Ranking the Top 10 Defenses in MLS History
/By Jared Young
The accuracy of Paul Bryant’s mantra “defense wins championships” has long been debated. A more defendable line would have been “defense improves your chance of winning championships,” but no one was ever quoted for being overly precise. However the phrasing, a dig through the archives of Major League Soccer history reveals the old adage still has merit. There have been 41 teams in the league’s 24 regular seasons that allowed 1.1 goals per game or fewer. All 41 of those teams made the playoffs.
41 of 41.
100 percent.
Seven of those teams lifted the MLS Cup, a pretty darn good return of one every six times. Defense might not win championships, but it certainly appears to improve the odds.
Yet defensive rigidity often goes underappreciated; partly because it lacks obvious beauty, and partly because it requires a team effort to achieve. Star power is hard to build from the back. As a humble remedy, here are the ten defenses that have set the standard across league history, accompanied by first-hand perspectives of coaches and players of those teams. The calculation used to land on the final ranking is detailed below the list, for the curious. The plain English math is that the teams are ranked by goals allowed per game adjusted for goals scored in that era, with more weight given to playoff games (full methodology at bottom), with a lower percentage meaning a better defensive team.
Below is a chart of the key teams under consideration plotted by goals against average and the percentage that level was below the goals against average league wide.
Honorable Mentions
Before revealing the list, a few additional teams that narrowly missed the top 10 deserve a mention.
2017 Toronto FC – Toronto had a solid, if not jaw-dropping, regular season allowing 37 goals in 34 games, but they did put together perhaps the best postseason performance in league history. They allowed two goals in their five playoff games, with clean sheets running the final three on the way to the MLS Cup. A metric that places more value on playoff performance compared to the regular season would bring this defense into the top ten.
2013 Sporting Kansas City – There’s plenty of Kansas City on the list, but this particular squad is the only one in league history to allow fewer than three shots on goal per game. That is a remarkable level of suffocation. They also won the MLS Cup. Stay tuned for more on this mini defensive dynasty.
2005 San Jose Earthquakes – San Jose center back Eddie Robinson called this team “one of the best teams in MLS history.” They lost just four matches all season and secured the Supporter’s Shield while allowing less than a goal per game. Had Landon Donovan not been Landon Donovan in the playoffs, this team would have secured a spot in the top ten.
Now, on to the list of the top ten defensive teams in MLS history:
#10 – 2016 Colorado Rapids
Regular Season | Playoffs | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAA | % GAA Compared to League Average | Shots on Target Allowed per Game | Save Percentage | GAA | Result | Final Score | |
| 0.94 | -34% | 3.8 | 78% | 1.0 | -33% | ||
It would be an easy mistake to believe the signing of Tim Howard and Jermaine Jones triggered the improvement of Colorado’s defense in 2016, but the national team duo only played in 26 games that year. They certainly helped, but there was also a group of focused and unsung heroes that earned the second best goals against average since 2013. In fact, Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni praised a different linchpin for the team’s success.
“We decided early on that if we tried to play the game like LA or New York without having the firepower to score a ton of goals that we weren’t going to get to where we wanted to go. We doubled down on a gritty mentality, and ironically, a tifo that our supporters group threw down in the first game of the season was a cartoon character that said, “Keep Fighting” and that became our mantra.
If there was one player who really made a difference, I would say Sam Cronin. He embodied everything that happened around 2016. He was a fearless leader. He really connected the Jermaine Jones, Tim Howards and Marco Pappas with the likes of Badji and Marlon (Harrison), and he was a good sounding board for the coaches as well.
Every training session is going to have an element of attack and an element of defense, and for our group in 2016 whether it was a small sided game, a possession or phase of play tactical exercise, there was never a time where the defensive aspect wasn’t hit on. When you’re hyper-focused those aspects show up more in game. The mentality we had as a group was gritty, steely, determined and defending really meshed well together. The group really looked at it as a challenge.”
