The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 19

A mixed bag of games this week

Some surprise results this week along with a few big margin wins. Overall, though, the Forge Power Rankings are beginning to settle into relatively predictable form as teams in the Championship are grouping into clear tiers of quality.

Rank Team Previous Change Record Forge Factor Notes
1 Louisville City 3 2 13-3-3 7.26 The week’s big game turned out to be a crazy one, marred by some poor refereeing. But a Brian Ownby brace was the deciding factor in the 2-1 win for Lou City while both teams were short-handed. The win streak is at 5 games.
2 Tampa Bay Rowdies 2 0 11-3-6 6.71 The worst part of the Rowdies 4-1 win over Loudoun is that it took them 64 minutes to score. The last 26 minutes were crazy. Tampa remains within shouting distance of the top spot in the East.
3 LA Galaxy II 1 -2 9-9-3 6.16 The impressive 3-game win streak is over after the 2-4 loss in Colorado Springs. Los Dos made a game of it though, including trading second half stoppage time goals to keep it close late.
4 San Antonio 5 1 14-3-1 5.48 San Antonio peppered Twonited with 25 shots. 15 of those were on target. 5 of them converted. And they skied a second PK. The 5-0 win was comprehensive to say the least. 4 points clear at the top of the West with 2 games in hand.
5 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 4 -1 10-6-4 5.29 The Hounds gave up a very early goal in Albuquerque but eventually got the tying goal in an entertaining 1-1 contest. Still in strong position, but Detroit and Birmingham are nipping at their heels.
6 Birmingham Legion 13 7 9-5-5 4.69 The Legion’s 1-0 win in Sacramento was on the back of a herculean defensive showing and puts them within reach of a home playoff spot. This week’s game against Tulsa could get them there.
7 Monterey Bay Union 10 3 5-11-2 4.40 The Union somehow get a big bump in the rankings despite the 0-0 draw at home with Detroit. But that does count as a good result for them.
8 Las Vegas Lights 8 0 8-7-4 3.93 Las Vegas managed just 3 shots and only 1 on goal (sound familiar?) but that one was a golazo by Morten Björshol. Abraham Romero’s 8 saves earned him Player of the Week and made that goal stand up. 4 wins in 5 games now and the Lights are looking good again.
9 Oakland Roots 17 8 6-6-10 3.81 Oakland scored 4 times in the first 40 minutes and then cruised to victory over El Paso. Mercurial? Erratic? Unpredictable? The Roots are all of those things, but are probably on the outside looking in as far as the playoffs are concerned.
10 New Mexico United 15 5 9-3-7 3.54 United scored all three goals in the 2-1 win in Tulsa thanks to an unfortunate bounce and then scored in 50 seconds against Pittsburgh but couldn’t hold on to the lead in a tightly-played 1-1 draw. The 4-point week gives them a boost.
11 Memphis 901 7 -4 12-5-2 3.08 Area Code FC took the lead against Louisville despite being down a man but couldn’t hold on to it even after Louisville also went to 10 men. The late red card to Trey Muse was ridiculous and has to be appealed; if not, Memphis will be without 2 key players against…Indy. Well, OK then.
12 San Diego Loyal 14 2 10-5-4 4.33 The Loyal really shouldn’t take any positives from the 3-0 win over Colorado, who were limited by injuries, COVID and a hellish recent schedule. Still, it was a big 3 points to get closer to top spot in the West.
13 Detroit City 6 -7 9-4-7 2.84 Detroit and Monterey Bay combined for just 2 shots on goal in a rather tedious 0-0 draw. City’s roster issues are beginning to make themselves felt: they had just 5 subs for this one. Next up is another trip west, this time to New Mexico.
14 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 11 -3 13-6-0 2.18 A solid 4-2 Friday night win over LA was followed by an embarrassing display Monday as the Switchbacks were only able to roster 12 players for the game in San Diego. They lost 0-3 and added to their problems with 2 red cards. Still very much in the running though.
15 FC Tulsa 18 3 6-11-4 2.02 In addition to the listless 1-2 home loss against New Mexico, Tulsa will be without center back Johnny Fenwick for the trip to Birmingham after his double-yellow ejection. They continue to drop out of playoff contention.
16 Rio Grande Valley Toros 16 0 7-10-3 1.91 27 shots. 7 on target. No goals. It wasn’t for lack of trying, but RGV just couldn’t get a result. They are making a habit of dropping points in tight games and are looking ever more likely to miss out of the postseason.
17 El Paso Locomotive 12 -5 9-7-6 1.67 The Locomotive were completely punchless this week, losing 0-4 in Oakland. They are still well above the playoff line, but most of the teams below them have several games in hand. They need to get back on track quickly.
18 The Miami FC 22 4 7-7-7 1.56 Miami scored early and held the Battery without a shot on goal to win midweek and then traveled all the way to Orange County for a rather uninspiring 0-0 draw. They stay well clear of Tulsa for the last playoff spot in the East.
19 Charleston Battery 26 7 3-14-3 1.54 Charleston were without a goal losing 0-1 to Miami midweek, but hit the woodwork 3 times, so can count themselves very unlucky. They then handled Hartford comfortably 3-1 at the weekend. Are they finally showing some life?
20 Sacramento Republic 19 -1 8-5-5 1.08 SacRep’s undefeated home record is now gone thanks to a fast goal and impassable defense by the Legion. 1 point from the last 3 games means they find themselves holding on to a playoff spot by the skin of their teeth.
21 Phoenix Rising 23 2 7-10-1 1.00 Phoenix Rising were on a bye this week.
22 Hartford Athletic 9 -13 4-11-4 0.99 The Athletic reverted to form in the 1-3 loss in Charleston and were never in the game. The 2-0 win over Colorado Springs now seems a distant memory.
23 Orange County 25 2 4-9-7 0.81 OC and Miami were utterly boring in their 0-0 draw other than a couple of good saves. The Californians continue to struggle but get a slight bump in the rankings due to worse performances elsewhere.
24 New York Red Bulls II 27 3 2-14-3 0.48 Jeremy Rafanello’s goal was probably offside, but it counted for the 1-0 over Indy for the Baby Bulls’ second win of the season. Indy keeper Tim Trilk kept the scoreline from being worse though.
25 Atlanta United 2 20 -5 4-14-3 0.28 It’s not often that a goalkeeper makes 10 saves and ends up on the wrong end of a 0-5 scoreline. But it happened to Vicente Reyes. The only real surprise in this game was that Atlanta failed to score, which is rare.
26 Indy Eleven 24 -2 6-10-3 0.04 Lady Victory on the crest is increasingly ironic. Losing 0-1 in New York adds to this team’s woes. 6 straight losses now and they haven’t scored in the last 5. Hosting Memphis this week likely isn’t going to make things better.
27 Loudoun United 21 -6 4-11-3 0.02 Loudoun held off the Rowdies for over 2/3rds of the game before the floodgates opened. 2 big losses in the last 3 games doom them to the bottom spot in the rankings.

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