The Seattle Sounders continued their dominant campaign thanks to some excellent individual performances in a 3-0 win over FC Dallas, which opened their lead in the Western Conference to three points. Meanwhile, the New England Revolution were able to close the gap atop the Eastern Conference thanks to a 2-0 win over the Chicago Fire combined with DC suffering an upset 1-0 loss to Orlando City SC. Here is a look at the top individual fantasy performances for each position from this past week.
GK: Bobby Shuttleworth, New England
Shuttleworth has played an integral role for New England all year and he is among the biggest reasons they closed the gap on DC United for first place in the Eastern Conference with a 2-0 win over the Fire. Shuttleworth made four saves to earn the clean sheet in the win to separate himself from the other top two goalies on the board from this past week.
Honorable Mention: Stefan Frei, Seattle; Tally Hall, Orlando City SC
D: Aurelien Collin, Orlando City SC
Collien was excellent in Orlando City’s 1-0 win over DC United as he helped keep them to just two shots on target with a superb defensive effort. The entire Orlando back line was solid but it was Collin’s fantasy point total that stood out as the best with his teammate Sean St Ledger not far behind for this past week.
D: Chris Tierney, New England
Tierney has been one of the most consistent fantasy defenders in the MLS all year and his performance lived up to his reputation once again in the 2-0 win over Chicago. He stuffed the stat sheet across the board while helping the Revolution keep the Fire off the board. The fact that Tierney made this list without a goal or assist is even more impressive as he narrowly edged out Sean St Ledger and Wandrille Lefevre for the second-best fantasy point total among MLS defenders.
Honorable Mention: S St. Ledger, Orlando City SC; Wandrille Lefevre, Montreal
M: Kaka, Orlando City SC
Kaka once again lived up to his reputation as the best midfielder in the MLS with the best fantasy stat line of the week for his position. Kaka scored Orlando City’s lone goal in a 1-0 win over DC United and his three shots on target pushed him over the top for the best fantasy point total for MLS midfielders. There aren’t many better options on a week-to-week basis than Kaka and those that found a way to get him in their lineup this week were rewarded for it once again.
M: Kwadwo Poku, New York City FC
Poku registered two points to record the second-best fantasy performance of the week for MLS midfielders but what made his stat line so special was the fact that he was able to earn the two points in just 15 minutes off the bench as a substitute for NYCFC. Fantasy GM’s won’t rely on Poku the same way they will rely on a superstar midfielder like Kaka from week to week but it’s worth noting his performance and the potential impact it could have with earning him more minutes.
Honorable Mention: Federico Higuain, Columbus; Diego Fagundez, New England
F: David Villa, New York City FC
Villa was one of our picks in DraftKings this week and he came through. He opened the scoring for NYCFC with a 31st minute goal as they took a 1-0 lead in to the half and then helped put the game away with an assist on Poku’s 90th minute goal that sealed the 3-1 win over the Montreal Impact. Villa has been exceptional for New York all season and with two points and three shots on target, he was easily the most impressive fantasy forward in the MLS this past week.
F: Lamar Neagle, Seattle
Neagle was brilliant for the Sounders in their 3-0 win with a goal and an assist. Neagle has been fairly consistent up front for Seattle all year and he showed up again in a big win that kept the Sounders alone atop the Western Conference standings.
Honorable Mention: Obafemi Martins, Seattle; Charlie Davies, New England
