March 25, 2014 - 5:57 PM
TORONTO - Another week, another MLS honour for Toronto FC striker Jermain Defoe.
The England star, who was the MLS player of the week after his two-goal debut in a 2-1 win over Seattle in Week, 2, topped the league's Castrol Index with 1,463 points after scoring to lead Toronto to a 1-0 victory over D.C. United in Week 3.
The Castrol Index is the official performance index of Major League Soccer, using technology to track every player's move on the field and assesses whether it has a positive or negative impact on a team’s ability to score or concede a goal.
Sporting Kanas City defender Ike Opara was second with 1,406 points in the weekly index, ahead of Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted (1,380) and Seattle Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei (1,334), formerly of Toronto FC. Colorado Rapids forward Deshorn Brown (1,289) was No. 5.
Asked Tuesday to assess what Defoe brings to Toronto FC, midfielder Michael Bradley offered a pithy response.
"Three goals in two games," he said with a smile.
Toronto (2-0-0), meanwhile, moved up four places to No. 7 in the league's power rankings.
Vancouver (1-0-2) slipped two spots to No. 10 while Montreal (0-3-0) remained at No. 18.
FC Dallas (2-0-1) jumped 11 places to No. 1, displacing the Houston Dynamo (2-0-0) who fell to No. 2 despite having a bye. Defending champion Sporting Kansas City (1-1-1) remained at No. 3.
The rankings are voted on by MLSsoccer.com editorial staff.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014