MLS Power Rankings Week Six: The Best Defense Is a Good Offense
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Sunday, 26 April 2009 23:53

There was plenty of drama to enjoy if you found yourself watching an MLS match this weekend. The Chicago Fire netted a late equalizer against Columbus Crew, Kasey Keller continued his record-setting shutout streak, and the DC United scored twice in the last minute to shock the New York Red Bulls.

Oh yeah, and Real Salt Lake scored six second half goals against perennial heavyweight New England Revolution.

Keep your heads up though, New England. At least you got to watch Jacoby Ellsbury swipe home plate against the Yankees on Sunday night.

Last week's rankings in parenthesis:

1. Chicago Fire (2)

After a draw with Columbus, Chicago is now the sole undefeated team remaining in MLS. Their defense has been somewhat of a letdown though, as they've allowed more goals than Chivas and Seattle combined. As long as the offense continues to fire, the defense will have some time to figure things out.

2. Chivas USA (1)

Chivas finally suffered their first loss of the season to Toronto FC thanks to an Amado Guevara goal. They followed that loss with a shutout victory over Dallas. Chivas may have the best defense in the league, as well as the best midfield. Is it too early to predict the 2009 MLS Cup?

3. DC United (3)

DC's 3-2 win over New York this weekend should spark this team to some great things. They'll need Luciano Emilio to continue producing, and a couple others *cough* Christian Gomez *cough* will also have to step up as well, but the season looks bright for DC.

4. Seattle Sounders FC (6)

As Kasey Keller goes, so goes Seattle. He's played every minute of four matches this season and hasn't allowed a goal. In the two matches that he hasn't gone 90 minutes, Seattle has surrendered three goals. That shows you just how important he is to Seattle's fortune.

5. Real Salt Lake (7)

Their six-goal outburst against New England has put the rest of the league on notice. RSL has one of the most explosive offenses in the league and want to return to the postseason.

6. Kansas City Wizards (5)

KC was aided by an early red card/penalty kick in their match against New York, but a win is a win. The Wizards find themselves sitting pretty at third place in the East after an undefeated month of April.

7. Toronto FC (14)

Toronto had the best week of any club in MLS, scoring two shutout victories. On Wednesday, they became the first team to beat Chivas in 2009, which is a very impressive accomplishment. They're showing signs of righting the ship and making a push towards the first playoff appearance in franchise history.

8. New England Revolution (4)

Going into this week, New England had allowed three goals on the season. After Saturday's debacle, that number has tripled. That's inexcusable for a team of this caliber.

9. Colorado Rapids (8)

At this point, a draw with Los Angeles is basically a loss.

10. San Jose Earthquakes (9)

San Jose didn't win in April, not even when they managed to score three goals in a match on the 11th. This is a hard team to get a read on. Some weeks, they need offense. Others, defense. The one conclusion we can draw is that they've got too many holes to make a serious run.

11. Houston Dynamo (10)

Houston did not play this week.

12. FC Dallas (12)

After victory last week, Dallas is back to their losing ways. But, they don't move down in the rankings by virtue of some absolute stinkers from other teams in the league.

13. New York Red Bulls (11)

New York had the worst week of any MLS club, losing twice. Loss number one happened thanks to a second minute red card and subsequent penalty kick. Loss number two was a result of two stoppage time goals. Ouch.

14. Columbus Crew (13)

Have the wheels officially fallen off? If not, it's getting close. That's six straight matches without a victory.

15. LA Galaxy (15)

Landon Donovan is counting down the days until his contract is up...I'm sure he'd rather be emptying waste bins for Bayern Munich than playing in Los Angeles right now.

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