MLS Power Rankings: No more sleeping on Salt Lake
You can only beat the team in front of you, and LAFC did just that in their trip to Miami, compounding misery on South Beach by strolling to a 2-0 win over Inter. Many of the Black and Gold’s rivals endured slip-ups over the weekend, including fellow favorite New England, leaving Steve Cherundolo & Co. all clear at the top. Speaking of the Revs, we’ve been sleeping on Real Salt Lake for too long. After that epic comeback win in the snow of Foxboro, few will take Pablo Mastroeni’s team lightly going forward.
With Week 3 in the books, James Tyler and Austin Lindberg look at the results and break down where all 28 teams stand after a wild weekend of action.
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Previous ranking: 1
Next MLS match: March 20 vs. Vancouver Whitecaps, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Getting three points out of South Florida has hardly been an achievement worth celebrating since Miami joined MLS in 2020, but you can only beat who’s in front of you, and LAFC had few issues doing that in Saturday’s 2-1 win. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 8
Next MLS match: March 19 at Houston Dynamo, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Since getting walloped by LAFC on opening weekend, the Rapids have two wins, five goals scored and none conceded. This looks more like the team that won the West last season. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 7
Next MLS match: March 20 at New York Red Bulls, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Derrick Etienne Jr. was sensational for the Crew, scoring the game-winner (and having one disallowed) in Saturday’s 2-1 win over Bob Bradley and Toronto FC to keep the Crew’s unbeaten start to the season going. Lucas Zelarayan also scored for Columbus to show why he’ll again be must-see TV in 2022. — Tyler
Previous ranking: 4
Next MLS match: March 19 at Charlotte FC, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+
They say soccer is a game of two halves, but for New England, it was a game of 62 minutes and then the remaining 28. Its 2-0 home lead collapsed into a 3-2 defeat against RSL, with Tate Schmitt curling home the winner in the final minute of injury time. This shouldn’t derail the Revs’ season, but it’s certainly a warning in the early going that you should never take points for granted in this league. — Tyler
Previous ranking: 2
Next MLS match: March 19 at Real Salt Lake, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Nashville was so close to recording its second clean sheet in the first three games of the season, only for Dallas to score twice in the closing five minutes. Will the Music City side have the goals to carry on its impressive 2021 form? — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 6
Next MLS match: March 19 at FC Dallas, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Opening the season with hard-fought draws with MLS Cup contenders LAFC and New England earned Portland a place in the top 10 of our rankings, but a narrow victory over second-year Austin (who’s admittedly been reasonably impressive in 2022) suggests the early days of the season could be the Timbers’ high-water mark. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 9
Next MLS match: March 19 at New York City FC, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN+
The Union strolled to a 2-0 home win over San Jose, which keeps them unbeaten in 2022 and was notable for being Jim Curtin‘s 100th career regular-season victory in MLS. Goals from Cory Burke (who converted Sergio Santos‘ cross) and Daniel Gazdag (from the penalty spot) were more than enough to quell the visiting Quakes. — Tyler
Previous ranking: 3
Next MLS match: March 20 vs. Columbus Crew, 2 p.m. ET; ESPN+
You’d think the Red Bulls had a massive win of their own with 18 shots on goal and an early penalty, but Dayne St. Clair had a world-beating performance in goal and Luis Amarilla‘s 51st-minute volley gave Minnesota a 1-0 away win. Just one of those days, really. Regroup and move on. — Tyler
Previous ranking: 5
Next MLS match: March 19 vs. Orlando City, 3:30 p.m. ET
There’s no shame in leaving Seattle empty handed after a date with the perennially MLS Cup-contending Sounders. This may have been the Galaxy’s best performance of 2022, and both Javier Hernandez and Douglas Costa got on the score sheet. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 15
Next MLS match: March 19 vs. Nashville SC, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+
I’ve been sleeping on Salt Lake. Following up a win over Seattle with an epic comeback victory in New England suggests RSL under Pablo Mastroeni might just be for real. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 13
Next MLS match: March 19 vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN+
The expected-goals figures tell the story of Minnesota’s 1-0 win in New York: the Red Bulls had an xG of 3.08 to the Loons’ 0.73. Luckily for United, Dayne St. Clair deputized for the injured Tyler Miller, saving a penalty and registering a goals prevented number of 3.51 – the best in the league despite playing 180 minutes fewer than his rivals. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 12
Next MLS match: March 19 vs. CF Montreal, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN+
It’s always good when you can take points from your newest regional rivals, and Atlanta did just that with a last-gasp game-winner to defeat Charlotte 2-1 on Sunday. Credit to Jake Mulraney for the super-sub goal in injury time, but also to Brad Guzan for a string of crucial stops. — Tyler
Previous ranking: 17
Next MLS match: March 19 vs. Portland Timbers, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Nashville typically keeps everything tight and is quick to snuff out danger, which is what made much-heralded 19-year-old Alan Velasco‘s 50-yard, crossfield run and finish such memorable icing on the cake that was Dallas’s 2-0 win. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 16
Next MLS match: March 19 vs. Philadelphia Union, 1 pm ET; ESPN+
It was a return to form for the MLS Cup champs, who followed two games without scoring by thumping Montreal 4-1 at home. Just get a better banner, please? — Tyler
Previous ranking: 11
Next MLS match: March 20 vs. Seattle Sounders, 4:30 p.m. ET
After scoring 10 goals in its first two games of the season, Austin was blanked in its narrow, chippy defeat in Portland. Another Cascadia clash, against Seattle, stands to determine whether los Verdes‘ true form was in their opening wins or their trip to Providence Park. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 19
Next MLS match: March 19 vs. Sporting Kansas City, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Is this a sign of things to come in the Windy City? Seventeen-year-old goalkeeper Gabriel Slonina racked up a third straight clean sheet, Xherdan Shaqiri was lively and the Fire were clinical in defeating D.C. United 2-0. — Tyler.
