Last year, without any shadow of a doubt, the Western Conference bossed its Eastern counterparts. Seattle and Los Angeles led a bunch of teams who looked the part of superiors in nearly every way.
And the talk leading into this season was that the redrafting of conference lines should only strengthen that supremacy. Traditional powers Houston Dynamo and Sporting KC were now members of a loaded-up West.
[ MLS: Official squashes Johnson to Impact rumor ]
But this weekend’s win by DC United in Vancouver, along with New England’s blasting of Real Salt Lake in Massachusetts, had us wondering how it’s shaking out so far this year.
True to form, the West is leading. Perhaps not to expectations, boasting a 13W-9L-7T record, but leading nonetheless.
Do the numbers tell us anything different when it comes to how Houston and KC have changed things? The Dynamo are 2-1-1, while KC is unbeaten at 2-0-1. Without those teams, the West’s advantage shrinks to 9W-8L-5T, so far backing up the assumption.
Some other interesting facts:
-- DC is 2-0-1, including the win at Vancouver and a home defeat of L.A.
-- Philadelphia has already played forr vs. the West, winless with 2L-2T
-- Vancouver has played five, with a 2W-2L-1T mark.
-- New England has reeled off three wins since its opening loss to Seattle
The matches so far
L.A. 2-0 Chicago
Philadelphia 0-0 Colorado
Vancouver 1-3 Toronto
Houston 1-0 Columbus
Sporting KC 1-1 New York Red Bulls
Seattle 3-0 New England
Houston 0-1 Orlando
Chicago 0-1 Vancouver
Real Salt Lake 3-3 Philadelphia
Philadelphia 0-2 Dallas
Colorado 0-0 New York City
Orlando 0-1 Vancouver
San Jose 2-1 Chicago
New England 2-1 San Jose
DC United 1-0 L.A.
New York City 0-1 Sporting KC
Real Salt Lake 2-1 Toronto
Colorado 0-2 New England
Sporting KC 3-2 Philadelphia
Vancouver 2-2 Columbus
Houston 3-0 Montreal
Portland 0-2 Orlando
New York Red Bulls 2-0 San Jose
DC United 1-1 Houston
FC Dallas 3-2 Toronto
New York City 0-1 Portland
New England 4-0 Real Salt Lake
Vancouver 1-2 DC United
New York Red Bulls 1-1 L.A.
West wins: 13
East wins: 9
Draws: 7
Ahead this week
4/29 -- Colorado at New York City
5/3 --Chicago at Sporting KC
5/3 -- Seattle at New York City
