FRISCO - FC Dallas went 1-1-1 in one of its toughest stretches of the season over the past eight days. Dallas followed a 2-0 loss at Portland in Week 15 with a 2-1 victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup midweek before earning a road point against Vancouver this past Saturday night.
Dallas successfully kept the pressure on the Western Conference's leaders as a result. Dallas is part of a three-way tie for second in the West along with Houston and Portland, who each have played one more game than Dallas.
Ahead of this Friday's crucial Texas Derby matchup at Houston, here's the latest edition of the MLS Power Rankings.
MLS
1. Toronto FC (no change)
2. Chicago Fire (no change)
3. FC Dallas (no change) - If not for a brilliant free kick from a pesky Bug in Vancouver, Oscar Pareja’s boys would be breathing down Sporting KC’s neck for first place – and that’s with Walker Zimmerman shelved because of injury. They’re the best in the Western Conference, and the PRs reflect that.
4. New York City FC (no change)
5. Sporting Kansas City (no change)
8. Houston Dynamo (+1) - If you let them run, they will score. But that backline has a habit of coming apart when on the road, and we're still trying to figure out why Tyler Deric went on a walkabout on the first LA goal.
Soccer America
1. Toronto FC (no change)
2. Chicago Fire (no change)
3. New York City FC (no change)
4. Sporting Kansas City (no change)
5. L.A. Galaxy (no change)
8. FC Dallas (-1) - The eighth goal of the season by Max Urruti gave FCD a 1-0 lead but again, failure to get a second goal proved costly. True, it took a spectacular shot to tie the game but any time you outshoot the home team, 16-6, and don’t win, the aftertaste is bitter.
9. Houston Dynamo (no change) - Still winless (0-6-2) on the road, the Dynamo is getting closer to that first win and left StubHub Center stunned. Mauro Manotas stuck in the rebound of a saved DaMarcus Beasley missile, and Alberth Elis neatly chipped the keeper when played through by a great ball from Boniek Garcia. Six of its next 10 games are on the road, where it has tied two of the last three after losing five in a row. Progress.
Fox Sports
1. Toronto FC
2. Chicago Fire
3. FC Dallas - They got a draw on the road, which is tough to feel bad about in MLS. The good news is it seems like they are still waiting to peak with Mauro Diaz working back into form, Walker Zimmerman still injured and time before they really need to kick things into high gear.
4. New York City FC
5. Sporting Kansas City
9. Houston Dynamo - The Dynamo will feel like they let this one slip out of their hands: LA scored in the fourth minute of stoppage time to force the draw. But the Dynamo were relentless and could've put it away had they finished better.
