There is no doubt that Week 28 belonged to Bradley Wright-Phillips.

The Golden Boot leader netted a hat-trick against the league's best team at Red Bull Arena to move within four goals of breaking the single-season league scoring record.

Over the last few weeks, the Englishman has been in a fight for the top spot in the MLS Player Power Rankings with three LA Galaxy players.

Continue reading on to see if Wright-Phillips snatched the top spot away from Landon Donovan.  

Begin Slideshow

Source: Click Here

If you can’t beat 'em… get them to join you.

International recruits have been integral to the United States men’s national team since Jurgen Klinsmann took over in 2011. Indeed, foreign imports comprised almost a third of the 2014 World Cup roster: Jermaine Jones, Fabian Johnson, John Brooks, Julian Green and Timmy Chandler constituted the German-American bloc in Brazil, while Mix Diskerud (Norway) and Aron Johannsson (Iceland) rounded out the dual-national contingent.

Some, including Jorge Arangure Jr. of VICE Sports, have criticized Klinsmann for focusing too much on poaching foreign talent instead of revamping the development academies. But grass roots changes take time to bear fruit, as was the case when Germany won the 2014 World Cup ten years after then-manager Jurgen Klinsmann overhauled the German development system.

In the interim, it makes sense to recruit American talent—no matter how tenuous the connection—wherever it can be found. If their bona fides are good enough for the United States government, they’re good enough for the national team.

Accordingly, these rankings only consider dual-nationals who (a) are eligible for citizenship but have not yet become naturalized, or (b) are immediately eligible to play for the United States but could still cap-tie themselves to other soccer federations.

Players with a clear path to citizenship (as opposed to those who must undergo a lengthy rigmarole of bureaucracy) are rated higher for the purposes of these rankings, as are players less likely to be tempted by competing loyalties to other nations.

Obviously, raw potential is paramount. Form (taking into account the relative strength of their club) and age (anyone older than 25 stretches the definition of “prospect” and is therefore excluded from consideration) are the principal barometers here.

Lastly, because the United States is desperate for young talent up front, forwards are valued at a premium.

Enough with the transparency. On to the rankings.

*Individual player stats via MLSsoccer.com and Bundesliga.com/en/.

Begin Slideshow

Source: Click Here

With only a handful of Major League Soccer matches left in the 2014 regular season, the playoff races throughout the league are coming down to the wire.

This weekend, Bradley Wright-Phillips continued his goal-scoring ways, Luis Silva hit a stunner and the Portland Timbers took a huge step towards a Western Conference playoff berth.

Read about all that and more in this week's edition of 5 Things We Learned from MLS.

Begin Slideshow

Source: Click Here

After a major victory at Red Bull Arena, the New York Red Bulls deserved plenty of love in the latest MLS Team of the Week.

New York has one defender, one midfielder and a star forward in the 4-1-3-2 setup, which allows the team to have one more defensive-minded player. 

Accompanying the New York trio are a pair from Columbus and a few players that may not have received enough praise over the weekend.

Continue reading on for a look at who made the MLS Team of the Week. 

Begin Slideshow

Source: Click Here

Week 28 was just your normal wacky weekend in Major League Soccer. 

From a shocking performance in goal at the start of the weekend to a game with dual red cards Sunday, there was no lack of excitement across the league this weekend, unless you were stuck at PPL Park. 

The results around the league also gave us a better look at who will occupy the 10 playoff positions at the end of October. 

Continue reading on for a look at the biggest winners and losers from the latest weekend of play in MLS. 

Begin Slideshow

Source: Click Here

With the 2014 MLS regular season winding down, teams are starting to make that final push for the coveted Supporters' Shield, the annual award given to the team that finishes the season with the most points.

In 2013, the race for the Shield was extremely tight with three teams finishing within three points of the winners, the New York Red Bulls. The top of the standings isn't as jam-packed this season as years past, but there are still a few teams that are in great position to finish strong and take home the Shield. 

Starting with the teams that have a bit of work to do, Real Salt Lake (12-6-10, 46 points, 28 GP) and D.C. United (14-9-5, 47 points, 28 GP) would need to put together a nice run to get back in the race. Not only that, RSL and D.C. better hope that the Galaxy and Sounders drop a few points along the way.

Both teams are behind Seattle (17-7-3, 54 points, 27 GP) and Los Angeles (14-5-9, 51 points, 28 GP) in the standings, and to make matters worse, Seattle has a game in hand and a chance to extend its lead.

