Week 16 Power Rankings

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2012 Power Rankings: July 2
 RK (LW)TEAMRECCOMMENT
San Jose1 (1)San Jose11-3-3The Quakes fought back from 3-1 down to beat rival Los Angeles. Chris Wondolowski netted the game winner, but it was Victor Bernardez's goal just before halftime that ignited the comeback.
DC United2 (3)DC United10-5-3Chris Pontius was moved back from forward to midfield and looked like he had never been away, scoring a highlight-reel goal to spark United's 3-0 win over Montreal. With the win, DCU are now back on top of the Eastern Conference.
New York Red Bulls3 (2)New York Red Bulls9-4-4At first glance, a 1-1 tie with cellar-dwelling Toronto seems like a reason for New York to hang its head. But with injuries continuing to plague the back line, plus TFC's improved play, the Red Bulls will take the point and move on.
Chicago4 (7)Chicago8-5-3It took a well-worked counterattacking goal by Marco Pappa and some desperate defending by the Fire to escape Livestrong Sporting Park with three points, but escape they did, creating some daylight between themselves and the chasing pack in the East.
Kansas City5 (4)Kansas City9-5-2SKC absolutely laid siege to the Chicago goal toward the end of its match with the Fire, but couldn't find a breakthrough. After going 2-4-2 in its last eight games, Kansas City is officially in scuffle mode.
Vancouver Whitecaps6 (6)Vancouver Whitecaps7-4-5The Whitecaps have had a while to think about last week's 3-0 shellacking at the hands of the Galaxy. So now seems like the perfect time to give newly arrived designated player Barry Robson his MLS debut.
Real Salt Lake7 (5)Real Salt Lake10-6-2RSL continues to stumble, dropping its third game in a row to Columbus. Real will get Kyle Beckerman back this week from suspension, and perhaps, that will help solve the team's defensive problems.
Columbus8 (8)Columbus6-5-4The Crew continue to rack up points, downing Real Salt Lake 2-0. Eddie Gaven looked sharp throughout and even tallied Columbus' second goal. The news gets better as well, as defender Chad Marshall is close to returning from his latest concussion.
Houston9 (9)Houston6-5-5Brian Ching scored his first goal at BBVA Compass Stadium to down Philadelphia 2-1, but the game will also be remembered for the debut of Oscar Boniek Garcia, who added some much-needed zest to Houston's attack.
Seattle Sounders FC10 (10)Seattle Sounders FC7-5-5A midweek Open Cup triumph over San Jose didn't carry over versus New England, with the Sounders conceding a late equalizer. Seattle is now winless in eight league games. No coincidence that the Sounders have conceded the first goal in each of those match
Los Angeles11 (11)Los Angeles6-9-2The Galaxy reverted to type against San Jose, complete with soft defending, suspect goalkeeping, and an incident that saw David Beckham draw yellow -- and what ought to be a suspension -- for kicking the ball at the referee and a San Jose player.
Colorado12 (13)Colorado7-8-1The Rapids got the band back together in the form of forwards Omar Cummings and Conor Casey, the latter of which scored in a 3-0 win over Portland. The win allowed Colorado to vault over L.A. into the fifth and final playoff spot.
Montreal Impact13 (12)Montreal Impact5-10-3It was a brutal week for Jesse Marsch's side, which was hammered 3-0 by Toronto at home and then suffered the same fate away to D.C. United after fielding an inexperienced back line. The team's already dwindling playoff hopes are fading fast.
Chivas USA14 (14)Chivas USA5-7-4The Goats had the weekend off, and hopefully they rested up, as they commence a stretch of four games in 11 days starting next weekend. That includes a U.S. Open Cup semifinal match against Seattle.
New England15 (15)New England5-7-4The Revs conjured up a stoppage time equalizer for the second consecutive week, with Diego Fagundez providing the heroics. New England got some help from the assistant referee as well, as Saer Sene's opener looked well offside.
Portland Timbers16 (16)Portland Timbers4-7-4So much for last week's win over Seattle being a turning point. The Timbers dropped a 3-0 decision to Colorado in a game where many of the same defensive weaknesses revealed themselves, in particular an inability to prevent service from out wide.
Philadelphia Union17 (17)Philadelphia Union3-9-2The Union missed some glorious chances to steal a road win, with Lionard Pajoy's decision to pass rather than shoot on an unguarded net, an absolute stunner. It proved costly, as the Union fell 2-1 to the Dynamo.
Toronto FC18 (19)Toronto FC2-10-3Break up TFC! Now unbeaten in four games, Toronto took apart Montreal 3-0 before securing a 1-1 draw against New York. Danny Koevermans continues to light up the league, but more importantly, the defensive effort is improving under new coach Paul Mariner.
FC Dallas19 (18)FC Dallas3-9-5As bad as this season has been in Dallas, things are beginning to look up. Not only did the club secure a jersey sponsor in AdvoCare, but longtime injury casualty David Ferreira is close to getting back on the field and could see time this week.