The MLS season keeps rolling, and things are getting serious, especially for the top teams. After an extended break in league action, just one of the top eight teams, San Diego, won, and the leading team, Philadelphia, dropped points in stoppage time to draw. The rest lost. As we come into matchday 29, the teams at the top are looking for a bounce-back week, but who can make that happen?
MLS Supporters’ Shield Watch After Matchday 28
1st Place: Philadelphia Union– 51 points from 26 games played
The Union scored in the fourth minute against lowly Toronto FC last week. Their goal was beautiful, and many thought this was the start of a rout, but it wasn’t. Philly faltered to break down Toronto’s low block and still looks like it doesn’t know how to dominate a game against a team that likes to sit. TFC scored in second-half stoppage time and shocked Philly.
Luckily for the Union, only San Diego won last week, so Philadelphia stays at the top of MLS. Now, they get to play “rivals”, the New York Red Bulls, for the second time this week. Philly knocked the Red Bulls out of the rescheduled quarterfinal of the US Open Cup late on a Wednesday night, so now they go to New Jersey for their league game. Let’s see how that car-crash of a game plays out.
- Next MLS Match: @ New York Red Bulls | Saturday, August 16 | 7:30 pm EST
2nd Place: San Diego FC – 49 points from 26 games played
The only team to get a win last week, San Diego FC, went to Kansas City and took home all three points in a 2-0 victory. It was their star attackers who made the difference on the scoresheet. Lozano scored in the first half, and MVP front-runner Dreyer did so in the second half. Their team defense shone through as SKC dominated the game in the attacking half, but couldn’t crack San Diego.
Will this expansion side make yet another jump and get to the top of MLS’s Shield standings? They’re already at the top of the West, four points clear of second-place Vancouver. They can get to the top, with a win at San Jose and a Philly draw or loss at Red Bulls. That could happen, but one thing is clear: San Diego is firmly the top team in the West this year and will be a force in the Playoffs.
- Next MLS Match: @ San Jose Earthquakes | Sunday, August 17 | 7 pm EST
3rd Place: FC Cincinnati – 49 points from 26 games played
FC Cincinnati was in the driver’s seat last week. They played Sunday, after Nashville and Philadelphia, and knew a win would put them three points above the only contender that won on Saturday, San Diego. Instead, they got a red card and lost 1-0 to Charlotte FC. Now, they are in third place in MLS, still just two points off the top.
This weekend, Cincinnati heads on the road to Portland to try and right their ship. The main thing in this game is the return of Evander, Cincy’s star, who was a Portland player last season. Can he be the lynch pin to get his new team back to the top of the league, or will the team that let him leave have the last laugh? What a great late-night Saturday matchup!
- Next MLS Match: @ Portland Timbers | Saturday, August 16 | 10:30 pm EST
4th Place: Nashville SC – 47 points from 26 games played
Nashville has exceeded all expectations this season and has been within touching distance of the top of MLS for the entire year. However, they hit a stumbling block last week at lowly St. Louis. A 3-1 loss in which Nashville was outplayed sees them sitting in third place in the East, four points off the top of the conference and the league. Can they turn things around to get back into the thick of the Shield race?
In what could be a playoff preview, Nashville will play NYCFC this weekend. These are two teams in different places in the standings, and before the season, many would have thought these two would be in the opposite position. Nevertheless, Nashville needs to show they belong by getting points from this one. If they don’t, they could be in danger of falling out of the top five.
- Next MLS Match: @ NYCFC | Sunday, August 17 | 5 pm EST
5th Place: Vancouver Whitecaps – 45 points from 24 games played
In one of the wildest games of last week, Vancouver fell to San Jose. Two yellow cards for Vancouver’s Edier Ocampo before the half-hour mark had Vancouver behind the eight ball. San Jose scored early in the second half, but Vancouver found an equalizer in the 88th minute. It looked like they slaved for a point before a 90+4-minute winning goal for San Jose.
Vancouver is still a top team in MLS, but seems to be trending downward. Six points off the Shield lead now and four points off the top of the West, Vancouver may keep falling out of the league contenders and fall into the top 10 area of playoff hopefuls. We’ll see how they respond to falling yet again this weekend as they host the Houston Dynamo on Sunday night.
- Next MLS Match: vs Houston Dynamo | Sunday, August 17 | 9 pm EST
Rounding out the top 10
The teams in the top 10 keep changing places. This past week, Orlando saw a massive jump as they romped Miami 4-1. Orlando is now sixth, one point out of the top five. The rest of the top 10 stayed the same with Minnesota rising, Columbus (who didn’t play) and Miami dropping, and Charlotte staying in 10th place.
- 6th Place: Orlando City SC – 44 points from 26 games played
- 7th Place: Minnesota United – 44 points from 26 games played
- 8th Place: Columbus Crew SC – 44 points from 25 games played
- 9th Place: Inter Miami CF – 42 points from 23 games played
- 10th Place: Charlotte FC – 41 points from 26 games played
With the shakeup of Orlando City jumping into the top eight this past week, while Columbus Crew didn’t play, have we seen a ninth team enter the shield race? It’s still too soon to tell, but if Orladno keeps winning, this weekend they take on Kansas City, our chart of eight teams will have to expand to nine. For now, here’s a chart of how the “top eight” are faring. Tune in to all the action this weekend on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+!
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Tim Lovenguth | Jimmy King | Nate Tennesen
Steve Beavon | Eric Frysinger | Paul Frenzel
Tomiwa Aderinoye | Christopher Babos | Liam Jenkins
Doop on Union fans!
Featured Image Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports
