The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 10

A crazy weekend in a crazy league

Across 12 games this week an impressive 45 goals were scored. Despite that, 3 teams managed not to score. Which means that the 21 teams who did score averaged 2.14 goals between them. Only 1 game had lass than 3 goals. 3 hat tricks and 2 short-handed wins. Defense, shall we say, was not much in evidence this week.

Rank Team Previous Change Record Forge Factor Note
1 El Paso Locomotive 1 0 6-3-1 23.392 It took until the 89th minute but the Locomotive finally broke through against Loudoun for the 1-0 home win. 5 straight wins and 6 in the last 7 games and El Paso are soaring.
2 San Antonio 13 11 5-1-4 22.922 San Antonio didn’t need a Charleston own goal, but they got one anyway in a club record 7-0 win on the road. Tani Oluwaseyi got a hat trick in the runaway victory.
3 Memphis 901 3 0 3-2-3 19.233 Memphis split goals with Colorado Springs before a Bruno Lapa red card and held on for a late allez-oop goal from Luiz Fernando for the short-handed win. Tulsa next and a chance to make it 3 straight in league play.
4 Tampa Bay Rowdies 5 1 4-4-2 18.736 JJ Williams got a hat trick as the Rowdies romped to a 5-1 win over Detroit. 3 straight wins, but 2 were Detroit. A road trip to RGV could easily make it 4 in a row.
5 Sacramento Republic 2 -3 6-0-3 16.661 Russell Cicerone scored twice in the first 8 minutes and added a 3rd late as SacRep cruised to a 3-1 win over Indy to keep the Western Conference lead over El Paso. Orange County next.
6 Louisville City 7 1 5-2-2 16.642 Lou City’s 3-1 win over Miami was never really in doubt, although much of it was due to poor defending on the opponent’s part. 11 points from the past 5 games now.
7 Oakland Roots 10 3 4-3-2 15.724 No assistance from the referees this week, but the Roots  didn’t need it as they handled Orange County 3-0 with not too much effort. A tougher task in Sacramento this week though.
8 New Mexico United 16 8 3-3-2 13.231 New Mexico took an early lead, then saw Sam Hamilton ejected for a double-yellow, but scored just 3 minutes later and rode it out for a 2-1 win over Monterey Bay. Still below the playoff line but inching closer.
9 Phoenix Rising 11 2 3-2-4 12.461 Phoenix got 3 slightly strange goals in the 3-1 win over Hartford, but they all count anyway. They head to Orange County this week with a chance to solidify their position above the playoff line.
10 Rio Grande Valley Toros 22 12 2-2-5 12.028 The Toros got probably the most surprising result of the weekend, beating San Diego Loyal 3-2 on the road, and it wasn’t really that close. A much needed confidence boost with Tampa Bay coming to town.
11 The Miami FC 4 -7 2-3-5 11.877 Miami scored in Louisville, but only thanks to a penalty. Otherwise, they never really looked threatening despite 10 days between games.
12 Pittsburgh Riverhounds 18 6 3-2-5 11.319 The Riverhounds completely stymied the Legion attack, which was possibly tired and a tad under strength. Still, Pittsburgh is beginning to make itself felt in the tight Eastern standings.
13 Colorado Springs Switchbacks 6 -7 5-4-1 11.176 The Switchbacks looked less than impressive against a 10-man Memphis team and gave up a silly late goal for a 1-2 loss. 3 defeats in the past 5 games now.
14 Indy Eleven 15 1 2-4-3 10.136 The Eleven managed just 4 shots total and 1 on goal as they were predictably beaten 1-3 in Sacramento. 4 points from the past 5 games and they are not looking as if improvement is coming.
15 San Diego Loyal 8 -7 5-3-2 9.799 The Loyal got a late consolation PK goal but were outclassed at home by RGV, losing 2-3. Under the shadow of a potential MLS team that was not the result they needed.
16 Monterey Bay Union 12 -4 3-3-4 8.114 The Union had the bulk of the attack but couldn’t penetrate New Mexico’s defense until late despite a man advantage, losing 1-2 on the road. They go to an embarrassed Charleston next.
17 FC Tulsa 14 -3 1-3-6 7.908 Tulsa and Las Vegas fought to a very even 1-1 draw with both teams failing to capitalize on some good chances. 3 straight 1-1 draws and Tulsa are finding it difficult to earn points. Memphis in town this week.
18 Las Vegas Lights 20 2 0-3-6 6.042 The Lights may have had a few of the better chances, but the 1-1 draw with Tulsa was fair. Las Vegas is still winless on the season and a trip to Pittsburgh won’t make breaking that streak easy.
19 Charleston Battery 9 -10 5-2-3 4.792 The Battery had a horrendous week, losing in the Open Cup before getting annihilated 7-0 by San Antonio. But no one had it as bad as Juan Palma, who scored own goals in both matches.
20 Loudoun United 17 -3 3-5-1 4.617 Loudoun’s late 0-1 loss to El Paso was a gritty road performance and they were not outplayed at all. Even so, 3 losses in a row and the gilding may be off the lily. A double-game week coming up.
21 Hartford Athletic 19 -2 1-6-2 2.099 Hartford weren’t really outplayed in the 1-3 loss in Phoenix, but they didn’t help themselves with silly defensive errors, and their only goal was a softish PK. Not in the Eastern Conference cellar, but only on tiebreakers.
22 Birmingham Legion 23 1 5-5-1 0.903 The Three Sparks lost Neco Brett early to injury and with a heavily rotated squad never really challenged. 3 straight losses and El Paso at home coming up.
23 Detroit City 21 -2 1-7-2 0.653 Surprisingly, 5 goals got past Nate Steinwascher. Equally surprisingly, Detroit scored a goal, even if it was on a free kick. San Antonio is next, so things aren’t looking up.
24 Orange County 24 0 1-6-3 -0.924 Simply put, Orange County are bad. A 3-0 loss in Oakland this week and they were never really in it. A league-worst 4-game losing streak already and they play Sacramento and Phoenix this week.

 

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