We are down to just 4 weeks in the USL Championship regular season. As in previous seasons, that makes it time to bring out the playoff status graphic to head up this post. On top of that, it’s already been a busy week, with 5 games played Wednesday. Those games had a material impact on the standings with one team adding its name to the playoff-bound and many other teams shuffling positions. That’s particularly true in the Western Conference, where the seven unclaimed playoff spots are separated by just 5 points and the three teams still alive below the playoff line are all only another 5 points short.
The East is a bit more spread out. 3 of the 4 teams with a post-season booked are in the East, leaving 5 spots open. Those are spread over a 6-point range, but the team directly under the playoff line (Indy Eleven) is even on points with The Miami FC in 8th. The other two teams still in the hunt, the Legion and Loudoun United, are both 10 points adrift. Both have 15 points available; Miami only has 9 and Indy has 12. That’s a steep hill, but it’s not unclimbable.
As to the team that clinched a playoff spot, well, they did so at the expense of another team who were eliminated in the same game. And that’s where it gets interesting…
The most important part
That game was played Wednesday and it was Brooklyn FC v. Detroit City. The Legion of course gave Brooklyn a 4-0 whipping 9 days ago and will be traveling up to Detroit for tomorrow’s game (6:00pm, ESPN+). The game in Brooklyn ended 3-1 in Detroit’s favor. The scoreline was Le Rouge’s best since June 13th, when they thrashed Sporting JAX 6-2. In the 13 league games since then they have scored 13 goals (so 10 in the previous 12) and been shut out 5 times. The good news for them is that they have allowed only 7 goals in that stretch.
However, the 3-1 result Wednesday is a bit misleading. The “real” score was, in effect, 2-0. That is because the Brooklyn goal was a PK and the final Detroit goal was right at the close of second-half stoppage time when Brooklyn brought all 11 forward to attempt a tying goal on a corner. Former Legionary Kobe Hernández-Foster of Detroit collected the ball and booted it from his own penalty arc at the wide-open Brooklyn goal. A dramatic end to the game, and almost the longest goal this season, but it really did not make much difference. A 2-2 draw would still have eliminated Brooklyn and Detroit likely would have clinched as well.
Detroit is not a high-scoring team. They rank 16th, even with Indy and JAX, on 32 goals. Of those, 12 were scored against JAX and Brooklyn. But the 20 goals they have conceded put them 3 goals clear at the bottom of that list. Unsurprisingly, then, they are 2nd in clean sheets with 12. So, Detroit City games are not high-scoring for either team. The 2-1 win over the Legion back in early July was above average in that regard; only 9 of 26 Detroit league games have had 3 or more goals this year (and only 1 of 4 in the USL Cup, over Fort Wayne FC of League One). Again, 3 of those were against Brooklyn and JAX.
The game here at Protective Stadium was a strange one, but in some ways typical of the issues the Three Sparks have had most of the season. The visitors went up 1-0 in the 2nd minute off a corner (taken by Kobe, of course). Tyler Pasher tied it back up 22 minutes later with a PK and then Ronaldo Damus fluffed another PK just before half-time. Detroit finally won the game in second-half stoppage time after Jassem Koleilat fumbled a relatively easy save.
The late-season Legion is, it seems, not the same team. The problem with goals off set pieces and crosses has definitely eased. Ronaldo Damus has found his scoring boots, bagging 3 goals in the last 3 games. The Three Sparks have not given up a late goal in the last 4 games; quite the opposite in fact: they have scored 3 stoppage-time goals in those games.
Indeed, the 18 goals scored in the last 8 games are half the Legion’s total for the entire season. Detroit, despite their lofty 3rd position in the East, have only scored 6 over that same span. They’ve only allowed 4 though. This is going to be a stark contrast in styles.
As to their position in the standings, they are 2 points behind the Charleston Battery and 5 points ahead of Hartford Athletic, neither of whom has a league game this weekend. Thus they will jump Charleston with a win and are certainly well aware of that fact.
They are facing a rested Legion side. The Three Sparks are on a 10-day break. Detroit has played twice since the Legion’s last game. Moreover, they had a much harder time of it against Brooklyn than did the Legion and their 0-0 draw with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks was not very impressive either.
They are pretty much committed to a 4-2-3-1 formation, not deviating from that at all over the last 5 games. The striker is typically Darren Smith or Ben Morris. Smith has a whopping 13 goals; he also played only one half in midweek. No one else has more than 3 (Maxi Rodriguez). He is clearly the primary threat.
Finally, international call-ups could have an impact on this game. It is not clear how many of the 4 Legion players on national team duty will be available, if any. Detroit, on the other hand, had no players called up and so will be at full strength.
Best of the rest
Despite 10 teams being active in midweek, aside from the Charleston Battery and Pittsburgh Riverhounds (neither of whom played Wednesday) everyone has a game this weekend. That includes San Antonio FC, who were clobbered 0-7 by SV Darmstadt of the 2. Bundesliga in a friendly Tuesday. One league game and the USL Cup final on Sunday; all other games are Saturday.
Loudoun United v. Indy Eleven (Saturday, 5:00pm, ESPN+)
If ever there was a game in which both teams need to lose, it’s this one. And both of them have been doing that rather consistenly of late. Indy is on a 3-game losing streak, most recently a 0-1 setback to Rhode Island FC Wednesday, which saw them drop below the playoff line on tiebreakers. Loudoun beat JAX 4-1 last Friday, ending a 4-game losing streak and 7-game winless streak. The Three Sparks have yet to play Loudoun the second time, and lead them on tiebreakers, so a Loudoun win is likely the preferred outcome. They are rested, which improves the chances.
Lexington SC v. El Paso Locomotive (Saturday, 6:00pm, ESPN+)
This one features #1 and #2 in our Power Rankings. Lexington are surging in the Western standings and have scored 13 goals in the past 3 games. El Paso remains 4 points clear at the top of the West, but their 8-game win streak ended last week. They are not invulnerable and can be caught. The home side will be looking to extend their own 3-game win streak and possibly move as high as 2nd.
Tampa Bay Rowdies v. The Miami FC (Saturday, 6:30pm, ESPN+)
Miami edged Indy out of the playoff spots with a 4-1 win over JAX Wednesday. They have made the USL Championship playoffs only twice in 6 seasons, and not since 2022. They will be wanting to get back to the knockout stages but getting past the Rowdies will be tough, to say the least. Tampa Bay is more or less cruising to the Eastern crown with a 6-point lead and also has a 5-point lead in the Players’ Shield race. A win this weekend will go far towards increasing the odds of both.
Hartford Athletic v. Louisville City (Sunday, 2:00pm, ESPN2)
This one has no bearing on the league standings at all; it’s the USL Cup final. The two teams played last week in the league, ending in a messy 2-2 draw with 3 PKs and a red card. Hartford were the home team last week and will be again this week. They are also the defending champion. Lou City has, by their own standards, been seriously underperforming this year and are the underdogs. Still, it should be a gritty and entertaining matchup.
Back in the Old Country
Birmingham City remains idle this weekend as the international break continues. The women’s team played twice over the past week, drawing 3-3 with Crystal Palace last Saturday before losing 3-4 to Liverpool in the second group stage game of the League Cup Wednesday. The introduction to the top flight has been tough; they have yet to win a game this season. This Sunday (8:00am, Paramount+) they visit Everton for the second time already, but in league play this go around. Everton, who are 6th in the table, won 2-0 in the League Cup a week ago Wednesday.
