Ezequiel Barco – Photo Credit: Buda Mendes/Getty Images South America

by Chris Asbrock

The 2018 MLS season kicked off this weekend with a few surprising results.With the soccer season, being a marathon and not a race, it is very likely the top teams that suffered tough results this weekend will straighten themselves out quickly. The addition of another club in the City of Angels will add a lot of intrigue between LAFC and the LA Galaxy. MLS continues to get stronger and the addition of young, promising players continues to help this league gain notoriety. The summer transfer window should be interesting as well with the rumored addition of Manchester United striker, Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Adding a player like Zlatan would be very interesting for the league. This will be another fun and exciting MLS season, so let’s take a look at how things will shake out at season’s end.

Projected order of finish:

Eastern Conference

  1. Toronto FC
  2. NYCFC
  3. Atlanta United
  4. Chicago Fire
  5. Columbus Crew SC
  6. Orlando City
  7. Montreal Impact
  8. DC United
  9. Philadelphia Union
  10. New York Red Bulls
  11. New England Revolution
The Eastern Conference is top heavy, headed by the defending MLS Cup Champions, Toronto FC. There could be a battle between Atlanta and NYCFC for the second spot in the east. Toronto FC is clearly the top team and there is no reason to think otherwise. Even with top, record-breaking signing Ezequiel Barco injured, Atlanta United should be able continue their stellar form from last season. Two intriguing teams are Columbus and Orlando City. With the possible move to Austin on the table, it will be very interesting to see how Columbus handles this season. Will the potential move prove to be too much for the Crew or can they look past the distraction and battle for a playoff spot in the east? Orlando City is a team that has seen a great deal of change and has the potential to make some noise in the playoffs. While they won’t be vying for the top few spots in the conference, they will be there in the playoff hunt all season. Orlando City failed to take advantage of Kaka during his time in the Sunshine State, so with the soccer legend retired, Orlando City will try to take the next step and make the playoffs for the first time in their history. One major factor is the top teams have improved themselves but the bottom few teams didn’t improve enough to make a relevant push to the playoffs.
Western Conference

  1. Portland Timbers
  2. Seattle Sounders
  3. LA Galaxy
  4. Real Salt Lake
  5. LAFC
  6. Sporting KC
  7. FC Dallas
  8. San Jose Earthquakes
  9. Houston Dynamo
  10. Vancouver Whitecaps
  11. Colorado Rapids
  12. Minnesota United
The Western Conference looks to be pretty interesting with LAFC and what their impact will be on the playoff push. The West should feature the usual suspects but the injury to Sounders forward Jordan Morris could prove costly for their playoff hopes. The Sounders can only hope that another player steps up and can help carry the load until the summer transfer window. If Seattle can stay in the hunt until the transfer window, they could make a solid splash and bring in a playmaker to help carry them into the playoffs. The injury to Morris could end up being fatal to the Sounders quest to win another MLS Cup. The battles between Seattle and Portland along with the two LA teams will be the ones to watch in the west. With LAFC coming into the league, the Los Angeles Galaxy were forced to improve their team with a gung ho mentality. Adding potent goalscorer Ola Kamara from Columbus was the most crucial get for the Galaxy. If Kamara can put the ball in the back of the net like he did in Columbus, the Galaxy will be a very dangerous team. Mexican superstar, Carlos Vela, was the marquee signing for LAFC this offseason and coupled with Diego Rossi, coach Bob Bradley has a solid mix of youth and veterans that will help expansion club make the playoffs. There are a handful of teams that will battle it out for the sixth and final playoff spot in the west. With the west being top heavy, the final playoff spot could come down to the very end. On the bottom end of the west, both Minnesota and Colorado didn’t do much and very well could have regressed.
MLS Cup Champion: Toronto FC over Portland Timbers

League MVP: Josef Martinez (Atlanta United)
Breakthrough player: Alphonso Davies (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Coach of the Year: Bob Bradley (LAFC)
Top incoming signing: Carlos Vela (LAFC)

With this being a World Cup year, this summer could be one to watch with the American stars staying home and the summer transfer window possibly bringing in a big name or two. This will be a very big year for MLS, with the influx of young talent and the upcoming expansion news, all the pieces are there for MLS to take the next step. The summer of soccer is once again here and MLS should once again not disappoint.

Chris Asbrock is a staff writer and analyst for Impact Sports and can be followed on Twitter  and