2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 16

2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 16
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118. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
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217. Portland Timbers
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316. Chivas USA
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415. Colorado Rapids
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514. Chicago Fire
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613. Houston Dynamo
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712. New England Revolution
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811. Toronto FC
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910. D.C. United
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109. San Jose Earthquakes
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118. Columbus Crew
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127. Real Salt Lake
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136. Philadelphia Union
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145. Red Bull New York
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154. Seattle Sounders FC
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163. Los Angeles Galaxy
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172. Sporting Kansas City
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181. FC Dallas
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2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 16

Jul 5, 2011

2011 MLS Power Rankings: Week 16

In the aftermath of all the fireworks and Fourth of July barbecues going on in all corners of the United States of America and elsewhere, the 2011 Major League Soccer season marches on, with a full slate of contests over the weekend.

Back at the top are Schellas Hyndman's FC Dallas, but creeping up on them are the red-hot light blues of Sporting Kansas City. Let's take a look at this week's Power Rankings, which set the stage for another exciting weekend of football.

18. Vancouver Whitecaps FC

A disastrous week came calling for Tom Soehn's Vancouver Whitecaps against Toronto FC. On Wednesday, they lost to Toronto in league action, 1-0 at BMo Field in Toronto, Ontario.

“So many things I feel like we continue to work on and look to improve,” Soehn told MLSSoccer.com's Brandon Timko. “Our possession was much better, but not in the final third. I thought in the final third, we lacked some creativity. There were plenty of times where we could have served the ball in and got into the mix and made good things happen.”

“I think a lot of the guys that were getting time today, we were excited to get in there and play,” said goalkeeper Jay Nolly. “I think our possession was great, but we just didn’t break them down enough in the final third. We didn’t put enough shots on net. Offensively, we just weren’t all together, but I feel like defensively as a team we did alright. We limited their chances. They didn’t have much, but we just need to have more hunger going forward.”

The misery continued for the Whitecaps, who may be blaming Mother Nature for being the 12th man after losing 2-1 in the second leg of the Nutrilite Canadian Championship Final at BMO Field.
Camilo scored in the 21st minute for Vancouver.

“It’s disappointing to lose in the fashion we did, going up 1-0,” midfielder Terry Dunfield told MLSSoccer.com's Martin MacMahon. “We talked about it at halftime, being solid, even pushing for the second goal. It’s easy to say, but we didn’t do it.”'

“I thought we came out sluggish right after half,” Soehn said. “There are certain times when you have to be in focus, starting on a half, ending a half, right after a goal, right after they score. We still have a ways to go to make sure we are stronger mentally.

“We had some real heavy tactics laid out and you can’t get away from them. We booted the ball up the field instead of keeping possession and moving the line up together. We need to learn how to play with a lead.”

Up next for Vancouver are a couple of matches. On Wednesday, July 6, the Caps take on the Columbus Crew at Empire Field in Vancouver, British Columbia. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. PT/10:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by TSN.


On Saturday, July 9, Vancouver takes on the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. PT/9:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Rogers SportsNet One.

17. Portland Timbers

John Spencer's Portland Timbers were left scratching their heads after getting ran over by Sporting Kansas City 2-1 at Jeld-Wen Field. Darlington Nagbe scored in the 45th minute for the Timbers.

"I think we dug ourselves such a deep hole," Spencer told reporters following the match. "In the second half, I just thought we were pressing and couldn't get the quality on the final pass that would give us a chance to score a goal. Crosses into the box were too long and we just couldn't get a decent look on goal.

"[The] guys are on the ropes and we've got to get ourselves back on track. The quicker we get back to getting the first goal and getting a little bit of confidence through ourselves again, that's what we need. We've got another big game coming up, one on Thursday, and then one on Sunday against our dearest rivals."

Goalkeeper Troy Perkins agreed with the manager's sentiments.

"It's quite a hole that we put ourselves in," Perkins said. "I didn’t help us out tonight; I think the first goal is my fault. We just have to find ourselves again and what made us a winning team and get back to our winning ways. I think we'll be okay. We're going to get back to work and sort all this out."

