The Mane Land MLS Power Rankings: Week 19

There were goals galore over the weekend in Major League Soccer as 12 teams found the back of the net multiple times. Wild shootouts took place from New England to the Bay Area as the midway point in the season for most teams came to pass and the playoff picture got just a little bit clearer.

Check out how the power rankings stand as we prepare for the run in for the second half of the year:

1. New York Red Bulls (Last Week: 1)

Luis Robles had a monumental day for the Red Bulls north of the border as the New York ironman made eight saves, including stonewalling Sebastian Giovinco with fewer than 15 minutes to play to keep all three points.

2. Atlanta United (Last Week: 4)

Atlanta took full advantage of a rock-bottom Orlando City side in a dominating 4-0 win to remain at the top of the table. With new Argentinean midfielder Eric Remedi coming in, United can shore up its defensive weakness in front of the back line.

3. Los Angeles FC (Last Week: 6)

Carlos Vela is set to return from World Cup duty but he may find a different-looking attack when he returns. The Mexico international may not have to shoulder so much of the load with Adama Diomande tearing up the league in his absence; the Norwegian’s hat trick was the difference as LAFC cruised over the Union.

4. Portland Timbers (Last Week: 5)

Aerial duels won the day in Seattle as Portland downed the arch-rival Sounders in a wild 3-2 affair. Larrys Mabiala scored the first and the winner for the Timbers (and also lost out to Chad Marshall on Seattle’s late equalizer). PTFC is now unbeaten though 10 matches.

5. New York City FC (Last Week: 3)

The Torrent era saw its first loss as the Pigeons were stunned by Aleksandar Katai and the Chicago Fire. Libyan forward Ismael Tajouri-Shradi notched his eighth goal of the year but it wasn’t enough as NYCFC drifted a little further from the top spot in the East.

6. Columbus Crew (Last Week: 7)

Columbus’ five-match winless streak ended in style as the Crew defeated Real Salt Lake, 2-1 in front of their home crowd. By far the better team, Gregg Berhalter’s side remains solidly in the top four of the East.

7. Sporting Kansas City (Last Week: 2)

Kansas City couldn’t get anything going forward in Montreal. All but two of SKC’s attempts on goal were speculative efforts from distance as Sporting struggled to break down the Impact. KC’s first loss in eight matches opened the door for Dallas to pull level on points.

8. Houston Dynamo (Last Week: 8)

The Dynamo took the week off.

9. Montreal Impact (Last Week: 14)

Fresh off back-to-back victories over Orlando, Montreal extended its streak to three matches with a commanding victory over Sporting KC. A second-half explosion saw the Impact put three past Tim Melia and vault back into the playoff conversation.

10. FC Dallas (Last Week: 9)

It was an ugly performance for Dallas but the Hoops got the job done in Minnesota to walk away with a win. Roland Lamah’s header kept FCD in second in the West (on goal differential) with its fifth win in six matches.

11. New England Revolution (Last Week: 10)

Cristian Penilla continues to be a revelation for the Revs as the Ecuadorian scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season in a 3-2 shootout with D.C. Matt Turner continues to have a stellar first season between the sticks for New England, making five saves and only being beaten by a deflected free kick and a penalty.

12. Chicago Fire (Last Week: 15)

The Fire have quietly surged up the table to sixth and precariously on the right side of the red line thanks to a gritty victory over NYCFC. Questions surround the future of red-hot Serbian Aleksandar Katai — who added two more goals to his season total — whose loan is currently due to expire at the end of the month.

13. LA Galaxy (Last Week: 13)

Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s first California Clasico was a barnstormer. The Swede struck twice in the first half as LA leapt out to a 3-1 lead, but a late collapse and two penalties to San Jose meant sharing the points in Stanford Stadium.

14. Toronto FC (Last Week: 12)

A goalkeeping blunder from Alex Bono on Canada Day saw TFC continue to wallow at the bottom of the Eastern Conference table. Sebastian Giovinco, Jonathan Osorio, and Jordan Hamilton did all they could to beat Luis Robles but were unsuccessful. Toronto now sits eight points south of the red line.

15. Philadelphia Union (Last Week: 11)

After looking like it was all coming together, Philadelphia has been shellacked in three of its last four matches. A 4-1 loss at the hands of Adama Diomande and LAFC mean another week on the outside looking in at the playoff picture.

16. D.C. United (Last Week: 17)

With Wayne Rooney and Audi Field on the horizon, the 3-2 loss to New England won’t sting so badly for United. But the hole D.C. has dug itself with the weary road stretch is not an easy one to climb out of as the Black and Red sit last in the league on just 10 points.

17. Seattle Sounders (Last Week: 18)

The Sounders battled back from two deficits but the third was too much for Clint Dempsey and company to overcome. Seattle’s hopes of making its third straight run to the MLS Cup final are waning as the Cascadian side has just three wins all year.

18. Vancouver Whitecaps (Last Week: 16)

Alphonso Davies continued his scintillating form for the ‘Caps but Vancouver couldn’t find the necessary formula to beat Tim Howard. Brian Rowe was equally excellent in the other net, but an unfortunate own goal was the difference as the Whitecaps drop perilously to sixth in the West.

19. Colorado Rapids (Last Week: 21)

The Rapids needed all 10 saves out of Tim Howard to survive with a win in Vancouver. Colorado’s offense didn’t test the Caps often, but it was enough to force an own goal from Marcel de Jong. After a league-leading losing streak, the Pids are unbeaten through three.

20. Real Salt Lake (Last Week: 19)

After a three-game win streak, RSL is now three games winless. A lackluster loss in Columbus once again has Salt Lake’s position above the red line in the West in doubt as Houston and the Galaxy sit within striking distance with matches in hand.

21. San Jose Earthquakes (Last Week: 22)

The floundering ‘Quakes showed up in Stanford Stadium to go toe-to-toe with heated rivals LA. San Jose went down quickly in the first half as Zlatan and Romain Alessandrini struck quickly, but a pair of penalties from Chris Wondolowski and some individual brilliance from Vako allowed the Earthquakes to claim a point.

22. Orlando City (Last Week: 20)

Orlando dropped yet another match, plunging to eight straight losses. The Lions are hoping new gaffer James O’Connor can help right the ship but he has a tall task in front of him.

23. Minnesota United (Last Week: 23)

Poor defensive marking on a set piece meant a positive performance — with some horrendous finishing — from the Loons yielded no points. Minnesota was handed its third straight loss and United sits just four points away from last in the West.