Nothing comes easy in MLS, and the Supporters’ Shield standings after the first seven weeks of the 2026 regular season show just that, with Vancouver Whitecaps tied at 18 points with the San Jose Earthquakes as the league’s best teams.
The latest round of matches featured several teams rotating lineups due to Concacaf Champions Cup commitments and upcoming second-leg quarterfinal fixtures. That prioritization saw LAFC falter for the first time, bidding farewell to what became a club-record clean sheet streak in a 2–1 loss to the Portland Timbers on Saturday.
Up the west coast, Vancouver prevailed 2–0 over New York City FC in a clash of USMNT World Cup hopefuls, while the far corner of the continent saw Inter Miami fail to win the club’s second game at Nu Stadium, drawing 2–2 with Red Bull New York.
With Matchday 7 in the books, here’s how the teams stack up in the latest edition of Sports Illustrated’s MLS Power Rankings.
MLS Power Rankings Matchday 7: Clubs 30–11
30. Sporting Kansas City (Previous: 30)
29. CF Montréal (Previous: 29)
28. Atlanta United (Previous: 28)
27. Philadelphia Union (Previous: 27)
26. New England Revolution (Previous: 26)
25. D.C. United (Previous: 24)
24. Orlando City (Previous: 25)
23. St. Louis CITY SC (Previous: 22)
22. Austin FC (Previous: 20)
21. Colorado Rapids (Previous: 23)
20. Portland Timbers (Previous: 21)
19. Houston Dynamo (Previous: 14)
18. Toronto FC (Previous: 19)
17. LA Galaxy (Previous: 18)
16. Minnesota United (Previous: 17)
15. Columbus Crew (Previous: 15)
14. FC Dallas (Previous: 16)
13. FC Cincinnati (Previous: 13)
12. Charlotte FC (Previous: 11)
11. Real Salt Lake (Previous: 10)
10. Red Bull New York 🆙 (Previous: 12)
Tip of the hat to manager Michael Bradley and his Red Bull New York teenagers. While they might have some inconsistent moments, this weekend saw them go out and dance around Inter Miami’s star-studded lineup, battling to a 2–2 draw, where they were largely the commanding team.
Julian Hall, 18, relied on his wicked pace to burst past Miami’s center backs and create the first goal, setting up relative veteran, 24-year-old Jorge Ruvalcaba. Later on, it was Hall again, dancing around on a softly taken set piece from Emil Forsberg, before laying off to Adri Mehmeti, who danced around Rodrigo De Paul and ensured a point away from home.
Are the Red Bulls an MLS Cup contender this year? Probably not, since the playoffs depend on consistency, but they can certainly compete with the best in MLS on any given day, as they showed in Saturday’s impressive effort.
9. San Diego FC 📉 (Previous: 6)
San Diego FC are still a fantastic team. Unfortunately, they have spent too much of the season playing with fewer players, with the latest episode in the ongoing issue coming in this weekend’s 2–1 loss to Minnesota United.
While Luca Bombino’s 1–0 goal in the seventh minute was overshadowed by two Minnesota markers before halftime, any pushback from the Chrome and Azul was heavily hampered after defender Chris McVey picked up a 46th-minute red card.
McVey’s sending off made it four straight games with a red card for the California side, bringing them to six across 11 games in all competitions this season. Yes, having more attacking help and Designated Player talent outside of Anders Dreyer would elevate this team, but Mikey Varas’ side simply won’t win many games if they are always playing with fewer than 11 on the pitch.
8. New York City FC 🤝 (Previous: 8)
For U.S. men’s national team fans, New York City FC’s 2–0 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps was pretty good. Matt Freese made eight saves on 10 shots on target, and USMNT-capped Sebastian Berhalter and Brian White made key attacking contributions.
For NYCFC, though, it was ugly. Despite some solid defensive showings this season, the Pigeons surrendered 23 total shots with a 3.34 xG, as they struggled to maintain any form against an elite MLS side. In contrast, NYCFC amassed just two shots on target, with an xG of 0.63.
While Freese’s standout performance kept a respectable scoreline, it was the latest chapter in NYCFC’s inability to make a massive attacking impact with Nicolás Fernández and Maxi Moralez, the lone two play-drivers in the squad. Overall, they desperately need Alonso Martínez’s return from injury or summer reinforcements.
7. Chicago Fire 🆙 (Previous: 9)
Who knew Gregg Berhalter’s defensive systems were this good?
This weekend marked the fourth clean sheet in seven games for Chicago Fire FC as they secured a 1–0 win over Atlanta United. The result brings them to three straight wins, a run that has seen only one goal hit the back of their net.
While Berhalter expressed concerns about not building on Maren Haile-Selassie’s 1–0 goal from the 13th minute, the team can be more than pleased with how things are going on the defensive side of the ball, lofted by 20-year-old South African international, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, who made a key goalline clearance to save the result.
Expect some rotation for the Fire’s next match, as they face USL Championship side Detroit City FC on Tuesday, before turning attention back to MLS against a struggling FC Cincinnati side next weekend.
