EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIt's Monday, another weekend of action is in the books, and it's time for the latest edition of ESPN's MLS Power Rankings.1. Nashville SCPrevious ranking: 1Nashville clocked four shots on target in a 1-1 draw with San Jose, but neither team reached higher than a .73 xG (and it wasn't Nashville). The draw may be a disappointment for fans ready for them to clinch the Shield, but they can secure it with a win in Montreal and with four games to go, they need just eight points to set a new single-season points record to boot.2. Inter Miami CFPrevious ranking: 3Don't look now, but the star-studded Herons have found their feet with a three-game win streak after the international break. In a 3-1 win against Atlanta, Messi scored twice in the space of four minutes, bringing him to seven goals in their last six games.3. St. Louis City SCPrevious ranking: 2St. Louis picked up their first loss since May 3 in a 3-2 defeat to the Loons. After snapping their 19-game unbeaten streak, STL has fallen short of the all-time undefeated record, but they could still grab first place in the west with a strong four-game finish.4. Philadelphia UnionPrevious ranking: 4Philly scored first and last in a 2-2 draw with Charlotte, which maintained a 15-game undefeated streak started after the World Cup. That said they snapped their eight-game run of wins that was briefly kept alive with a midweek win against Chicago.5. Vancouver WhitecapsPrevious ranking: 6The Whitecaps still have a slim four-point lead at the top of the Western Conference after beating Austin FC 2-1. It wasn't the toughest competition or the best display, but Vancouver's still on track to greet the playoffs with a comfortable position in the west.6. Chicago FirePrevious ranking: 5Still one of the stronger teams in the east, the Fire faced off against two of their fellow east coast contenders (Philly and New England) and came up short in both games. They'll have notes for the postseason after Saturday's 1-0 defeat to the Revs.7. Charlotte FCPrevious ranking: 7After conceding first from the penalty spot, Charlotte scored twice to claim a 2-1 lead before conceding a final goal to Bruno Damiani. They salvaged a point but with a 2-2 draw, but have just one win (and two defeats) in their last four games as they vie for a better chance of home field advantage in the postseason.8. LAFCPrevious ranking: 8LAFC is undefeated in two games after limping their way to a 1-1 draw against NYCFC. Leo Walta's first-half goal from a free kick was a thing of beauty (his first for the club in just his third match), but they didn't capitalize enough in the final third to come away with more than a draw.9. Orlando CityPrevious ranking: 10After a slight stumble with defeats against Philly and the Revs, Orlando is undefeated in three games after beating D.C. United 4-1. In the 22nd minute, Antoine Griezmann finished off a crafty set of passes with a chipped assist to Martin Ojeda, who rewarded the team effort with a backheeled bicycle kick worthy of an award.10. Seattle SoundersPrevious ranking: 9The Sounders were soaring into the postseason on a four-game win streak before stumbling against FC Dallas, then needing a second-half goal from 20-year-old Sebastian Gomez to level the score 1-1 against last-in-the-east CF Montreal. With a few interesting tests ahead, they'll need to recover quickly if they are to avoid starting the playoffs in the wildcard round.11. Houston DynamoPrevious ranking: 11After Mateusz Bogusz scored a 94th-minute penalty, Houston was on their way to their first win in six games until Petar Musa scored a response from the spot in the 11th minute of stoppage time. With that, the Dynamo have four draws in their last five games and are comfortably in the playoff places, though still short of home-field advantage.12. New England RevolutionPrevious ranking: 12Matt Turner's six saves paid dividends in a slim victory over Chicago, as Carles Gil set up Matt Polster for his second goal of the season to make the difference in a 1-0 win over Chicago.13. FC DallasPrevious ranking: 14Petar Musa's penalty in the 11th minute of stoppage time salvaged a point in a 2-2 draw against Houston, securing their fourth point in two games after beating Seattle 1-0 in the midweek.14. FC CincinnatiPrevious ranking: 13Cincinnati has three defeats in four games, and are winless in their last two after losing this weekend's Hell is Real Derby. They're in the final wildcard position in the east and hanging onto their playoff chances by the skin of their teeth, with three heavy-hitters -- Miami, Philly and