You can read last week’s rankings here, and an explanation of our methodology here.

Below are the rankings as of July 22nd, 2017 (last week’s rankings is in parentheses).

East Rankings

T1 (Last Week- 2). Charlotte Independence (1145)

Last Week: Drew 1-1 @ Harrisburg City Islanders on Tuesday.

T1 (3). Louisville City (1145)

Last Week: Won 4-1 @ Saint Louis FC on Saturday.

3 (1). Charleston Battery (1141)

Last Week: Lost 2-0 @ Tampa Bay on Saturday.

4 (4). Tampa Bay Rowdies (1124)

Last Week: Won 2-0 vs Charleston on Saturday.

5 (5). Rochester Rhinos (1113)

Last Week: Drew 0-0 vs Pittsburgh on Saturday.

6 (7). FC Cincinnati (1112)

Last Week: Won 3-0 vs Harrisburg on Saturday.

7 (6). Bethlehem Steel FC (1109)

Last Week: Lost 3-2 @ Richmond Kickers on Saturday.

8 (8). Ottawa Fury (1098)

Last Week: Bye Week

9 (9). Orlando City B (1095)

Last Week: Bye Week

10 (11). Pittsburgh Riverhounds (1087)

Last Week: Drew 0-0 @ Rochester Rhinos on Saturday.

11 (10). Harrisburg City Islanders (1080)

Last Week: Drew 1-1 vs Charlotte on Tuesday, Lost 3-0 @ FC Cincinnati on Saturday.

12 (12) . Saint Louis FC (1074)

Last Week: Lost 4-1 vs Louisville City on Saturday.

13 (13). New York Red Bulls II (1070)

Last Week: Won 1-0 vs Toronto FC II on Friday.

14 (15). Richmond Kickers (1057)

Last Week: Won 3-2 vs Bethlehem Steel FC on Saturday.

15 (14). Toronto FC II (1051)

Last Week: Lost 1-0 @ New York Red Bulls II on Friday.

Week Nineteen Matches

Wednesday, July 26th

#1 Charlotte Independence (1145) v #14 Richmond Kickers (1057)

#10 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (1087) v #3 Charleston Battery (1141)

#5 Rochester Rhinos (1113) v #15 Toronto FC II (1051)

Saturday, July 29th

#7 Bethlehem Steel FC (1109) v #1 Charlotte Independence (1145)

#3 Charleston Battery (1141) v #9 Orlando City B (1095)

#6 FC Cincinnati (1112) v #5 Rochester Rhinos (1113)

#8 Ottawa Fury FC (1098) v #15 Toronto FC II (1051)

#14 Richmond Kickers (1057) v #12 Saint Louis FC (1074)

#1 Louisville City (1145) v #13 New York Red Bulls II (1070)

#4 Tampa Bay Rowdies (1124) v #10 Pittsburgh Riverhounds (1087)

Bye Week: #11 Harrisburg City Islanders (1080)

Thoughts

Charleston’s loss is Charlotte and Louisville’s gain, as the two sides move past the Battery into a tie for first in our power rankings. Charleston fall to third, but the top three clubs remain at a big advantage over the rest of the conference, nearly 20 rating points ahead of fourth place Tampa Bay.

FC Cincinnati defeated Harrisburg, 3-0, this week, for the club’s third consecutive win. Having outscored opponents 8-2 in those three wins, FC Cincinnati have made a climb back into the heat of the Eastern Conference playoff race and a spot in the top five is within reach.

With seven clubs above the average, the recent bye weeks of Ottawa and Orlando City B have set up the two sides with a chance to move above 1100 this week. Further back, Pittsburgh leads a pack of Harrisburg, Saint Louis and NYRB II. As stated in previous weeks, Pittsburgh has been one of the more improved sides in the East this year, while the Baby Bulls have fallen off the pace of last’s year championship side.

Finally, Richmond climbed out of the bottom spot with a win over Bethlehem on Saturday. Toronto FC II’s loss on Friday has the Ontario side drop back into the conference’s lowest point. A Canadian Derby is on tap for the Baby Reds this weekend, as they travel east to Ottawa this weekend.

What are your thoughts on this week’s power rankings? With a tie atop our rankings, do you favor Charlotte or Louisville to take sole possession of first, or will Charleston soon return to their long held position? Let us know in the comments below!