10/12 - Eastern Conference Power Rankings 3

Nashville SC continued rolling with wins bookending the international break. This past weekend was a particularly convincing display, where they dominated Austin FC at Q2 Stadium in a 4-1 scoreline that could've been worse for the Verde & Black. It's now 3 straight multi-goal wins for the Coyotes, who are cruising to their first Supporter's Shield in club history. 

In their last 13 matches, Philadelphia have accrued 35 points from a possible 39. Wins over Orlando and Salt Lake extended Union's winning streak to 7, even while dealing with numerous important call-ups. This team has completely transformed since the World Cup break and are now on a historic run, powered by the kids. Now's the tests: they play Chicago, Charlotte, New England, and Nashville in their next 4 matches. It doesn't get much harder than that in the East.

Chicago have broken their winless streak with 3 straight victories. This coincides with the return of one of the best center backs in the league, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, who is so important to how the Fire play. Chicago flashed their contender credentials with a gutsy come from behind win over New York City. The Fire were down a goal and a man at half, but remained on the front foot and turned the game on its head. It's a result that will give Chicago huge amounts of confidence as they look to hold onto a home playoff spot.

Like the Fire, Charlotte had a character building comeback. Down 0-2 in the 70th minute, Charlotte scored thrice with Toklomati instrumental to it all. This comes after a tough loss in Chicago, so it was a necessary bounce back for the Crown. Kessler has been sound at the back, Biel is quietly up to 20 goal contributions on the season, and Saint-Maximin has brought this attack to the next level. With these ingredients, Charlotte have a promising recipe for success heading into the final part of the season.

New England have suffered two straight 0-3 losses. The first ocurred during the international break and can be shrugged off, but this recent defeat to the Sounders is concerning, especially since it came at home. That said, the Revolution are still one of the best teams in the conference with one of the best players in the league and a mostly solid defense. This is a team that will figure things out and be a real threat in the East.

Miami finally got back to winning ways against DC. The result puts them in a great position: back up to second in the Eastern Conference. But with their abhorrent defending, there's no trusting this team to stack any results. Sure, they have match winners in attack. That's about all you can say for this team though. There is no cohesive tactical plan when this group of individuals steps on the pitch, and it shows every week.

For the first time since the first of August, Red Bulls won a game in Sports Illustrated Stadium. And what a win it was. New York dominated San Diego by the score of 4-1, with Julian Hall picking up right where he left off with the USA and Jorge Ruvalcaba(!) getting himself a goal and an assist. Red Bulls did take a harsh loss to St. Louis during the break, but they've won 3 out of their last 4 and look much more solid defensively.

Orlando are still conceding a lot of goals, but they're also scoring a lot. Following a pair of 2-4 defeats, they beat Columbus 3-2 to give themselves 4 points worth of breathing space over the 10th place team in the East. Orlando is flawed, but dangerous. They have so many elite attacking pieces, led by Antoine Griezmann, who continues to produce for the Lions. In their next 3 matches, Orlando plays 3 of the 4 teams directly below them in the standings. It will be a big couple weeks for Orlando City.

Toronto FC may have just revived their season with Mihailovic's last minute game winner in the Canadian Classique. Despite being down 1-0 heading into stoppage time, Toronto were able to pull off a remarkable comeback that keeps them within striking distance of the play-in game in the Eastern Conference. With Mihailovic coming back and Corbeanu looking dangerous, will Toronto have enough time to piece everything together for a late playoff push?

Cincinnati got back on track this weekend with a 3-1 win in Atlanta. The result snapped a 6 game winless streak and a 5 game streak where they conceded multiple goals. Evander remains sidelined with an ankle injury sustained against Montréal in the match before the break, but the Knifey Lions were able to pick up all 3 points even without their talisman. Denkey stepped up with a brace, and they'll need him to continue to produce while Evander is missing.

Columbus continue to be hot and cold. Their most recent loss in Orlando could prove to be a back-breaker for the season, as they are now 7 points behind the line instead of just 2. The match exposed Columbus' lack of ball winners in midfield, but also showcased their immense attacking talent. Santi Rodríguez and Brais Méndez both factored into goals, and Taha Habroune again looked impressive as an 8 in Courtois' 3-4-3 system. After Wednesday's match against Charlotte, the Crew have perhaps their two biggest matches of the season: Hell is Real on Sunday Night Soccer followed by the US Open Cup final on Wednesday.

For the first 45 minutes of the game, NYCFC looked like they might be able to turn things around this season. Alonso Martínez got his first start of the season and they were beating Chicago 1-0 with a man advantage going into halftime. But, as has been the story of the season for the Pigeons, they were unable to hold things together. They have now won just once since Leagues Cup and are falling out of playoff contention.

After a credible 3-3 draw against Vancouver, DC United got blown out in southern Florida by Inter Miami. They sit 6 points out of a playoff spot but have a game in hand against most of the other teams in the Eastern Conference. The good news for DC is that all 7 of their remaining game are against teams that are in seventh place or lower in the conference, including 2 against ninth-place Cincinnati. Every matchup down the stretch is going to be a 6-pointer, so it is crucial that DC starts performing better if they want to make it into the playoffs.

Atlanta United look lost. Even with Embolo's addition to the team, it's hard to pinpoint where goals are going to come from. They can't really defend either, having allowed 5 goals in their past two matches, including 3 to an Evander-less Cincinnati. Both were at home, where they've been one of the worst teams in the league. Atlanta are a team lacking an identity. They have a game on Wednesday against the next team on this list that could tell us a lot about this group of players.

Montréal were just a couple minutes away from a big 3 points against their rival... then they imploded and came away with nothing. They're just two points above SKC for the Wooden Spoon, and are playing much worse soccer right now. Lineup choices are baffling, performances are underwhelming, and it's unclear what formation this team is going to line up in. They need to figure things out if they want to beat Forge FC in the Canadian Championship in a week and a half.