Galaxy finish regular season at the top

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2011 Power Rankings: October 24
 RK (LW)TEAMRECCOMMENT
Los Angeles1 (1)Los Angeles19-5-10After sitting all but two starters against the Dynamo, L.A. will have nearly all its preferred lineup available once the playoffs start. Will Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane be included in that group?
Seattle Sounders FC2 (2)Seattle Sounders FC18-7-9While the Sounders beat Chivas USA 3-1, coach Sigi Schmid's side failed to fulfill its top priority -- staying healthy -- as Mauro Rosales' knee injury took the shine off Saturday's win.
Kansas City3 (3)Kansas City13-9-12Peter Vermes' side wrapped the Eastern Conference crown by beating D.C. United 1-0. Kansas City's defense, which conceded four goals in the last seven games, seems to be heating up at the right time as well.
Houston4 (4)Houston12-9-13The Dynamo were handed a gift by Galaxy coach Bruce Arena in the form of a weakened lineup, and Houston took advantage with a 3-1 win. But credit must still go to Adam Moffat, whose scorching goal will certainly draw some Goal of the Year votes.
Philadelphia Union5 (5)Philadelphia Union11-8-15A lackluster display against N.Y. put the Union in danger of falling into the wild-card bracket, but Columbus' loss bailed them out. The bigger question for coach Peter Nowak is: Will a scoring option besides Sebastien Le Toux step up?
Chicago6 (7)Chicago9-9-16A 7-2-2 finish would normally be enough to clinch a playoff spot, but the Fire were unable to make up for a criminally slow start to the season.
Colorado7 (8)Colorado12-9-13With the frontline misfiring, the Rapids got a goal apiece from midfielders Jeff Larentowicz and Wells Thompson to snag a 2-1 win at Vancouver. Now the defending champs get to host Columbus in the first round.
FC Dallas8 (6)FC Dallas15-12-7Schellas Hyndman opted for rest over results and paid the price by watching San Jose take apart his makeshift squad. A home date with N.Y. -- which triumphed over FCD a month ago -- awaits.
Real Salt Lake9 (9)Real Salt Lake15-11-8Jason Kreis' side continued to stumble, coughing up a late equalizer against Portland, and is now winless in six games. But the result was enough to snag third place in the West.
Columbus10 (10)Columbus13-13-8Columbus failed to take care of business against Chicago and is now faced with a daunting wild-card game at Colorado. Even worse, midfielder Emmanuel Ekpo's ejection will rule him out of the encounter.
New York Red Bulls11 (12)New York Red Bulls10-8-16In securing the final playoff spot with a 1-0 win over Philadelphia, N.Y. looked composed and capable, traits that have been scarce over the second half of the campaign. Now N.Y. has a chance to erase the memory of a lackluster regular season.
Portland Timbers12 (11)Portland Timbers11-14-9Needing two wins to qualify for the postseason, the Timbers could muster only two draws. But Portland can hold its head high after a largely successful expansion season.
Chivas USA13 (14)Chivas USA8-14-12A season that looked so promising ended with Chivas USA winning just once in its last 11 games. Head coach Robin Fraser needs a little bit of everything, but will no doubt try to bring back striker Juan Pablo Angel.
San Jose14 (16)San Jose8-12-14Chris Wondolowski narrowly missed out on the Golden Boot, but the Quakes still celebrated a 4-2 win over Dallas. Now manager Frank Yallop must bolster a tame offense that needs on-loan attacker Simon Dawkins to stay.
DC United15 (13)DC United9-13-12De Rosario snagged the top scoring honor instead of Wondolowski, and may yet add the MVP to his trophy case, although having DCU miss out on a playoff spot will hurt his cause. United also looks set to cut ties with Charlie Davies, who faded badly.
Toronto FC16 (15)Toronto FC6-13-15Saturday's 2-2 draw with New England showed off TFC's revamped attack, as well as its shoddy defensive work. The fact that Aron Winter will be around next season gives the club a chance to generate some momentum, provided he finds defensive help.
Vancouver Whitecaps17 (17)Vancouver Whitecaps6-18-10The Whitecaps played some nice soccer in their home finale, but Joe Cannon's howler -- he let Larentowicz's drive go through his legs -- and a deflected goal resulted in a loss to Colorado, and put Vancouver level on points with New England.
New England18 (18)New England5-16-13Changes are brewing in New England. Shalrie Joseph is out of contract, as is manager Steve Nicol. After arguably the worst season in franchise history, a roster overhaul is in order.