MLS Weekly Roundup
September 18, 2015 | Sports,
By: Matt Vereen
Welcome to a brand new weekly KCOU sports column all about the MLS. Every week we’ll be breaking down the previous week’s MLS action, discussing hot topic issues and looking forward to the next set of matches.
I’m not the only writer for this column, so you’ll see some switching on and off of whose writing each week. The good news behind that is if you hate what one of us has to say, you won’t have to deal with it every week.
Enough talk about that, though. You came here for MLS news and I am happy to oblige. Since MLS is currently in its 28th week of action and this is just the first week of this column, I’ve got a lot to catch you all up on.
Here’s where the MLS stands now:
Eastern Conference:
1) New England – 46 points (13-7-9)
2) NY Red Bulls – 45 points (13-6-8)
3) DC United – 45 points (13-6-10)
4) Columbus – 44 points (12-8-9)
5) Toronto – 37 points (11-4-13)
6) Montreal – 33 points (9-6-11)
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7) Orlando – 32 points (8-8-13)
8) Philadelphia – 30 points (8-6-15)
9) NYC FC – 28 points (7-7-14)
10) Chicago – 27 points (7-6-15)
Western Conference:
1) Vancouver – 48 points (15-3-10)
2) Dallas – 47 points (14-5-8)
3) LA – 47 points (13-8-8)
4) Seattle – 42 points (13-3-13)
5) Sporting Kansas City – 41 points (11-8-8)
6) Portland – 41 points (11-8-9)
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7) San Jose – 40 points (11-7-11)
8) Houston – 35 points (9-8-11)
9) Real Salt Lake – 35 points (9-8-11)
10) Colorado – 34 points (8-10-10)
Week 29 has already kicked off as of Wednesday August 16th, but here’s a quick recap of all the match results from week 28 of the MLS regular season (home teams listed first):
Portland 0-0 Sporting Kansas City
The Portland Timbers dominated the game, but KC goalkeeper Tim Melia continues a stellar season with eight saves in the game as Sporting escapes with a point to end a three-game losing streak.
Vancouver 2-0 Colorado
Two second-half goals lift the Whitecaps past the bottom of the table Rapids.
NY Red Bulls 3-2 Chicago Fire
The Chicago Fire blow a two-goal road-lead against the Eastern Conference leaders as the Red Bulls overcome a slow start to dominate the stats sheet with 68% possession and twice the number of shots.
San Jose 1-1 Seattle
A late goal from Obafemi Martins helps the Sounders escape Avaya Stadium with a valuable road point.
Philadelphia 1-2 Columbus
MVP front-runner Kei Kamara nets two goals as Columbus maintains a third place position in the Eastern Conference.
FC Dallas 2-1 New York City FC
FC Dallas continues their climb up the standings as they score two goals just before halftime that prove to be the difference. That’s three straight wins for the Toros.
Houston 1-3 Real Salt Lake
RSL dominates on the road in a must win match between two bottom-level Western teams.
Colorado 1-1 DC United
The bottom team in the West ties one of the top teams in the East… and people wonder why everyone thinks the West is better. DC United hasn’t won an MLS match since August 8th.
LA Galaxy 0-0 Montreal
Twenty-seven combine shots between the two and zero goals. It just wasn’t a good day for finding the back of the net in the StubHub Center.
Orlando City 3-1 Sporting Kansas City
Two goals from Adrian Winter and a late red card to Dom Dwyer lead to another surprising loss for KC. That’s just one point in Sporting’s last five matches. Very similar pattern to last year when they fell from first into sixth and barely squeaked into the playoffs.
Toronto 1-3 New England
The Revolution continue their quest for the Supporter’s Shield after last year’s runner-up finish with an impressive road win against the Reds. Michael Bradley with a horrid giveaway in the box for the third goal.
That wasn’t all the action, however. As I mentioned earlier: Week 29 is already underway! Here are the results from Wednesday night’s matches:
New England 2–1 NY Red Bulls
The Revs pick up a big three points against the Red Bulls. New England is now in first place in the East (though, they have played two more games than NY). The Revs also have an impressive six games in a row and are unbeaten in their last eight.
NYCFC 2–0 Toronto
NYCFC snaps a four-game winless streak against… Toronto? Who’d have thought? David Villa’s playoff hopes remain slimly alive. The Reds, meanwhile, have lost three straight. With matches against the Rapids, Fire and Union coming up though, snapping that streak shouldn’t be too hard.
San Jose 1-1 Montreal
San Jose dominates the game, but can’t take advantage of a 10-player Montreal after a Red card was issued to Ambroise Oyongo in the 49’. Both teams still sit on the fringe of the playoffs in their respective conferences.
Should be an exciting rest of Week 29. Here’s the weekend lineup:
(all times listed in Central Time)
Friday:
FC Dallas @ Sporting KC (6:00 pm)
My pick: 1-1 draw
Saturday:
Colorado Rapids @ Toronto FC (1:00 pm)
My pick: Toronto 3-0
Seattle Sounders @ Vancouver Whitecaps (6:00 pm)
My pick: Vancouver 3-2
Columbus Crew @ DC United (6:00 pm)
My pick: 1-1 draw
San Jose Earthquakes @ New York City FC (6:00 pm)
My pick: 1-1 draw
New England Revolution @ Montreal Impact (7:00 pm)
My pick: 2-2 draw
Orlando City SC @ Chicago Fire (7:30 pm)
My pick: 0-0 draw
LA Galaxy @ Real Salt Lake (8:30)
My pick: LA 2-0
Sunday:
New York Red Bulls @ Portland Timbers (4:00 pm)
My pick: 2-2 draw
Houston Dynamo @ Philadelphia Union (6:00 pm)
My pick: Philadelphia 2-1
That’s it for this week’s KCOU MLS column! Be sure to tune in next week for how all the matches played out and what to pay attention to coming up as we get closer and closer to the end of the regular season. Until then have a great week, folks!