Pablo Mastroeni - Head coach of the 2016 Colorado Rapids and current assistant coach for the Houston Dynamo
#9 - 2018 New York Red Bulls
Regular Season | Playoffs | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAA | % GAA Compared to League Average | Shots on Target Allowed per Game | Save Percentage | GAA | Result | Final Score | |
| 0.97 | -36% | 3.5 | 73% | 1.0 | -36% | ||
Stingy defense is often associated with low tight blocks, but this Red Bulls team mastered a relentless high press with a direct attack, and set a new bar for how to play in the league. USMNT staple Aaron Long manned a tight backline with Tim Parker for a defense that gave up less than a goal per game during the highest league wide goal scoring season since 1998.
“That year we had lost Sasha Kljestan and Dax McCarty and few other players, and there were questions about the player pool. I remember having the first meeting with the team and saying I think this could be our best team ever, and that it’s more equipped to play the way that we want than any team we’ve ever had.
At Red Bull we always talked about how eleven players needed in every phase of the game to be involved and know their roles. With that 2018 team we had total commitment. Obviously the backline, we shored that up when we picked up Tim Parker, with Kemar Lawrence, Amir Murillo; I thought that was the best backline in the league. Luis Robles was one of the best goalkeepers. And Tyler Adams was in front of that group, and between him and Sean Davis they covered a lot of ground.
That was probably the best team we ever had in New York and their understanding of how to execute match plans and our playing style was really really good.”Jesse Marsch – Head coach of the 2018 New York Red Bulls and current head coach of FC Red Bull Salzburg
#8 - 2007 Chivas USA
Regular Season | Playoffs | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAA | % GAA Compared to League Average | Shots on Target Allowed per Game | Save Percentage | GAA | Result | Final Score | |
| 0.93 | -31% | 4.5 | 79% | 0.5 | -36% | ||
Brad Guzan had his best MLS season for Chivas USA in 2007, saving 79 percent of the shots on frame and recording 13 clean sheets. It was also Preki’s first season as a head coach following a career that helped MLS become an established league. The backline was a rare (for this list) defense by committee with six players starting at least a dozen games. Chivas USA won the Western Conference that season but lost in the first round after going scoreless in the opening tie.
“It was the first year that Preki was the coach, and when he came in he really instilled a lot of the defensive tactics, and emphasized that almost daily. So we played often a 4-4-2, but we worked on our zonal defending and pressing out of a block, and that was something that the team became very good at.
We also brought in Paulo Nagamura and moved Sasha Kljestan to more of a 10 role, so it gave us one more natural defensive midfielder. And then on the backline we had a lot of experience. We had (Claudio) Suarez, Carlos (LLamosa), (Shavar) Thomas, Jason Hernandez, Orlando Perez, and young guys like (Lawson) Vaughn and (Jonathan) Bornstein. Then Brad Guzan had a great year that year.
It was a lot to do with Preki’s emphasis on defensive tactics, and a lot to do with the personnel of hard-nosed defenders and hard-working guys that helped that team do so well.”
Jesse Marsch – Player for 2007 Chivas USA and current head coach of FC Red Bull Salzburg
#7 - 2010 Real Salt Lake
Regular Season | Playoffs | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAA | % GAA Compared to League Average | Shots on Target Allowed per Game | Save Percentage | GAA | Result | Final Score | |
| 0.67 | -47% | 3.6 | 82% | 1.5 | -36% | ||
2009 Real Salt Lake backed into the playoffs as the last seed with a sub 0.500 record, but then went on a run to become MLS Cup champions. With a chip on their shoulder to prove they were no fluke, the 2010 team put together the greatest single defensive performance in regular season history. Kyle Beckerman was in peak form at the base of their diamond midfield. After his return from a midseason injury the team allowed just seven goals in their final fourteen games, including a stretch of 567 scoreless minutes. In all, they allowed just 20 goals and lost just four contests. The team stumbled in the playoffs, allowing FC Dallas to win the opening tie, but that cannot diminish what will stand for a long time as the best regular season in league history.
“What made RSL’s defense so strong in 2010 was really two-fold. It was so good with the ball in the diamond midfield, it usually controlled possession decreasing the chances for other teams. At the other end, the center back pairing of Olave and Borchers was fierce, and the three-man wing rotation of Wingert, Russell and Beltran meant fresh legs many nights. And then Rimando was in prime shot-stopping mode when called upon.”
