Benny's Army led the league this round with a scorching 187 points, just one better than the next closest team. Captain Sebastian Giovinco (TOR, $13.5) scored three goals and 44 points to lead the team. Supporting him were Albert Rusnak (RSL, $10.0) with 29 points on the strength of a goal and three assists, while Jonathan Mensah (CLB, $6.0) had a goal and a clean sheet on the way to 22 points. At the top of the table, !BL4CKnRED extended the overall lead to 56 points.
Positional Leaders
Goalkeepers
With two clean sheets, DCU’s Bill Hamid ($5.8) led the position with 17 points, while Jon Kempin (LA, $4.8) saved two penalties against Columbus to score 16 points. Both Nick Rimando (RSL, $6.3) and Alex Bono (TOR, $5.6) tallied kept a clean sheet on the way to 12 points and a tie for third.
Defenders
Jonathan Mensah’s 22 points led the position. D.C.’s Kofi Opare ($4.7) and Toronto’s Nicolas Hasler ($4.8) earned two clean sheets for 19 points, tying for second. Hasler was fortunate to be substituted after 70 minutes, but before Montreal scored their goal. The remainder of the D.C. defense consisted of Jalen Robinson ($4.8) with 15 points, Sean Franklin ($5.1) with 9, and Chris Korb ($4.5) with 8.
Midfielders
Albert Rusnak’s 29 points led the midfielders and all players, while his teammate, Luis Silva ($7.3) scored three goals and 21 points. Rounding out the top three was Diego Valeri (POR, $11.6) with two goals and 20 points. Luciano Acosta ($8.4) led the United midfield with 14 points, followed by Russell Canouse ($6.6) with 11 points, the pair of Nick DeLeon ($5.6) and Lloyd Sam ($8.0) with 9 points, Paul Arriola ($8.9) with 8, Marcelo Sarvas ($6.6) with 5, and Jared Jeffrey ($4.9) with 1.
Forwards
Sebastian Giovinco’s 22 points were good for the positional lead. Joao Plata ($9.8) was second with 19 points on a goal and an assist, and Erick Torres (HOU, $8.7) was third with two goals and an assist for 17 points. For DCU, Zoltan Stieber ($8.0) led with 7 points, followed by Patrick Mullins ($8.0) with 3, and Deshorn Brown ($7.6) with 2.
Looking Ahead
Fourteen teams have byes this week. The eight teams who are playing are MTL, CHI, NE, ORL, DAL, NYR, COL, and LA. Chicago has one win since July 1st, and they have lost their last four consecutive games, including a 3-0 loss at this week’s opponent, Montreal. With that in mind, I like Evan Bush (MTL, $5.6) in goal. In defense, go with Fidel Escobar (NYR, $4.5) at spiraling FC Dallas, who hasn’t won since July 22nd and has lost four of their last six. In the midfield, put the armband on Ignacio Piatti, and play Bradley Wright-Phillips (NYR, $10.6) at forward.