Onward and upward: we’ve got a league match on Saturday against Bethlehem Steel. We’ll do our usual preview tomorrow, of course, but it’s worth taking a step back and evaluating the league table as we’re nearly a third of the way through the season already.

In spite of a short bench and injuries, Louisville City is in second place with two games in hand and leads the East in points per game with 2.20. Cincinnati’s newest roster has clicked pretty well thus far, and are in first by a point. Pittsburgh is chugging along pretty well, with 21 points in third. The Hounds lead the East in draws with six (Rio Grande Valley have seven, somehow). They’ve given up just seven goals in their twelve games, have scored 14, and have seven clean sheets. Not bad.

Charlotte is in fourth, though they’ve played a pretty easy schedule so far. They’ve won four games in a row after going on an equally long losing streak earlier in the season. Charleston is fifth on the wins tiebreaker with five, and have picked up 20 points so far. The top five teams in the conference are just three points apart.

Nashville’s in sixth on 19 points, and haven’t lost a match since mid-April. Bethlehem is in seventh on goal difference with 17 points, followed by Tampa Bay in the last playoff spot. Given how much talent is on the Rowdies, it’s pretty hard to fathom how badly they’ve struggled so far this season. I imagine they’ll still make the playoffs, but their road record is atrocious, once again: 2-5-0, including losses to Penn FC and Richmond Kickers.

Below the playoff line, you can sort out who’s got a chance to jump back over it and who doesn’t. Red Bulls 2 can get hot, and are equal on points with Bethlehem and Tampa Bay. Indy Eleven is still figuring things out with their new roster and head coach, and have 15 points through eleven games. I thought Ottawa was destined to join Torontwo at the bottom of the table, but they’ve begun to figure things out and are 3-1-1 in their last five matches. That leaves North Carolina, Penn, Richmond Kickers, ATLUTD2, and Torontwo. These guys aren’t getting in unless something drastic happens. Penn can still find a result against good teams from time to time, as can Richmond and maybe Atlanta based solely on talent, but I don’t think any of these teams are going to play extra soccer this season. Torontwo hasn’t won a game yet, and have ten losses, two draws, and a -17 goal difference to show for themselves this season. Yikes.