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DC United 2 vs. Orlando City SC 1
Highlights
Orlando City started on the offensive putting on some good pressure, getting an early goal through Cyle Larin. However, DC United found their form in the second half and pulled 2 back while suppressing the Orlando attack. The lineups were a bit interesting for fantasy owners given Rolfe was starting on the bench and Espindola wasn’t in the 18, but those who had faith in Rolfe were rewarded with a late goal.
Fantasy Standouts/Letdowns
- Chris Rolfe did a lot with the time he had on the field and is probably in line to start the next game. He keeps finding ways to be involved in the attack. Luis Silva has been a bright spot in the past and seemed to be a promising pickup, but disappointed with a sub off before 60 minutes leaving him with only 1 point and little to gain in the weekend game. Cyle Larin was the obvious bright spot for Orlando with little else happening around the team.
New York City 2 FC vs. Chicago Fire 2
Highlights
NYCFC and the Fire played a pretty even game with the Fire going ahead early and NYCFC clawing their way back to a 2-2 draw. David Accam’s impact on the offense was shown throughout the game as he proved a huge menace for the NYCFC defense while Maloney has quietly become one of the more solid contributors for the Fire and fantasy, albeit at the expense of Shipp. It took Khiry Shelton getting benched to finally score, but the same can’t be said for David Villa. It’s great that they were scoring goals, but at the same time Villa has to start scoring.
Fantasy Standouts
- Shaun Maloney ($9.3): With just .8% ownership Maloney has gone under the radar the past 5 weeks with scores of 10, 5, 4, 6, and 10. With David Accam back in the lineup as well the Fire attack looks to fire on all cylinders and Maloney has become at the heart of the attack. Shipp’s time is done.
Fantasy Letdowns
- NYCFC Offense: The problem with the offense is no one has stepped up yet and taken responsibility for the scoring. Mehdi Ballouchy is their leading scorer with forwards like David Villa, Nemec and Khiry Shelton on the roster. Villa looks like the clear exciting option, but until they develop any kind of consistency they can’t be trusted.
FC Dallas 0 vs. New York Red Bulls 0
Highlights
Despite being two of the most potent attacks in the lead Dallas and New York played out to a draw. Bradley Wright-Phillips was largely quiet while the defenses stood out, however Diaz and Castillo were still on the prowl creating constant problems for the New York defense. It wouldn’t be wise to bet against either attacks to go scoreless twice in a row with both fighting to either maintain table topper status in FC Dallas’ case or to move above New England and DC in New York Red Bulls’ case.
Fantasy Standouts
Walker Zimmerman ($5.5): With Lloyd still out Zimmerman is one of the best low budget options in defense. He plays on a very strong Dallas team and now that the back four has been together for a couple games the only problem they were facing, chemistry, appears to be gone.
Fantasy Letdowns
- Fabian Castillo ($10.2): Everyone should know the risk they face with Castillo: he consistently faces a problem with consistency. Week 9, he put up 14 points and then the next two games he put up 3. That’s not to say he isn’t getting chances. Castillo was very dangerous against the Red Bulls and probably should’ve come away with some more points, but he didn’t and it’s not the first time that’s happened. Of course the other problem is the dreaded fear of dropping him and then having him explode for 15 points. So drop at your own risk, but there are probably some good DGWers to pick up with that money.
- Bradley Wright-Phillips ($11.3): Now I know what you’re thinking: how could I suggest dropping BWP when he’s about to face Philadelphia? Well first of all this is first and foremost looking at his performance this week fantasy-wise, which wasn’t good. Second, I will recommend dropping him. It’s not that I think he won’t score next week, but I don’t like the argument that you should keep him just because he’s facing the Union. The Union are going to have momentum from their late win against DC and when teams are falling out of the race they get real scrappy and desperate for wins, which can be bad for fantasy owners. I suggest drop him and spend the money elsewhere to differentiate yourself from the 20% of owners that have BWP.
Montreal Impact 4 vs. Real Salt Lake 1
Highlights
A lot of people are labeling this game less as a win for Montreal and as a loss for Real Salt Lake. Yes Real Salt Lake didn’t do themselves any favors
Fantasy Standouts
- Andres Romero ($7.7): If you were bold enough to listen to my Andres Romero suggestion then you had a very good differential pick up this week. He’s owned by .2%, which probably won’t change for a while given all the DGWs coming up. So if you really need to set yourself apart Romero could be a great addition. The Montreal Impact aren’t that bad. We saw how they’re offense can get it done in the CCL, but also how their defense can collapse late so I can’t recommend any defenders as of yet.
Fantasy Letdowns
- Ignacio Piatti ($9.6): How I feel about Piatti depends on if he continues to take PKs after his miss. I this game he had an assist and attacking bonus and could’ve potentially had a phenomenal goal with a PK, however he missed and instead had a poor game. We saw Barnes lose the privilege in Houston and not get to take a PK a week later. If that’s the case then Romero is just as good an option in my opinion and for $2.0 less.
