MLS Power Rankings: Vancouver the early-season team to beat

4 hours ago 5

Megan SwanickMar 9, 2026, 09:34 AM ET

It's Monday, MLS action is back, and it's time for ESPN's Power Rankings.

Who looks the strongest? Who's in for a long year? Our writers studied the action from across Matchday 3 to come up with this week's order. Let's dive in.

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1. Vancouver Whitecaps

Previous ranking: 2

Brian White is notching braces. Sebastian Berhalter is scoring goals, assisting others, and setting up chances on set pieces. Tristan Blackmon is knocking them in with his face off of rebounds, offering fans the funniest goal of the weekend (hopefully his nose is fine). What could go wrong for the Whitecaps? Not much over the weekend in a 4-1 win against Portland.

2. LAFC

Previous ranking: 1

Dallas made Los Angeles work for their third win and third clean sheet of the season Saturday night in California. Hugo Lloris made five important saves, including a diving effort to halt Petar Musa in the 96th minute. At the close of a hard-fought 1-0 win, LAFC made history with their best start to the season in club history.

3. San Diego FC

Previous ranking: 3

Newcomer of the Year and MVP finalist in 2025, Anders Dreyer, is off to a soaring start with San Diego. Dreyer scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win against Kansas City, marking his second regular season goal and fifth goal involvement of the MLS season. Debut MLS keeper Duran Ferree, 19, helped secure their third straight clean sheet, putting them on top of four perfect 3-0-0 teams in the Western Conference.

4. Inter Miami CF

Previous ranking: 4

The Herons only took eight shots against D.C. United but got five on target, and the quality in this team doesn't need much to make it hurt. Rodrigo De Paul scored his first of the season to get things going. Lionel Messi followed shortly after to mark his third of the year. That was enough to secure a 2-1 win in the district.

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DC United vs. Inter Miami CF - Game Highlights

5. Nashville SC

Previous ranking: 5

Sam Surridge finished the 2025 regular season with 24 goals in 34 games (only Messi scored more), and he's got four in two to start the new year. Cristian Espinoza scored his first Nashville goal in the 3-1 win over Minnesota. So far, so good for the Boys in Gold. Next up? A midweek test against Inter Miami in the Concacaf Champions Cup.

6. San Jose Earthquakes

Previous ranking: 9

San Jose beat the reigning Supporters' Shield winners 1-0 in Philadelphia (Timo Werner's assist on the match winner is worth a gander), where they're usually difficult to play. That's a laudable result for Bruce Arena's side, who made club history with three wins (and three clean sheets) from three games -- the best start in Quakes history.

7. Seattle Sounders

Previous ranking: 7

Injury woes struck early this season for Seattle, but they saw themselves to a second win of the year after beating St. Louis City 1-0 in Missouri. Jesús Ferreira notched his first goal contribution of 2026 as he pounced on a mistake from St. Louis and set up Kalani Kossa-Rienzi for the goal.

8. Minnesota United

Previous ranking: 8

The Loons have secured a mixed bag of results (they're 1-1-1 in three games) with new head coach Cameron Knowles as they transition to a new style. They've got time to get it together, but were outmatched by a Nashville side whose attack cut through them in a 3-1 defeat.

9. New York City FC

Previous ranking: 11

Orlando's 16th-minute red card certainly helped, but the Pigeons are showing signs of a dynamic attack despite not dropping cash on a striker in the offseason. With five goals from four players, NYCFC are still undefeated three games in.

10. Real Salt Lake

Previous ranking: 12

Three early goals and more impressive performances from RSL's homegrown talents powered them to a 3-2 win against Atlanta. Aiden Hezarkhani, 18, scored his second goal in as many games, and fellow 18-year-old Zavier Gozo scored a stunning left-footed strike to mark his first of the season. With a few injured players (including DeAndre Yedlin and 2025 top scorer Diego Luna), the timing is as good as their goals.

11. Red Bull New York

Previous ranking: 6

Heading into Sunday's match at home against bottom-of-the-league Montreal, RBNY were the only East Coast team with two wins from two games. By the half, they were down two. Ethan Horvath's failed attempt to play out of the back made it 3-0. With two goals from former Red Bull player Wiki Carmona (who scored five goals in 102 appearances across five seasons for the Red Bulls), Michael Bradley's squad win the prize for biggest deflation of Week 3.

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Wikelman Carmona gives Montreal 3-0 lead

Wikelman Carmona finds the back of the net and gives Montreal a 3-0 lead.

12. LA Galaxy

Previous ranking: 13

Gabriel Pec's second yellow card changed the nature of this game for the Galaxy, who've otherwise had a solid start to the year. After conceding first, they were level in Colorado thanks to João Klauss, but they went down to 10 players in the 59th minute and ended the night with a 4-1 defeat.

