11 games: 33 goals, stoppage time winners, late game drama, keeper heroics. This week in the USL Championship had it all. There was no end of entertainment. And of course, the rankings got seriously messed up. Even so, here they are:
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Last 5 | Note | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Louisville City | 1 | 0 | 3-0-0 | WWW | No Danny Cruz, no problem. After a slow start and being level twice, Lou City took over late to beat Rhode Island 4-2. Business as usual. | @ Brooklyn |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 4 | +2 | 2-0-0 | WW | The Rowdies waltzed all over the Riverhounds in the 3-0 win. They are also the only team left not to concede a goal. The rebuild looks good. | @Loudoun |
| 3 | El Paso Locomotive | 5 | +2 | 1-0-1 | TW | El Paso Locomotive were on a bye this week. | @ Sacramento |
| 4 | Charleston Battery | 3 | -1 | 2-0-0 | WW | The Battery followed a deep stoppage-time Open Cup win in midweek with a similar 3-2 come-from-behind win over the Legion at the weekend. Resilient play, if a tad lucky. | @ Detroit |
| 5 | Oakland Roots | 2 | -3 | 2-0-1 | WWT | The Roots will empathize with the Legion. 2 first-half goals in Phoenix were neutralized late and they came close to losing in stoppage time. | v. Orange County |
| 6 | San Antonio FC | 9 | +3 | 2-0-1 | WTW | San Antonio were in control all game but still needed 74 minutes to get the game-winner over New Mexico. A clear early contender. | v. Lexington |
| 7 | Sacramento Republic | 7 | 0 | 1-0-2 | WTT | SacRep were the stronger side most of the game but have Danny Vitiello’s PK save to thank for preserving a 1-1 draw with Monterey Bay | v. El Paso |
| 8 | Lexington SC | 12 | +4 | 0-1-1 | LT | Lexington SC were on a bye this week. | v. Brooklyn, @ San Antonio |
| 9 | Hartford Athletic | 10 | +1 | 2-0-1 | WTW | Keeper Anthony Siaha came up with 10 saves to preserve the 2-1 win in a game the Athletic probably should have lost. 7 points but raising questions. | v. Indy |
| 10 | Birmingham Legion | 13 | +3 | 0-2-1 | LTL | The Legion looked great in the first half against Charleston, but got some tough breaks and late heartbreak in the second. Still no wins, but this team is getting better every game. | Bye |
| 10 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 11 | +1 | 1-1-1 | TWL | Colorado Springs were the better side for virtually the entire game but doomed themselves with poor finishing. They lose 0-1 in Orange County. | @ New Mexico |
| 12 | Phoenix Rising | 15 | +3 | 0-1-2 | LTT | Phoenix looked weak for 84 minutes before mounting a late comeback and almost getting the last-gasp winner in the 2-2 draw with Oakland. | @ Tulsa |
| 13 | FC Tulsa | 17 | +4 | 1-1-1 | LTW | The other 3-2 game this week saw Tulsa take the win over Las Vegas in what was all told a very close game. Still not up to 2025 standards. | v. Phoenix |
| 14 | Orange County | 18 | +4 | 1-0-2 | TTW | County were exceedingly lucky to beat the Switchbacks 1-0 on a very late goal. They were dominated throughout the game. | @ Oakland |
| 15 | Indy Eleven | 23 | +8 | 1-1-0 | LW | Indy had just 29% possession in the game but always looked more confident and threatening. As a result, a slightly surprising 2-1 win over Detroit. | @ Hartford |
| 16 | Detroit City | 6 | -10 | 1-1-0 | WL | Maybe the opening annihilation of Brooklyn was misleading. Detroit was anything but impressive in a poorly played 1-2 loss in Indy. | v. Charleston |
| 17 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 8 | -9 | 1-2-0 | LWL | Pittsburgh were utterly inept in the 0-3 loss in Tampa. They managed just 2 shots; both were off-target and one was a free kick. | v. Steel City (USOC), v. JAX |
| 18 | Loudoun United | 14 | -4 | 0-1-1 | LT | Loudoun needed a 10-save performance by Adam Beaudry to hold Miami to a scoreless draw, and were relatively toothless in attack themselves. | v. Tampa Bay |
| 19 | Brooklyn FC | 20 | +1 | 1-2-0 | WLL | Brooklyn took 26 shots with 11 on target but still lost 1-2 to Hartford. A better performance and close to the win over Indy. | @ Lexington, v. Louisville |
| 20 | New Mexico United | 16 | -4 | 0-2-0 | LL | New Mexico weren’t completely outmatched in the 0-1 loss in San Antonio. Just very nearly. The only team left without a point. | v. Colorado Springs |
| 21 | Rhode Island FC | 19 | -2 | 0-1-1 | TL | An early golazo by Jojea Kwizera looked promising but eventually the wheels fell off in the 2-4 loss in Louisville. They’ll be without J.J. Williams and Khano Smith this week. | @ Miami |
| 22 | Las Vegas Lights | 21 | -1 | 0-2-1 | TLL | The Lights played it close but ended up losers in Tulsa to a latish goal in the second straight 2-3 losing effort. | v. Monterey Bay |
| 23 | The Miami FC | 24 | +1 | 0-1-1 | LT | 18 shots, 11 on target and 0 goals? Several were not especially challenging to the Loudoun keeper but Miami dominated and really should have finished this game off. | @ JAX, v. Rhode Island |
| 24 | Monterey Bay FC | 25 | +1 | 0-2-1 | LLT | Oh, Nick Ross. His PK was stopped and his rebound attempt hit the crossbar. They finish 1-1 with Sacramento but could have had more. | @ Las Vegas |
| 25 | Sporting JAX | 22 | -3 | 0-1-1 | LT | Sporting JAX were on a bye this week. | v. Miami, @ Pittsburgh |
