Castrol Index Weekly Top 20: In Jack McBean, LA Galaxy have a talent to build around

MLSsoccer staff

The Castrol Index sure loves a center forward. And there may not be a single one in MLS with the long-term potential of LA Galaxy prodigy Jack McBean.

The 18-year-old actually had a frustrating game in Saturday night's 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids, but his solid positioning, hold-up play and ability to find chances saw him top the Castrol Index Weekly Top 20 for Week 4. He may not have gotten any Player of the Week votes, but clearly something is going fundamentally right for him.

What went wrong for him was the presence of Colorado fill-in goalkeeper Clint Irwin, who's looking like a long-term solution in the absence of veteran Matt Pickens. Irwin celebrated his first career start with a handful of spectacular saves that kept his team in it until the end, which was good enough for the No. 7 spot in this week's ranking.

Irwin was one of five 'keepers in the top seven, with San Jose veteran Jon Busch leading the way at No. 2, followed by New England's Matt Reis at No. 3. Chris Seitz, like Irwin making his first start of the year, came in at No. 4, and Montreal's Troy Perkins was ranked sixth in collecting his second shutout of the season. See how players collect points in the Castrol methodology here.

A quartet of second-year players also made their presence felt, led by Houston's Warren Creavalle. The utility man lined up on the right side of midfield and found himself plenty of looks on goal before eventually depositing the game-winner against Vancouver, good for 10th spot in the Index. Ben Speas, who looks to have solidified a starting role for the Columbus Crew in short order, came in at No. 11, while a sliding block of Devon Sandoval's point-blank shot on goal was the highlight of FC Dallas central defender Matt Hedges' No. 12 performance.

Rounding out the sophomores was Vancouver's Darren Mattocks, who got his first goal of the season in his side's 2-1 loss at BBVA Compass Stadium, taking the 15th spot.

Castrol Index Week 4 Top 20 Performers


Rank	Player	Position	Team	Minutes	Opponents	Points
1	Jack McBean	Forward	LA Galaxy	90	Colorado Rapids	1,696
2	Jon Busch	Goalkeeper	San Jose Earthquakes	90	Seattle Sounders	1,485
3	Matt Reis	Goalkeeper	New England Revolution	90	Sporting KC	1,484
4	Chris Seitz	Goalkeeper	FC Dallas	90	Real Salt Lake	1,313
5	Jackson	Midfielder	FC Dallas	90	Real Salt Lake	1,258
6	Troy Perkins	Goalkeeper	Montreal Impact	90	New York Red Bulls	1,207
7	Clinton Irwin	Goalkeeper	Colorado Rapids	90	LA Galaxy	1,146
8	Josh Williams	Defender	Columbus Crew	90	D.C. United	1,138
9	Tyson Wahl	Defender	Columbus Crew	90	D.C. United	1,123
10	Warren Creavalle	Defender	Houston Dynamo	90	Vancouver Whitecaps	1,115
11	Ben Speas	Midfielder	Columbus Crew	88	D.C. United	1,081
12	Matt Hedges	Defender	FC Dallas	90	Real Salt Lake	1,070
13	Benny Feilhaber	Midfielder	Sporting Kansas City	90	New England Revolution	1,039
14	Carlo Cudicini	Goalkeeper	LA Galaxy	90	Colorado Rapids	1,033
15	Darren Mattocks	Forward	Vancouver Whitecaps	90	Houston Dynamo	1,018
16	Giles Barnes	Midfielder	Houston Dynamo	80	Vancouver Whitecaps	985
17	Dan Kennedy	Goalkeeper	Chivas USA	90	Chicago Fire	921
18	Clyde Simms	Midfielder	New England Revolution	90	Sporting KC	909
19	Aurélien Collin	Defender	Sporting Kansas City	90	New England Revolution	860
20	Chad Marshall	Defender	Columbus Crew	90	D.C. United	858