Wondo, Quakes on the march

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2012 Power Rankings: October 8
 RK (LW)TEAMRECCOMMENT
San Jose1 (2)San Jose19-6-7The Quakes scored early and often in their 4-1 hammering of Colorado. Chris Wondolowski's hat trick set the pace, but what was Jason Hernandez thinking when he conceded a penalty and was ejected in stoppage time? No need for that with a big lead.
Kansas City2 (1)Kansas City17-7-8The initial prognosis on Roger Espinoza's injured ankle was better than expected, which made conceding a late equalizer to Columbus a bit easier for SKC to handle. Still, the race for the Supporters' Shield is all but over for SKC.
Chicago3 (3)Chicago17-10-5After a listless 3-1 loss to Philadelphia in midweek, the Fire rebounded nicely with a 2-0 road win at New York behind two Sherjill MacDonald goals. Arne Friedrich also did his best Franz Beckenbauer impression with some effective runs out of the back.
DC United4 (7)DC United16-10-6Hamdi Salihi's game-winner against Toronto FC will go down as one of the great two-foot putts. But United won't care, as its 1-0 win over TFC all but guaranteed its first postseason appearance in five years.
Real Salt Lake5 (8)Real Salt Lake17-11-4RSL's resurgence went into overdrive in a 2-1 road defeat of the Galaxy that saw red-hot Fabian Espindola go from provider last week to double goal scorer this week. Real looks to have secured at least third place in the Western Conference.
Seattle Sounders FC6 (6)Seattle Sounders FC14-7-10The Sounders took apart Cascadia rivals Portland 3-0. The win moved Seattle into third place in the Western Conference, but games against RSL and L.A. will dictate where it ultimately finishes.
Los Angeles7 (4)Los Angeles15-12-5L.A.'s 2-1 home loss to RSL was reduced to an afterthought in the aftermath of Landon Donovan's knee injury. On top of A.J. DeLaGarza's knee troubles and Todd Dunivant's hip ailment, the injury bug has hit the Galaxy at the worst possible time.
New York Red Bulls8 (5)New York Red Bulls15-9-8The Red Bulls didn't cough up any early goals this time, but their defense looked suspect enough in conceding two second-half tallies against the Fire. Now New York is worried about having a dreaded play-in game.
Houston9 (9)Houston13-8-11For all the grief MLS refs take, credit Chris Penso for getting it right and waiving off Brian Ching's apparent game-winner in stoppage time. As for the Dynamo, it still controls its own destiny with two games to go, but needs to play better.
Columbus10 (10)Columbus14-11-7The Crew's 1-1 draw with SKC wasn't exactly what it wanted, as Columbus still trails Houston by a point for the final playoff spot. But it was better than nothing.
FC Dallas11 (11)FC Dallas9-12-11FCD's 1-1 tie with Chivas USA cuts deep, and it could have been worse had Kevin Hartman not delivered a string of clutch saves. Dallas needs a miracle now to catch Vancouver for the fifth and final playoff spot.
Montreal Impact12 (12)Montreal Impact12-15-5The Impact went down swinging, and shouting, too, in light Jesse Marsch's ejection. In the end, Montreal's 1-1 draw with Houston officially knocked the Impact out of the playoffs, with its slow start to the season proving too much to overcome.
Philadelphia Union13 (14)Philadelphia Union10-15-6The Union is one non-playoff team that can't be accused of mailing it in, as it shocked Chicago away 3-1 before subduing New England 1-0. Jack McInerney has now scored in three consecutive games.
Vancouver Whitecaps14 (15)Vancouver Whitecaps11-12-9Last week's goat turned into this week's hero, as Camilo's goal and three assists got the Whitecaps back to winning ways in a critical 4-0 wipeout of Chivas USA. The Goats then gave Vancouver some massive help in taking more points off of Dallas.
Portland Timbers15 (13)Portland Timbers7-16-9The Timbers looked sharp in the opening moments against Seattle, and then promptly crumbled in the back. Revamping the back line, especially in the flank positions, will be one of Caleb Porter's top priorities this offseason.
Colorado16 (16)Colorado9-19-4The Rapids were one of several teams that looked like they were in playing-out-the-string mode, as they made things easy for Wondolowski and San Jose.
New England17 (17)New England7-17-8It was more of the same for New England in a 1-0 loss to Philadelphia. A season's worth of frustration poured out of Benny Feilhaber, who was ejected late after receiving his second yellow card.
Chivas USA18 (19)Chivas USA7-17-8Just when it looked like nothing could snap the Goat's club-record seven-game losing streak, Chivas popped up to snag a credible 1-1 draw against Dallas that could have easily been more.
Toronto FC19 (18)Toronto FC5-20-7Toronto didn't make it easy for D.C. United. That is, until the 87th minute when goalkeeper Milos Kocic fumbled a long-distance shot from Maicon Santos right into the path of Salihi. Such giveaways have characterized TFC's season.