The Portland Timbers are about to unveil their revamped Providence Park, but before doing so they added another win in a surge that has them looking very dangerous heading into the summer.
The Timbers trounced the Philadelphia Union to improve their record to 4-1-1 in their past six, a blistering pace boosted by the recent arrival of Brian Fernandez. Saturday's victory helped them jump five spots in the latest Goal MLS Power Rankings.
Real Salt Lake is another Western Conference team on the rise, after downing Atlanta United on a last-minute Jefferson Savarino winner to make it three straight victories for Mike Petke's squad.
It's been a rough stretch for Ohio teams, with FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew a combined 2-15 since April 13, The Crew fell to the Colorado Rapids in Week 13, while FC Cincinnati wasted an encouraging performance thanks to some heroic goalkeeping from New York Red Bulls netminder Luis Robles.
That loss has dropped FC Cincinnati to the very bottom of the latest Goal Power Rankings, in part because of Colorado's second straight victory, which helped the Rapids climb out of the basement for the first time in two months.
Here are Goal's MLS Power Rankings after week 13 action:
1FC Cincinnati (3-9-2)You can point to the spells of encouraging soccer Cincinnati played against the Red Bulls in Saturday's 1-0 loss, but the fact remains the expansion side failed to convert chances, and paid the price. The real challenge for this inconsistent bunch will be to play well again, on the road against a surging Colorado Rapids side.Advertisement2Colorado Rapids (2-9-2)Back-to-back wins have the Rapids feeling good, and also has the firing of head coach Anthony Hudson looking like a wise decision. Conor Casey isn't likely to keep the job, bit he has done well as interim head coach. The Rapids will have to beat a tough Philadelphia Union side on the road to keep the winning ways going, but their home match against FC Cincinnati on Saturday will be a better opportunity for the Rapids' next win.3Columbus Crew (5-9-1)The Crew lost their eight in nine matches, leaving head coach Caleb Porter with no choice but to step forward and shoulder the blame for his team's total collapse. Defensive injuries haven't helped matters, but even they don't explain away the team's current funk. Up next is another tough challenge against NYCFC.4New England Revolution (3-8-4)The Bruce Arena era hasn't formally begun yet, but the fact that the Revs are unbeaten since replacing Brad Friedel as head coach is telling. The New England defense has shown particular improvement, allowing just two goals in three matches. Winning on the road against the Galaxy is a tall order, but Arena should take full advantage of the upcoming Gold Cup break to get a better sense of the squad he is inheriting.