Editor’s Note: This piece was submitted by Battle Flag Red.

As we enter the first weekend in September, most USL Western Conference teams have three or four games left on their schedule. With only five points separating the top six teams, those remaining games provide an opportunity either to out-position the teams above, or to fall out of a playoff position entirely. For teams not likely to make a playoff spot, well, this is your chance to play the spoiler and (with apologies to Conan the Barbarian) “crush your opponents, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentations of their fans.”

The team playing the role of Conan the last four games has been Real Monarchs SLC. The chart below (Figure 1) illustrates how well they have done, almost tripling their points per game season average (PPG). Real Monarchs SLC did not prey on weak or faltering teams, either. In those four games, Real Monarchs SLC beat three playoff teams (OKC, Seattle 2, and Colorado Springs) and tied a fourth (Sacramento). Luckily for the other playoff teams, Real Monarchs SLC has no remaining matches against a top six club.

A strong stand-in for Real Monarchs SLC would be Arizona, who has played well enough to earn one point more per game than their season average. Doing so was no easy accomplishment; they beat LA Galaxy II twice in August (at home and away). With two games remaining against top-six teams OKC and Sacramento, Arizona is in position to slay a playoff dragon or two. Arizona’s only loss in the four game span was to Orange County - one of the top-six’s best playing teams.

Orange County and OKC are currently playing the best of all the playoff teams. Their last four games are very similar in that they did not play another top-six team, and each lost to one of the previously mentioned spoilers (Arizona and Real Monarchs SLC). They both have managed to increase their points per game this month by a half-point or more. Despite such inspired play, Orange County enters into their own “Tree of Woe,” playing three playoff teams in their last four regular season games. In its remaining two games, OKC will not have it easy, as they play Arizona twice.

Lastly, we have to talk about underperforming teams. Colorado Springs and Seattle have seen the most significant drop in performance. Their last four PPG average dropped by .6 and .8 points per game respectively. Both schedules were not particularly challenging, and each had a loss to a team well below their own table position. Time is running out to turn things around and re-establish the form that “got them there.” Not being at the top of your game is not where you want to be, whether you’re in the last weeks of playing for a playoff position in the USL, or facing off against the barbarian hordes.