Major League Soccer Power Rankings Week 3: Sporting Kansas City Stays Strong
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Monday, 26 March 2012 17:23

Real Salt Lake fell hard at home this week, which is something that isn't often said. Sporting Kansas City jumps up one spot after another impressive win. And five teams got their first win of the season.

 

1. Sporting Kansas City (3-0-0, 9 pts.) A late goal from Kei Kamara sealed a 2-1 win over FC Dallas over the weekend for Kansas City. Sporting's attacking weapons and versatility make this team one to watch every week.

2. Seattle Sounders (2-0-0, 6 pts.) It looks like David Estrada will score plenty of goals this season for the Sounders, he scored the opener against Houston over the weekend.Opponents now have another thing to worry about when playing Seattle outside of Fredy Montero, Brad Evans, Alvaro Fernandez and Mauro Rosales.

3. Vancouver Whitecaps (2-0-1, 7 pts.) No shots on target isn't usually a good thing for the home team, and last season the Whitecaps would have lost if that was the case, but this year the team showed some nerve when struggling to create against D.C. United and got a point despite playing sub-par.

4. San Jose Earthquakes (2-1-0, 6 pts.) Where Chris Wondolowski goes so do the Quakes. And Wondo is on fire to start the season. An impressive, 3-0, win on the roar at Toronto was much deserved.

5. Real Salt Lake (2-1-0, 6 pts.) Rio Tinto is more than a home to RSL, it's a place where it devours its enemies. Except for this weekend. A tough home loss to Chivas was not the way Salt Lake envisioned its home opener going.

6. Los Angeles Galaxy (1-1-0, 3 pts.) No game for the Galaxy, just more time for the team to gel together, which is a good thing for a squad that needed a week off to get healthy.

7. Colorado Rapids (2-1-0, 6 pts.) Injuries have plagued the Rapids early in the year, and finally the list got too long. The loss to New York wasn't pretty, but at least Colorado gets to play at home next week when it hosts Chicago.

8. Houston Dynamo (2-1-0, 6 pts.) Seattle showed its class and Houston just didn't have an answer. Well, Colin Clark had an answer for a ball boy, and it wasn't pretty.

9. FC Dallas (1-1-1, 4 pts.) Kansas City just had too many playmakers for the depleted Dallas side struggling with injuries.

10. New York Red Bulls (1-2-0, 3 pts.) Hans Backe gets his first win of the season. It took some home-cooking for the Red Bulls to get three vital points they hope will kick-start their season.

11. Chivas USA (1-0-2, 3 pts.) Rio Tinto is usually a fort, but somehow Chivas USA was able to break that fort for a moment and defend for its 

12. New England Revolution (1-0-2, 3 pts.) First home game = first win for the Revs. Saer Sene scored the eighth-fastest goal in MLS history to get New England its first goal of the season. Then, the Revolution did the best it could with a injury-cursed backline that only had one healthy center-back entering the game, and lost right back Kevin Alston later in the game, to keep Portland at bay.

13. Portland Timbers (1-1-1, 4 pts.) Portland has struggled since its home opener. Thankfully for the Timbers, they head home this week. Bad news? They host a Real Salt Lake side that will look to turn around from a disappointing loss of its own.

14. Chicago Fire (1-1-1, 4 pts.) The fist win is always the hardest. Chicago—like Columbus, New England, Chivas and New York—got its first this weekend. All it took was a home game. Now, can Chicago keep the momentum going forward after beating Philadelphia 1-0? 

15. Columbus Crew (1-1-0, 3 pts.) Columbus took advantage of playing the league's newest team, Montreal, and got its first win of the year. Next week, Columbus gets a chance at a second win over a struggling Canadian team, Toronto.

15. D.C. United (0-2-1, 1 pts.) One point in Vancouver is not easy. Ben Olsen's team played much better this week. 

17. Montreal Impact (0-2-1, 1 pts.) It's never easy being the new guy in school, and Montreal is finding out that no one wants to play nice. Another tough loss for the expansion side.

18. Toronto FC (0-2-0, 0 pts.) League form isn't as important as CONCACAF Champions League form for Toronto right now. Beating Mexican side Santos Laguna is more important, but probably won't happen. The Reds have a tough week next week as they not only Laguna, but also Columbus later in the week. 

19. Philadelphia Union (0-3-0, 0 pts.) From bad to worse. Another loss for Philadelphia puts Peter Nowak's job of building a young side in question. Who will stand up for the Union and get this thing back on track? It's tough to see anyone right now turning this ship around.

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