It'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 SC
Previous ranking: 1
In one of the most important matches of their end-of-season, Sam Surridge scored a goal in the fourth and 91st minutes to help secure a 2-2 draw against Miami. With the point, Nashville is winless in three (two draws, one defeat) but still in a position to break Inter's Supporters' Shield record with nine games to go.
2. St. Louis City SC
Previous ranking: 3
Not much can stop St. Louis these days, and their newest additions delivered in beating Minnesota 4-2. Just one week and three games into his tenure with STL, Rafael Navarro has four goals, making the difference against the Loons with his second straight brace.
3. Vancouver Whitecaps
Previous ranking: 2
The second-place Whitecaps still have a game in hand, but they lost ground in the Supporters' Shield standings with their second loss in three games after falling 2-1 to Austin on Sunday. Despite outshooting the visitors 20-4, Brian White provided the lone goal to mark his 15th (third most in MLS) of the season.
4. Inter Miami CF
Previous ranking: 4
After conceding the first goal in the fourth minute, Miami did a good job of not losing at home again in a 2-2 draw with Nashville, but they've still only won just four of 12 home games. After an own-goal brought them level in the first half, Lionel Messi's league-leading 19th goal of the year gave them a brief lead before they fumbled three points with a Surridge brace in stoppage time.
5. FC Cincinnati
Previous ranking: 6
Cincinnati love a high-scoring game. They've scored the second-most goals in MLS (52) but they've conceded the second most (59) too. Fans might be frustrated with a 3-3 draw after outshooting Charlotte 28-8 (9-4 on target), but with Evander and Obinna Nwobodo both suspended, it's a step up after back-to-back humbling defeats.
6. LAFC
Previous ranking: 5
LAFC's 3-1 loss to last-place Kansas City is a jolt for a team still tabbed to be a postseason contender. Now sixth in the West, the Black and Gold have eight games left to try to climb back up the table.
7. New York City FC
Previous ranking: 8
With the help of Matt Freese's six saves and Nicolás Fernández's 15th goal of the season, the Pigeons beat RSL 2-0 to mark their first first victory since July 25, although they have four draws and three defeats in that run and just one loss in their past five games.
8. New England Revolution
Previous ranking: 9
Dor Turgeman opened the scoring in Chicago before assisting Peyton Miller for the decisive goal in a 2-1 win against the Fire. With the lead, the Revs locked down defensively and saw out the win despite getting outshot 19-2 in the second half.
9. Chicago Fire
Previous ranking: 7
After four straight draws, the Fire succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to New England on Sunday. Matt Turner 's five saves helped keep Chicago at bay despite a second-half rally that saw the Fire outshoot their opponents 19-2 while controlling 71% of possession.
10. Houston Dynamo
Previous ranking: 10
After conceding off a corner in the 38th minute, Houston traded momentum on either end of the half in a 1-0 loss to San Jose, but ultimately couldn't best Angus Gunn (who made six saves) despite creating more dangerous opportunities.
11. Charlotte FC
Previous ranking: 11
Kristijan Kahlina's six saves weren't enough to keep Cincinnati scoreless in a 3-3 draw, but it was enough to keep Charlotte undefeated in seven regular season games (four wins, three draws) stretching back to Aug. 1.
12. Orlando City
Previous ranking: 13
Orlando's stock is soaring after a 3-0 win over an in-form Toronto. Their rise is inseparable from Antoine Griezmann's arrival: after a midweek brace and the first goal in Florida this weekend, the Frenchman has scored in their past five games, with a goal contribution in each of their past six.
13. Philadelphia Union
Previous ranking: 15
Cavan Sullivan stole the show in a 5-0 win against San Diego with his sixth (a slick back-heel to open the scoring) and seventh (nutmegging the keeper) goals of the season, adding more emphasis to the 16-year-old's historic debut season.
14. FC Dallas
Previous ranking: 14
Despite top scorer Petar Musa appearing for just 14 minutes off the bench while negotiating a shoulder injury, Dallas beat Portland 2-1 to stay undefeated in four games ahead of next weekend's Copa Tejas against Austin.
