After a week off thanks to Memorial Day, and after a bunch of midweek games, we’re back with a new set of rankings.

June is ramping up and more teams have multiple games per week, so I’ll try and get these out early enough that midweek games don’t make me look too ridiculous. When the #5 team upsets the #1 team on the road right before I talk about how unbeatable that #1 has looked recently…

Well, this is the PDL.

Week 4

1. Myrtle Beach Mutiny, 3–1–1, 10 pts (Last week: 4th)

After losing their opening game against Charlotte, the defending division champion has run off three wins and a draw in their last four matches, a remarkable feat considering four of their first five games were on the road.

The Mutiny have spread their scoring out between seven different players, with Nazeem Bartman leading the way with four goals in five matches.

Replacing players in the PDL is never easy, and it takes time. It seems like the Mutiny have now figured out where their offense will come from… so look out South Atlantic.

The Mutiny now have four of their next five at home and could run away and hide from the rest of the South Atlantic after those contests. Myrtle Beach is back in action on Wednesday, June 6 as they host North Carolina FC U23 before traveling to Tormenta FC on Saturday, June 9.

2. Charlotte Eagles, 2–1–0, 6 pts (Last week: 2nd)

Charlotte earned a valuable, albeit controversial, road win two weeks ago in Durham with a 2–1 victory over Tobacco Road. They then tasted defeat for the first time when they traveled to Cary and took on NCFC U23 (losing 2–1).

They took a bit of a break from PDL play to travel to Connecticut to play in the Steinbrecher Cup this past weekend. The Steinbrecher Cup is a four-team tournament featuring the four best amateur teams in the country from the previous season. Charlotte (the 2017 PDL Champ) took on Lansdowne Bhoys (USASA National Amateur Champ) while the Michigan Bucks (2017 Steinbrecher Champ) took on Elm City Express (2017 NPSL Champ). Charlotte lost to the Michigan Bucks in the final 2–0 after beating the Lansdowne Boys 6–2 (aet) on Friday.

The Eagles have two games in hand against the rest of the division and will need to make those count to stay near the top of the standings. Charlotte gets back to divisional play on Wednesday, June 6 as they host the Carolina Dynamo before traveling to take on Lionsbridge on Saturday, June 9.

3. North Carolina FC U23, 2–1–2, 8 pts (Last week: 5th)

What a time for the Baby Dead Whales: Back-to-back victories see them climbing the table. A lot of that is thanks to GK George Marks, a future Clemson Tiger, who showed out against the defending champs with a six-save performance to help lead NCFC to its first victory.

Marks has been developed in the NCFC Youth ranks before becoming the Academy GK in 2015. A bright future ahead for that kid for sure.

Jelani Peters, the Chapel Hill forward, played all of 14 minutes but made them count with one shot and one goal. Peters’ 89th minute header proved to be the winner for the U23’s and sees them sitting 2nd in the table with 8 points in five games this season.

The U23’s travel to North Myrtle Beach for a big time matchup against the Mutiny on Wednesday, June 6 before hosting the Dynamo on Saturday, June 9.

4. Tobacco Road FC, 2–3–0, 6 pts (Last week: 1st)

The Bulls of Tobacco Road are looking to right the ship after losing their first three games of the season. Last season, TRFC lost games three-four-five as well, and fell out of the playoff race early on.

If they wish to make the playoffs for the first time in their PDL history they will need to right the ship this weekend.

After scoring five goals in their first two games, they’ve managed just three in their last three. Mustapha Wadda didn’t make the trip to Myrtle Beach and TRFC looked to be missing their leading goal scorer. Wadda leads the team with three goals in four games but only managed one shot on goal in Saturday’s loss to NCFC U23.

Tobacco Road looks to avoid a franchise record 4-game losing streak as they travel to Lionsbridge on Wednesday, June 6.

5. Lionsbridge FC, 1–2–2, 5 pts (Last week: 3rd)

Speaking of Lionsbridge, after earning the first victory in franchise history two weeks ago, the 2018 expansion team has now lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. After falling to Myrtle Beach, 2–0, they dropped a 2–1 decision to the Carolina Dynamo.

We’ll see what the newcomers have inside them as four of the next six weeks will see them having multiple games each week. The PDL schedule tests your roster depth and having lost two games in a row, you don’t want to see things spiral out of control with more than half the season left.

Jalon Brown scored his team-leading third goal in the Dynamo loss. Tobacco Road comes to Pomoco Stadium on Wednesday, June 6 before the Lions head to Charlotte on Saturday, June 9.

6. Carolina Dynamo, 1–2–1, 4 pts (LW: 6th)

Good news for Dynamo fans: They found their first win last week.

Bad news for Dynamo fans: Seven of their next 10 games are on the road.

After a 3–3 draw against Tri-Cities two weeks ago, the Dynamo earned their first point. Then they picked up their first win against Lionsbridge thanks to goals from Marc Hoppler and Kyle Johnston.

Five goals in the past two games is an encouraging sign for Carolina, but they still need to work on a rough -7 goal differential.

The Dynamo head down 85 to take on Charlotte on Wednesday, June 6 before returning to Greensboro to host NCFC U23 on Saturday, June 9. Wins in those two games would catapult them out of the South Atlantic cellar.

There you have it, a look at where the teams in the South Atlantic rank after the first month of PDL action. What game are you looking forward to most this week? Who do you think will make the biggest move in next week’s rankings? Let us know on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and subscribe to our lower-division soccer podcast, SNST’s Amateur Hour. See you next week.