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Round 29 was a massive week for several managers in MLS Fantasy. The average score shot up to 52 points and the highest score increased by 21 (99 to 120 points).
There weren't quite as many goals as we saw in Round 27, but with 31 goals there was plenty of offensive production to go around. To wit, 22 players recorded 10 points or more ... how many did you own?
Once again, seven teams were represented on this week’s Dream Team. The Seattle Sounders led the way with three selections.
Here's the breakdown on the rest of the DT for Round 29...
Round 29 Statistics
- Top Fantasy Score: 120 points
- Average Fantasy Score: 52 points
- # teams that scored 0 goals: 7
- # teams that scored 1 goals: 7
- # teams that scored 2+ goals: 8
- # clean sheets per round: 7, 2, 5, 6, 3, 3, 6, 6, 4, 7, 7, 4, 5, 4, 3, 5, 7, 3, 4, 7, 4, 8, 3, 3, 5, 6, 5, 4, 7
- # goals scored per round: 24, 21, 17, 16, 22, 16, 14, 22, 27, 17, 41, 29, 27, 26, 16, 25, 17, 27, 24, 13, 25, 19, 25, 28, 24, 23, 37, 24, 31
Dream Team formation: (4-4-2)
Top Player: Marc Burch – 19 points
Defenders (4)
Defenders had the best week overall. Seven players reached or surpassed the 10-point mark with Seattle's Marc Burch leading the way. Over a two-game span, Burch had one clean sheet, two assists and five bonus points. Teammate Djimi Traore made the DT as well with an 11-point effort.
Two players were slightly better than Traore in Round 29. Portland's Rodney Wallace is proving once again that you're going to get burned for not adding a defender that plays forward to your team. His 12 points were one less than Columbus defender Eric Gehrig. The Crew center back had a poor showing against Sporting KC on Saturday, but it was his 10-point effort on Wednesday that earned him a spot on the DT this week.
Midfielders (4)
The midfielders had a phenomenal round as well, with six players eclipsing the double-digit barrier. Lamar Neagle bounced back from an average week in Round 28 (5 points) to score 17 points over a two-game span. If you had him on your team, you reaped the benefits. And if you were brave enough to give him the captain's armband, you did the right thing.
Patrice Bernier doubled his goal production on the year rather easily, slamming home two penalties in Montreal's 4-2 win against the New England Revolution. Shea Salinas and Jonny Steele rounded out the group with 11-point efforts.
Honorable Mention:Diego Valeri and Fabian Castillo finished the round with 10 points.
Forwards (2)
Justin Meram's breakout 13-point performance on Wednesday night was enough to earn him the top spot among forwards this week. In his second game of the week, he was back to his old ways, logging just one point over 59 minutes against Sporting KC.
Marco Di Vaio tallied his third two-goal outing in the last four weeks. He is officially "on fire," and someone you should consider having on your team the rest of the regular season, at least. He has a favorable schedule and no byes to finish the season. And if that isn't enough to add him to your team right now, he'll also benefit from a double-game week in Round 35.
Three other forwards had very productive outings in Round 29, but just missed the cut. Two of them are owned by less than 0.5 percent of owners.
Goalkeeper – Dan Kennedy (13 points)
Dan Kennedy was one of four goalkeepers who logged 10 points or more in Round 29. His clean sheet against D.C. United was just the third shutout of the season for Chivas USA. Kennedy has a tough matchup in Round 30, facing a Portland Timbers team that just scored four goals in their last game.
Congratulations to Tony Nagygyor (Olympia FC), who finished Round 29 with 120 points. Olympia FC had five players from this week’s DT in the Starting XI: Marco Di Vaio, Rodney Wallace, Lamar Neagle and Djimi Traore. Tony's captain was DeAndre Yedlin!
*Dream Team subject to change. All point totals are finalized Wednesday for Rounds ending on Sunday
