After a busy midweek slate on Wednesday night, there’s a lot to look forward to in the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference this weekend. Here are five storylines to follow over the next three nights.

TOGETHER ROWDIES MANIFESTING IN TEAM’S PERFORMANCES

The Tampa Bay Rowdies’ social media hashtag in recent seasons has been #TogetherRowdies, and that motto could certainly be applied to the way the side has played both at the end of last season in claiming the USL Championship’s Eastern Conference Title and to start this new campaign. Wednesday night’s 1-0 victory against the New York Red Bulls II wasn’t the prettiest performance of the season, but it did give the Rowdies their fifth consecutive win to start the season for the best start in the club’s modern era.

The Rowdies now have a chance to equal the best start in the Championship’s history on Saturday night when they visit the Charlotte Independence (7 p.m. ET | ESPN+) with the six consecutive wins set by the Richmond Kickers in 2011 and matched by the Rochester Rhinos the following year within reach. For Tampa Bay Head Coach Neill Collins, the togetherness the side has shown both in its performances and integrating new members of the squad into the lineup and locker room atmosphere has been central to the team’s remarkable start to the season.

“To come off such a long layoff and for the players to pick up where they left off is a credit to them and a credit to their togetherness helping the new players settle in,” said Collins on Wednesday night. “I think one of the most exciting things is no one’s getting carried away. Even in the locker room, there’s [an attitude] of we need to improve in certain areas that I can sense.”

HOUNDS SEEKING IMPROVEMENT DESPITE BACK-TO-BACK WINS

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC jumped into the Atlanta Division’s top four for the first time this season on Wednesday night after a 3-2 victory against Loudoun United FC, but there was plenty that Head Coach Bob Lilley was dissatisfied with as the Hounds let a two-goal halftime lead almost slip away against their hosts at Segra Field after a strong start to the game.

“They put us under a lot of pressure late in the first half, and they carried that momentum over to the second half and got an early goal,” said Lilley after Wednesday’s game. “We were able to weather it a little bit and got the third goal, and at that point, the game should have been done. But again, we’re too deep, we can’t keep the ball, and when we get it out, we’re not holding on to it. We’re playing at a break-neck speed, and that’s always to the advantage of the team that’s behind. … We were fortunate to get all three points tonight, and there’s a lot of things we have to get better at.”

The tempo as the Hounds return to Highmark Stadium on Sunday evening to face Austin Bold FC looking for a third consecutive victory shouldn’t be as fierce. But with a more experienced and possession-oriented side coming in looking to rebound after a tough 1-0 defeat on Thursday night against El Paso Locomotive FC, the Hounds will be looking to take control early again but then sustain that performance for longer spells.

INDY TAKES AIM AT BETTER FINISHING

Indy Eleven produced an assertive performance on Wednesday night against OKC Energy FC, but its finishing resulted in the side being pegged back in a 1-1 draw that the side felt should have produced more at Michael A. Carroll Stadium.

“We’d love to probably score more first half goals and make things more comfortable than they are,” said midfielder Nicky Law after the game. “Tonight is a great example of that, I think. I don’t know how many shots we had in the first half, but we had some great chances and came in 1-0 up, but it probably should have been more in truth. It was a very dominant first half performance from us. Obviously we’ve got to stick them in the back of the net if we want to win games.”

Law has been an impressive addition to the Boys in Blue this season, bringing his experience from the English professional ranks to sit second in the Championship with 14 Key Passes in five appearances. Law has yet to record an assist, however, showing how fickle that can be when a side isn’t producing consistently in front of goal. With the side sitting just below the midway point in the league at a 13 percent shot conversion rate, Indy will be hoping it can capitalize on the chances it creates on Saturday night against Memphis 901 FC to get a third win in four games.

TULSA LOOKS TO BREAK FUNK IN BIRMINGHAM

Over the first three games of its season, FC Tulsa was appearing in fine shape as it reeled off three consecutive victories. The two games since, however, have raised some real concerns over the side, especially defensively after conceding nine goals in defeats to Atlanta United 2 and on Wednesday night to Sporting Kansas City II. The side’s underlying numbers reflected the defensive problems that occurred across both games, with Tulsa allowing a combined 5.8 Expected Goals across the two games, with both performances sitting in the bottom 12 individual xGA games defensively this season.

Now the side faces a quick turnaround to face a Birmingham Legion FC side on Sunday evening that has made its own solid start to the season with three wins in its last four outings. For Tulsa Head Coach Michael Nsien, the side – which is without leading scorer Joaquin Rivas and defender Jorge Corrales on international duty – needs to find a spark that can up the tempo in the manner the side produced to start the campaign.

“I think in terms of finding a rhythm when you’re playing, you find a game speed,” said Nsien on Wednesday night. “You know what that feels like, you know what that looks like. I feel like somehow, we’ve lost that a bit and we’re kind of just sputtering a bit, spinning our wheels and we’re not really changing pace like I was seeing earlier in the first two games. The third game with Indy, overall the effort was great and the discipline was great. I think it’s just kind of going from when things aren’t going well, we aren’t just trying to fix it with enthusiasm and effort. We just have to find some more fire starters, guys that kind of spark each other.”

ATLANTA’S NEW BOSS GETS BIG FIRST TEST

Atlanta United 2 announced on Thursday it had appointed Academy coach Jack Collison as its new permanent Head Coach, selecting him to replace Tony Annan, who is heading to become Head Coach at the University of South Carolina this fall. The former West Ham United midfielder inherits a side that has performed well so far this season to sit in the playoff positions in the Central Division, but one that will get a big test for his first game in charge against Louisville City FC on Sunday night at Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

Atlanta opened the season with a visit to Louisville where a pair of second-half goals by Paolo DelPiccolo gave the hosts a 2-0 victory at Lynn Family Stadium. Atlanta ramped up since then to pick up eight points in a four-game undefeated streak before falling 1-0 to Birmingham Legion FC last Sunday afternoon on a late penalty kick. Collison will be hoping his new charges can bounce back from that disappointment and keep the side in the middle of the early hunt for the postseason.