MLS winners and losers: Morris' torrid start, Montreal's woeful stretch

With St. Louis City FC finally losing their first game of the season, it's the end of an era. The most consistent entry on MLS winners and losers this season finally takes a step back, but we’ll never forget the historic ride they took us on.

However, there's no need to fear since Major League Soccer has provided us with another matchday full of action and wild storylines. Here's the winners and losers from the week that was.

Winners: Wilfried Nancy and his new Crew

Those who were expecting growing pains or an adapting period for Coach of the Year nominee Wilfried Nancy’s first season with the Columbus Crew could not have gotten it more wrong. It’s only week six and 13 players have been involved in Columbus’ 15 goals this season — a league high.

In typical Nancy fashion, the scoring is coming in droves, but so are the goals against. That being said, if he can keep that goal differential positive just like he did last year with CF Montreal, Columbus will be in very good shape.

Losers: Montreal can't catch — or create — a break

North of the border with Nancy’s former club, things have not gone according to plan. Alright fess up, who in the Montreal camp pissed off every single one of the soccer gods? That seems to be the only logical explanation, because most of Montreal’s key players are either injured or seriously underperforming.

A characteristically difficult start to the season was thought to be behind them after their miraculous come-from-behind win against the Philadelphia Union, but they managed to follow that up with one of their worst displays in recent memory. Losing captain Samuel Piette to a groin injury five minutes in and then finding themselves a man down after Rudy Camacho was sent off, Montreal seemed powerless and defeated long before any of the five goals the Vancouver Whitecaps scored.

Winner: Physically incapable of missing

Jordan Morris is more than just a man in form right now, he’s THE man in form. The Seattle Sounders have gotten off to an excellent start this season and Morris has been the biggest contributor to that. On top of scoring a whopping eight of the team’s 12 goals, Morris is sporting an impossibly good 57 percent shooting percentage — a number that skyrockets to 89 percent when factoring only shots on target. At the moment, the MVP race is still Thiago Almada’s to lose, but if Morris can keep up this kind of form, he will become a very real contender.

Losers: Champions League tax

Last year, The New England Revolution were coming off the best season in MLS history at the time, breaking a number of records, including most points. However, with the added weight of a CONCACAF Champions League run, the start of their season was difficult to say the least, as they never really recovered and ended up missing the playoffs. This season seems to show more of the same. There are three MLS teams still in the Champions League quarter-finals and all of them have had a pretty underwhelming starts to the season.

Even Los Angeles FC, who sit third in the West, has dropped points they had no business letting go, playing to a nil-nil draw against the last-placed Colorado Rapids. MLS teams are growing in quality and that will continue, but it’s clear that most teams in the league have not reached the squad depth required to play the amount of games consistently found in European leagues.

Winners: An eventful offseason actually paying off

Many times in MLS, teams simply do too much in the offseason. After a difficult year, clubs have a tendency to overcorrect and just starting bringing in anyone they can get their hands on, with nothing to show for it. However, FC Cincinnati may just become the blueprint for how to retool effectively and not lose your club’s sense of identity.

Cincinnati scored goals for fun last year, but had a miserable time keeping them out, which is why a brand new defence and reinforced midfield has them sitting at the top of the East for the first time ever and just a point behind St. Louis. They’ve become a much more balanced team and are so much harder to break down now, conceding just four goals in six games.

Losers: Minnesota home fans

Minnesota United are one of the biggest surprises this season. With Emanuel Reynoso still nowhere near returning to the team, expectations were low for Minnesota but they are now one of the three remaining unbeaten teams in MLS and have completely turned those expectations around — on the road at least.

Sitting fourth in the West with three wins and two draws, the Minnesota faithful have still not seen their team grab three points, with all three victories happening on the road. During both home games, Minnesota blew a 1-0 lead and had to settle for a draw. Their next home game is in two weeks against Orlando, so maybe they can secure the elusive home win then.