"I think guys need to continue to have that belief that we've got to continue to fight and continue to work hard for one another, knowing that that's the only thing that's going to get us out of this rut," said midfielder/team captain Jack Jewsbury.

Portland will host a friendly with Club America on Thursday, July 7. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. PT/11:00 p.m. ET.

The Timbers will then host the Seattle Sounders in what should be an intense Cascadia Cup clash on Sunday, July 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN.

16. Chivas USA

Robin Fraser's Chivas USA fought to a 1-1 draw on Saturday at the Home Depot Center. Nick LaBrocca scored in the 46th minute of play for the Goats. 

“I thought we started off tentatively; played a little bit nervous early, too many turnovers," Fraser said after the match to reporters. "We certainly have been emphasizing performance and execution and that sort of thing in front of our goals. I think the guys came out a little bit tight tonight and it took us about 30 minutes to settle down and once we settled down, we had some very good moments again.

“I think we need to talk about where we are today and what we’re doing and keep working with these things and get better and better and more precise. I thought we created a few decent chances tonight and maybe could’ve done better with but for us it’s a continual work in progress.”

“As a group, we’re still putting it all together; we’re leaving it all on the field and I think fans can see how good we can be. We’re working to get where we need to be for 90 minutes and we’re so close, I really feel like we are," said goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. "It’ll happen for us. It’s about building and it’s about moving forward and it’s about getting better each game.”

"We’re in the middle of the tournament and we’re almost getting to where we want to," said midfielder Jorge Flores. "We’re on the right path and there are lots of good things ahead for the team.”

Chivas have a couple of matches on tap. On Wednesday, July 6, the Goats take on the San Jose Earthquakes at the Home Depot Center. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Sports West.

On Saturday, July 9, Chivas travel to Livestrong Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kansas to take on Sporting Kansas City. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT/7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Galavision.

15. Colorado Rapids

Gary Smith's Colorado Rapids had a Sunday to forget after being consigned to a scoreless draw with the Houston Dynamo on Sunday at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

"The positives out of the game are worth reinforcing to not only the players, but to [the press]," Smith said to reporters. "For me it was probably the best home display that lacked a goal for a good, good period of time."

"With a couple of bodies coming back into the group, Omar [Cummings] and Marvell [Wynne]’s inclusion, you can see at either end of the field makes such a big difference. Marvell’s pace at the back completely demoralizes forwards to chase the ball down, and Omar’s pace up front, I think against maybe more average center backs, would’ve caused even more problems...But for us, the majority of play was ours, the opportunities… the frustrations are in not scoring."

"I think with the way results have been going for us lately, we want to take a lot of positives out of this game, because we played well<" said defender Drew Moor. "I thought we controlled the tempo, especially in the latter parts of the first half and in the second half, we created the better chances. 

"I’m still disappointed that we’re not putting the goals up. You can’t win games if you don’t score goals, but we definitely have the firepower and the individuals to do that, and that’ll come."

Next up for the Rapids are a couple of matches. On Wednesday, Colorado travel to Livestrong Sporting Park to take on Sporting Kansaqs City on Wednesday, July 6. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. MT/8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Altitude.

On Saturday, July 9, Colorado host the Vancouver Whitecaps at Dick's Sporting Goods Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MT/9:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Altitude.

14. Chicago Fire

Frank Klopas's Chicago Fire could only manage a 1-1 draw with Chivas USA on Saturday at the Home Depot Center. Dominic Oduro scored in the 26th minute for the Fire.

“I want to say that I’m really disappointed in myself,” Oduro told MLSsoccer.com's Sam Stejskal after the match. “I created a lot of chances and I probably could’ve done more in terms of putting balls in the back of the net."

But it wasn't just Oduro that was disappointed.

“We’re really frustrated right now,” Oduro added. “I think we are doing so well defensively and offensively and right now we just want to win games. ... We’re not losing, but a win would be really nice.”

