Lower Division Power Rankings: November 4

Only one game remains in Lower Division play this year, making the rankings more or less a done deal with the exception of New York and Atlanta next week in the final edition.

This week, though, Carolina jumped up into the top five by locking up the best overall 2013 record in the NASL, but the biggest movement was further down where Minnesota moved up two spots with a big win at Tampa Bay while FC Edmonton's draw at Fort Lauderdale ensured they had one of the better tallies in the loss column overall for the year than most of the league as the result was their 12th tie of the year.

Lower Division Power Rankings: October 28

With the now Fall champion Cosmos firmly entrenched among the elite of the year, the shuffling continues amidst the middle of the pack as the rest of the NASL remains filled with parity. The Silverbacks continue to fall down the list with a string of big losses just weeks before the Soccer Bowl.

This Week (Last Week) Club (League) :: W-L-D :: Notes

1 (1) Orlando City (USL Pro) :: 16-4-6 :: League champions

2 (2) New York Cosmos (NASL) :: 8-1-4 :: Rallied from an early deficit to clinch NASL Soccer Bowl berth with a 2-1 victory at San Antonio.

Lower Division Power Rankings: October 21

In the NASL, the clubs have separated into three tiers led by the one-loss Cosmos all alone in the first. The second group features Tampa Bay, Carolina and Atlanta jockeying with each other week after week for 'second-best' status. Then there is the rest, battling it out to avoid being at the bottom. The third tier is where the biggest movement was this week as FC Edmonton ended New York's five-game winning streak with a draw.

Lower Division Power Rankings: October 13

With a big win over the only team that has handed them a loss, the New York Cosmos have more than proven their success in a half a season of competition is not to be taken lightly, moving them up to the second spot in the rankings as they are arguably, the heavy favorites to win the Soccer Bowl in Atlanta at this point, unless the Silverbacks return to the form that earned them the Spring crown.

Lower Division Power Rankings: October 7

The New York Cosmos continue to prove they are the best of the NASL in the Fall season while the rest of the pack chasing them suffered losses to the bottom three teams within the rankings, leading to them slipping slightly down the rankings and the rest of the league inching upward.

Lower Division Power Rankings - September 30

The New York Cosmos have captured that elusive defining victory to prove the one-loss start to the season is not a mirage, downing Tampa Bay to switch places with them near the top of the list. Several other switches took place, though they were among the four sides that lost this week.

Lower Division Power Rankings - September 23

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Tampa Bay and New York headline the top sides among the NASL in the rankings, and one could make a serious jump up the list with a commanding performance when the two meet this week after having previously played to a scoreless draw in the second week of the Fall campaign. The top five of the NASL have firmly entrenched their place in the top 10, barring any poor run of form, but it was San Antonio making a big jump up the list thanks to a win over Carolina.

Lower Division Power Rankings - September 16

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The New York Cosmos have only been scoring at a rate of one goal per game, but with everyone else playing to draws they have been able to climb the NASL table and into first. While compilation of points has them at the top, the results still are not quite impressive enough (no wins against the three NASL teams above them) to warrant a move up the rankings… yet.

If you remember where everyone was last week, don't bother looking because nothing changed.

Lower Division Power Rankings - September 9

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With only the championship game wrapping up the USL Pro season, most of the list goes into stationary mode with only the form the NASL clubs determining shifts. This week, Tampa Bay beat Carolina to move up the list list as they also jumped over the RailHawks in the league table courtesy of the result. The only other movement was a one-spot drop for Fort Lauderdale with their hot streak hitting a blip with a scoreless draw at home against pointless San Antonio.

Lower Division Power Rankings - September 2

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For the first time in well over a month, there is a major shakeup at the top of the rankings following the surprising losses suffered by regular season USL Pro champion Richmond and the NASL's Carolina RailHawks.

USL Pro finalists Orlando City and Charlotte were the major benefactors while Fort Lauderdale, who downed Carolina, continue their rise from the bottom.

Lower Division Power Rankings - August 27

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The USL Pro playoffs could result in some movement in the rankings, but with everything going pretty much according to seeding in the quarterfinals, very little  changed this week. The bigger effect on the list was Atlanta's loss at home to Fort Lauderdale, which dropped the Silverbacks, winless in three, down four spots and sent the Strikers, who have won two in a row, on a big leap up six spots.

This Week (Last Week) Club (League) :: W-L-D :: Notes

1 (1) Richmond Kickers (USL Pro) :: 15-1-10 :: Dayton gave the Kickers a test in the postseason, but they advanced to the semifinals with a 1-0 win.

2 (2) Carolina RailHawks (NASL) :: 8-2-6 :: Slipped by Minnesota for 1-0 home victory.

Lower Division Power Rankings - August 19

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Minimal changes for the top five as they continue to prove to be the best of the Lower Divisions. The Cosmos slipped a bit because the scoreless draw against a decent opponent now looks like a scoreless streak as they were shutout again this week.

Wilmington and Dayton made jumps up the list as they finished strong in their race against one another for the final USL Pro playoff spot, but another bad loss for San Antonio has seen the once promising side plummet fast and hard from the third position they held at the NASL break to now 16 in just three weeks of play.

