Here are Nos. 11-19 of ProSoccerTalk’s weekly countdown following nine rounds of regular season play.
(Nos. 1-10 are on deck …so check back)
19. D.C. United – Finally, a little spoonful of good news: Chris Pontius’ injury does not seem as bad as first feared. And, uh … no, that’s about it on the “good news” front. A 3-0 setback in Columbus is the latest brick in the wall of pressure mounting on the decides around RFK Stadium.
18. Chicago Fire – One step forward (last week’s win at home) and one step, well, not exactly backward. A loss in Montreal isn’t the worst thing, but it’s not what the Fire need to get out of this early season hole.
17. Seattle Sounders – That odd-duck MLS scheduling got the Sounders last week. Just when Sigi Schmid’s team was building a little momentum, Seattle had the weekend off. They face the Union at PPL Park outside Philadelphia in Round 10.
16. Toronto FC – Ryan Nelsen’s team was missing some zip in a 2-1 loss to New York at BMO Field. It’s not easy on the Reds (or the other teams from North of the border) with these important Canadian Championship matches sandwiched in between MLS weekends.
15. New England Revolution – Perhaps no MLS team needed a Week 9 result like the Revs. With Juan Toja back on the bench, Kelyn Rowe and Lee Nguyen played closer to the middle in a 4-1-4-1, and it worked swimmingly in a 2-0 win over Philadelphia.
14. Colorado Rapids – The Rapids nearly did something special in Houston, leading the Dynamo for a spell before splitting the points on Giles Barnes’ second-half equalizer. Veteran center back Drew Moor (pictured above) is back in the starting lineup for Oscar Pareja.
13. Philadelphia Union – Might there finally be movement on Bakary Soumare’s trade request, which goes back to March? He does seem like surplus goods around Chester, PA.
12. Chivas USA – A 2-2 draw at home against San Jose left the Goats winless in April. A trip this week into Sporting Park to face an angry Kansas City bunch is hardly a recipe for a fast start to May.
11. Columbus – A home match against reeling D.C. United worked out about as you would expect, a fairly comfortable 3-0 result against the Black and Red. But who expects the scoreboard to catch on fire?