MLS Power Rankings, Week 1: Seattle Sounders move to the top after obliteration of New England

Note: Only MLS league games will be reflected in the rankings. The Power Rankings are voted on by the editorial staff at MLSsoccer.com, and remarks are written by Senior Editor Matt Doyle. All times Eastern.

Let us know what you think in the comment section below.
RankTrendingClubComment
1

Last: 3

Seattle, we just can't quit you. Especially when you score goals like THIS.

• Last Week: Won vs. New England, 3-0
• This Week: Saturday vs. San Jose (10 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 1

Hard to move the champs down after a solid home win, but the Sounders were just that compelling against a superior opponent than what LA had to deal with. Baggio Husidic got his chance to shine and took it, which is a good sign in this BSG (Before Steven Gerrard) era.

• Last Week: Won vs. Chicago, 2-0
• This Week: Sunday at Portland (7 pm; FOX Sports 1/FOX Deportes/FOX Sports GO)

Last: 7

First half: bad. Second half: wow. It wasn't just Jozy & Giovinco – Vanney and Fraser deserve a ton of credit, too.

• Last Week: Won at Vancouver, 3-1
• This Week: Saturday at Columbus (7:30 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 6

Didn't dominate the way many on the Power Rankings Politburo expected, and needed a bit of good fortune to get the results. But a win's a win, no matter how it happens.

• Last Week: Won vs. San Jose, 1-0
• This Week: Saturday vs. Sporting KC (8:30 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 4

Did dominate, but got Rimando'd by Tyler Deric. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the 'keeper and flip the page.

• Last Week: Lost at Houston, 1-0 
• This Week: Saturday vs. Toronto FC (7:30 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 9

We've decided to reward this team for the road shutout rather than penalize them for the toothless attack. 

• Last Week: Drew at Portland, 0-0
• This Week: Saturday vs. Philadelphia (9:30 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 8

It took a moment of absolute magic from New York to find the net, so even with the new lineup, red card and injuries, Sporting don't have too much to hang their heads about. And they still look murderous on set pieces.

• Last Week: Drew vs. New York, 1-1
• This Week: Saturday at Dallas (8:30 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 10

Weren't super impressive, but they did something most teams couldn't manage this past weekend: they won. Jairo Arrieta has been a godsend in the absence of Fabian Espindola.

• Last Week: Won vs. Montreal, 1-0
• Next MLS Game: March 22 at New York (5 pm, FOX Sports/FOX Deportes/FOX Sports GO)

Last: 2

Missing your two best players on the road at the Shield holders? Not a great recipe for success. But New England's defense was a wreck, and A.J. Soares was missed just as much as Jermaine Jones or Lee Nguyen.

• Last Week: Lost at Seattle, 3-0 
• This Week: Saturday vs. Montreal (3 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 11

A road point is almost never a bad result, but those last 20 minutes sure were disappointing. Jesse Marsch has to figure out how to connect BWP with the rest of the attack, which was scattered and disjointed.

• Last Week: Drew at Sporting KC, 1-1
• Next MLS Game: March 22 vs. D.C. United (5 pm; FOX Sports 1/FOX Deportes/FOX Sports GO)

Last: 5

Dropping them this far seems reactionary, but that defense was a mess. The second TFC goal – which could have been cut out at several spots – was particularly worrying.

• Last Week: Lost vs. Toronto FC, 3-1
• This Week: Saturday at Chicago (6 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 15

Rimando'd. Again.

• Last Week: Drew vs. Real Salt Lake, 0-0
• This Week: Sunday vs. LA Galaxy (7 pm; FOX Sports 1/FOX Deportes/FOX Sports GO)

Last: 14

Deric was arguably the player of the week. Let's also spare a thought for Kofi Sarkodie, who was battered and bloodied, but still created the game-winning goal.

• Last Week: Won vs. Columbus, 1-0
• This Week: Friday vs. Orlando City (7 pm; UniMas)

Last: 12

Should have been able to put the game away in the first half, but Carlos Rivas was where attacks went to die. Still had enough magic in that stadium for the draw, but that felt more like two points dropped.

• Last Week: Drew vs. New York City, 1-1
• This Week: Friday at Houston (7 pm; UniMas)

Last: 16

Lost Justin Mapp to a gruesome injury, may have lost Ignacio Piatti to a nagging muscle pull, and definitely lost the game. Bad weekend after a great Wednesday in CCL, but at least there's more wing depth than anybody else in the league.

• Last Week: Lost at D.C. United, 1-0
• Next MLS Game: March 21 at New England (3 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 13

They were, at times, painfully slow in transition and very difficult to figure out. But they were also clean on the ball and showed enough magic to get a point in the franchise's first-ever game.

• Last Week: Drew at Orlando City, 1-1
• This Week: Sunday vs. New England (5 pm; ESPN2/ESPN Deportes/WatchESPN)

Last: 17

Denied a legit penalty claim. Also denied by the width of a crossbar and a great Clint Irwin save. Plenty to look at and be happy with, but for Philly fans this already probably feels a bit like last year.

• Last Week: Drew vs. Colorado, 0-0
• This Week: Saturday at Real Salt Lake (9:30 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 19

It remains to be seen how (or if) Dom Kinnear is going to get all three of his DPs into the same starting lineup, but the central defense and deep-lying mids looked solid. So that's a decent start.

• Last Week: Lost at Dallas, 1-0
• This Week: Saturday at Seattle (10 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 20

Had no interest in going forward even before Bobby Burling's second yellow, but so what? For a team that took just two of the last 42 points on offer to close out 2014, a road shutout is a fantastic start to the season.

• Last Week: Drew vs. Philadelphia, 0-0
• Next MLS Game: March 21 vs. New York City (4 pm; MLS LIVE)

Last: 18

Never seemed to have any ideas on how to combine in possession or attack, and were pulled apart defensively once LA made a few adjustments. Chicago looked a lot like 11 guys who'd never played together before.

• Last Week: Lost at LA Galaxy, 2-0
• This Week: Saturday vs. Vancouver (6 pm; MLS LIVE)