Their next chance to deliver comes on Saturday when they taken on the Los Angeles Galaxy on Saturday, July 9. Kickoff at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel.

13. Houston Dynamo

Dominic Kinnear's Houston Dynamo were left to rue their wasted chances in a scoreless draw with the Colorado Rapids at Dick's Sporting Goods Park.

“I think it’s important today that we came out with a shutout, especially since I think we’ve been playing hard defensively and mistakes have been happening,” Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall told MLSSoccer.com's Darrell Lovell. “Today it came together, and we made sure we weren’t broken down to the point we got scored on.”

“I think we missed our final touch tonight, and that hurt us in the final third, but defensively we were OK and that really helped,” Kinnear told reporters. “Any time you have a shutout, you have the goalkeeper and defense playing well, and that’s a good thing.”

Now, if only they can just get that one ball to move past the end line...

Next up for the Dynamo is a match with Toronto FC at Robertson Stadium in Houston, Texas. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by KHOU 11.2 and TV Azteca 51 on tape delay on Sunday, July 10 at 8:30 a.m./11:30 p.m. 

12. New England Revolution

Steve Nicol's New England Revolution were engaged in a goal festival against Real Salt Lake and eventually settle for a 3-3 draw at Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah. Six yellow cards and three red cards were issued in this wild affair.

Rajko Lekic scored in the fourth minute off a penalty, Chris Tierney made it 2-0 in the 16th minute and Shalrie Joseph scored in the 63rd minute of play for the Revs. Ryan Cochrane was given his marching orders in the 67th minute after receiving two yellows.

“I feel like we just threw two points away," said a terse Nicol to reporters. “To be honest, what made it so hard today was ourselves. I don’t know what to say, I’m absolutely flabbergasted at what just happened...We need to go home and think about all the things we should have done better today.”'

“It’s tough, it felt like a loss," said defender KEvin Alston. "Going up early 2-0 and they’ve got the red card early, I feel like we should have done better with that. We shouldn’t have let them creep back into the game like that. It was tough, it felt like a loss.”

“There were some calls tonight that were suspect," said Joseph. "The red card to start off with seemed kind of early to give the red card, but once you make that decision, lots of cards are going to come out for 90 minutes … but you can’t complain or take it out on the referee. We had a two goal advantage and a man advantage and we weren’t able to pull it off tonight.”

New England's next league match is on Sunday, July 17 when they host the Philadelphia Union at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast SportsNet.

But before that...there's a friendly with a certain club by the name of Manchester United to sort out. Kickoff for that match is scheduled for Wednesday, July 13 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

11. Toronto FC

Aron Winter's Toronto FC made a huge jump in this week's rankings to 11th after a successful week of results.

Nick Soolsma's 54th minute goal was the difference in their 1-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps in league action.

“They were points that were important, but the way we played was not good,” Winter told MLSSoccer.com's Larry Millson. “But it’s important at this moment to get the points. In the first half we had good opportunities but in the moment we are in front of the goal we have to be sharper.”

Toronto had to thank Mother Nature for washing out the first attempt to finish the second leg of the 2011 Nutrilite Canadian Championship Final. As a result of the said divine intervention, they defeated Vancouver 2-1 to win 3-2 on aggregate and represent Canada at the 2011 CONCACAF Champions' League.

Joao Plata scored in the 51st minute off a penalty and Mikael Yourassowsky put the match and aggregate out of reach in the 61st minute of play.

"First of all we deserved to win the game, and it’s nice to win," Winter told TorontoFC.ca's Asif Hossain. "In the first half, after they scored to make it 1-0, we reacted well.  After that, the referee didn’t give us what I thought was a 100 percent goal, the one on the line.  Still, in the second half we reacted very well, as we created pressure in the front, and finally we deserved the two goals."

Said Plata in the same post: "All the time it is good to get three points, but now it’s good to be the Canadian Champions, and now we have to put (in an) effort like this to get the three points every game. We got over the score, and went on to socre our first, then the second, and we kept going and gave ourselves the confidence to get over their team."

