Turns Out the Eastern Conference is Not Good. Again.

Based on the evidence of this early season, the Western Conference is by far the stronger of the two in Major League Soccer once again. Of the 100 cross-conference matches set to be played this season, 38 are already over and things are not looking good for the East.

Ten weeks in and the teams of the Western Conference have posted a combined record of 19-10-9 against Eastern Conference opposition, including going 6-1-1 (2.38 PPG) so far in the month of May.

The results have come both on the road and at home for the Western Conference teams as they have posted a record of 10-7-4 when hosting cross-conference matches and 9-3-5 when traveling for them.

Individually there are some teams in each conference that have stood out.

In the West, both the Seattle Sounders and FC Dallas hold perfect 2-0-0 records against Eastern opposition, while the Houston Dynamo (3-1-1), Sporting Kansas City (3-0-2), and Vancouver Whitecaps (3-1-1) have each taken three wins from five games played against the East. The only teams to consistently struggle against their cross-conference opposition have been the Colorado Rapids (0-1-3) and the San Jose Earthquakes (1-3-0 1-2-0).

In the East, things are not so peachy. The standout in cross-conference play has been the New England Revolution, who have posted a record of 3-1-0, the only Eastern Conference team to get three wins against Western opposition so far. D.C. United are not far off that pace at 2-0-2, undefeated in four games against the West. There are, however, plenty of teams that have wilted against teams from the West: the Chicago Fire (0-5-0), Montreal Impact (0-2-0), New York City FC (0-3-1), and Philadelphia Union (0-3-2) are all without wins in their combined sixteen cross-conference matches.

Here are the records for every team in MLS in cross-conference play, as well as the matches played so far. Check them out and give us your thoughts on why the East has been so crummy in the comments below.

The West

• Colorado Rapids, 0-1-3 (0.75 PPG)
• FC Dallas, 2-0-0 (3.00 PPG)
• Houston Dynamo, 3-1-1 (2.00 PPG)
• LA Galaxy, 1-1-1 (1.33 PPG)
• Portland Timbers, 2-1-0 (2.00 PPG)
  
• Real Salt Lake, 2-1-1 (1.75 PPG)
  
• San Jose Earthquakes, 1-3-0 (0.75 PPG) 1-2-0 (1.00 PPG)
  
• Seattle Sounders, 2-0-0 (3.00 PPG) 2-1-0 (2.00 PPG)
  
• Sporting Kansas City, 3-0-2 (2.20 PPG)
  
• Vancouver Whitecaps, 3-1-1 (2.00 PPG) 3-2-1 (1.67 PPG)
  

The East

• Chicago Fire, 0-5-0 (0.00 PPG)
  
• Columbus Crew, 1-1-1 (1.33 PPG)
  
• D.C. United, 1-0-2 (1.67 PPG) 2-0-2 (2.00 PPG)
  
• Montreal Impact, 0-2-0 (0.00 PPG)
  
• New England Revolution, 3-1-0 (2.25 PPG)
  
• New York City FC, 0-3-1 (0.25 PPG)
  
• New York Red Bulls, 1-0-3 (1.50 PPG)
  
• Orlando City SC, 2-1-0 (2.00 PPG)
  
• Philadelphia Union, 0-3-2 (0.40 PPG)
  
• Toronto FC, 1-3-0 (0.75 PPG)