James Edward – Beat reporter for Real Salt Lake since their opening season, currently covering the team for Deseret News
#6 - 2012 Sporting Kansas City
Regular Season | Playoffs | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAA | % GAA Compared to League Average | Shots on Target Allowed per Game | Save Percentage | GAA | Result | Final Score | |
| 0.79 | -39% | 3.1 | 74% | 1.0 | -37% | ||
The 2013 Kansas City defense broke the record for shots on target against, as mentioned earlier, but it was a record held by the 2012 version of Sporting (and the 2011 Philadelphia Union). The back five of Jimmy Nielsen, Seth Sinovic, Matt Besler, Aurelien Collin, and Chance Myers started a remarkable 88 percent of the games. This consistency helped the team to the third best goals against average in league history, and while they didn’t make a deep playoff run, the offense tallied just one postseason goal. This was partly because the offense took a significant hit when Teal Bunbury went down with a torn ACL in late August.
“We had this concept the way we wanted to play and one of them was in defending, and we wanted to be very difficult to play against in especially certain situations. In 2012, we were still in the process of laying the concepts of defending and who we wanted to be, and it’s when we really started to come together.
The other piece was that Teal Bunbury was our center forward, and he was an animal. Everybody else worked very hard, they all did, but when you have a guy at the tip of the spear that is willing to put on that initial pressure, it was like a light went on in the group.”
Peter Vermes – Head Coach, Sporting Kansas City (2009-Present)
#5 - 1999 LA Galaxy
Regular Season | Playoffs | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAA | % GAA Compared to League Average | Shots on Target Allowed per Game | Save Percentage | GAA | Result | Final Score | |
| 0.91 | -45% | 4.7 | 81% | 1.2 | -41% | ||
In 1998, the Galaxy netted a remarkable 85 goals, a league record only recently tied by LAFC in 2019. The scoring machine was shut down in the Western Finals by the Chicago Fire, one of the best counterattacking teams in MLS history. The Fire held the Galaxy to just one goal in that tie, and so the 1999 version of the Galaxy set out to focus on defense.
The ‘99 group responded by beating the prior goals against record by twelve, becoming the first team to allow less than a goal per game. The duo of captain Robin Fraser and Greg Vanney, one of the best passing center backs in league history, held down the center while Steve Jolley, Paul Caligiuri, Ezra Hendrickson and Kevin Hartman helped protect an offense that dropped down to 49 goals scored.
The Galaxy failed again in the playoffs, shut out by D.C. United in the MLS Cup Final, but they set a new standard for defense in a league that had yet to show that level of quality.
“That was an amazing year, and our team was good, in every way. We had just come off a year where we scored more goals than any team in MLS history, but we knew that we needed to give up less goals. The team was special because we were very much a team. We had a number of very good players who were team-oriented guys. Part of our good defending is that we were very good going forward, and we kept a great deal of possession. The other part is that we had so many experienced players and good goalkeeping, that when we didn’t have the ball, we were just as comfortable as when we did.
We had a tremendous amount of experience, athleticism, and soccer quality.
Robin Fraser – Captain of the 1999 LA Galaxy and current head coach of the Colorado Rapids
#4 - 2017 Sporting Kansas City
Regular Season | Playoffs | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAA | % GAA Compared to League Average | Shots on Target Allowed per Game | Save Percentage | GAA | Result | Final Score | |
| 0.85 | -43% | 3.8 | 79% | 1.0 | -42% | ||
There may be no better example of the value of defensive consistency than witnessing the 2017 version of Sporting Kansas City. The “new” backline of Graham Zusi, Sinovic, Besler, and Ike Opara had played together since 2013, but Zusi’s move to right back and a healthy center pairing of Besler and Opara turned this defense from decent to great. Tim Melia was also an excellent shot-stopper since 2015.
While they had another disappointing showing in the playoffs, the defense wasn’t to blame. They did come up big in the US Open Cup that year, winning their 3rd title. They allowed just two goals in five games that tournament, all against MLS sides.
“There was a couple things within that group. You had the backline that was consistent in the number of games played, which was a huge help. The back four and the goalkeeper were all the same, and they had a very good relationship with each other, and that consistency helped with the organization of the team on the field.
When you start to get into a rhythm, and you have the same guys all the time, it becomes like clockwork and everything becomes instinctive, as opposed to having to think about things. These guys had been together so much they knew what the other was going to do. If this guy moves left then I’m going to move here, and vice versa, and everyone had that instinct.
