Sporting Kansas City's perfection

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2012 Power Rankings: April 2
 RK (LW)TEAMRECCOMMENT
Kansas City1 (2)Kansas City4-0-0It wasn't always pretty against Chivas USA. But with Graham Zusi and C.J. Sapong rising to the occasion, SKC was able to snag a 1-0 road win against the Goats and go to 4-0-0 for the first time in franchise history.
Real Salt Lake2 (3)Real Salt Lake3-1-0Jason Kreis' side looked dead and buried after falling behind against Portland, but subs Johnny Steele and Fabian Espindola ignited a late fight-back, turning a one-goal deficit into a 3-2 win.
Seattle Sounders FC3 (1)Seattle Sounders FC2-1-0Missing the crafty Mauro Rosales and the energetic Brad Evans, Seattle got sucked into playing San Jose's physical game, and never really got going offensively in a 1-0 loss.
Houston4 (5)Houston2-1-0The Dynamo enjoyed the first week of a three-week break. Just four games to go now until their season-opening seven-game road stretch is over.
San Jose5 (8)San Jose3-1-0Sure, the penalty call that allowed Chris Wondolowski to score the game-winner against Seattle was softer than a down pillow. But there's no doubting the defensive strength of the Quakes, who are looking like playoff contenders so far.
Vancouver Whitecaps6 (7)Vancouver Whitecaps2-0-2Sebastien Le Toux's return to Philadelphia turned out to be something of a dud, with the Frenchman squandering a late chance in a 0-0 tie. That's four shutouts and counting for the Whitecaps' retooled defense.
New York Red Bulls7 (9)New York Red Bulls2-2-0That's nine goals in two games for the Red Bulls following their 5-2 win over Montreal, with Thierry Henry netting a hat trick Saturday. But for all the good feelings emanating from Red Bull Arena, New York's defense still looks unconvincing.
Colorado8 (10)Colorado3-1-0Two newcomers -- midfielder Martin Rivero and forward Kamani Hill -- helped the Rapids to victory against Chicago. The former assisted on Omar Cummings' opener, while the latter scored the clincher.
Chicago9 (6)Chicago1-1-1The Fire's goal-scoring responsibility can't always fall on Dominic Oduro. With the Ghanaian firing blanks -- and no one else stepping up -- Chicago suffered its first defeat of the season.
Los Angeles10 (4)Los Angeles1-2-0Given that L.A. had last weekend off, it should have been rested and ready for New England. Perhaps the Galaxy was too rested, as it didn't wake up in time to prevent New England from running rampant at the Home Depot Center.
Columbus11 (13)Columbus2-1-0Bernardo Anor got the critical goal in the Crew's 1-0 victory over Toronto, but the team got perhaps an even bigger boost from stand-in central defender Eric Gehrig, who came up big several times to preserve the shutout.
DC United12 (15)DC United1-2-1Nick DeLeon staked an early claim for the league's Rookie of the Year award, notching a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over FC Dallas. Maicon Santos exacted a bit of revenge as well, netting two goals against his former team.
New England13 (16)New England2-2-0The plans of new manager Jay Heaps look to be taking shape quickly following Saturday's stunner over Los Angeles. In particular the team's midfield, which includes the likes of Shalrie Joseph and Clyde Simms, looks sharp.
Portland Timbers14 (11)Portland Timbers1-2-1It should have been a night when Portland celebrated two wonderful goals from Darlington Nagbe. Instead, the Timbers were left to rue a late meltdown that saw them suffer a 3-2 home defeat to Real Salt Lake.
FC Dallas15 (12)FC Dallas1-2-1Dallas has had its defense to thank for becoming a contender in recent years, but against DC United, FCD's back line was a shambles, losing too many duels and suffering too many lapses in concentration in a 4-1 defeat.
Chivas USA16 (14)Chivas USA1-3-0One week after stealing one against Real Salt Lake, soccer karma came back to bite the Goats, as they couldn't translate their solid play into goals and fell to Sporting Kansas City 1-0. Chivas has failed to record a point in three home matches.
Montreal Impact17 (17)Montreal Impact0-3-1On a day when the Impact finally scored a couple of goals -- and even took the lead twice -- its defense was absolutely torn apart by the resurgent Red Bulls. A suspect penalty call against them late in the first half didn't help.
Philadelphia Union18 (19)Philadelphia Union0-3-1The Union can feel relieved that they finally picked up their first point of the season, and that they held in check former hero Le Toux. Alas, the offense continues to struggle, having tallied two goals in four games.
Toronto FC19 (18)Toronto FC0-3-0He played decently except for that one mistake -- that characterizes the performances of too many TFC players, with designated player Julian de Guzman the prime culprit. His giveaway led to the only goal of the game in this week's loss to Columbus.