Los Angeles Galaxy were the big winners over the weekend with a 4-2 victory over New York City FC in which its star players shone the brightest. The Galaxy pushed their undefeated streak to six in a row thanks in big part to the performance of Robbie Keane up front but he wasn’t the only top producer that stood out from a fantasy perspective over the weekend with a 4-4 draw between the Columbus Crew and Montreal Impact stealing the spotlight. Here is a look at the top individual MLS fantasy performances by position from this past weekend.
GK: Zac MacMath, Colorado
The Rapids maintained their two-point lead ahead of LA at the top of the Western Conference standings with a 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake thanks in big part to the play of their goalkeeper MacMath, who stopped all five shots he faced. A yellow card hurt his final fantasy score in leagues where points are subtracted based on cards but he still edged out Toronto FC’s Clint Irwin and Houston’s Tyler Deric with the best stat line of the week at his position.
Honorable Mention: Clint Irwin, Toronto FC; Tyler Deric, Houston; Stefan Frei, Seattle; Josh Saunders, New York City FC
D: Ronald Matarrita, New York City FC
New York City FC earned its second consecutive win and extended its undefeated streak to three games with a 2-0 win over DC United on Sunday following a seven-game stretch in which they failed to record a victory. Matarrita was outstanding in his own end and also chipped in with an assist on the score sheet to finish with the best fantasy score at his position.
Honorable Mention: Nat Borchers, Portland; Michael Parkhurst, Columbus; Justin Morrow, Toronto FC
M: Federico Higuain, Columbus
The fact that four goals wasn’t enough for the Crew to earn the maximum three points versus the Montreal Impact over the weekend has as much to do with the firepower on both sides as it does their poor defensive play. Higuain was electric in the 4-4 draw with two goals on three shots from the Columbus midfield. Columbus has been lousy in terms of MLS fantasy this season, but they are now in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
M: Ignacio Piatti, Montreal
Piatti matched Higuain’s point total in the midfield with a pair of goals and five shots in the 4-4 draw with the Crew. Piatti raised his totals on the season to six goals and an assist through Montreal’s first 10 games of the season while teammate Dominic Oduro chipped in with a goal and an assist to help the Impact earn an important point. Montreal’s 17 goals are the most in the Eastern Conference this season.
Honorable Mention: Dominic Oduro, Montreal; Clint Dempsey, Seattle; Giles Barnes, Houston; Steven Gerrard, LA Galaxy
F: Didier Drogba, Montreal
Didier Drogba continued his torrid pace to the season with his third goal and sixth point in his last five games for the Impact. Montreal failed to get the win for the fourth straight game but it certainly wasn’t Drogba’s fault as the star striker had a goal and two assists to lead all forwards in MLS fantasy production this past weekend.
F: Robbie Keane, LA Galaxy
The fact that Columbus forward Kei Kamara was forced to settle for honorable mention in this column despite two goals and seven shots in the 4-4 draw with the Impact is testament to the production of the top MLS forwards this past weekend. Keane scored two goals including the eventual game winner with five shots in a 4-2 win over the Revolution to edge out Kamara, NYCFC’s David Villa and Vancouver’s Masato Kudo for the second-best fantasy score of the week at his position. The Galaxy have now scored a whopping 22 goals in 10 games this season, which is by far and away the most in the MLS. The next closest team is the Montreal Impact, who have scored 17. The Galaxy are the first place you want to be looking for MLS fantasy sources.
Honorable Mention: Kei Kamara, Columbus; David Villa, New York City FC; Masato Kudo, Vancouver
