After 12 games played its currently a tale of two completely different conferences. On one side you have the Eastern Conference where the top 3 have all the points and 4th place is 18 points out of the playoff race, meanwhile, if NY Redbulls had been in the Eastern Conference they could be within 10 points of 1st place as Colorado leads the conference with only 16 points. Is once conference full with 3 powerhouses, or is the other conference just full of 4 super competitive teams. Only time and competitions like the US Open Cup and MLS Playoffs will tell us. Lets take a deeper look at each team as well as the US Open cup and current statistical leaders. First with the Eastern Conference. D.C. United- 29 Points Owner: Dox Thibeault GM: Kosta x23 CPT: Vieira l 9 l The clear front runner since bidding was finished despite the less than impressive knockout round exit of the Pre Season Cup. Week 1 saw United start strong with 3 wins and a draw to Conference, discord chat, and managerial rivals. Week 2 brought this powerhouse back down to earth with DC going 2-1-1. This dropped them into a tie in 2nd place, causing a bit of turmoil in the DC locker room. With a few trades and player movement in the team week 3 saw an incredible return in form with 4 straight wins in tune to 20 goals for and only 2 against with 3 clean sheets. Player Spotlight lxStonexl and Vieira l 9 l: With the likes of Dox Thibeault, EVOLZx8, Vieira l 9 l of strikers listed on the roster after bidding some questions were out on who would lead this team at striker. This conversation was put to bed quickly. These 1st 3 weeks have seen these 2 combine for 28 goals and 19 assists. lxStonexl is leading with 19 goals and 6 assists while his partner has put in a great season so far with 9 goals and 13 assists. If anyone wants to compete the rest of the season in league or cup play they will have to slow these 2 down. Key Departures GK- Bauer l 43 l: Top rated GK Bauer was sent to Houston Dynamo for a whopping 9.5mil and LukeScheff Orlando City SC- 26 Points Owner: NYYFan10 GM: Frosty l17l CPT: ORod80 Orland City a team run by a relative newcomber to LGFA in just his second season NYYFan10 has come out the beginnning of this season playing top teir futbol. This team is anchored by names like Icon Baggio, Icon Messi, ORod80, and more. Similar to DC Orlando started strong with 3 wins and 1 loss, however in week 2 had to settle for 2 wins and 2 losses. With week 3 rolling around Orlando managed to get back to winning with 3 straight wins and waiting to play a rescedule game against NY Red Bulls. These 3 weeks see them just 3 points from United with 1 game less played. Player Spotlight Icon Baggio: Baggio has been crucial in this hot start for Orlando and trying to make his case for Ballon d'Or racking up 13 goals with 25 shots, 3 assists and 14 key passes. He will also be looking to try and catch the likes of current golden boot leader from United. Keep an eye on Baggio as he has the ability to score and score often. New England Revolution- 24 Points Owner: x CJ 12 GM: FodusCaralho CPT: x Zlatty Revolution currently 3rd place in the Eastern Conference is filled with newcombers and vets alike. This team has the ability to make a run at any point against any team and come up with a big win, however at the same time this team has come out flat in some games leading to some inconsistences thus far. Week 1 started with 2 wins and 2 draws, a good week, but nothing special, and not what will be needed to with the league. Week 2 saw a much more impressive set of fixtures with 3 straight wins and a draw outscoring opponents 12 to 3. A regression in week 3 with 2 wins and 2 losses is what has them in 3rd. A few big wins against Orlando and DC will be needed in order for them to take the top spot. Player Spotlight x Zlatty: While trying not to give spotlight to front office players its hard not to give some insight on Zlatty. Currently top 3 in goals scored with 12 goals, he has also helped the team with 5 assists, 15 key passes all in route to 4 man of the matches. BIGgirlsNEEDlov: Its hard not to atleast give a mention to Revs GK. Though he does have 11 goals against in 10 games, it could be much worse for this team as they have given up 43 shots. Look for the revs to try and find a way to sure up the defense in order to string some wins together. New York Red Bulls- 6 Points Owner- Zdeno x 17 GM- RiCo505 CPT- Kometstickboy96 This team is in an interesting position. With 6 points, making top 3 in the Eastern Conference to make playoffs is unlikely without a lot of help. Having this Conference makes this team look that bad, however with 6 points if they were in the Western Conference they would be only 11 points from 1st and 4 points from 3rd. This team needs help everywhere to get any kind of consistent play. To look at a positive look right now this team could still string together a few wins in group stage of the US Open Cup and get something from this season. It may be a long shot, but crazier things have happened. It really is unfortunate that this team is not in the Western Conference because after seeing them get a big win of DC, they easily have the ability to compete in the West. Player Spotlight Rielly l44l: This team has had its issues offensively and defensively and despite giving up over 2 goals a game Rielly has taken almost 60 shots and only given up 16 goals. Say what you want about the team, but will someone get this man some defense in front of