9/14 - Western Conference Power Rankings 1

Will St. Louis City ever lose again? They haven't lost in their last 15 MLS matches, 4 short of the all time record. They have managed to maintain their unbeaten streak while losing major pieces in Marcel Hartel and Eduard Lowen, and while integrating new additions into the team. Their biggest new addition, Rafa Navarro, looks right at home in St. Louis. He has scored two goals in each of his starts, and he fits St. Louis City's style of play perfectly. With Navarro and other summger signings still getting acclimated to the team, St. Louis are only going to get stronger. 

Vancouver have been atop the Western Conference for most of the season. But recently, their home form has left much to be desired, highlighted by the 1-3 thumping they took at the hands of the team above them in this list. The Whitecaps are still playing well in most games they play, but need to make it count. Captain Ryan Gauld is finally looking like himself again, penalty miss notwithstanding, and this is huge for Vancouver. What they need now is more consistency from their wide players.

FC Dallas have one three straight and are now tied on points with Houston for second place in the Western Conference. Importantly, they've been able to pick up all three points without relying on the brilliance of Petar Musa in the last couple matches. With six of their remaining matches at home, if Dallas can get slightly better results at Toyota Stadium, they will find themselves in a great position come playoff time.

It's been a roller coaster for the San Jose Earthquakes in 2026. After a tremendous start to the season, they were a disaster during the summer. Now, they've switched to a 3-4-3, which has provided much needed stability for their defense. And on offense, Niko Tsakiris is running the game, just like he was at the beginning of the year. San Jose are undefeated in their last three, and in spite of their summer struggles, still sit in fourth in the West. And with Tsakiris playing his best ball, they can go toe to toe with any team in this league.

Houston have been good since the World Cup break, with just two losses in that span. Their defense in particular has been extraodinary, allowing just 5 goals in 11 matches. However, Houston's offense has stagnated and they are now 1-2-2 in their last 5. The loss of Jack McGlynn has taken away some creativity which has been missed, and Houston needs more production from anybody playing center forward. They're still an incredibly difficult team to play against and defend as well as anybody.

All of a sudden, Colorado look to be in a relatively comfortable position, sitting in seventh place with a five point buffer over the teams below the line. They're now perfect in their last 6 home matches and haven't allowed a single goal in any of those. With four out of their next five in all competitions at DSG Park, Colorado are looking to continue this excellent form and give themselves an even nicer cushion.

LAFC are just one point below St. Louis in the table, but the teams are going in opposite directions. LAFC have just one win in their last 8 MLS matches. It's been a real struggle for them to find any offensive production if it's not coming through Denis Bouanga. The sale of David Martinez only worsens this problem for the Black & Gold. They have a lot to figure out if they want to make any sort of noise in the postseason.

Don't look now, but Austin FC are just one point back of the play-in game. With three wins and three draws in their last 6 MLS games, plus a promising Leagues Cup campaign in the background, Austin have been much improved under Davy Arnaud. Their 2-1 win on the road in Vancouver yesterday is the highlight of their good run, and it marked their third straight road match where they picked up all three points. If the Verde & Black can shore up their home form, they will have a real chance at making the playoffs.

Portland Timbers have looked better under Martí Cifuentes. They're inconsistent, but they're playing better than all the teams below them on this list. And in Kristoffer Velde, they've got a player who can make something out of nothing. But, they haven't kept a clean sheet since May 9th against SKC. That was 18 matches ago. Portland need to find an answer for the defense before November.

San Diego looked like they were finally returning to something close to the conference-winning version of themselves after Leagues Cup. They beat both LA teams(of course), and in between Dreyer dropped one of the best assists you'll ever see. Now they've lost three straight. They've been unable to control their matches and are allowing far too many chances. After being one of their strengths last year, San Diego's road form leaves much to be desired in 2026. Their next 3 are all away from Snapdragon Stadium, and being in ninth place with the margins tight, San Diego are at risk of falling out of playoff position.

The Galaxy are another team that's been inconsistent of late, going 2-3-3 in their last 8. They don't look like a team that's going to go on a run and make the playoffs, but they're tied on points with San Diego for ninth. With some veteran additions to their lineup, they certainly have a chance to be playing postseason soccer in 2026.

Make it four draws in a row for the Sounders after their draw with LA Galaxy on Saturday. They're now winless in 12 in MLS play. While injuries were a major problem for them during this stretch, they are getting healthy now and the results still aren't coming. They look nowhere near what they were a year ago when they won Leagues Cup. After they head to Colorado next weekend, they host RSL, Minnesota, and SKC in the span of 7 days. That week will go a long way to deciding whether they end up above the line.

For much of the season, Minnesota couldn't score. Well, now they can, but they can't defend. With just one win in their last 13 matches, Minnesota has slipped out of the playoff picture. If they want to stop their slump, they need to rectify their home form. They're one of the worst home teams in the league, with an MLS-low 2 wins at Allianz Field in MLS play. Playoff teams win their home games, and Minnesota are not doing that in 2026. They host the Galaxy and then go to Seattle before the international break, and it's not hyperbole to call this a season-defining couple of weeks.

RSL are in free fall. They're winless in their last eleven MLS matches. They can't really attack and they can't really defend. Their road form is awful - they have just 6 points away from America First Field all year - and they still have road matches to play. Diego Luna looks like a shell of his former self, they've been hopeless at the back without Glad, and almost just as hopeless at right wingback without Gozo. They're very close to behing bottom of this list.

The team that is bottom of this list is Sporting Kansas City, who sit at the basement of the MLS table with just 18 points. It's been a really tough season for SKC, even for a rebuild, but they've had some promising signs of late. Results haven't followed, as SKC had 6 losses out of 7 before their victory over LAFC on Saturday. But, with the full debut of Andre Luiz and Owen Wolff hopefully coming back soon, there are some sources of optimism for the remainder of the season.