We also had one key ingredient. Each of those teams had a great goalkeeper. Each of those years we had a goalkeeper for large periods of time, that didn’t have a lot of action, but they made the big save to either keep us tied or keep us in the game. Each one of those teams had that, and you need that key goalkeeper to help you do that.”
Peter Vermes – Head Coach, Sporting Kansas City (2009-Present)
#3 - 2011 LA Galaxy
Regular Season | Playoffs | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAA | % GAA Compared to League Average | Shots on Target Allowed per Game | Save Percentage | GAA | Result | Final Score | |
| 0.82 | -36% | 3.9 | 79% | 0.5 | -42% | ||
A line-up running Landon Donovan, David Beckham and, in midseason, Robbie Keane doesn’t scream a defensive mindset, but that’s just how this Galaxy team did it in 2011. Juninho joined the central midfield in 2010 and started building a special defense, but in 2011 they rode it to the MLS Cup. This group relied on a fierce counterattack to score goals by committee. The famous trio only netted fourteen goals that year, yet no one else managed more than four in league play. Omar Gonzalez was in his third year and led a diverse backline that allowed the 4th fewest goals in league history, and gave up only two in their four postseason wins.
“What impressed me, and what you see is the depth. You have guys that can play multiple positions. You’ve got guys backing up that are as good as the starter. The outside backs that they had - you’ve got (Todd) Dunivant, (Sean) Franklin, Frankie (Hedjuk), and A.J. (DeLaGarza). That in and of itself was pretty impressive.
Gregg (Berhalter) was on his ‘last hurrah’ as a player. You’ll hear Bruce Arena talk about how important he was in the development of Omar Gonzalez. So that was that perfect type of central pairing of the old guy and the young guy, doing things that the other can’t, and in doing so much more powerful together.
Juninho was starting to be that bite in the midfield. That was important to have somebody in front of that back four, it’s always important, but you were starting to see how important he was going to be to that team.
It wasn’t the most dynamic LA galaxy team, which is important, because the LA Galaxy have built themselves on being sexy and exciting and big. I think it was out of necessity that they needed to [be defensive], and I think they really gravitated to it and owned that.”
Alexi Lalas – LA Galaxy player from 2001-2004 and General Manager from 2006-2008. Currently a FOX Sports analyst and host of Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union podcast.
#2 - 2007 Houston Dynamo
Regular Season | Playoffs | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAA | % GAA Compared to League Average | Shots on Target Allowed per Game | Save Percentage | GAA | Result | Final Score | |
| 0.77 | -43% | 3.9 | 81% | 0.8 | -43% | ||
The 2007 Dynamo started the season with five losses in their first eight games, but only lost four more games through the postseason on their way to the MLS Cup. During a stretch in June and July they did not concede a goal for 726 minutes. They ended a close 2nd to 2010 Real Salt Lake in terms of goals allowed, and also managed less than a goal per game in the MLS Cup run.
“When I think about that Dynamo team the first 6 years, we were a blue-collar, knock your teeth out, knock in some goals kind of group. We had no international players…it was about work ethic and attitude. None of us were that talented. We tested the limits of the referees, and you did not want to play against us.
Richard Mulrooney was one of the most underrated players in MLS history. He put out so many fires for us, and Dominic Kinnear set an attitude that we practiced like we were going to play.
It was an attitude, a personality. We’ll bleed, sweat and cry, but you’re not going to beat us.”Eddie Robinson – Dynamo Defensive Player of the Year in 2007 and current commentator for Houston Dynamo broadcasts
#1 - 2000 Kansas City Wizards
Regular Season | Playoffs | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GAA | % GAA Compared to League Average | Shots on Target Allowed per Game | Save Percentage | GAA | Result | Final Score | |
| 0.91 | -42% | 5.2 | 82% | 0.6 | -48% | ||
This team was the 2nd team, following the previous year’s LA Galaxy, to allow less than a goal per game, but this team sealed the deal with a very strong playoff performance, beating that year’s Galaxy in the MLS Final. Tony Meola had the greatest goalkeeping year in MLS history recording 16 clean sheets and stopping 82 percent of the shots he faced. He’s still the only goalkeeper to win the league MVP.