him. Western Conference Colorado Rapids- 16 Points Owner- M4CK EH GM- Amendment64 CPT- l KC97 l In a super tight back and forth race in the Western Conference, Colorado was able to edge just ahead of Houston at the end of week 3. When this season got underway and I was looking at the management teams I was suprised to see the likes of two old fifa buddies of mine M4CK Eh and l KC97 l. I wasnt sure how they were going to do being away from the competitive scene for so long, but they have put together a solid roster. Despite the roster, the cobwebs were aparent to start the scent Week 1 1 win and 3 losses and week 2 1 win 2 losses and a draw. However, week 3 seems to have found a rythm putting together 3 wins and 1 loss. Colorado will need to find a way to continue this consistency in order to fight of the rest of their conference. Player Spotlight LFc Tex: LFc Tex a fifa competitive vet has played will for Colorado through 3 weeks with 2 goals and 5 assists, however his 10 key passes will have him hopping that his teammates can start finding the back of the net and turning those key passes into assists as the season moves forward. Houston Dynamo- 15 Points Owner- BIGxShon GM- Gnora x 14 CPT- Jcb0304 The Dynamo saw return of previous front office players BIGxShon and Gnora x 14. Looking to make a bigger impact this season around in MLS they went aggressive with forming their team even a week 2 trade for top rate GK Bauer l 43 l. Inconsistent play has led to 3 mediocre weeks so far with just 1 win in week 1, 2 in week 2 in 1 in week 3. Benefiting some from a weaker conference has allowed them to hold steady in 2nd place here, but they will need to find some more consistency in order to compete for the league and cup moving forward. Player Spotlight Bauer l 43 l: Top GK in the league Bauer came over from DC early in the season for the large price of 9.5 mil as well as GK LukeScheff. His impact has been felt immediately on the defensive end of the field, however he will need some help in front of him if this team wants to string together some wins as he has had 29 shots on him in just 6 games. Montreal Impact: 10 Points Owner: l39Lagace39l GM: JoeMagz CPT: FireRescue0912 3rd place Montreal is a team that, on paper, is performing how many thought they would. A lot of new names and players that might not be put in anyones top 5 list has left this team with a 3-1-8 record. Lucky for them, they are in a Western Conference that is more competitive top to bottom which is keeping them in the hunt for making the MLS playoffs at the end of the season. Their 3 wins currently coming from the two 4th place teams will not help their case in the long run, so this ownership team will need to try and make some moves and shake up this roster if they want to win any hardware this season. Player Spotlight LukeScheff: Luke has been on the move quite a bit this season, but depending on what ownership decides to do, he may be part of the answer. Despite his constant movement from team to team he has gotten 7 starts in net posting a 3-1-3 record. Nothing spectacular until you look at some stats. Luke has just 3 goals against him with 20 saves for over an 85% save percentage. If this team can figure out the peices around the pitch they could make a late run. LA FC: 9 Points Owner: Marijuano626 GM: XPrEttYBOY818X CPT: lxGhostxl At this point i feel myself sounding like a broken record. This team may not be great, but in this conference they still somehow are in it despite only having 9 points after 3 weeks. Two of the wins this team has are less than spectacular, however a week two victory of D.C. United 2 to 1 shows this team has moments of brilliance. I dont know if they can pull something off like that again, but clearly they have the ability to find a way to get a win. Maybe a fluke, maybe not, the rest of the season will have to run its course to see what this team is made of. Player Spotlight The Whole Team: WAIT.... dont bite my head off...hear me out. This is a challenge to this squad. I have seen you win...in the hardest way possible...being on the losing end in DC. Dig deep, play some games together, and get better. Prove me wrong in saying that the week two win over United was a fluke. Your GK's may have save %s less than 60, but help them out, clear the ball, score some goals, and win the possession game. Power Rankings #1: D.C. United #2: New England Revolution #3: Orlando City SC #4: Houston Dynamo #5: Colorado Rapids #6: Los Angeles FC #7: New York Red Bulls #8: Montreal Impact Here comes the hate from everyone and their mother's. "You only chose United because you are on it"..."how is LA FC ahead of montreal"..."how is dynamo above rapids". I took United #1 overall as they have rattled off not just 5 wins, but 5 wins outscoring opponents 25-4. The only top team to test them is Orlando at the moment and that was a 1-1 draw. A key matchup could shake this up as Sunday Orlando and DC meet. Dynamo just above Rapids comes because with new GK Bauer Dynamo is 3-3 with a win over Rapids. Rapids won the reverse fixture, but that was played without Bauer in net. Finally, LA FC at #6. This is more of a guess. I saw what they can do in the win over D.C. If they can get that gameplay night in and night out I think they are better than the two below. Cant wait to see how the rest of this season plays out and see if i am right about the rest of this season, or will someone be shoving this article in my face. Until then, Good luck boys and girls.
