Best and Worst from MLS Week 9

MLS offenses were on fire in Week 9, and so was the Columbus Crew’s scoreboard. A total of 27 goals were scored across nine matches this past weekend—by far the most tallies in a single week this season. League matches were averaging an all-time low of 2.24 goals per match entering Week 9. That number is sure to go up before Week 10.Chivas USA and the San Jose Earthquakes contributed four goals to that total with a 2-2 draw Saturday night. The Houston Dynamo and Colorado Rapids added two more after a 1-1 draw. Giles Barnes' contribution was the most emphatic of Week 9. The Philadelphia Union contributed none, as they were blanked in a disappointing 2-0 loss to the New England Revolution. But neither team made the list of best and worst from MLS Week 9. Read on to find out who did.Begin Slideshow

Week 9 MLS Power Rankings

The most solidified home fortresses in MLS were tested this weekend with the league's longest unbeaten streak at home surviving and another strong home team taken down.Houston survived a battle with Colorado at BBVA Compass Stadium to extend its unbeaten streak at home to 36, while Sporting Kansas City were stunned at home in a five-goal thriller with Portland. Elsewhere across the league, Montreal scooted into first place in the Eastern Conference, and FC Dallas extended their run at the top of the Western Conference. Find out where every MLS team ranks in this week's edition of the MLS Power Rankings. Begin Slideshow

Houston Dynamo vs. Colorado Rapids: MLS Live Score, Analysis, Reaction

MLS Week 9 coverage—Houston, Texas Houston Dynamo 1-1 Colorado Rapids—Drew Moor, 45' +2 (0-1)—Giles Barnes, 66' (1-1)LineupsHouston: Hall; Sarkodie, Boswell, Brunner, Ashe; Driver (Creavalle), Clark (Camargo), Garcia, Davis (C); Bruin, Barnes (Ching).Colorado: Irwin; Mullan, Moor, O'Neill, Klute; Smith (Mastroeni), Powers, Thomas (Sturgis), Mwanga; Hill (Rivero), Harris. Follow Eduardo on Twitter for more insight on a variety of sports topics. Follow @Mendez_FCRead more MLS news on BleacherReport.com

Sporting Kansas City Loses at Home, Despite Brace from Myers

Normally, when your club scores 40 seconds into the match, it's a good sign of how well your night will go.Unfortunately for Sporting Kansas City, that wasn't the case Saturday night as defender Chance Myers notched his first career MLS goal in the first minute, but the Portland Timbers came from behind twice to notch a 3-2 win at Sporting Park in front of a sellout crowd of 20,186.The loss marked Sporting KC's first at home since a 2-1 defeat to the Columbus Crew July 28, 2012.In the postgame press conference, Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes said the uncharacteristic breakdowns on defense cost the club dearly. Vermes said:"When you lose the ball like we did in the areas of the field that we did and then you have to travel so far to win it back, at some point you're going to then open up as a team. And credit to them, they went right to goal and finished off those two chances. The set piece is a set piece but the other two plays, again we gave up the ball in critical areas of the field that we normally don't do. And we (did) ...

8 Major League Soccer Players with Premier League Futures

Players making the move from Major League Soccer to the Barclays Premier League is nothing new. Many people forget that players like Carlos Bocanegra, Brian McBride and Brad Friedel once played in MLS.But as MLS's track record of developing players has improved, it has become a more popular option for Premier League clubs to fill areas of need.Players from North America often come at a discount compared to similar-quality players from Europe. This will become more important as clubs must comply with financial fair play rules.MLS players such as Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and more recently, Brek Shea, Geoff Cameron, Kei Kamara and Roger Espinoza will continue to find their way overseas. Here's a look at eight players who will likely be following the well-worn trail to the Premier League.Begin Slideshow

MLS Upset Watch: 3 Teams on Alert in Week 9

MLS favorites remain on upset alert in Week 9. And just like Trey Parker and Matt Stone, you can "blame Canada" should they falter.Clear-cut favorites are difficult to identify, especially in MLS.So in order make sense of the league's infamous parity, current standings and points per game were considered to determine your Week 9 favorites. Everything else was considered to determine your winner.So, who needs to keep their head on a swivel this weekend? Read on to find out. Note: Stats taken from MLS MatchDay app unless otherwise noted.Begin Slideshow

Beckham and the 5 Most Important Players to MLS Growth so Far

It is an arguable, albeit defensible, position that the most important date in Major League Soccer history to this point was July 13, 2007. It was on that day that more than 700 accredited media members arrived at Home Depot Centre to witness David Beckham’s official unveiling as a Los Angeles Galaxy player. An agreement between the then 32-year-old and the MLS club had already been reached in January, and over the following six months Galaxy shirt sales would hit a record high. Interest in the North American top flight peaked as well, and over the next five years part of Major League Soccer’s identity was tied to the fact that it was the league in which David Beckham took his famous free-kicks. Individual players have always been vital to the continued growth of MLS. While Beckham was obviously the most important, there were others who played important roles as well. The following slides will reveal a handful of those players, ending—naturally—with Beckham.Begin Slideshow

Breaking Down the Red Bulls Victory over the Revolution Using the Chalkboard

In their most recent MLS match, the New York Red Bulls dominated the New England Revolution 4-1. A brief look at two statistics and this would appear to be a more even game than the score suggests.  In terms of possession and duels, these teams were similar.  They each won 49 individual battles and held the ball nearly 50 percent of the time. These metrics are misleading, though, as New York was the clearly superior side.Advanced study is required to determine why New York was able to win so soundly.  So rather than using pure numbers, this analysis examines the MLS Opta Chalkboard from the match.  The Opta Chalkboard displays nearly every touch of every game and reports exactly where it happened on the pitch.  A deeper look into the Opta Chalkboard in this match explains three key tactical elements in New York’s victory. All Chalkboard data gather directed from MLSSoccer.com and powered by Opta.   Dax McCarty and Winning the Midfield Since arriving via trade from D.C. United, many believe Dax McCarty to be New York’s best and most consistent player over the past two seasons.  Marred slightly so far this campaign in trying to figuring out spacing with Juninho, ...

Week 8 MLS Power Rankings

This week in Major League Soccer was all about the return to form of Landon Donovan.Donovan and his Los Angeles Galaxy teammates delivered a dominant performance over Sporting Kansas City on Saturday night in front of a national audience. But that was not the only entertaining moment of the MLS weekend as the Dynamo and Earthquakes both equalized in stoppage time against Toronto and Portland respectively.Find out where those six teams and the other 13 teams in MLS landed in this week's edition of the MLS power rankings. Begin Slideshow

MLS Weekend Wrap: Goals, Recaps and Stats

Week 8 of Major League Soccer was book-ended by two 1-1 draws in which a late goal earned a point for the San Jose Earthquakes and the Houston Dynamo. None of the other matches ended in a draw. The New York Red Bulls scored the most goals and had the largest margin of victory of any team in Week 8 with their 4-1 drubbing of the New England Revolution.Landon Donovan, the legend, opened his 2013 scoring and assisting accounts by setting up the game-winner for LA in the first half and finishing with an insurance goal late in the match.  Welcome back, Donovan.FC Dallas continued to roll with another victory over a Western Conference opponent.Obafemi Martins scored his first Major League Soccer goal and helped the Sounders collect three points for the first time during the 2013 MLS campaign. Philadelphia's Jack McInerney netted two in a Union road victory against D.C. United.  That makes it six on the season for the young American.  He now leads MLS.There was plenty of drama to speak of.  All that and more in this weeks' edition of the MLS Weekend Wrap. Begin Slideshow