GreatBlueHeronsUnited was the leader this round, scoring 164 points to set the pace. At the top of the overall table, BL4CKnRED‘s lead has stretched to 83 points.
Positional Leaders
Goalkeepers
Two players tied for the goalkeeping lead on 17 points, as Matt Freese (NYC, $7.0) and Maxime Crepeau (LA, $6.6) both kept two clean sheets. Andre Blake (PHI, $8.0) rounded out the top three with a clean sheet and 13 points. For DCU, Alex Bono ($7.5) scored 6 points.
Defenders
Nashville’s Jack Maher ($8.2) combined a goal with a clean sheet on the way to 21 points, leading the defenders ahead of Cincinnati’s Alvaro Barreal ($11.3), who did the same for 20 points. Thiago Martins (NY, $9.1) came in third with 18 points on a pair of clean sheets. The United defense featured the trio of Donovan Pines ($9.2), Ruan ($8.1), and Brendan Hines-Ike ($5.6) scoring 5 points; Eric Davis ($7.7) with 4 and an RBI double in the bottom of the 6th, and Andy Najar ($5.7) with 1.
Midfielders
Luciano Acosta (CIN, $14.7) tallied two goals and an assist on the way to 24 points, leading the midfielders and all players. Trailing him was the 20-point duo of Robert Taylor (MIA, $6.9), who added an assist to his two goals, and Andres Jasson (NY, $4.0), who scored one goal and assisted another. D.C.’s midfield was led by Mateusz Klich ($8.9) with 14 points, followed by Gabriel Pirani ($7.3) with 10, Russell Canouse ($6.1) with 7, Chris Durkin ($6.1) with 5, Yamil Asad ($4.0) with 4, and Ted Ku-Dipietro ($5.3) with 3.
Forwards
D.C.’s own Christian Benteke ($8.1) scored a hat trick on the way to 22 points, sharing the positional lead with Billy Sharp (LAG, $8.9), who did the same. Teemu Pukki (MIN, $9.8) rounded out the top three with 21 points on two goals and an assist. The remaining United forwards were Cristian Dajome ($4.2) with 2 points, and both Nigel Robertha ($4.0) and Erik Hurtado ($5.2) with 1.
Looking Ahead
Atlanta is on bye this round, while Philadelphia, Dallas, RSL, the Galaxy, Colorado, Vancouver, Nashville, and New England play twice. Everyone else plays once in this round that starts this Wednesday night and lasts two and a half weeks. I’ve got Joe Willis (NSH, $7.6) in goal with games vs. Seattle and New England, and Kai Wagner (PHI, $11.7) in defense vs. Dallas and @Columbus. Ryan Gauld (VAN, $13.7) looks strong in midfield @Colorado and vs. DCU, and despite playing just one game, I’m still going with Denis Bouanga (LA, $11.8) at forward vs. RSL.