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The Chicago Fire have had a great September, and with the regular season nearing its end, their timing hardly could have been better. They find themselves in second place in the Eastern Conference with five games to play, and while they certainly can't relax just yet, their odds of making the playoffs are good.
Related: Ohio native Chris Rolfe bags brace as Chicago Fire down Columbus Crew
The Fire are just two points behind first-place Sporting KC, and they have an eight-point cushion on sixth-place Columbus. The top five teams in each conference make the playoffs.
Here's a glance at the current Eastern Conference standings:
| # | Club | PTS | GP | PPG | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sporting Kansas City | 55 | 30 | 1.83 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 37 | 25 | 12 | ||||
| 2 | Chicago Fire | 53 | 29 | 1.83 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 42 | 34 | 8 | ||||
| 3 | New York Red Bulls | 50 | 30 | 1.67 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 50 | 43 | 7 | ||||
| 4 | D.C. United | 50 | 30 | 1.67 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 47 | 39 | 8 | ||||
| 5 | Houston Dynamo | 46 | 30 | 1.53 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 42 | 37 | 5 | ||||
| 6 | Columbus Crew | 45 | 30 | 1.5 | 13 | 11 | 6 | 36 | 37 | -1 | ||||
| 7 | Montreal Impact | 40 | 31 | 1.29 | 12 | 15 | 4 | 44 | 49 | -5 | ||||
| 8 | Philadelphia Union | 30 | 28 | 1.07 | 8 | 14 | 6 | 29 | 33 | -4 | ||||
| 9 | New England Revolution | 29 | 30 | 0.97 | 7 | 15 | 8 | 37 | 41 | -4 | ||||
| 10 | Toronto FC | 22 | 30 | 0.73 | 5 | 18 | 7 | 34 | 55 | -21 |
For updates, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For more in-depth coverage, visit Chicago Fire blog Hot Time In Old Town. And for more from around the world of soccer, check out SB Nation's soccer hub.