Previous ranking: 20
Next MLS match: March 20 at Austin FC, 4:30 p.m. ET
The Sounders’ scoreless streak to start the 2022 season ended at 197 minutes, when Fredy Montero scored the opener of an entertaining 3-2 win over the Galaxy. Seattle’s no stranger to slow starts, and with a squad stuffed full of quality and depth, expect it to rise up the rankings. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 10
Next MLS match: March 19 at Toronto FC, 3 p.m., ESPN+
D.C. created more chances and had more possession than Chicago on Saturday, but none of it mattered as it was blanked 2-0 at home. It’s a slight regression after two wins to open the season, but nothing to worry about: best to shake off and get ready for next week. — Tyler
Previous ranking: 14
Next MLS match: March 19 at LA Galaxy, 3:30 p.m. ET
Orlando had 18 shots and 70% of the ball, but it wasn’t enough to crack Cincinnati’s resolve as the visitors took a 2-1 win back with them to Ohio. The Lions can, and will, do better. — Tyler
Previous ranking: 18
Next MLS match: March 19 at Chicago Fire, 6 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Is it too soon to press the panic button if you lose two of your first three games to start a season? What if you also lost four of five to end last year? Sporting look in serious trouble without Alan Pulido. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 21
Next MLS match: March 19 vs. Colorado Rapids, 8:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Remember that two-month stretch in the summer of 2018 when Darwin Quintero was unplayable? The 34-year-old was that good again this weekend, involved in every dangerous Dynamo attack and scoring both of Houston’s goals in the win over Vancouver. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 23
Next MLS match: March 19 vs. D.C. United, 3 pm ET, ESPN+
Bob Bradley and TFC are still waiting for their first win of the new era after slumping 2-1 in Columbus despite taking a first-half lead. Further darkening the mood: the early injury for highly rated prospect Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, as the Canadian winger limped off after just 12 minutes. — Tyler.
Previous ranking: 22
Next MLS match: March 19 at Minnesota United, 8 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Following a fairly tame 2-0 loss in Philadelphia, San Jose has now allowed the third-most shots against, the second-most shots on goal against and the most goals against. The Quakes are lucky to be as high up the order as they are. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 24
Next MLS match: March 19 at Atlanta United, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Montreal wasn’t much competition for MLS Cup champions NYCFC on Saturday, with the latter unveiling their (hilariously tiny) banner before wrapping up a comfortable 4-1 win over their Canadian visitors. There’s little time to regroup, too, before a CONCACAF Champions League tie vs. Cruz Azul on Wednesday. Is this team strong enough to compete on both fronts? — Tyler
Previous ranking: 28
Next MLS match: March 19 vs. Inter Miami, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN+
After losing twice and conceding six times to open the season, Cincy got off the schneid with goals and a win in Orlando. Brandon Vazquez scored twice, either side of Junior Urso‘s finish, to break a 14-game losing skid extending into last season. — Tyler
Previous ranking: 26
Next MLS match: March 20 at LAFC, 10 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Vancouver scored its first goal of 2022 in the 2-1 loss at Houston, coming courtesy Lucas Cavallini. The Canadian striker is 16th in xG in the early days of the season, so the ‘Caps will hope his nose for the net will see him rewarded more frequently going forward. — Lindberg
Previous ranking: 27
Next MLS match: March 19 vs. New England Revolution, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Ouch! Losing 2-1 at Atlanta will sting, but the fledgling MLS side created a ton of scoring chances and showed grit that shouldn’t be overlooked by the late defeat. Also, props to Adam Armour for scoring Charlotte’s first-ever MLS goal (and to first overall 2022 SuperDraft pick Ben Bender for the assist). — Tyler
Previous ranking: 25
Next MLS match: March 19 at FC Cincinnati, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN+
The Miami rebuild will clearly take some time, as evidenced by their 2-0 home defeat vs. LAFC on Saturday. Gonzalo Higuain was anonymous and Brek Shea‘s red card on the cusp of half-time didn’t help. Back to the drawing board for Phil Neville. — Tyler