The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 5

The top two keep rolling

Running a tad late with these this week; it’s been a busy time. Also a bit odd given that Week 6 already began last night (with a weird game worth watching the replay for). Anyway, we had planned to introduce the Forge Factor into the rankings this week, but a total of 5 teams were on byes, so the results would have been skewed. Here, then, are our totally accurate and not all debatable week 5 power rankings:

Rank Team Previous Change Record Notes
1 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 1 0 5-0-0 Maintained their perfect record in Las Vegas, but had to come from behind to do it. And Cameron Lindley’s winning goal should probably have been called off; it deflected in off Elvis Amoh who appeared to be offside.
2 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 2 0 4-0-1 The 4-3 win in Tulsa was not quite as close as the score suggests. One Tulsa score was a ridiculous own goal, and even with that the Hounds were leading by 3 late only to let the foot off the brake and allow 2 late goals.
3 Louisville City 4 +1 4-0-2 Lou City’s 2-0 win in Virginia was a breeze, and could have been more lopsided. Brian Ownby’s loang-range chip shot goal was just rude.
4 San Diego Loyal 3 -1 5-1-0 Made easy work of the Charleston Battery to win 4-1 and go top of the West on tiebreakers. They now also have a lofty +7 goal differential.
5 Phoenix Rising 7 +2 3-2-0 Two straight wins now for the Rising, who romped to a 3-1 result against LA at Wild Horse Pass. Look to be back in form after an erratic start.
6 San Antonio 5 -1 4-1-0 Heavily outpossessed and outshot in Orange County, San Antonio got back in the win column thanks to a blooper goal (it was probably intended as a cross) and heroic goalkeeping by Jordan Farr.
7 Tampa Bay Rowdies 6 -1 2-1-3 Only 2 of Tampa’s 15 shots were on target, and easily handled. As a result, they lost the home leg of the Florida derby 0-1 and have had a very slow start by their own standards.
8 Sacramento Republic 8 0 3-1-0 Sacramento were on a bye this week.
9 New Mexico United 9 0 2-0-2 New Mexico were on a bye this week.
10 FC Tulsa 10 0 3-3-0 Lost 3-4 to Pitsburgh in a goalfest, coming back late to make the ending interesting, but were the weaker team on the day. JJ Williams scored again.
11 Detroit City 14 +3 2-1-2 Detroit had an enjoyable trip south, winning 4-0 in Atlanta (scoring all 4 before Atlanta’s 2 red cards). DCFC have now had 4 solid results since the opening week loss.
12 Las Vegas Lights 13 +1 3-3-0 Outshot by the Switchbacks, but held on and even led for a while and were unlucky not to get a point out of the game. They did benefit from an own goal though.
13 Orange County 11 -2 1-2-1 Coming off a bye week, Orange County were probably the better team on the day but couldn’t get it done against San Antonio’s defense.
14 Birmingham Legion 17 +3 1-2-2 The Legion finally got their first win thanks to a stoppage time goal by Anderson Asiedu, but look to have found attacking flair at last. The trip to Detroit this week will be interesting.
15 Memphis 901 15 0 2-1-1 Memphis were on a bye this week.
16 The Miami FC 16 0 2-2-1 Miami were not entirely convincing in the 1-0 win in Tampa, benefitting from a lackluster Rowdies performance as much as from their own play.
17 Loudoun United 12 -5 2-2-1 Loudoun’s early fast start has slowed to a crawl. A draw against Miami followed by losses to Pittsburgh and now Louisville have brought reality crashing down.
18 Indy Eleven 24 +6 1-2-2 The Eleven didn’t need Solomon Asante to beat RGV in Texas. With him on board and their firtunes looking slightly better already, things may have turned around for this team.
19 El Paso Locomotive 27 +8 1-4-0 The Locomotive finally got their first win, 5-0 against Monterey. Their attack is as potent as ever, and their leaky defense got a break thanks to a toothless Union side.
20 Hartford Athletic 19 -1 0-3-1 Hartford probably thought they were escaping Birmingham with a point, only to lose it late. They were badly outplayed in the first half before edging back into it. Next up: Miami in Miami.
21 Atlanta United 2 18 -3 2-4-0 Twonited looked utterly helpless against newcomers Detroit, adding 2 red cards to the 4 goals they allowed. They also had 0 shots on target.
22 Rio Grande Valley Toros 20 -2 1-4-0 Four straight losses for the Toros, and not always against high-powered opposition. The 1-2 loss to Indy this week highlights the problems this team now faces.
23 LA Galaxy II 21 -2 1-3-1 Los Dos were never really in the game in the game in Phoenix, looking rather disorganized and were completely outplayed in the 1-3 loss.
24 Oakland Roots 22 -2 0-3-2 Oakland were on a bye this week.
25 New York Red Bulls II 25 0 1-4-0 The Baby Bulls were on a bye this week.
26 Charleston Battery 26 0 1-4-0 The Battery’s losing streak extends to 4 after getting thumped 1-4 in San Diego. Poor Joe Kuzminsky was credited with a GK own goal when the ball rebounded off the post and hit the back of this leg.
27 Monterey Bay 23 -4 1-4-0 Two shots, neither on target is not going to get the job done. Especially against a team that can score in spades like El Paso. The 0-5 drubbing was embarrassing.
       

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