MLS Week 13 Power Rankings: Timbers surge, Dallas stumbling

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.

2Colorado 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.

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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.
5Orlando City (4-7-3)
The Lions created more chances than the LA Galaxy, but couldn't make them count, and the result was their fourth loss in five matches. James O'Connor is going to start feeling the heat, and anything but a win against Montreal in the team's final match before the break could result in an Orlando City coaching change sooner than later.
6Sporting Kansas City (3-4-5)
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7Chicago Fire (4-5-5)
Saturday's draw with New York City FC felt more like a loss for a Fire side that had the chances to earn all three points. The Fire defense limited NYCFC to just two shots on goal, but it was the Fire attack that failed to capitalize on its chances. Veljko Paunovic is dreading the dropped points considering the week ahead features road games against D.C. United and Atlanta United.
8Vancouver Whitecaps (4-6-5)
The Whitecaps are 3-1-2 in their past five, and looked good last week, garnering four points from matches against the Red Bulls and FC Dallas. Ali Adnan continues to impress for a Whitecaps side that has just one more match before the Gold Cup break, against struggling Toronto FC on Friday.
9Montreal Impact (6-6-3)
Apparently Ignacio Piatti's return to the lineup won't be a magic wand after all. The normally-stingy Impact defense was ripped to shreds by LAFC, while Piatti struggled to make his mark. Winless in three, the Impact have a busy week ahead with home games against Real Salt Lake and Orlando City.
10FC Dallas (5-6-3)
The growing pains continue in Dallas, where Luchi Gonzalez's side are now winless in six. Playing without first-choice central defenders Matt Hedges and Reto Ziegler, Dallas struggled to deal with Vancouver's attack, while their offense has been missing Paxton Pomykal throughout the current winless slide. Things don't get any easier with Seattle visiting Frisco on Saturday.
11Toronto FC (5-6-2)
TFC's defensive woes continued in Sunday's loss to San Jose, with Chris Wondolowski feasting on chances, while Ashtone Morgan struggled badly against Cristian Espinoza. Michael Bradley's absence was felt in a match that saw San Jose win the battle in central midfield. Getting Bradley and Alejandro Pozuelo back will be a big boost, but Ali Curtis knows he has to finalize a deal for a central defender ASAP.
12San Jose Earthquakes (5-6-2)
The Wondo show continued for another week, with Chris Wondolowski's double giving him six in two weeks. The Earthquakes have won three of fourm, but they go on the road next, to face D.C. United, and are still searching for their first road win of the season.
13Real Salt Lake (6-6-1)
Sebastian Saucedo is blossoming into a serious impact player in the RSL attack, which has made an already formidable offense even more dangerous. Mike Petke is probably even happier about seeing his defense show improvement in recent matches, though this week's road swing against Montreal and the New York Red Bulls will let us know just how serious to take this recent surge.
14Portland Timbers (4-6-2)
Even though the Timbers made the biggest jump in the power rankings this week, 11th feels a little low considering how good the Timbers have looked lately. Multiply that by 10 now that Brian Fernandez is in the lineup. The win in Philadelphia was definitely a big statement, and now the Timbers finally return home. We'll see just how strong they are when they face the best team in MLS at the moment in LAFC.
15LA Galaxy (8-5-1)
Splitting the two games Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed is a reasonable return, and the rest just might make Ibrahimovic more dangerous for the team's final two matches before the Gold Cup break. David Bingham's stellar showing in goal against Orlando City provided a reminder why he was once considered a USMNT prospect. The Galaxy visit Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday before taking on an improve New England side on Saturday.
16Minnesota United (6-4-3)
The Romain Metanire All-Star push continues, with the French right back turning in another stellar performance on an improving Minnesota United defense. The Loons are 3-1-1 in their past five, but a tough week awaits with a trip to Atlanta United, and home clash with the Philadelphia Union.