That was my first year here at the club. That team was full of veterans. It was a brand new team. Bob Gansler brought in a lot of new players, but he brought in a lot of veterans.
We had great goalkeeping in Tony (Meola). He could just come up with the unbelievable save. I was very vocal, and I think in that team it took a lot of pressure off him. I would be organizing the front and he could focus on goalkeeping. He was an unbelievable goalie. He was big time.
We had this veteran group that was nasty. As soon as we scored a goal it was like we were closing the doors, game over. We were that kind of team.”
Peter Vermes – MLS Defender of the Year for the 2000 Kansas City Wizards and current head coach of Sporting Kansas City
Scanning the history, there doesn’t appear to be much rhyme or reason for how roster composition builds defense; young or old, with consistency or cobbled together, rosters have been effective many different ways. But what is evident is that it is a full team effort, from the coach down to all eleven players buying in on a way to play.
It’s also very tough to repeat that success. Only the LA Galaxy in 2010-11 and Sporting Kansas City in 2012-13 allowed less than a goal per game in back to back seasons. However, the most impressive defensive run has to be the 2005-09 San Jose Earthquakes/Houston Dynamo teams that allowed just one more goal than games played over that entire stretch. Considering they took home two MLS Cups and a Supporter’s Shield, one might be able to argue that “defense wins silverware”.
And with that, it’s time to debate.
| Playoffs | Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Year | Goals Allowed | GAA | % GAA Compared to League Average | Shots on Target Allowed per Game | Save Percentage | GAA | Result | Defensive Rating Score | |
| 2000 | 29 | 0.91 | -42% | 5.2 | 82% | 0.6 | -48% | |||
| 2007 | 23 | 0.77 | -43% | 3.9 | 81% | 0.8 | -43% | |||
| 2011 | 28 | 0.82 | -36% | 3.9 | 79% | 0.5 | -42% | |||
| 2017 | 29 | 0.85 | -43% | 3.8 | 79% | 1.0 | -42% | |||
| 1999 | 29 | 0.91 | -45% | 4.7 | 81% | 1.2 | -41% | |||
| 2012 | 27 | 0.79 | -39% | 3.1 | 74% | 1.0 | -37% | |||
| 2010 | 20 | 0.67 | -47% | 3.6 | 82% | 1.5 | -36% | |||
| 2007 | 28 | 0.93 | -31% | 4.5 | 79% | 0.5 | -36% | |||
| 2018 | 33 | 0.97 | -36% | 3.5 | 73% | 1.0 | -36% | |||
| 2016 | 32 | 0.94 | -34% | 3.8 | 78% | 1.0 | -33% | |||
Notes on the Ranking Methodology
Any attempt at an objective measure starts with subjective decisions. What are valuable ways to measure quality defense? Should I adjust for era idiosyncrasies? How important are the playoffs? Here is a summary of how those questions were answered for the purposes of this ranking.
Goals Allowed – It really doesn’t matter how a defense does it as long as they don’t let the ball in the net. This is the ultimate metric. Some modernists might pine for expected goals allowed, but that data doesn’t exist back to 1996, and so only common data was collected. Without expected goals this list might involve a good share of luck, but a little bit of luck is involved in all stories of greatness.
Era Adjustment – Some periods in league history have been more offensive minded than others. In fact, the peak/nadir difference is over one goal per game in just over a decade. It stands that defenses that perform best against better offenses should be rated higher. Here is a chart of goals per game with a three month moving average, which was used in the scoring.
source: Wikipedia
Playoff Performance – Greatness has to be delivered when it counts. That is definitely a subjective statement but one that should be close to consensus. In this case a playoff game was counted as three times as much as a regular season game. Two seems too slight and four to strong. No weight was given to the importance of the playoff game.
I’ve also capped the playoff performance at 40% of the total rating. This cap is due to the fact that there have been many different playoff constructs combined with different numbers of regular season games, and this limits any imbalance caused by those differences.
Qualification - To avoid having a ridiculous playoff performance override a great regular season, qualification criteria was added. To be considered for the top 10, a team had to allow less than one goal per game and have their goals against average be at least 30% better than the league average.
The Metric - In sum, that brings us to era-adjusted goals allowed per game, where playoffs count as three games each (capped at 40% of the total weighting) divided by the overall GAA of the league.