13. FC Cincinnati

Previous ranking: 10

Head coach Pat Noonan's frustration was evident early, and the home side didn't offer much to change his mind in a 1-0 loss to Toronto. Pavel Bucha forced an incredible save from Toronto keeper Luka Gavran, but there wasn't much else.

14. FC Dallas

Previous ranking: 15

Dallas put in a valiant effort in Los Angeles, forcing five saves from Lloris (who stymied a stoppage time effort from Musa) and limited one of the most imposing attacks in MLS to one goal. A loss is a loss, but FCD can take pride in it. Another difficult test awaits next weekend as they head home to host the West's first-place San Diego.

15. Chicago Fire

Previous ranking: 14

For a moment, it looked like the young South African defender with a big following, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, was going to score a stoppage-time winner as he traversed the entire field before taking a 96th-minute shot that was stopped by Patrick Schulte. With that, Chicago settled for a second straight clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against Columbus. Next up, D.C. at home.

16. Columbus Crew

Previous ranking: 16

After drawing Chicago 0-0 at home this Saturday, the Crew have two draws and a defeat to start a tepid year. The post-Wilfried Nancy era (led by Swedish manager Henrik Rydström) is taking a minute to fully load.

17. Houston Dynamo

Previous ranking: 17

Houston's trip to New England was postponed because the Revs' field isn't ready. They'll resume the year at home against Portland next weekend.

18. St. Louis City SC

Previous ranking: 19

St. Louis City is a bit unlucky in its early season schedule. After losing 1-0 to Seattle at home, it has two straight defeats and no wins to start the year. But both losses came against teams in the top 10 of the league, and STL have fourth-place LAFC (third in the West) waiting next weekend.

19. Charlotte FC

Previous ranking: 22

Charlotte allowed more shots on target (26) than anyone else in the league after two matchdays, but while playing a 10-man Austin from the 25th minute on in North Carolina, they allowed zero -- only an own goal kept them from a clean sheet in a 3-1 win at home.

20. Philadelphia Union

Previous ranking: 18

It's almost panic time for Philadelphia after losing 1-0 to San Jose at home. With three straight defeats, Bradley Carnell's second-season dip seems capable of taking hold again at his second MLS club.

21. Colorado Rapids

Previous ranking: 24

Pec's second yellow in the 59th minute helped the Rapids claim all three points at home, with last year's top scorer Rafael Navarro securing a late brace to see things out 4-1. With two straight wins, the Rapids head to New York next.

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Rafael Navarro with a Spectacular Goal vs. LA Galaxy

Rafael Navarro (Colorado Rapids) with a Spectacular Goal vs. LA Galaxy, 03/07/2026

22. Toronto FC

Previous ranking: 26

No sign of Josh Sargent just yet, but Sunday's well-deserved 1-0 win in Cincinnati is Toronto's first ever at TQL Stadium, and a massive boost to their season. Hungarian Daniel Salloi -- who they acquired from Kansas City in mid-February -- provided the game-winning goal in the 85th minute.

23. Portland Timbers

Previous ranking: 20

While getting demolished by Vancouver in Portland, 18-year-old Eric Izoita scored a gorgeous goal in his MLS debut, providing a brief moment of hope against their fellow Cascadians. Alas, they still lost 4-1.

24. D.C. United

Previous ranking: 23

Tai Baribo's second-half goal is his second of the year (and the second, total, for the club), but it wasn't enough to counteract Miami's early dominance in a 2-1 defeat. They fired off 15 shots but managed just three on target and Baribo's only shot was the team's only goal. With two straight defeats, they're off to Chicago.

25. Austin FC

Previous ranking: 21

After two strong results to start the year, a red card to Guilherme Biro in the 25th minute sunk their hopes in Charlotte. While managing zero shots on target, Brad Stuver had to weather 11. Eight saves from Stuver (and an own from Charlotte's defense) wasn't enough to salvage a result in a 3-1 loss.

26. CF Montréal

Previous ranking: 30

It's just one game, but Montréal looked impressive in an assertive 3-0 win against formerly undefeated RBNY in New Jersey on Sunday. Former Red Bull midfielder Carmona (who they picked up one month ago) scored twice in the win.

27. Sporting Kansas City

Previous ranking: 28

After losing 1-0 to first-place San Diego, this team in transition has two defeats and a draw to start the year. But their record does no justice to their effort, as they held the Crew to a draw and limited one of the best teams in MLS to one goal.

28. Orlando City

Previous ranking: 25

Orlando's bad start to the season got worse over the weekend. Maxime Crépeau was sent off in the 16th minute for handling the ball outside of the box, leaving his team to fend off the Pigeons with ten men. Five unanswered goals later, Orlando has three straight defeats to start the year.

29. Atlanta United

Previous ranking: 27

Aleksei Miranchuk offered two brief glimpses of hope at the Benz, chipping away at RSL's early lead with a goal in each half. But his brace could only do so much to combat poor defending from the Five Stripes as they fell to a 3-2 loss at home.