May 17, 2013 by Charlie Eisenhood in Analysis, Rankings with 4 comments
After a wild weekend of upsets, the Major League Ultimate playoff dynamic is looking far more interesting than it did a week ago. Consequently, we’re seeing some significant movement in the Power Rankings.
With San Francisco falling for the first time this season, Boston is now the lone undefeated team in the league. They find themselves rising to #1 in this week’s Power Rankings.
Here are the full Power Rankings — see below for discussion.
1. Boston Whitecaps (4-0) — The Whitecaps crushed the DC Current 24-13, embarrassing the team in the biggest blowout of the season. Boston has really started to gel and their very un-Boston-like offense is giving defenders fits.
2. San Francisco Dogfish (3-1) — The Dogfish lost in Portland this weekend, but were without most of their starters. With a full roster, this is still the most dangerous team in the league.
3. Seattle Rainmakers (3-1) — Seattle rebounded from a bad loss against a short-handed Dogfish team last week to take down Vancouver again at home. They go on the road for two important games against Portland and Vancouver; wins will almost guarantee them a playoff spot.
4. Vancouver Nighthawks (2-3) — The Nighthawks haven’t been able to put together two good halves against Seattle or San Francisco and need to figure it out in a hurry. With just five games to go, and only one more against Portland, they need to gain ground quickly.
5. New York Rumble (1-3) — The Rumble picked up their first win of the season over the Spinners and looked impressive in the process. Just a game back of Philadelphia for the second spot in the East, a win this weekend against DC would be huge for their playoff hopes.
6. Philadelphia Spinners (2-2) — The Spinners have now lost back-to-back games and have yet to play Boston. That’s bad news for Philly, who are in danger of slipping out of 2nd place in the East this weekend.
7. Portland Stags (1-4) — Portland notched their first win of the season over the Dogfish, last week’s #1 team. Say what you want about San Francisco’s weakened roster — this was a gritty win that could spark some momentum for the Stags. Timmy Perston has been an absolute beast and is likely to draw more coverage for the rest of the season; his teammates need to take advantage.
8. DC Current (1-3) — The Current had a brutal weekend, spending almost 24 hours on a bus and getting dominated by Boston on the road. They have their biggest game of the season so far this week against the Rumble. The winner has a clear path to the playoffs; the loser will be all but done.
