Team of the Matchday

Team of the Week (Wk 28): East rising as Columbus Crew SC, New England Revolution lead the way

With eleven matches over five days, Week 28 provided plenty of opportunities for MLS players to stake their claims for a place in the Team of the Week, presented by EA SPORTS FIFA 16.


New England and Columbus, both winners of important intra-conference matches over the weekend, lead the way with two first XI selections apiece, while Orlando City's newcomer Adrian Winter made a splash with two goals and thus vaulted into his first TOTW appearance.

Team of the Week (Wk 28): East rising as Columbus Crew SC, New England Revolution lead the way -

GK: Tim Melia (Sporting Kansas City) – The Chivas USA alum reached a career high in saves, seven, while standing on his head to keep a precious clean sheet for SKC in Portland at midweek.


D: Victor Cabrera (Montreal Impact) – Played a vital role as his team earned a rare point from a trip to LA, as Montreal's composed defending shut down the vaunted Galaxy attack.


D: Bobby Burling (Colorado Rapids) – The big man showed a finisher's touch to beat D.C.'s Bill Hamid on Saturday and made a bevy of defensive interventions, all without committing a single foul.


D: Andrew Farrell (New England Revolution) – Made a slew of important defensive plays, many of them deep in his own penalty box, as his team held off Sebastian Giovinco and TFC.


D: Harrison Afful (Columbus Crew SC) – With a relentless motor and an attacking mindset, the Ghanaian looks perfect for Crew SC and on Saturday vs. Philadelphia, he notched his first MLS assist.


M: Cristian Techera (Vancouver Whitecaps) – With a goal and an assist vs. Colorado on Wednesday, the diminutive Uruguayan continued to impress in his debut season in British Columbia.


M: Michel (FC Dallas) – Scored what turned out to be the game-winner on a rare Olimpico vs NYCFC, but was also one of the Dallas’ more dangerous players with three shots on goal and his trademark free kicks.


M: Javier Morales (Real Salt Lake) – A goal, an assist and a pivotal role in some tantalizing sequences of legit pass-and-move attacking soccer from RSL at Houston.


M: Adrian Winter (Orlando City SC) – City's summer arrival from Switzerland led the unexpected romp over Sporting with a goal in the 3rd minute and another 69 minutes later, powering the desperate Lions to a much-needed win.  


F: Diego Fagundez (New England Revolution) – Continued his fine form by scoring his third goal in as many games and helping the Revs weather Toronto FC's pressure.


F: Kei Kamara (Columbus Crew SC) – Two goals vs. Philly ran his league-leading total to 20, and kept him in contention for the all-time single-season scoring mark of 27 (jointly held by Roy Lassiter, Chris Wondolowski and Bradley Wright-Phillips).


Coach: Mauro Biello (Montreal Impact) – IMFC's interim boss set his team up to successfully stymie the defending champs, as LA dropped points at home for just the fourth time all season.


Bench: Bill Hamid (DC), Fatai Alashe (SJ), Sacha Kljestan (NY), Cristian Higuita (ORL), Juan Manuel Martinez (RSL), David Accam (CHI), Obafemi Martins (SEA)