Defender Richard Eckersley added: "There are times in games when you do feel like that, like when it was rolling across the line then saved, but you just have to keep going, keep going at it. We did and we got our break and capitalized and got the result. It’s massive, just to get any wins no matter what cup it’s in.  It brings the lads together, you could see everyone on the pitch, we’re all best mates, and we need that because we got two tough games next week that we need to get some points on." 
Toronto take on Nicaragua's Real Esteli in the preliminary round of the Champions League.

In the meantime, two league matches await the Reds, who have picked up German international Torsten Frings. Yes, the same Torsten Frings that screwed the Yanks in 2002.

Toronto travel to Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey on Wednesday July 6. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by TSN.

TFC will then take on the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium on Saturday, July 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and will be televised by GOLTV Canada.

10. D.C. United

Ben Olsen's D.C United fought to a 2-2 draw with the Philadelphia Union at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C.

Josh Wolff scored in the 44th minute and Andy Najar scored in the 58th minute of play for D.C.
"It is obviously disappointing to tie again, and it hurts a little bit more because it was the second one [at home]," Olsen told reporters after the match. "But putting that aside, we brought two new guys into the team this week, and I thought it was a pretty good game overall. It was a pretty entertaining game.

"Overall I am very disappointed for not getting the three points, but I am pleased with some of the performances out there. And it’s not the end of the world. If that [Philadelphia Union] is the number one team in the East, I think we have a good chance. We just have to find a way to close our games when we are up."

The match was the first for Dwayne De Rosario, who was traded from the New York Red Bulls.

"It’s huge, D.C. is a club with a lot of history. You put on that jersey and see four stars, it’s prideful, and each time you put that jersey on you see how hard the guys play for it," DeRosario said. "It’s a mindset, you see how long it takes to win championships, and that’s what we need to work hard each day at training.

"Moving forward, there were a lot of positives to build on. We know that going forward in this League it’s very important to get three points at home. We weren’t able to do that tonight against a tough opponent, a team that is first in the East. That’s why [Philadelphia] are first, they see games out and we have to learn from tonight and build on that. Right now there are a lot of learning curves, and hopefully the guys can look at the game and learn from our mistakes."

As if by coincidence, up next for D.C. is a match with DeRo's former club. Kickoff at Red Bull Arena is scheduled for Saturday, July 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast SportsNet.

9. San Jose Earthquakes

Frank Yallop's San Jose Earthquakes could not hold on to a 2-1 lead and were consigned to a 2-2 draw with the New York Red Bulls on Sunday at Stanford Stadium on the campus of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.

Khari Stephenson scored his third of the season in the 37th minute and Steven Lenhart earned his fifth of the season in the 68th minute of play.

The Quakes have a couple of matches on tap. On Wednesday, July 6, San Jose travel to the Home Depot Center in Carson for a tilt with Chivas USA. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast SportsNet.

The Earthquakes then take on the Philadelphia Union on Saturday, July 9 at Buck Shaw Stadium on the campus of Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast SportsNet Plus.

8. Columbus Crew

Robert Warzycha's Columbus Crew were hammered 2-0 by FC Dallas at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas in the Pioneer Cup. To make matters worse for America's Hardest Working Team, the Crew lost Emmanuel Ekpo and Andy Iro to suspension. Iro was sent off in the 82nd minute after accumulating two yellows.

“I guess they’ve got to decide who gets it somehow to please the fans,” Crew captain and defender Chad Marshall told thecrew.com/s Craig Merz. “If that’s what they came up with, that’s fine — some weird technicality.

“We weren’t playing our best in the first half. We were definitely scrambling. We had our chances and so did they. We knew at halftime our problem was we were turning the ball over and being careless. We gave them the ball on our side of the field and we couldn’t stop doing it in the second half.”

The Crew will be taking on a desparate Vancouver Whitecaps team on Wednesday, July 6. Kickoff at Empire Field is scheduled for 10:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by ONN-TV and TSN.

