Following a pair of convincing wins over the San Jose Earthquakes (3-1) and Colorado Rapids (3-0), the Seattle Sounders maintained their status as the No. 2 team in the Weekly Power Rankings for both MLSsoccer.com and ESPN.com. Seattle trails on the Supporters' Shield-leading New England Revolution as the most in-form team in MLS.
In particular, both publications cited the Rave Green's win over the Rapids, a team vying for the top spot in the Western Conference, as a statement of intent from one of the league's best clubs.
"A dominant 3-0 win against Colorado on Sunday night pushed the Sounders past Sporting Kansas City into first place in the Western Conference," wrote ESPN.com's Kyle Bonagura. "Seattle has looked like best team in the conference for most of the season, and they've only solidified that of late."
"The third best team in their conference and a team that had been challenging for the top spot in the conference for the majority of the last few months came to Seattle and found out real quick they didn’t have the range," MLSsoccer.com's J. Sam Jones said of the Rapids match. "Not that they’re bad. It’s just that Seattle can do things at a level above and beyond just about every team in the league when they’re at their best.
"New England have been the more consistently great team this season," he continued. "That’s undeniable. But I think if we put each team in a single-elimination tournament where each team played their personal A-grade game, Seattle come out on top."
The Sounders return to action on Saturday for a Cascadia Cup clash with the Vancouver Whitecaps (6:00 p.m. PT; FOX 13+, Prime Video, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360AM | TICKETS).
