A hat trick from MLS Player of the Week David Accam and a league-leading 14th goal from Nemanja Nikolic helped stun the visitors in a 4-0 rout of Orlando City SC on Saturday night. With the win, the Fire's run of consecutive matches unbeaten extended to nine in MLS play and 10 across all competitions, while their string of seven straight victories at home matches the club record held by the MLS Cup and U.S. Open Cup winning 1998 squad.
So yeah, it was a solid weekend at Toyota Park. As a result, the Fire have held firm in the No. 2 spot of this week's MLS Power Rankings. They trail only Eastern Conference leaders Toronto FC, of whom they're currently a point behind in the Supporters' Shield standings.
Following the big result on Saturday, here's what the league's editorial staff had to say about the club's ranking:
"In Nemanja Nikolic and David Accam, they have two double-digit goalscorers. In Bastian Schweinsteiger and Dax McCarty, they have two of the best central midfielders in the league. This is proving to be a good combination."
They're not wrong. The Fire are back in action tomorrow night in the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup tournament's Round of 16 with a trip to USL side FC Cincinnati (7 pm CT, ESPN2), followed by a return home this Saturday to host the Vancouver Whitecaps (6 pm CT, CSN Chicago Plus | TICKETS).
Click here to view the complete MLS Power Rankings following Week 17.
