A pair of surprise teams registered clean sheet victories over the weekend with Philadelphia and DC United both shutting down their opponents. That snapped extended winless droughts for both teams on Saturday. The clean sheet wins were a rarity over the weekend in the MLS as seven games finished with three or more goals scored including the Union’s lopsided 4-0 victory. Here is a look at the top individual performances by position from MLS fantasy this past weekend.
GK: Andre Blake, Philadelphia
The Union delivered with a convincing 4-0 win over New England to snap a four-game winless drought. While there was certainly room for error, Blake was perfect in the victory. Philadelphia’s goalkeeper stopped all four shots he faced to record the clean sheet victory and his performance was just good enough to edge out DC United’s Bill Hamid for the best MLS fantasy performance of the week among MLS netminders. Philadelphia has been a middle-of-the-pack defensive team this season as they’ve allowed 37 goals in 24 goals this season, just seventh best in the Eastern Conference.
Honorable Mention: Bill Hamid, DC United
D: Steve Birnbaum, DC United
The Union’s Richard Marquez came very close to joining his teammate Blake on this list as the top MLS fantasy defender from this past weekend. He scored a goal in the clean sheet win over the Revolution. However, DC United’s Birnbaum also found the back of the net over the weekend and his goal in the seventh minute held as the game-winning goal. The bonus for scoring the winner gave Birnbaum the slightest edge over Marquez for top MLS fantasy defender honors with Fabinho also in the mix with an honorable mention after registering an assist for Philadelphia. DC United has been paltry at the offensive end this season as they’ve managed just 24 goals so far (in 23 games). That’s the lowest per-game average in the Eastern Conference.
Honorable Mention: Richard Marquez, Philadelphia; Fabinho, Philadelphia
M: Kaka, Orlando City SC
Kaka was absolutely brilliant for Orlando City SC in their 2-2 draw with the Chicago Fire as he registered a goal and an assist with three shots on target. Kaka now leads Orlando City with eight assists on the season and sits third on the team in points behind Kevin Molino and Cyle Larin.
M: Sean Davis, New York Red Bulls
Davis was one of two Red Bulls’ players to make this list as he registered a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win over Montreal. Davis nearly doubled his point total for the season as he went from three to five points this year but his multipoint effort was certainly enough to earn a spot on this list.
Honorable Mention: Simon Dawkins, San Jose; Frank Lampard, New York City FC; Nicolas Mezquida, Vancouver
F: Bradley Wright-Phillips, New York Red Bulls
Wright-Phillips led the way up front for New York with a pair of goals including the winner in its 3-1 win over the Impact. His 14 goals this season is now one back of Toronto FC’s Sebastian Giovinco and New York City FC’s David Villa for the MLS goal scoring lead with more than enough time left in the year for him to win the race for the Golden Boot.
F: Ethan Finlay, Columbus
Finlay capitalized on his return to Columbus’ starting XI with a pair of goals in the Crew’s 3-3 draw with New York City FC. Just when it seemed as though NYCFC had clinched a victory with a penalty kick goal from Villa in the second minute of second half injury time, Finlay stepped to the spot in the fifth minute of injury time and delivered a penalty kick goal of his own to tie the game at 3-3. The two goals and five total shots was enough for Finlay to clinch a spot on this list with the second-best MLS fantasy performance among MLS forwards over the weekend. Columbus is still having a fairly lousy season as they have registered just 20 points in 22 games this season. That puts them in second-last place in the Eastern Conference.
Honorable Mention: David Villa, New York City FC; Dom Dwyer, Sporting KC; Chris Pontius, Philadelphia; Nicolas Lodeiro, Seattle
