More MLS action, more power rankings. I’ll keep the breakdown short today, but I’ll have a midseason deep dive next week.
As a reminder, here’s how the OPI (Overall Performance Index) model works:
- Points per game – 30%
- Goal difference – 15%
- Form in last five games – 15%
- Expected goal difference – 12.5%
- Strength of schedule – 12.5%
- Home and away form – 12.5%
- Goals added – 2.5%
Matchday 18 Power Rankings
| RANK | TEAM | SCORE | RANK CHANGE | SCORE CHANGE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC Cincinnati | 25.97 | — | 0.09 |
| 2 | Nashville SC | 25.25 | — | -0.38 |
| 3 | LAFC | 22.79 | — | -2.53 |
| 4 | ST. Louis CITY SC | 22.74 | — | -0.67 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Union | 22.51 | — | -0.57 |
| 6 | Columbus Crew | 20.22 | +1 | +1.52 |
| 7 | Seattle Sounders | 19.99 | -1 | +0.22 |
| 8 | New England Revolution | 17.27 | +1 | +2.27 |
| 9 | Vancouver Whitecaps | 16.93 | -1 | +0.43 |
| 10 | Atlanta United | 16.65 | — | +1.72 |
| 11 | Orlando City SC | 14.16 | +2 | +2.20 |
| 12 | FC Dallas | 12.41 | — | +0.21 |
| 13 | DC United | 12.26 | -2 | -1.78 |
| 14 | San Jose Earthquakes | 10.03 | +2 | +0.84 |
| 15 | New York Red Bulls | 9.31 | — | — |
| 16 | Minnesota United | 8.18 | -2 | -3.03 |
| 17 | Houston Dynamo | 7.32 | +5 | +4.24 |
| 18 | Portland Timbers | 6.17 | 2 | +1.99 |
| 19 | Toronto FC | 5.50 | — | +0.91 |
| 20 | New York City FC | 5.06 | -3 | -1.09 |
| 21 | Sporting KC | 3.80 | +5 | +3.20 |
| 22 | Real Salt Lake | 3.56 | +1 | +1.14 |
| 23 | CF Montréal | 3.12 | +5 | +3.55 |
| 24 | Chicago Fire | 2.98 | -3 | -0.73 |
| 25 | Austin FC | 2.41 | -7 | -2.45 |
| 26 | Charlotte FC | 1.53 | -2 | -0.32 |
| 27 | LA Galaxy | 1.20 | -2 | +0.05 |
| 28 | Colorado Rapids | -1.43 | -1 | -1.34 |
| 29 | Inter Miami CF | -2.57 | -0 | -1.13 |
LAFC hang on to third, but they have the biggest score drop this week after a 0-0 draw at home to LAFC and a 4-0 thumping by Houston Dynamo. Saturday was bad. Really bad. Steve Cherundolo spoke to the media afterwards for just one minute and 54 seconds, and said they “didn’t show up to play tonight and just got beat.”
Houston, on the other hand, jump up five spots and have the biggest score increase of the week. It was a comprehensive win from them, even with head coach Ben Olsen suspended. The playoff race out West looks like it will be tight, but for now, they’re firmly in the mix.
Sporting KC also jumped up five spots, beating Austin FC 4-1. Alan Pulido is back, Peter Vermes has this team firing on all cylinders, and they have the fifth-best record in MLS over the last five games. Their early season concerns are starting to seem like a long time ago. With a strong summer window, they could be a problem for the top of the Western Conference in the second half of the season.
Austin won’t be a problem for many teams this year. They’re in 12th place in the West and have the third-worst defense in the entire league. Things aren’t going great for Josh Wolff.
The last team to highlight is CF Montreál. They also won 4-0, beating Adrian Heath’s Minnesota United, quietly moving up into the final playoff spot in the East. Like Sporting KC, their poor start to the season is fading into the rearview mirror, and have turned into a competent team. It’s a huge credit to Hernan Losada for turning things around.
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