the opposition scoring.”
“We didn’t have that much possession," said goalkeeper Matt Reis. "We gave them the ball a lot and they got a lot of opportunities. We made one mistake and [it] costs us the game.”
“We knew that this was going to be a tough place to play and it’s a very good team we came against and the heat was for both teams, both teams had to deal with that," midfielder Zak Boggs added. "The second half was much more favorable for them.”
New England travels to Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey for a Friday night match with the New York Red Bulls. Kickoff is scheduled for June 10 at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.
14. Chicago Fire
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The Chicago Fire are the other team in a world of hurt right now, as they have sacked Carlos de Los Cobos and replaced him with Technical Director Frank Klopas in a caretaker capacity.
“The decision isn’t something that happened in one day or two days,” Klopas told Chicago-Fire.com's Sam Stejskal. “It’s something that involves many different things, and we just felt at the moment that we had to make a decision for the good of the team.”
The payoff: a scoreless draw with the Seattle Sounders on Saturday at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois.
A couple of matched are on the cards for Chicago. They will have one of two honors by the ends of Thursday, June 9 at Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas.
The Fire will either be the first team to defeat Sporting Kansas City at the new ground, or the first team to lose to Sporting Kansas City at the new ground. Kickoff is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. CT/10:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN2.
On Sunday, they travel to Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio to take on the Columbus Crew. Kickoff is scheduled for June 12 at 3:00 p.m. CT/4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by MY50.
13. Houston Dynamo
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Dominic Kinnear's Houston Dynamo never got going in their 2-0 defeat to the San Jose Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif.
“I was a little bit stunned, because we knew some of the results of [Saturday’s] games was a chance for us to pick up some points,” Kinnear told MLSSoccer.com's Jonah Freedman. “The first half was a good show of attitude and determination. The second half was one of those where the first 20 minutes, it was a different attitude, and it was disappointing.”
“It’s a team thing," said forward Cam Weaver "Each person’s got to take part of the blame. We’ve got to go back to work this week and try to find that fighting spirit again.”
Up next for the Dynamo is a match with Chivas USA at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by KHOU 11.2, Fox Sports Houston Plus and TV Azteca-51 on tape delay on Sunday, June 12 at 8:30 a.m. CT/9:30 p.m. ET.
12. Colorado Rapids
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Gary Smith's Colorado Rapids drew 1-1 with the Philadelphia Union at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado on Saturday. Conor Casey scored in the 63rd minute for the Rapids.
"I was disappointed more so that again after scoring we continue to [give up a goal]," Smith told reporters after the match. "At the moment, when we’re nudging in front we’re a little bit tentative. There’s a bit of apprehension and that comes from not being able to close a game out. And we’re six draws on the spin now."
"Obviously we’re frustrated," said midfielder Jamie Smith. "We could have beaten them. We don’t want to tie games, especially when we’re at home. I’m not too sure what it is, but I don’t think we’re at a point where we can worry about it.
"I think we just need to concentrate on what we’re good at doing, which is passing the ball and creating chances. We’ve not been doing that lately. And once we do I think we’ll be good."
A string of six straight draws put the Rapids on the make in terms of MLS Cup Playoff contention. Colorado will look to snap this dry spell when they take on the Portland Timbers at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, Oregon. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, June 11 at 8:30 p.m. MT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Altitude and Galavision.
11. Portland Timbers
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John Spencer's Portland Timbers did not have a weekend to remember at the Home Depot Center. While it wasn't as bad as their last trip to Victoria Street, it was still a defeat, this time in the form of a 1-0 shutout loss to Chivas USA.
Despite the defeat, the Timbers manager put their time at the HDC in perspective.
“We’ve lost two games in the last two weeks, and it’s the first time since the first couple games of the season," Spencer told reporters after the match. "Chivas USA get a lot of praise for the way they’re playing. We’re sitting tonight after two losses tied on 17 points, if you look at the other conference New York is probably on 18 or 19 points. We’re in good shape.
"I said to the guys, ‘don’t be happy that we lost, I don’t expect you’d be happy that we lost’. Could we play better? I know we can. But for a new team we aren’t doing so bad.”