6. Seattle Sounders 🆙 (Previous: 7)
The Seattle Sounders weren’t in action this weekend, but they moved up the MLS Power Rankings due to poor performances by teams around them. They are looking ahead to a midweek second-leg clash with Tigres UANL, where they will hope to come back from a 2–0 deficit from the first match of their Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinal. The Rave Green are back in MLS action next week against St. Louis CITY SC.
5. Inter Miami 🤝 (Previous: 5)
Play Danza Kudoro! Germán Berterame has a goal!
Okay, enough of the celebrations. It was a fantastic moment for Berterame to score his first goal for Inter Miami in his ninth appearance across all competitions, and it came off an assist from Lionel Messi, fulfilling the hopes the club had when they shelled out $15 million on the attacker.
Yet, this was still a worrying day for Inter Miami. It marked the second game at Nu Stadium and the second 2–2 draw against a side not widely expected to contend for the Supporters’ Shield or MLS Cup. Last week, it was Austin FC; this week, a teenager-led Red Bull New York.
At its core, it appears to be a dedication issue for players of varying degrees. There was immense and evident effort from Telasco Segovia and Yannick Bright, all while Rodrigo De Paul struggled defensively, and Maxi Falcón made several unforced errors at the back.
Combine those aspects with Messi missing several chances, and it makes for a frustrating performance. There are plenty of questions right now for Miami heading into an away clash against a Colorado Rapids side that thrashed the Houston Dynamo 6–2 this weekend.
4. San Jose Earthquakes 🤝 (Previous: 4)
No Timo Werner, no problem for the San Jose Earthquakes this week.
After allowing the opening goal against Sporting Kansas City, the Earthquakes forged a three-goal comeback, with two assists from Niko Tsakiris, a brace from Jack Skahan and a goal from Dave Romey. With the result, they brought their best start in club history to a stellar six wins and one loss in seven games, and find themselves tied atop the Supporters’ Shield standings.
While they have a key win against league-leading Vancouver, next week brings a big test as they face California foes LAFC, who, despite sitting third in the table, have only conceded two goals this season. However, manager Bruce Arena told reporters that Werner is expected to be available for that clash.
3. Nashville SC 📉 (Previous: 2)
.@NashvilleSC double their lead! 😤 pic.twitter.com/F4TKLYPFLJ
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 12, 2026
How about Patrick Yazbek? The Australian midfielder gave himself a good boost of confidence ahead of this summer’s World Cup, dancing through Charlotte FC’s midfield before dazzling his way past USMNT Tim Ream, who he could meet again in Group D action this summer.
With manager B.J. Calalghan prioritizing the Concacaf Champions Cup, none of the potent trio of Hany Mukhtar, Sam Surridge or Cristian Espinoza started the match, but it proved no issue for the Coyotes, who got goals from Yazbek and his midfield partner Eduard Tagseth to win 2–1 away from home.
Any win is fantastic, and doing so with a rotated team is even better. Now, Nashville looks to push past Liga MX’s Club América on Tuesday night after a scoreless draw in the first leg at home. In that, they’ll become the first MLS team to hit the pitch at the newly renovated and reopened Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
2. LAFC 📉 (Previous: 1)
LAFC heavily rotated the squad this week to rest players ahead of the second leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals against Liga MX giants Cruz Azul, despite winning the first leg 3–0 at home. That decision came back to bite manager Marc Dos Santos’ side, as they bid adieu to the fourth-longest clean sheet streak in MLS history and lost their perfect record with a 2–1 defeat to the Portland Timbers.
Through the early stages of the regular season and in the first two rounds of the Champions Cup, Dos Santos had been criticized for not rotating his team. It was working, but players began to pick up injuries, starting with midfielder Stephen Eustàquio, who has not played in a month and now Amine Boudri.
Now, it’s clear that continental competition is a priority at this point. Combine that with the forgiving nature of the MLS regular season, and the loss shouldn’t worry LAFC too much.
1. Vancouver Whitecaps (Previous: 3)
The way the Vancouver Whitecaps are playing right now is simple: It’s just calm.
This weekend saw the Whitecaps cruise past a strong New York City FC side relatively easily in front of over 25,000 fans at BC Place, putting up a 2–0 win with goals from Mathías Laborda and Brian White. Sebastian Berhatler further emphasized his case for inclusion on the USMNT World Cup squad with an assist on the first goal, before new signing Bruno Caicedo stunned with a skillful assist to White’s header, as the fringe USMNT striker continued to chase the Golden Boot.
There is no panic in how the Whitecaps are playing right now, and despite injuries, there has not been a significant shift over the past year. At the same time, they are not solely reliant on Thomas Müller and individual stars, and they pose threats to opponents anywhere on the field.
With LAFC’s loss and Vancouver’s convincing win, the Whitecaps are back atop the MLS Power Rankings right here, the same spot they hold in the Supporters’ Shield race, heading into next week’s clash against Sporting Kansas City.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as MLS Power Rankings: LAFC Falter, Inter Miami Stagnate, Other Major Shifts From Matchday 7.