- Real Salt Lake: Like people said RSL really stepped on their own feet throughout this game. Luis Gil has been getting his chance to play in his favorite role with Jorales out, but can’t do anything with it. My only bright spot for RSL, Jordan Allen, is going off to the U20 World Cup now, so I don’t have anyone on this team I really trust or like to get it done in fantasy. Take a break from RSL until they pick it up again or Jorales comes back.
Vancouver Whitecaps 0 vs. Seattle Sounders 2
Highlights
Well I want to tell you to quickly transfer in Chad Barrett, but that’s not really a wise move given Martins may be back this week. But seriously that guy is a monster when he plays. It may be a good thing that he doesn’t play more often otherwise he might not have enough goals in him to score consistently. Seattle’s 2-0 win may signal the end to the Era of Rivero. He was largely quiet this game and once Seattle went up 2-0 the game essentially stopped as Seattle played keep away the same way a dad holds a ball to high above his child’s head and the child helplessly reaches for it. This, however, also hurt some of the Sounders offensive fantasy options, as the mindset was less on scoring and more on connecting passes. Luckily for Dempsey owners he was able to connect for an assist on the first goal. It’s also good to know Seattle isn’t as helpless without Oba as they’ve looked in the past.
Fantasy Standouts
- Stefan Frei ($5.7): Frei has been the most consistent scorer on the defensive side of the ball for the Sounders. Even when the defense has come up short Frei manages to have a say in the game and in his fantasy score with scores of 6, 6, and 9 while players like Evans and Marshall have put up 2s in the last couple games.
- Clint Dempsey ($11.8): Well this is a tough one. Dempsey stood out in the sense that he’s managed to consecutively have a say in games for a while now (the stat eludes me at the moment). He didn’t go off, but in a game void of chances he had a part in 1 of the 2. The main problem here is he is priced at $11.8, which means if you haven’t had him from the beginning like me, he may be near impossible to afford for some people. If you have the money snag him up for his DGW, if not I can’t really give you a reliable option for the Sounders outside of Martins and Dempsey lest you take a chance on Neagle or Pappa.
Fantasy Letdowns
- Vancouver Offense: There’s no denying their potency in attack, however, their inability to get it done against a quality team in the Sounders, without their star scorer, doesn’t bode well for the Defense or the offense. The Sounders didn’t creat a crazy amount of chances by any means, but they finished clinically and then toyed with the Whitecaps for the rest of the game.
New England Revolution 1 vs. Toronto FC 1
Highlights
This game was marred by Altidore’s early injury. No one wants to see top attacking prospects in the MLS go down ever. The Revolution showed their attacking prowess and depth with a goal from Agudelo. While the captian and unlikely scorer for Toronto FC, Bradley, went on a wonder run to grab a draw for an Alitdore-less Toronto. The questions left are how long will Altidore be out after looking to be in form, and how will this deep New England squad rotate during the DGW?
Fantasy Standouts
- Juan Agudelo ($8.8): Agudelo isn’t too expensive at $8.8 and has shown a propensity to get forward. He’s got mouth-watering skills we’re lucky enough to watch from time to time making him a great pickup for the DGW. The only thing to be aware of is his ability to go cold like he has the past 2 games scoring 2 in both and also how likely the Revs are to rotate the squad with a deep squad and DGW coming up.
- London Woodberry ($4.9): If he’s not on your team already he probably will be come game time on Wednesday. He’s one of the cheapest defensive options right now and is actually producing. He didn’t do as well against Orlando, but put up 6 this week and 2 weeks ago. He’s definitely a starter and looks to get into the attack from the wings and on set pieces. He’s as good as they come and will probably keep being my standout for the Revs.
Fantasy Letdowns
- Chalrie Davies ($8.9): Davies had been on a goal scoring run up until this week where he was rendered useless fantasy-wise. Davies shares the same risk Agudelo does for the upcoming DGW. We all could very well be left with 3 points from 2 games as the Revs rotate the squad and one of these guys is unable to make it on the scoreboard.
- Jozy Altidore ($9.9): for obvious reasons he’s on this list. The not so obvious question though is will this become a recurring problem? And if it does that could mean bad news for Altidore as a consistent scoring option. We’ll wait and see what is said about the injury. In the meantime Giovinco continued with consistency picking up an assist, but his money could be used elsewhere with the DGWs coming up.
That’s the breakdown for the first half of Round 10. What do you think? Did any players jump out at you who you think deserve to be highlighted? Mention them in the comments below, or send me or Tyler a Tweet and let us know. Also, don’t forget to get involved with the get community her at MLS Fantasy Boss and over at /r/FantasyMLS.