"I just think it’s one of those things where we’re learning still," said goalkeeper Troy Perkins. "Everyone thought everything was sunshine and rainbows, we were winning at home and we go to Seattle and do well, but it’s a tough league. We still have a lot of games left and a lot of road games left. So we can’t be hanging our heads and feeling bad for ourselves.”
More comfortable surroundings await the Timbers when they host the Colorado Rapids at Jeld-Wen Fielod on Saturday, June 11. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by ROOT Sports and Galavision.
10. Seattle Sounders FC
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Sigi Schmid's Seattle Sounders were forced to settle for a scoreless draw against the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park.
“Obviously we’re happy to get a point. I thought we did a good job defending, Kasey had to come up with some big saves,” Schmid told SoundersFC.com's Matt Gaschk. “But at the end of the day we’re playing a team that’s motivated, we’re playing a new coach, and to come away with a point is not that bad.”
Seattle will look to get back on the winning track when they host the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, June 11 at Qwest Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.
9. Columbus Crew
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Robert Warzycha's Columbus Crew managed a 1-1 draw with a weakened New York Red Bulls outfit at the Red Bull Arena. SuperDraft selection Rich Balchan opened his scoring account in the second minute of second-half stoppage time to salvage the draw.
“I think we played well enough to deserve a point,” Warzycha told thecrew.com's Craig Merz. “I think we were a good attacking team. I think we were going for the goal.”
“There’s nothing better than my roommate, Rich Balchan getting on the end for his first goal,” fellow SuperDraft selection Justin Meram. “I’m very proud of him.”
“I knew the game was coming to an end and I saw Justin make a beautiful run,” Balchan said. “I had what was left of me and made a run and left it on the field. There’s no time to think. It’s all reactive. The ball was put perfectly on my foot. I opened my foot up a little bit and put it far post.
“I don’t do much finishing in practice. I don’t know what happened. I hit the ball and it went in.”
“The rookies came in with a last-minute goal and caught them by surprise,” Dilly Duka said to sum it all up.
More work from the up-and-comers will be needed as Columbus have a couple of home matches on tap. On Wednesday, June 8, the Crew host Real Salt Lake at Columbus Crew Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by ONN-TV.
On Sunday, June 12, Columbus host the Chicago Fire. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by ONN-TV.
8. Red Bull New York
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Hans Backe's New York Red Bulls checked into Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel after wasting a would-be 1-0 victory in stoppage time en route to a 1-1 draw with the Columbus Crew at Red Bull Arena.
Mehdi Ballouchy scored for New York in the ninth minute of play.
“Hard stuff for us to lose two points like that,” Backe told MLSSoccer.com's Kristian Dyer. “We should have closed it down the final two minutes.”
“Everyone is fuming in there,” Luke Rodgers said. “There’s a lot of arguing.”
“[We’re] disappointed,” Ballouchy added. “I think our biggest challenge right now is to get our heads up.”
As the Red Bulls continue to look for answers, they have a Friday night encounter with the New England Revolution on tap. Kickoff at Red Bull Arena is scheduled for June 10 at 8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.
7. Chivas USA
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Robin Fraser's Chivas USA had a good, if modest, week, with four out a possible six points secured.
On Wednesday, the Goats settled for a 1-1 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps. Nick LaBrocca scored in the 46th minute for Chivas.
Fraser was not pleased by the team's performance.
"This is disappointing for us," Fraser told reporters following the contest. "We were too passive, mostly in the first half. I give Vancouver credit- they were very organized defensively and weren’t easy to penetrate. On the whole, we weren’t progressive enough in terms of looking to get behind them.
"We played the whole 45 minutes in front of them so that set up for a difficult second half and we came out with a better mind set, scoring an early goal- Nick with a very good aggressive run and his decision to shoot was excellent. Obviously, I’m not happy we gave up another lead and to play 23 minutes a man up and to not be able to take advantage of that was disappointing."
"It’s been two games in a row where we’ve allowed a lead slip away and being up a man in the last 25 minutes it was disappointing," said midfielder Ben Zemanski, "but we have three days to turn it around and get a win."
"Every time you play at The Home Depot," added forward Justin Braun, "you try to get three points especially when you’re up a man for 20 minutes, we should have gotten a goal and we were pushing for it, but it didn’t come.
"It’s definitely disappointing but we have to put it behind us; we have another game coming up on Saturday night and we’re going to come out and do what we’re supposed to do and get the three points."
