FRISCO – It was a short ride for Dallas sitting at second in the table. One week after dropping, they jumped right back into first place after a 2-1 win over Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The loss for Vancouver knocked them down to eighth in the table, making it an uphill battle to get to the playoffs.
Dallas now holds a two-point lead over Sporting KC with just five matches remaining. Kansas City's lost to the Philadelphia Union 2-0 this weekend, giving up both goals in the game's final 20 minutes. The loss was only Sporting's second defeat since July 29. It will host Real Salt Lake this weekend as it tried to keep pace with Dallas.
LAFC only trails Sporting by one point after they took care of the last-place San Jose Earthquakes, winning 2-0. Walker Zimmerman scored a brace in the match, heading in two corner kicks. The pair was his first two goals of the season. LAFC heads to Chicago on Saturday to take on the Fire.
Portland made the biggest jump in the standings this week, moving up from sixth place to fourth after picking up three points this week. It had a 3-2 midweek win over Columbus to get to 47 points and had a chance to hit 50 on Saturday, but lost on the road to Minnesota 3-2. It will host FC Dallas on Saturday as it looks to continue to climb the standings.
Real Salt Lake and Seattle both dropped one spot in the standings after losses. RSL lost 2-0 to Atlanta United FC on the road and Seattle dropped two matches this week. It lost 1-0 to Philadelphia in its first match, giving up the game's only goal in stoppage time, then lost 3-0 on the road to the LA Galaxy. Seattle is only three points clear of the Galaxy, but it has a very good chance to pick up points this week, hosting the Colorado Rapids on Saturday.
