What a long, strange trip it's been since last time we checked in on how Cascadia was stacking up against other MLS regions, though it's only been a month. Back then, O'Brian White and Steve Zakuani were providing hope to a Seattle Sounders team that was struggling to find the back of the net, and the porous Vancouver Whitecaps and Portland Timbers meant that only the extremely disappointing Texas teams were keeping Cascadia off of the bottom. Meanwhile, the Rocky Mountains were riding high on the backs of the Colorado Rapids and Real Salt Lake: the only two undefeated teams in the league.
But the Sounders have gotten hot despite the loss of two of their main offensive weapons, Portland has turned Jeld-Wen Park into a fortress, and Vancouver has. . hmm. . earned some draws. And both RSL and Colorado have tumbled off of the peak. So which regions are playing the best soccer now?
| Region | Teams | Games | Points | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mile High Club | Real Salt Lake, Colorado | 12 | 22 | 1.8 |
| Don't Mess With Texas | Houston, Dallas | 14 | 22 | 1.6 |
| East Coast Media Bias | New England, New York, Philadelphia, DC | 28 | 43 | 1.5 |
| California Uber Alles | San Jose, Los Angeles, Chivas | 23 | 29 | 1.3 |
| Cascadia | Seattle, Vancouver, Portland | 23 | 28 | 1.2 |
| Midwest is the Best | Sporting KC, Chicago, Columbus | 20 | 22 | 1.1 |
| Oh. Canada | Toronto, {Montreal} | 8 | 7 | 0.9 |
First, some reorganization. Last time I had Sporting Kansas City lumped in a very dissatisfying way with Real Salt Lake and Colorado — mostly because a Midwest group would just be too large with Toronto in there as well and they're on the west end of the midwest. But they're naturally much more aligned with Chicago and Columbus than anyone else, so I decided to create that Midwest group and boot Toronto out. They could make an argument for grouping up with the East Coast, but instead I created an eastern Canadian group which currently consists of only Toronto but will eventually include Montreal when they enter the league next year.
But even with the re-org and despite struggling over the last couple of weeks, the Rocky Mountain clubs still lead the pack. They aren't keeping up the ridiculous 2.4 PPG they had even when they were dragging Sporting Kansas City along and if they continue to struggle you could see them off of the top spot in next month's edition.
Meanwhile, Texas has rocketed up from last to second as Houston and FC Dallas have both rebounded from dismal starts, with FCD winning two this month and Houston making it through April without a loss in five matches.
Last, but not least, Cascadia has risen from second-to-last to a heady third-to-last. At this pace, we'll be the dominant region in MLS by September.