7. Real Salt Lake

It was a wild Monday night for Real Salt Lake as they fought to a 3-3 draw at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Will Johnson scored in the 24th minute of play, Alvario Saborio scored in the 56th minute and Fabian Espindola equalized in the 83rd minute for his fifth of the season.

“Fourth of July fireworks — that’s what you wanted, right?” RSL midfielder Andy Williams said after the 3-3 draw to Randy Davis of MLSSoccer.com. “I’m sure that the fans are pretty happy, ESPN is pretty happy, but it’s kind of difficult [for us.]”

Nat Borchers was sent off in the third minute as per the DOGSO rule.

“My take-away from the match is that I’m really, really proud of our guys,” Kreis added. “To get to 2-2 and then have another disappointing decision and a free kick goal scored off of that, and then fight back again to get to 3-3 is a huge credit to our group.”

Real's next match is on Saturday, July 9 against FC Dallas at Rio Tinto Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. MT/9:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on the radio by ESPN 700, ESPN Deportes 1600 AM and Juan 106.1 FM.

6. Philadelphia Union

Peter Nowak's Philadelphia Union fought to a 2-2 draw at RFK Stadium. Perry Kitchen scored an own goal in the 49th minute and Carlos Ruiz scored his fifth of the season in the 84th minute of play.

"It was a great effort," Ruiz told philadelphiaunion.com's Judah Levine. "When we're playing on a team who is fighting for the first position, every point away is good."

"I think overall [the game] was pretty back-and-forth," said defender Danny Califf. "I think we definitely had some chances and they had some chances to put the game away and put ourselves out in front, but it feels good for us to go down twice and have the character to come back out and tie the game up. So, we feel good about that."

"I think the important thing is that on a night like tonight when we did not play well, we still got the point," Nowak added. "We came back and tied the game in a very good fashion. The boys are still fighting, so this is a good sign. After half of the season right now it is good to be where we are right now."

Philadelphia next take on the San Jose Earthquakes at Buck Shaw Stadium on Saturday, July 9. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Comcast Sportsnet.

5. Red Bull New York

Joel Lindpere was the hero for Hans Backe's New York Red Bulls against the San Jose Earthquakes at Stanford Stadium.

Lindpere scored a brace in the in the seventh and 85th minutes to give the Red Bulls a 2-2 draw with the Quakes.

“I think we created a lot and it was a very open game, both sides,” Lindpere told MLSSoccer.com's Kristian Dyer after the match. “We were good in counterattacks because we knew that we could hurt them. [San Jose’s] first goal again, our concentration, our own mistake — an easy goal.“

“He’s on fire right now," midfielder Dane Richards remarked. "We want to keep it that way."

Lindpere will look to continue his production with a couple of matches on tap for New York. First up for New York is a match with Toronto FC on Wednesday, July 6. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by MSG Plus and TSN.

On Saturday, July 9, the Red Bulls take on D.C. United at Red Bull Arena. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by MSG. 

4. Seattle Sounders FC

Sigi Schmid's Seattle Sounders didn't expect Brian Perk of the Los Angeles Galaxy to be better than advertised. Case in point, a saved penalty on Fredy Montero en route to a scoreless draw with the G's at the Home Depot Center on Monday.

“I thought we did alright," Schmid told reporters after the match. "I thought the first half was good for us. I thought the second half there was a period of time where they definitely controlled the game. I felt there was about 15 minutes in the second half where we didn’t get a hold of the ball and they kept putting pressure on us. 

"At the end of the game I thought we did alright and we got ourselves back in the game and then when [David] Beckham came on there seemed to be a lot of free kicks happening in midfield. Maybe there is a rule where he has to get six or seven free kicks a game.”

Goalkeeper Kasey Keller believed that the team could have done better with their efforts at Victoria Street.

“Sure we could have gotten more out of it," Keller said. "They had some good chances as well. Yeah it’s frustrating, not frustrating in a bad way but it’s much better than how we have played them the last three or four times so on that side we feel good. 

"They are a good team. They have the most points in the league. There is a reason for that and we came here and gave them a good game.”

