| Rank |
Team |
Previous |
Change |
Record |
Forge Factor |
Notes |
| 1 |
San Antonio |
4 |
+3 |
23-5-4 |
6.198 |
San Antonio did their thing, having barely 1/3rd of the possession, but got the game’s only goal after 86 minutes to beat Pittsburgh and win the regular season title. 4 quality wins on the last 5 games and they are looking unbeatable. |
| 2 |
Memphis 901 |
1 |
-1 |
19-8-4 |
5.656 |
Memphis 901 kept Miami at bay for 89 minutes and 59 seconds. That last second of regulation was a killer. It also doesn’t help to record just 1 shot on goal. With the loss they came very close to handing Louisville the Eastern Conference title. |
| 3 |
San Diego Loyal |
5 |
+2 |
18-9-5 |
4.986 |
San Diego needed 1 point to secure 23ns lace in the East, and that’s what they got, drawing 2-2 in Orange County. But they needed a momentous save from Koke Vegas at the final whistle to get it. |
| 4 |
Phoenix Rising |
24 |
+20 |
11-15-6 |
4.986 |
The Rising beat Sacramento 1-0 on the back of a superb performance in goal by Ben Lundt and then took advantage of a man advantage over the Baby Bulls to win 5-1 in their best week in a long time. |
| 5 |
Rio Grande Valley Toros |
2 |
-3 |
12-13-6 |
4.885 |
RGV played Lou City pretty close this week but were unable to find the net and so lost 0-1. They also fell below the playoff line, but with 3 games still to play are in no way out of the playoffs. |
| 6 |
Louisville City |
9 |
+3 |
20-6-6 |
4.474 |
Lou City beat RGV 1-0, but were not particularly impressive doing so in what was a fairly even game all told. They stay atop the East, though, and are looking good for that first round bye. |
| 7 |
Oakland Roots |
7 |
0 |
10-9-13 |
4.101 |
No one had a better week than the Roots whose 2-1 victory over the Legion saw them jump to 6th in the West. They will need to fight to stay above the playoff line though. |
| 8 |
Las Vegas Lights |
27 |
+19 |
11-13-8 |
3.954 |
The Lights were the weaker team for 40 minutes against Monterey Bay, but the dam broke and they won 4-0. Then they drew 0-0 with New Mexico with no shots on goal. Still, a good week and the playoff hopes are very much alive. |
| 9 |
Birmingham Legion |
11 |
+2 |
16-9-7 |
3.536 |
The Legion lost on the West Coast for the first time in an underwhelming performance and made it all the harder to hold on to that final home playoff spot. But that embarrassing loss to Indy drops out of the algorithm and the Three Sparks get a boost. |
| 10 |
Tampa Bay Rowdies |
23 |
+13 |
17-7-7 |
3.448 |
The Rowdies beat Monterey Bay Union 2-1, mostly thanks to some heroic goalkeeping by replacement shotstopper Phil Breno. A loss to Charleston is out of the form book now, so they get a big lift in the rankings, but they have hardly been spectacular lately. |
| 11 |
El Paso Locomotive |
10 |
-1 |
12-12-7 |
3.409 |
El Paso Locomotive were on a bye this week. |
| 12 |
Detroit City |
12 |
0 |
14-6-12 |
3.361 |
Maxi Rodriguez got a hat trick, Nate Steinwascher was as good as usual and Detroit won 4-0 in rainy Loudoun. City have not lost a game since August 20 and are in incredible form at the perfect time. |
| 13 |
FC Tulsa |
19 |
+6 |
11-15-6 |
3.361 |
Never heard of Luca Sowinski? Well, he’s an 18-year-old mid-year signing and just got a hat-trick to lift Tulsa to 4-2 win in Indy. Maybe we’ll hear more from him next year. |
| 14 |
Hartford Athletic |
13 |
-1 |
10-16-6 |
3.188 |
Hartford Athletic got a hat-trick out of Andre Lewis in the 6-3 goalfest win over Charleston. Only San Antonio has a better record over the past 5 games. They are making a statement for 2023. |
| 15 |
The Miami FC |
8 |
-7 |
14-8-10 |
2.999 |
Miami completely outplayed Memphis for the 1-0 win, but it doesn’t make up for losing the 7-1 win over New York and they take a tumble in the rankings. |
| 16 |
LA Galaxy II |
26 |
+10 |
11-14-6 |
2.413 |
LA played down a man for 53 minutes but still to get the better of Sacramento 2-0, largely thanks to some poor play by the visitors. Los Dos remains alive in the playoff hunt, but just barely. |
| 17 |
Indy Eleven |
17 |
0 |
11-16-5 |
2.344 |
Indy Eleven beat Atlanta United 2 1-0 thanks largely to poor finishing by the home team, then got shellacked 2-4 by Tulsa. Not great in either game and they strand still in the rankings. |
| 18 |
New Mexico United |
21 |
+3 |
11-9-11 |
2.103 |
New Mexico had all the shots on goal against Las Vegas but Abraham Romero kept them at bay, so they left Sin City with just a point. United have not won a game since August 20th and are lucky to remain above the playoff line. |
| 19 |
Colorado Springs Switchbacks |
20 |
+1 |
16-12-4 |
1.735 |
Colorado Springs Switchbacks were on a bye this week. |
| 20 |
Pittsburgh Riverhounds |
15 |
-5 |
15-9-8 |
1.719 |
The Riverhounds had double the possession but less than half the shots against San Antonio and allowed an 86th minute goal to lose a game they really needed to win. Their last win was a month ago against Loudoun. Not a good time for a slump. |
| 21 |
Loudoun United |
14 |
-7 |
8-21-3 |
1.583 |
Loudoun weren’t without good chances but couldn’t get the ball past Steinwascher, ultimately losing 0-4 in an obvious mismatch. |
| 22 |
Orange County |
18 |
-4 |
7-13-12 |
1.507 |
Both Iloski brothers scored in the 2-2 draw with the Loyal. But they are about all Orange County has to be proud of this season. |
| 23 |
Monterey Bay Union |
6 |
-17 |
12-16-4 |
0.724 |
Monterey Bay dominated the first half in both games this week, but still lost 0-4 to Las Vegas and 1-2 to Tampa Bay. 4 straight attempts to cross into payoff territory have failed and the post-season chances are fading. |
| 24 |
Atlanta United 2 |
16 |
-8 |
5-22-4 |
0.673 |
Twonited had more and better chances than Indy but simply couldn’t get it done, losing 0-1. The win over Tulsa 3 weeks ago is now history and they have reverted to form. |
| 25 |
Sacramento Republic |
3 |
-22 |
14-11-7 |
0.365 |
SacRep had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week, losing 0-1 to Phoenix and 0-2 to Los Dos. A rare Danny Vitiello fumble sank them against the Rising and the LA loss was despite a long man advantage. An own goal and a missed PK didn’t help. 3 straight losses now. |
| 26 |
New York Red Bulls II |
25 |
-1 |
3-23-6 |
0.208 |
Another week, another loss. And going down a man for 40 minutes is not something this team can afford. A PK given up by the keeper isn’t optimal either. they lose 1-5 in Phoenix. This sorry season is almost done. |
| 27 |
Charleston Battery |
22 |
-5 |
6-20-6 |
-1.859 |
The good news: they scored 3. The bad news: they gave up 6. The Battery’s nightmare season is almost done. Will Conor Casey survive the offseason? |
