Fourth week done and finally, with a Seattle loss (though not any underperformance by any means), the dominance of the top 10 ends. Los Angeles has two for their first shutout since God knows when and a bunch of new additions to the list. If it weren't for Berhalter's late ejection, there's a good chance he would have been pretty far up.

1. Donovan Ricketts (Los Angeles)


A lot of uncertainty surrounded the arrival of Ricketts in the offseason, but if his Superclasico debut is to be indicative of future form then the Galaxy have done well. The big Jamaican goalkeeper joined LA after a long career in English League Two soccer and a short stint in Jamaica with Village United.


2. Bobby Convey (San Jose)

We found him! Convey's goal this past weekend vs. Chicago was a brief glimpse at the Convey of "old". An even brighter sign was that Convey showed versatility starting at the left back spot and eventually moving up after halftime. On the goal, once the run started it was one of those you knew he was going to finish.

3. Mariano Trujillo (Chivas USA)

He has been consistent for the Goats and there's a good reason why they sit at the top of the Western Conference table. The Mexican defender has filled in nicely at right back, already showing reliability and a comfortable transition into a tough position.

4. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle)

It's already clear Hurtado is going to play an integral role in the Sounders season and, once again, he showed that vs. Kansas City. The defense held strong all game with Hurtado doing most of the dirty work. Osvaldo Alonso was once again brilliant but because of Hurtado, nothing but an Arnaud long-range blast could beat the Sounders.


5. Matt Besler (Kansas City)


Two major shutouts for Besler and in his first two starts. That says something about the rookie. His shining moment vs. Seattle came in the 65th minute when Fredy Montero rocketed a point-blank shot on net and Besler's deflection put a seemingly certain goal harmlessly over the crossbar.

6. Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle)

I don't even think the Swede is fully fit yet and his touch and vision already looks to be close to best in the league. Ljungberg fed Montero several times but the finishing wasn't there. With Alonso winning balls deep in the midfield and Ljungberg running the show on the attack at 100%, this Sounders set-up is scary.

7. Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles)

Gonzalez has already shown in the first couple weeks that the Galaxy are going to get exactly what they expected out of him. Solid defending. This time it was against a normally potent Sacha Kljestan who seems to be having trouble finding his mojo so far this season.

8. Stefan Frei (Toronto FC)


Frei will not be happy with the the loss of the clean sheet on a late Pablo Ricchetti goal, but his performance vs. FC Dallas should keep Greg Sutton and Brian Edwards on the bench a little longer. The Cal product is enjoying his time on the field and probably making a few of those teams that passed over him in the draft regret it.

9. Chris Pontius (DC United)

Played well yet again, picking up the assist on DC United's lone goal out in Salt Lake. Pontius along with Stefan Frei are early candidates for the Rookie of the Year. With Emilio on point, I could see a 5-6 goal year for Pontius and over 10 assists.

10. Alec Dufty (Red Bull New York)

He didn't score a goal in his MLS debut like Danny Cepero, but Dufty rose to the challenge to help grab a point away vs. Houston. Cepero had to leave the game with a suspected concussion after a wicked collision not even 10 minutes into the match.

RISING: Gregg Berhalter (LAG), Zach Scott (SEA)

ABOUT TIME!: Albert Celades (RBNY)

SNUBBED: Osvaldo Alonso (SEA), Ben Dragovan (SEA)

INJURED: Kevin Alston (NER), Jeremy Hall (RBNY)

AWAITING DEBUT: Luis Miguel Escalada (RSL), Ade Akinbiyi (HOU), Alvaro Sanchez (FCD), Andrew Hainault (HOU), Carlos Pacheco (RBNY), Emmanuel Gomez (TFC), Emmanuel Osei (NER), Stephane Assengue Ombiogno (NER), Eric Brunner (DF-CMB), Amadou Sanyang (TFC)

BAD WEEK: Carlos Johnson (RBNY), Kasey Keller (SEA)

DEBUT: Chukwudi Chinjindu (CHV), Ben Dragovan (SEA),

Scoring goes 10 pts. for first spot, 9 pts. for second spot, 8 pts. for third spot, etc.

OVERALL [pts/wk]

1. Freddy Montero (Seattle - 19 pts.) [10-9-0]
Freddie Ljungberg (Seattle - 19 pts.) [4-0-10-5]
2. Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle - 16 pts.) [0-7-9-0]
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle - 16 pts.) [9-0-0-7]
3. Kasey Keller (Seattle - 14 pts.) [0-10-4-0]
Chris Pontius (DC United - 14 pts.) [6-6-0-2]
4. Steve Zakuani (Seattle - 13 pts.) [0-5-8]
5. Donovan Ricketts (Los Angeles - 10 pts.) [0-0-0-10]
6. Eduardo Lillingston (Chivas USA - 9 pts.) [0-3-6-0]
Kevin Alston (New England - 9 pts.) [5-4-0-0]
Bobby Convey (San Jose - 9 pts.) [0-0-0-9]
7. Cam Weaver (San Jose - 8 pts.) [0-8-0-0]
Sebastian Le Toux (Seattle - 8 pts.) [8-0-0-0]
Mariano Trujillo (Chivas USA - 8 pts.) [0-0-0-8]
8. Gerson Mayen (Chivas USA - 7 pts.)
Santiago Hirsig (Kansas City - 7 pts.)
Omar Gonzalez (Los Angeles - 7 pts.)
9. Matt Besler (Kansas City - 6 pts.)
10. Sam Cronin (Toronto FC - 5 pts.)
Darrius Barnes (New England - 5 pts.)
Stefan Frei (Toronto FC - 5 pts.)
11. David Ferreira (FC Dallas - 2 pts.)
12. Pablo Vitti (Toronto FC - 1 pt.)
Bojan Stepanovic (Chivas USA - 1 pt.)
Brad Knighton (New England - 1 pt.)
Alec Dufty (New York - 1 pt.)

Anyone else should been on here? Osvaldo Alonso? Ben Dragovan? Be back after Week 5.