17Atlanta United (6-5-2)
The grind of a demanding schedule has clearly worn down the champions, but Friday's loss to Real Salt Lake was also a product of a lack of attacking sharpness. Frank DeBoer kept Pity Martinez out of the starting lineup after some lackluster performances, but his squad failed to respond to the challenge. The good news for Atlanta United is it can go into the Gold Cup break on a high by winning the pair of home games it has this week, starting with a tricky test against Minnesota United.
18New York City FC (4-1-7)
Alexandru Mitrita played his best match since March, scoring a beautiful goal and helping offset a lackluster performance by Brazilian striker Heber. Dome Torrent's side did well to battle back from an early deficit, and extending the team's unbeaten streak to eight games, including the past three on the road, is encouraging. NYCFC will now face the Columbus Crew and FC Cincinnati before the Gold Cup break, which is a golden opportunity to close the first half of the season on a winning note.
19D.C. United (7-4-4)
The 1-0 final score wasn't indicative of how much control D.C. United had against New England, but Ben Olsen's side held a 2-1 edge in possession, and outshot the Revs 21-14. Unfortunately, that didn't result in enough truly dangerous chances for a D.C. attack that is still not quite clicking at its top gear. They'll finish a busy week with home games against Chicago and San Jose, and getting Paul Arriola back from suspension should help their attacking quality.
20Houston Dynamo (7-3-2)
So maybe playing without Alberth Elis will be as tough as we originally thought. The Dynamo did maintain a significant edge in possession, and did generate some chances in Saturday's 1-0 loss to Minnesota United, but Elis' absence was clearly a void they couldn't fill against an improving Minnesota United defense. They'll need Elis for their upcoming home clash against Sporting Kansas City, their final match before the Gold Cup break.
21Philadelphia Union (7-4-3)
The Union paid the price for some costly mistakes, the types of unforced errors they had managed to avoid before Saturday's loss to Portland. They won't have much time to recover as they play host to an improved Colorado Rapids side, which feature former Union players Conor Casey as interim coach, and Keegan Rosenberry, who was traded to Colorado this past winter.
22New York Red Bulls (6-5-3)
The Red Bulls can thank Luis Robles for them securing four points from two matches, when it could have easily been zero points if not for his heroics in goal. Brian White continues to impress in place of injured striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, while Kaku is starting to find his groove. Some challenging tests await before the Gold Cup break, with Real Salt Lake visiting Red Bull Arena before the Red Bulls take the trip down I-95 to face the Philadelphia Union.
23Seattle Sounders (7-2-5)
Chad Marshall's retirement cast a shadow over the week for the Sounders, who are sure to miss their defensive leader. They missed him against Sporting KC, though it was left back Brad Smith who had a torturous day being savaged by Johnny Russell. The good news for Seattle is Raul Ruidiaz is looking sharp again, the bad news is the Sounders are still waiting for Victor Rodriguez and Jordan Morris to recover from injuries.
24Los Angeles FC (10-1-4)
Dominated Montreal to put an even tighter grip on the top spot in the power rankings, with Christian Ramirez enjoying a good performance to help atone for some reason misses. Bob Bradley's side heads to Portland for a very tough test against a surging Timbers side, then it's Gold Cup break time before a pair of road games in late June against Colorado and Sporting KC.

1FC Cincinnati (3-9-2)

2Colorado Rapids (2-9-2)

3Columbus Crew (5-9-1)

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4New England Revolution (3-8-4)

5Orlando City (4-7-3)

6Sporting Kansas City (3-4-5)

7Chicago Fire (4-5-5)

8Vancouver Whitecaps (4-6-5)

9Montreal Impact (6-6-3)

10FC Dallas (5-6-3)

11Toronto FC (5-6-2)

12San Jose Earthquakes (5-6-2)

13Real Salt Lake (6-6-1)

14Portland Timbers (4-6-2)

15LA Galaxy (8-5-1)

16Minnesota United (6-4-3)

17Atlanta United (6-5-2)

18New York City FC (4-1-7)

19D.C. United (7-4-4)

20Houston Dynamo (7-3-2)

21Philadelphia Union (7-4-3)

22New York Red Bulls (6-5-3)

23Seattle Sounders (7-2-5)

24Los Angeles FC (10-1-4)