15. Real Salt Lake
Previous ranking: 12
With Zavier Gozo in the Premier League and Diego Luna sidelined with an injury, RSL are looking for answers after a 2-0 loss to NYCFC. They had a number of early chances stopped by Freese, who made six saves overall, to keep them scoreless as they suffered their third loss in four games.
16. San Diego FC
Previous ranking: 16
With a meeting against Miami waiting next weekend, San Diego are in a slump after losing 5-0 to Philly at home to mark their third straight defeat. They're ninth in the West on goal differential, just inside the playoff spots, but need to find their groove soon to stay above the line.
17. LA Galaxy
Previous ranking: 18
After a 3-0 defeat to Vancouver in midweek, the Galaxy drew Seattle 1-1 with a penalty from Marco Reus and seven saves from JT Marcinkowski, to finish the weekend just short of the playoff positions -- missing out on goal differential.
18. Minnesota United
Previous ranking: 17
After falling 4-2 to St. Louis, the Loons have three straight defeats as they slide down the Western Conference standings. With just two points separating ninth-place San Diego and 13th-place Seattle, 12th-place Minnesota's next two matches are against teams in that five-team bracket; they could matter a lot as they seek a spot in the postseason.
19. Toronto FC
Previous ranking: 19
Toronto's seven-game undefeated streak came to a halt in a 3-0 loss to an also-in-form Orlando. They outshot the hosts but were incessantly off target while conceding too many big chances in the other direction.
20. Red Bull New York
Previous ranking: 20
Ronald Donkor's second goal of the year and first since April was the 89th-minute winner in the 1-0 victory over Columbus. Their first three points since Aug. 1 wasn't against the toughest team in the East, but it'll do for now as they prepare for next weekend's Hudson River Derby.
21. San Jose Earthquakes
Previous ranking: 23
With a strong defensive performance highlighted by Angus Gunn's six saves and a goal from center back Daniel Munie, the Quakes beat Houston 1-0 to mark their second straight win amid a four-game undefeated streak (two draws, two wins). After going winless in six games before that, San Jose is turning a corner.
22. Seattle Sounders
Previous ranking: 21
Seattle's 1-1 draw with the Galaxy is their fourth straight stalemate. On the one hand, they're not losing. On the other, they're now winless in 12 games, level with Toronto's early-season dry spell for the longest winless run this season.
23. D.C. United
Previous ranking: 24
United finally snapped their five-game winless run in midweek with a victory over a stumbling Columbus, before settling for a 0-0 draw with an also-stumbling Atlanta at the weekend while conjuring zero shots on target. Progress.
24. Portland Timbers
Previous ranking: 22
The Timbers put up a valiant late-game effort, and scored in the 93rd minute, but it wasn't enough to salvage a point in Texas as they stumbled to a 2-1 defeat to Dallas.
25. Austin FC
Previous ranking: 25
After beating the Whitecaps 2-1 thanks to a Christian RamÃrez brace and five essential stops from Brad Stuver, Austin are undefeated in six regular season games (three wins, three draws). Ahead of next week's derby against Dallas, their last defeat is their Aug. 16 loss to ... Dallas.
26. Columbus Crew
Previous ranking: 26
After conceding in the 89th minute, the Crew lost 1-0 to RBNY, marking their seventh defeat in their past eight games. With nine games remaining, things are not looking bright in Columbus.
27. Colorado Rapids
Previous ranking: 27
After scoring a wonder goal in midweek, Paxten Aaronson's stock stayed steady as he collected his sixth of the year from the penalty spot to secure a 1-0 win against Montréal. That's six straight home wins with clean sheets in each for the Rapids.
28. Atlanta United
Previous ranking: 28
Despite keeping the clean sheet in the capital, Atlanta fired off 20 shots (three on target) but clocked zero goals in a 0-0 draw with D.C. United.
29. Sporting Kansas City
Previous ranking: 30
SKC are still last in the standings, but their 3-1 win against a formidable LAFC side, highlighted by a first club goal from the team's marquee new signing André Luiz, was a positive sign for the team's future potential.
30. CF Montréal
Previous ranking: 29
After losing 1-0 to Colorado, Montréal has four defeats in four regular-season games. Silver lining? With the help of Sébastian Breza's five saves, they conceded the fewest goals of that stretch against the Rapids.