Next up for the Sounders is a match with the Portland Timbers on Sunday, July 10 at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, Oregon. Kickoff for this important Cascadia Cup clash is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PT/4:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

3. Los Angeles Galaxy

The whole wide world got introduced to Brian Perk on Independence Day as he halted any potential chicken thieves in electric yellow at the Home Depot Center. Perk's heroics helped Bruce Arena's Los Angeles Galaxy salvage a scoreless draw with the Seattle Sounders.

“It was two teams that were obviously well schooled on each other," Arena told reporters after the match. "It can’t be a sloppy game. It can’t be a game where you lose concentration… you get sloppy, you give up chances. We made a couple of mistakes in the first half and we were fortunate to get out of it. We had a great chance with Angel. It’s one of those games. It’s a one play game. It’s a 1-0 game one way or the other.”

“Seattle did a really good job of pressing us," said midfielder/team captain Landon Donovan. "There were a few times particularly at the end of the first half and at the start of the second half where we did a good job of passing and getting out of pressure, but for the most part they came after us and we had to be a little bit more direct than we usually are.”

So what did the rookie learn from his first start?

“I learned that I was a little nervous," Perk said after the match, "but after the first 5, 10 minutes I felt pretty good. There’s a lot of things I need to work on, but for the most part it was pretty solid.”

Next up for the Galaxy is a match on Saturday, July 9 with the Chicago Fire. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by Fox Soccer Channel and Fox Deportes. 

2. Sporting Kansas City

Peter Vermes's Sporting Kansas City are rising in the MLS Eastern Conference standings after a 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City at Jeld-Wen Field.

C.J. Sapong scored his third of the season in the 15th minute and Aurelien Collin delivered the game-winner in the 19th minute of play.

"What really helped us was getting the early goal – it kind of took the crowd a little bit out of it, and with the second goal even a little more so," Vermes told reporters after the match. "C.J. (Sapong) did a good job at turning it, one thing that's very good in his game as a young guy. As a forward he plays very well with his back to the goal and his turn was fantastic. He had a lot of composure to slip that ball into the back of the net."

So what did the manager think of the assault on the standings?

"When we played 10 games on the road, we completely lost the connection to our fan base," Vermes said. "I think that was a big miscalculation on our part when we went into that 10-game stretch not really knowing what it was going to be like."

"I think it's just confidence," Sporting defender Matt Besler said. "During the 10-game stretch that we had on the road, we thought we were playing well but things just weren't going our way, so it's tough, when you don't get results, to keep your head up and to say, ‘Keep going, it's going to be okay.’ For some reason, right now things are clicking and we're very confident."

"We knew it at the beginning of the season but no one else did," Sapong said when asked of the team's potential to deliver results. "Obviously, being 10 games away, it's tough to get results but we stuck with it. It made us closer in the locker room and at the end of the day, all that really matters is the people in the locker room that believe in each other and it's showing now."

Sporting have some home-cooking on tap. On July 6, they take on the Colorado Rapids at Livestrong Sporting Park. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT/8:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by KSMO-TV.

On Saturday, July 9, Sporting will take on Chivas USA at Livestrong. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised by KSMO-TV and Galavision.

1. FC Dallas

Schellas Hyndman's FC Dallas were all business in their 2-0 victory over the Columbus Crew.

Brek Shea, one of the league's leading goalscorers, recorded his eighth of the season in the 58th minute of play. Jackson Goncalves put the game out of reach in the 76th minute for his third of the year.

“The better you play, the more confidence you get,” Shea told FCDallas.com's Robert Casner. “You just get on a roll. I am just on a good roll right now.

“I’m having a lot of fun out there. I try to create. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.”

“He has continued to develop confidence,” Hydnamn said of Shea. “When a player starts to develop confidence, you’ll find his teammates will pass him the ball more because they have confidence in him.”

Shea has a chance to help FC Dallas become the league leader on Saturday, July 9 against Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. CT/9:00 p.m. ET and will be televised by TXA 21.

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