Better fortunes beckoned for Chivas when they took on the Portland Timbers. Marcos Mondaini scored in the 70th minute of play to give the Goats a 1-0 victory over Portland.
"A 1-0 victory seems like not that big of a deal, but the way we went about it, I was really proud," Fraser told the press after the match. "We put ourselves into dangerous positions often that we could’ve scored maybe a goal or two more, but I just felt like our mindset was right, and that’s the way it has to be."
"Our team played very good from the beginning," said midfielder Paulo Nagamura. "Put their team in their back foot, this was definitely a well-deserved three points. We proved ourselves that we are a better team. Tonight, we just made another statement. We just proved that we can be a very good team and are very happy with the way the game ended."
Up next for Chivas USA is a match with the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, June 11 at 5:30 p.m. PT/8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by KWHY and Fox Sports Prime Ticket.
6. D.C. United
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Ben Olsen's D.C. United had a flurry of chances to get one past the end line, but it never worked out for them, as they settled for a scoreless draw with the Los Angeles Galaxy at the Home Depot Center.
Despite the result, Olsen was able to channel his inner Perry Como and accentuate the positives.
"I think overall we are pretty excited that in the last two games we get four points on the road," Olsen told reporters following the contest. "I am a little disappointed in not getting three points today. I thought we had some good chances. If only we were a little bit sharper in the final third.
"We are a little happier right now. Good trip. But, still, you know, we need to get those (three points). We need to start doing that. But, again, I am overall pretty happy."
"I think overall we played a pretty good game on the road minus finishing in the final third," said midfielder Chris Pontius. "That is what the game comes down to we didn't finish our chances tonight. We walk out of here with a point against the best team in the league and I think that is a pretty good result."
"We are happy with the four points we are taking to D.C.," added midfielder Andy Najar. "Now we look forward to the game we have next Saturday against San Jose. We have to wait and see what happens."
Kickoff between D.C. and the San Jose Earthquakes at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. is scheduled for Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast Sportsnet.
5. San Jose Earthquakes
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No Wondo? No problemo.
Frank Yallop's San Jose Earthquakes defended their home turf and shut out the Houston Dynamo 2-0. Steven Lenhart opened his scoring account in the 69th minute while Simon Dawkins earned his third of the season in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.
“We’ve got very talented forwards on this team,” Quakes goalkeeper Jon Busch told MLSSoccer.com's Geoff Lepper. “Obviously, Wondo’s been fantastic for us so far this season, but we’ve got other players that have stepped up, especially tonight...Yes, we miss Wondo, but we have to get on with the game. We can’t complain about it.”
“When people around the league look at our team, it looks like a one-man show at times,” defender Jason Hernandez said. “You can’t deny what [Wondolowski] has done. For us to not have him and Ryan Johnson, who’s another important piece, go against a tough Houston team and get a result, I think it says a lot about the first guy all the way to the last guy in our lineup.”
“This shows that we can win sometimes even without our best players,” Dawkins said. “I was really pleased with that.”
Up next for San Jose is a match with D.C. United at RFK Stadium is scheduled for Saturday, June 11 at 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast SportsNet Bay Area.
4. Philadelphia Union
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After a 1-1 draw in a friendly with Reading United, Peter Nowak's Philadelphia Union were held to another 1-1 draw with the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.
Danny Mwanga scored in the 66th minute for the Union. The goal was his fourth of the year.
“The PK call [converted by Colorado's Conor Casey] was kind of questionable,” Mwanga told MlsSoccer.com's Dave Zeitlin, “but we knew we just had to keep our head up and keep fighting until the end of the game.”
“We were a little disappointed not to get three points,” Nowak said. “But you cannot be too greedy coming here.”
That might change when Real Salt Lake come to town on Saturday, June 11 at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by 6abc.
3. Los Angeles Galaxy
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All good winning streaks must come to an end at some point in time. For Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy, theirs came due to what the team considered one of the worst performances of the season.
At least it was only a scoreless draw with D.C. United. Only. For Arena and the players, it was just as bad as a defeat, if not worse.
"Tonight’s performance was absolutely poor," a disgusted Arena told reporters. "You have to give our opponent some credit, but it was poor. There was no quality to our game tonight. Passing was poor. Effort was just okay. We just didn’t get it done. There are no excuses—it was just a poor performance.”