Salt Lake and D.C. look to be in very bad shape from a points perspective. Their only solace is the relatively weak schedules they have ahead of them.

D.C.'s schedule is manageable, with its toughest match likely being a home game against Kansas City on October 3 (NBC Sports, 8 p.m. EDT). Schedule congestion may pose a problem for D.C. though, with two midweek CONCACAF Champions League games scheduled before the regular season ends.

Real Salt Lake's Supporters' Shield chances hinged on the outcome of their match against Seattle last week. A win would've put them within two points of the Sounders, but a stoppage-time goal from Andy Rose gave Seattle the 3-2 win.

Despite that devastating blow, Salt Lake still has a small chance at winning the Shield. They arguably have the easiest remaining schedule among the top-four teams in the standings.

The parity in MLS makes nothing certain, but games against Colorado, Vancouver and San Jose are very winnable for RSL, not to mention two games against Chivas USA. The only real test on paper will be a game in Portland on October 17 (NBC Sports, 7 p.m. PDT). 

The LA Galaxy clearly have the best chance of catching Seattle, especially with two crucial games against the Sounders on October 19 and 25.

The Galaxy are one of the hottest teams in MLS right now, currently riding a seven-game unbeaten streak.

An extremely tough schedule still remains for LA though.

Similarly, Seattle will also end the season with a difficult slate of games.

The big question for the Sounders is whether or not they'll have another late-season meltdown.

In 2013, Seattle was in great position to take home the Shield with just seven games left in the regular season. It all went downhill from there as they finished with an 0-4-3 record and ended up dropping to fourth in the Western Conference.

Predicting this season's Supporters' Shield winner really comes down to the schedules that these top-four teams have.

If Seattle and Los Angeles struggle with their difficult schedules, D.C. and Salt Lake could easily jump right back into the race if they take advantage of their relatively soft fixtures.

In the end though, it seems more than likely that the Shield will be either the Sounders' or the Galaxy's. Don't be surprised if the winner is determined during the last two weeks of the regular season when the Sounders and the Galaxy play each other twice.

If LA can get a win at home in the first of the two matches, then get ready for what will surely be one of the season's most important games when Seattle hosts LA at CenturyLink Field on October 25 (NBC, 11:30 a.m. PDT). 

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

When we make bold proclamations about certain goings on in Major League Soccer, we are usually never right due to the immense amount of parity across the league. 

The Week 28 edition of our bold predictions looks at a few key games with playoff implications as well as a match that has the potential to be one of the worst of 2014. 

Mix in a few bold statements about key players shining in important clashes and you have all six of our bold predictions. 

Continue reading on to see just how bold our predictions are for Week 28. 

Begin Slideshow

Source: Click Here

With Major League Soccer set to enter a new era in 2015, the United States' top soccer league revealed a unique logo concept Thursday.

As seen in this photo courtesy of Sports Illustrated on Twitter, the upcoming logo is a departure from what MLS has been using throughout its existence:

Soccer Matters on Facebook provided an expanded look at the new logo:

Expansion teams from New York City and Orlando will enter the league next season, making MLS a larger and more significant enterprise than ever before (21 teams total).

MLS released a teaser video regarding the new logo, which showcases the ability of every club to tailor the logo to its unique color schemes:

It is a potentially revolutionary idea that figures to differentiate MLS from every other major sports league in North America.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.

Read more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Source: Click Here

If crunching midfielders, speedy wingers and sturdy center-backs appease you in any which way, you might enjoy our weekly look at the top battles in Major League Soccer. 

With six weeks of play left in the regular season, the hunt for the final few playoff positions will intensify in a couple of places across the league, including Red Bull Arena and Crew Stadium. 

In those matches, there will be key position battles to watch, including one that poses two world-class players against two stingy defenders for a first-place side. 

Continue reading on for previews of that matchup between New York and Seattle, as well as four other massive battles to watch in Week 28. 

Begin Slideshow

Source: Click Here

Head coaches are crucial in sports, but in soccer, they are very hands-on in both training sessions and games. In MLS, a club won't go very far if they do not have a manager who knows the ins and outs of the league. 

This slideshow will feature synopsis of every MLS head coach, and their ranking.  Experience, wins, tactical knowledge, man management and accumulated trophies will be discussed.   

The best coaches possess all of these attributes, while the ones who are ranked lower either lack experience or have not achieved any notable success in MLS.

Begin Slideshow

Source: Click Here