Power Rankings never cease to spark outrage. But here at Backheeled? We’re not here to cause anger. No, we’re here to dissect the latest performances, trends, tactics, and news for each of MLS’s 30 clubs. Every week during the MLS season, Ben Wright will guide you through the Eastern Conference teams and Joe Lowery will do the same for the West.
Okay, fine. We’re also here to spark some outrage, because we’re ranking all 30 teams, too. Power Rankings are based on each club’s average position across Ben and Joe’s individual rankings. Onwards.
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1. Vancouver Whitecaps
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If you don’t think there was some pent up anger from the Vancouver Whitecaps directed towards LAFC after they’d been bounced from the playoffs by that squad two years in a row, you’re kidding yourself.
Sunday’s clash between the ‘Caps and LAFC, then, presented Vancouver with a real opportunity to exorcise a demon. They failed to do that, drawing 2-2 in the final game of the weekend. Still, despite a performance that featured too many defensive mistakes to be one of their better displays of the year, Vancouver picked up an entirely respectable result against a surging Western Conference rival.
After falling behind by two goals thanks to a sloppy set piece concession and a bad penalty giveaway, Vancouver slowly whittled away at LAFC. Even with Pedro Vite going off with a minor injury at halftime, they dominated the ball with the sort of patient possession and hyper-aggressive counter pressure that define Jesper Sorensen’s tactical approach — and it all paid off on Brian White’s equalizer.
Guess who????
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 12, 2025
Brian White with the equalizer for @WhitecapsFC! 👀 pic.twitter.com/iAROnvrU4I
This Whitecaps team is beatable. Every team in MLS is. But they sure don’t make it easy. - Joe Lowery