Lower Division Power Rankings - August 13

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San Antonio slides even further as it appears their hot streak at the end of the Spring season may have been a fleeting moment instead of a long-term trend and the Cosmos moved up into the top seven after proving themselves against a quality NASL opponent on the road.

The big movers among the USL Pro contingent were Charlotte, which jumped five spots with a pair of wins, and VSI Tampa Bay, which slid into the bottom four with three road losses.

This Week (Last Week) Club (League) :: W-L-D :: Notes [through August 11]

1 (1) Richmond Kickers (USL Pro) :: 14-1-9 :: Romped to a 5-2 victory at home against Dayton.

2 (2) Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) :: 7-3-4 :: Played to a 1-1 draw against visiting Carolina.

3 (3) Carolina RailHawks (NASL) :: 6-2-6 :: Played to a 1-1 draw in Atlanta.

Lower Division Power Rankings - August 7

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San Antonio's slip up at home in the NASL's return to action led to the the only movement among the top eight clubs that remain solidly entrenched within their grouping.

Everything below though is entirely up for grabs. Pittsburgh, for instance, made a huge move up the list with two stunning wins against quality opposition on the road and Wilmington made a move out of the deep bottom with a pair of wins while clubs like Dayton, VSI Tampa Bay and Rochester fell even further.

Lower Division Power Rankings - July 30

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Most of the movement once again came outside of the top 10, including Antigua dropping one more spot. That is the result of the biggest change this week as the New York Cosmos were added to the list following their match debut abroad in friendlies against fellow season-prepping sides over the past week and the upcoming NASL Fall campaign set to kick off this weekend.

The Cosmos results were decent enough to warrant a mid-table entry above the pack of woeful clubs that have been at the bottom of the list for most of the season. From there, they will have to prove it in league play to move up.

Lower Division Power Rankings - July 24

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Most of the movement this week came in the lower portions of the list as Rochester and Pittsburgh posted positive results in comparison to those around them.

This Week (Last Week) Club (League) :: W-L-D :: Notes [through July 21]

1 (1) Richmond Kickers (USL Pro) :: 11-0-8 :: Rallied from two down to tie Phoenix 2-2 on Friday and scored two in the final 14 minutes to rally past the Galaxy Reserves Sunday.

2 (2) Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL) :: 6-3-3 :: Idle

3 (3) San Antonio Scorpions (NASL) :: 6-4-2 :: Fell 2-1 in an international friendly against Mexican second tier side Dorados de Sinaloa.

Lower Division Power Rankings - July 17

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The top seven in the table went unchanged this week as the results were not earth-shattering enough from Orlando City or Charlotte to warrant leaps over the idle NASL clubs ahead of them. Top-ranked Richmond's results, meanwhile, were decent enough on the road to keep them from sliding below their idle NASL counterparts.

The middle portion of the rankings, however, was completely different as Charleston, Wilmington and Harrisburg all had disastrous weeks, allowing VSI Tampa Bay and the LA Blues to jump up into the picture. The bottom, well, remains the bottom.

Lower Division Power Rankings - July 10

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The NASL Spring campaign closed with Atlanta number two in the mixed rankings, trailing only the unbeaten Richmond Kickers. However, don't be surprised to see San Antonio quickly move up the list from their number-three position as they are arguably the hottest Lower Division team right now having beaten every team in the NASL over the past seven games except Atlanta as they went on an amazing season turnaround of 6-0-1 to go from the bottom of the table to a title contender that came up one goal (the 1-0 loss in Atlanta during the run) shy of the championship.

Lower Division Power Rankings - July 1

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The end of June proved to be a threshold week as several clubs that I have been keeping in the shadows of the rankings finally proved themselves and were moved up quite a bit. Atlanta showed they are true contenders with the 1-1 draw in Carolina against the RailHawks, whose only loss came in Atlanta earlier in the season, and San Antonio appears for real with yet another win to put themselves in the title picture.

In USL Pro, Richmond has lingered among the top few teams, but the win in Orlando City coupled with their unbeaten record was the golden ticket for the top spot. Orlando City, meanwhile, tumbles all the way down to four with the loss being coupled with the team losing key players.

Lower Division Power Rankings - June 26

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Carolina and Tampa Bay were the only teams in the top six from last week to register victories, but still remain second and third behind Orlando City, which has now been idle in league play for two weeks. A few teams from the bottom are trying to push their way up the list, but the upper half will be tough to surpass.

This Week (Last Week) Club (League) :: W-L-D :: Notes

1 (1) Orlando City (USL Pro) :: 10-1-2 :: Idle in league play, but played to a 4-3 loss in an international friendly against Fluminense.

2 (2) Carolina RailHawks (NASL) :: 5-1-4 :: Rallied from two down at home to defeat Minnesota 3-2, moving back atop the league table.

3 (3) Tampa Bay Rowdies (NASL) :: 4-4-3 :: Used a pair of penalties on the road to hand division-leading Atlanta a 2-1 loss