Not much has changed near the top or bottom of the table this week, but there is a large amount of movement near the middle of the table. Without further ado, the ranks at the end of Week 8:
You can find last week’s rankings here, and an explanation of our methodology here.
Below are the rankings as May 14th, 2017 (last week’s ranking in parentheses):
1 (Last week – 1) San Antonio FC (1142)
San Antonio’s unbeaten run continued last week, but they dropped points for the first time all season as Seattle held them to a scoreless draw. Despite that, they still remain at the top of our rankings.
2 (2) Real Monarchs SLC (1140)
After two wins in a week with a combined 5-0 score, the Monarchs have established themselves as the #2 team in the Western Conference and are threatening to overtake San Antonio.
3 (6) Tulsa Roughnecks (1117)
Six points saw Tulsa continue to push up the table as they try to break away from the rest of the pack. With four of their next five games on the road, the Roughnecks will have to fight to hold their top three spot.
4 (4) Swope Park Rangers (1107)
Swope dropped a close road game thanks to a likely Goal of the Week contender, which almost dropped them a place on our rankings. However, they managed to hold onto their fourth place position thanks to tiebreakers.
5 (5) Rio Grande Valley Toros (1107)
Last week’s game was the fourth 1-0 match of the season for the Toros, but thankfully for them they were on the winning side of things this time. This week the Toros will attempt to move up the rankings in their fifth and final home game in a row.
6 (3) Orange County SC (1107)
After a sharp climb up the table the previous week, Orange County suffered their second 0-4 loss of this early season. The inconsistent nature of Orange County makes them a frightening and unpredictable week to week opponent.
7 (9) Seattle Sounders 2 (1096)
Seattle was able to hold the top team in the league to a shutout, extending their unbeaten streak to three in the process. If Seattle can continue this run they will keep moving up the table.
8 (10) Vancouver Whitecaps 2 (1096)
Vancouver ended their four game skid by taking out Colorado Springs in a decisive manner and will look for their second back to back winning streak of the season.
9 (7) Sacramento Republic (1093)
Unless Sacramento is able to fix their scoring woes, they will continue their slow slide down the table. They return home this week for only their third home match in ten games.
10 (13) Phoenix Rising (1090)
In one of the most hectic ends to a game so far this season, Phoenix pulled out a late win to get back in the top ten of our rankings. They will look to get their first road points of the season during the upcoming three game trip.
11 (8) Colorado Springs Switchbacks (1088)
Last week was a rough one for the Switchbacks. First, they failed to get a win against a struggling Portland side midweek. Then, they were beat up by Vancouver over the weekend. They will need to quickly get back on track after winning only one of their last five.
12 (11) Reno 1868 (1087)
Reno lost some ground on their week off. After getting their first win of the season in Week 7, Reno will look to build on the momentum as they search for their first home win.
13 (12) Oklahoma City Energy (1083)
OKC’s late loss will go down in the Phoenix record books, but for the Energy it will just be another game in this early season that they’ll want to forgot. This week they return home to try to get back on track.
14 (14) Los Angeles Galaxy II (1078)
Los Dos got a surprise win over the reigning USL Champions match after getting blown out by the Monarchs in the middle of the week. While the six game winless streak has ended, the Galaxy need consistency.
15 (15) Portland Timbers 2 (1069)
Portland handed the Switchbacks their first shutout of the season, but will need to do more than a scoreless draw if they want to leave the basement in the West.
Week 9 Matches:
Saturday, May 20th
#13 Oklahoma City Energy (1083) v #6 Orange County SC (1107)
#5 Rio Grande Valley Toros (1107) v #14 Los Angeles Galaxy II (1078)
#1 San Antonio FC (1142) v #10 Phoenix Rising (1090)
#2 Real Monarchs (1140) v #11 Colorado Springs Switchbacks (1088)
#12 Reno 1868 (1087) v #7 Seattle Sounders 2 (1096)
#9 Sacramento Republic (1093) v #3 Tulsa Roughnecks (1117)
Bye: #15 Portland Timbers 2 (1069)
Thoughts:
San Antonio and Real Monarchs continue to make an aggressive run away from the rest of the West and right now it looks like there is no one that can catch them.
From year to year, the West has drastically changed. The current top three teams all missed the playoffs, while four of the playoff teams from 2016 (Sacramento, Colorado Springs, Oklahoma City and Los Angeles) are outside of the top eight.
Will the script continue to be reversed or will the top teams from the previous season return to the form that allowed them to reach the playoffs? Let us know in the comments!