Nashville -- waiting in their last four games.15. San Jose EarthquakesPrevious ranking: 17The western conference is tightly packed with the playoffs looming, but San Jose still hasn't lost since August and extended that run with a 1-1 draw against first-place Nashville. For those following, that's three 1-1 draws in three games, and four draws in their last five outings for the Quakes.16. New York City FCPrevious ranking: 16Matt Freese made two strong saves, but also has a bit of egg on his face after standing stationary in Leo Walta's first-half goal from a free kick. Andres Perea took the team on his shoulders with a second half goal to seal the point.17. Red Bull New YorkPrevious ranking: 15The Red Bulls generated enough to get a result in a 0-2 defeat to Toronto, but couldn't break through despite outpacing them in the final third. With three defeats in four games, that result could haunt them as they finished the weekend in the wildcard spot, but dead even with Toronto (one spot short of the playoffs) on points.18. LA GalaxyPrevious ranking: 18/p>The Galaxy's two-game face-off against their fellow SoCal sides started with a draw against a 2-2 draw against a limited San Diego. They've got a slim grasp on their playoff spot with LAFC up next.19. Minnesota UnitedPrevious ranking: 20Minnesota's first win since August 22 came against a team that hadn't lost since May. The Loons came back from an early two-goal deficit to claim a 3-2 win capped off by an 88th minute goal from Marcus Caldeira, who capitalized on a counter attack to collect his seventh goal in 12 games.20. Colorado RapidsPrevious ranking: 19Nicholas Hansen's four saves were needed in a 0-0 draw against Portland that saw them slightly outmatched in big chances as the Rapids hang on to their wildcard spot for dear life with four draws in five games.21. Columbus CrewPrevious ranking: 22Patrick Schulte's seven saves did a lot of work in a 2-0 win against their Ohio rivals, as FC Cincinnati crumbled without registering a single save in a match that saw the Crew outshot 23 to three and seven to two on target.22. Toronto FCPrevious ranking: 24Toronto's 2-0 win over RBNY has them undefeated in three games as they stare down the home stretch with a playoff spot in reach. They finished the weekend in 10th place, one spot short of the wildcard spots, but even on points with the two teams above. Upcoming games with Columbus, DC and Atlanta mean they still have some control over their postseason destiny.23. Real Salt LakePrevious ranking: 21RSL is in a race against themselves to break into the playoff positions (they finished the weekend one spot short in the west). After beating SKC 3-1, they've got just one loss in their last four games and secured two wins- their first victories since the World Cup. Morgan Guilavogui's brace of goals (his first since August) made the difference.24. San Diego FCPrevious ranking: 23San Diego's 2-2 draw with the Galaxy is their fourth draw in five games. They've come against respectable playoff teams, but they're going to need more if they are going to launch themselves into the postseason over the final few games.25. Portland TimbersPrevious ranking: 25The Timbers have a habit of doing the work to get more from a result, but somehow walking away short of three points. In a 0-0 draw against Colorado, they couldn't break through in the final third and will struggle to break into the playoffs with tough tests ahead -- Charlotte and Houston at home, St. Louis and Austin away -- to close out the season.26. Austin FCPrevious ranking: 26With only SKC keeping them above last-place in the west, Verde fans may take pride in small victories, like limiting first-place Vancouver in a slim 2-1 defeat.27. D.C. UnitedPrevious ranking: 27Sean Johnson's three saves did their best, but United suffered their second 4-1 loss in three games, this time against Orlando. The good news? They beat RBNY in between and can technically still make the playoffs, but so can everyone else.28. Atlanta UnitedPrevious ranking: 28The bad news is Atlanta lost again. The good news is they managed to stop Lionel Messi from getting a hat trick in a 3-1 loss to Inter Miami.29. Sporting Kansas CityPrevious ranking: 29In their first match since officially getting eliminated from the playoffs, SKC has lost again, this time against RSL.30. CF MontralPrevious ranking: 30Montreal is on the cusp of being the first team in the east eliminated from the playoffs after drawing Seattle 1-1, and could have the honor of being eliminated by Nashville on the same night they clinch the Shield. In between: the Canadian Championship Final.
