MLS Offside Power Rankings: Week 14

By: travis | June 24th, 2009

With the SuperLiga now in full swing, there weren’t a lot of changes to the Power Rankings. Colorado is the team on the rise, coming off a rather dominating win against D.C. United. It’s impossible to punish teams like Chicago, New England, and Kansas City because they are dormant in the league.

The bottom saw some movement, as both Dallas and San Jose dusted off the win column at home to score rare victories.

The next few weeks will truly be season defining, as a number of clubs will lose players due to the Gold Cup. Or in some cases, players will refuse national team duty for the regional tournament. Either way, it’ll be worth keeping an eye on.

Full rankings are after the jump. Don’t forget to follow MLS Offside on Twitter and to email ideas and tips to mlsoffside[at]gmail[dot]com.

1. Houston Dynamo
Record: 8-2-4
Previous: 1
Comment: Even a draw against RSL at home can’t drop them out of the No. 1 spot. While they weren’t at their sharpest, I’d expect them to maintain this for awhile.

2. Chivas USA
Record: 8-4-3
Previous: 2
Comment: SuperLiga. Not going to move this week.

3. Colorado Rapids
Record: 5-2-5
Previous: 4
Comment: No Conor Casey, no problem. The Rapids were in fine form after a 10-day layoff, easily dispatching a rather toothless United team.

4. D.C. United
Record: 5-3-8
Previous: 3
Comment: Their 3-0 loss in Colorado was ugly, but considering their record there since 2000, they get somewhat of a free pass. The Gold Cup will cause some problems for them as it looks like Dejan Jakovic and Santino Quaranta will miss some time.

5. Seattle Sounders FC
Record: 5-3-7
Previous: 5
Comment: Two draws in four days not the worst performance. However, they should have clamped down on defense and defeated United at home, and were a bit lucky to escape NYC with a draw thanks to a rookie mistake by Jeremy Hall.

6. Chicago Fire
Record: 5-3-6
Previous: 6
Comment: SuperLiga. Need to return with a vengeance.

7. Kansas City Wizards
Record: 5-5-4
Previous: 8
Comment: SuperLiga — by the way, Jimmy Conrad is hilarious.

8. New England Revolution
Record: 4-4-4
Previous: 9
Comment: SuperLiga. Hopefully no one else will get injured.

9. Columbus Crew
Record: 4-3-7
Previous: 7
Comment: Losing to Dallas necessitates a fall two spots behind two inactive teams.

10. Real Salt Lake
Record: 4-6-4
Previous: 10
Comment: Their draw against Houston is impressive — considering the circumstances as well as the tear that the Dynamo were on. This team has the talent, it’s just a matter of if they can keep their cool.

11. Toronto FC
Record: 5-5-4
Previous: 11
Comment: A week off. Let’s see what happens when they come back.

12. San Jose Earthquakes
Record: 3-8-3
Previous: 14
Comment: A rather ho-hum victory against the Galaxy allows them to jump up two spots.

13. Los Angeles Galaxy
Record: 2-3-9
Previous: 12
Comment: A disappointing loss leaves LA struggling. Because of the USA success, Donovan will be missing longer, and without him their slim playoff hopes look even dimmer.

14. FC Dallas
Record: 3-7-4
Previous: 13
Comment: A win against Columbus sees this team improve to 2-1-1 in their last four. But is it too little to late?

15. New York Red Bulls
Record: 2-10-4
Previous: 15
Comment: Not bad — a draw against Seattle. But how many people actually think this team can make it all the way back to the playoffs.