“We started flat," said midfielder David Beckham, donning the captain's armband for the month due to Landon Donovan's absence as a result of CONCACAF Gold Cup obligations. "I don’t think that we passed the ball well. We didn’t create space. I think it just went through the whole game. We didn’t have a moment—we did create a couple of good chances, but its just one of those nights where we didn’t play well.”
“Why we came out that way? I don’t know," defender Todd Dunivant said. "Guys who didn’t play the previous week where we had the three games didn’t play either. Heavy legs, tired legs, we didn’t have a good performance. And properly at the end of the night, we didn’t deserve three points, but we got one, so I take that as a positive.
"It just seemed like we were sluggish all night. Maybe its fatigue from all the games, but we can’t use that as an excuse. We were really slow on the ball. We couldn’t play our game. We weren’t able to hold the ball up. Credit to them, they took us out of our rhythm and kind of killed the game.”
"It’s...one of the worst games we’ve played since [Real] Salt Lake," said defender Omar Gonzalez. "I think we just came out flat and I just think to be honest we’re just a little bit tired from three games in one week. Overall it was just us being flat and being slow mentally. Me, I was just slow tonight. I didn’t win many balls I should’ve won, I just didn’t run tonight. Going forward we just got to plan and look forward to next game and get the three points.”
“We didn’t play well," added forward Miguel Lopez. "I felt very tired because I have been playing a lot but that’s no excuse. We couldn’t turn the game around and we didn’t have many chances on goal. I am looking forward to this week. I will review what I did wrong.”
The whole team may want to look at the game film this week, because up next is another team they have failed to produce against in recent memory: Toronto FC.
Kickoff at the Home Depot Center is scheduled for Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports Prime Ticket.
2. Real Salt Lake
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Jason Kreis's Real Salt Lake got right on Saturday against the Vancouver Whitecaps and prevailed, 2-0.
Jean Alexandre opened his scoring account in the 32nd minute while Fabian Espindola added a second in the 79th minute of play.
“Tonight was a step in the right direction," Kreis told reporters after the match. "The guys played with a competitive spirit from minute one to minute ninety. They did a lot of really positive things in my book. Still room for improvement, still a couple of steps forward to make.”
"[Winning at home is] important," said Real midfielder Kyle Beckerman. "We’ve worked really hard for a couple years to get that winning mentality here. It’s been a while since we’ve gone through a rough patch and had all of these injuries—and Gold Cup [absences]—so tonight was big just to get back in the winning column.”
Real Salt Lake continues its catching-up with the rest of the teams with a couple of matches. On Wednesday, June 8, RSL take on the Columbus Crew at Crew Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MT/7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by KMYU 2.2, Comcast 22 and Dish Network 12.
On Saturday, June 11, Real take on the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. MT/4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by KMYU 2.2, Comcast 22 and Dish Network 12.
1. FC Dallas
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The Hoops are back on top.
Marvin Chavez opened his scoring account in the 69th minute to give Schellas Hyndman's FC Dallas a 1-0 victory over the New England Revolution at Pizza Hut Park.
“It was really a good performance on FC Dallas’ part," Hyndman told reporters following the game. "The thing we didn’t do is in the first half we didn’t put away our opportunities. That always makes a team and especially the coaches very nervous because when you don’t finish your opportunities, you get frustrated and the opposition starts to believe you can’t score. So they start to throw more people forward.
"This was one of those games that if you don’t win, you make a mistake and they score… one of those games that you just hate yourself and you can’t sleep because it’s a game you should have won [based on] the way you played. The shots were 16-3. That should tell you something about the game itself. Our boys came out in the second half as focused as they were in the first.”
"We were very persistent," said goalkeeper Kevin Hartman. "We continued to attack and possess the ball. We played them in a pretty hostile environment in terms of the heat, and it really worked to our advantage."
"We just stayed organized tonight, kept up the communication and helped each other," defender ugo Ihemelu added. "It all starts with communication and I think we've been getting better at it as the season progresses and that's been crucial to our success so far."
FC Dallas will host Sporting Kansas City at Pizza Hut Park on Sunday, June 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CT/7:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports Southwest.
