The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 6
The USL Championship entered week 6 with 4 winless teams; all three who played won (Birmingham Legion, The™ Miami FC and Oakland Roots), leaving only Hartford Athletic, whose game was postponed due to weather, without a W. The week was highlighted by a number of superlative goalkeeping performances and unlikely results, meaning the rankings go haywire this week.
| Rank | Team Name | Previous | Change | Record | Note | This Week |
| 1 | Louisville City | 1 | 0 | 3-0-2 | Louisville City were on a bye this week. | @ Tampa Bay |
| 2 | Monterey Bay FC | 2 | 0 | 4-1-1 | Monterey Bay got 6 huge saves from Nico Campuzano to get the 2-1 win over Colorado Springs. Top of the West and 1 of only 2 unbeaten teams left. | @ Lexington |
| 3 | Loudoun United | 6 | 3 | 5-1-0 | Loudoun’s 2-1 win over the Rowdies was closer than the visitors ould have liked. Best record in the league now although several wins were over weaker sides. | v. Pittsburgh |
| 4 | New Mexico United | 4 | 0 | 4-1-0 | It took 92 minutes but New Mexico finally got the winner over North Carolina on Thomas Amang’s team debut. 4 straight wins is the league’s best streak. | v. Monterey Bay |
| 5 | Detroit City | 14 | 9 | 3-1-2 | Detroit were poor in the first half but dominated in the second and should have been on even terms at least much earlier. But scoring 3 goals in 4 minutes after the 86th minute is impressive. | v. Rhode Island |
| 6 | Charleston Battery | 11 | 5 | 3-2-0 | The Battery completely dominated Pittsburgh but had to come from behind to win. Cal Jennings made up for totally shanking a PK to get the 2=1 game-winner. | @ Indy |
| 7 | San Antonio | 5 | -2 | 4-2-0 | After a perfect start San Antonio has lost two straight at home, this time failing to break down a resolute Miami defense. They also lost head coach Carlos Llamosa to a red card. | v. Colorado Springs |
| 8 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 13 | 5 | 2-2-1 | Pittsburgh got the early lead but were otherwise ineffective, going down 1-2 in Charleston despite having a 2-week rest. | @ Loudoun |
| 9 | Birmingham Legion | 18 | 9 | 1-2-2 | The Legion had to come from behind yet again to win 3-1 at home over El Paso but this was a much-improved performance and hints at better things to come. | @ Hartford |
| 10 | Orange County | 21 | 11 | 2-2-1 | 2 lucky goals and an epic game from GK Colin Shutler were what OC needed for the 2-1 win in what was a pretty evenly played game. | @ Oakland |
| 11 | Las Vegas Lights | 15 | 4 | 2-1-2 | Las Vegas and Lexington’s 0-0 draw was as listless as the score suggests. The Lights are in the Western running but this game was a step back. | v. Tulsa |
| 12 | North Carolina FC | 3 | -9 | 2-2-2 | North Carolina barely got to touch the ball but held on until second-half stoppage time in New Mexico before losing 0-1. A mixed bag of results to date. | @ Miami |
| 13 | Rhode Island FC | 17 | 4 | 1-2-1 | Rhode Island FC were on a bye this week. | @ Detroit |
| 14 | Indy Eleven | 16 | 2 | 1-1-2 | Indy’s game at Hartford was postponed. | v. Charleston |
| 15 | Sacramento Republic | 8 | -7 | 1-2-2 | SacRep scored 3 times at Orange County. 2 were in their own net though. Badly dominated in the first half they came back in the second but ultimately fell short. | @ Phoenix |
| 16 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 10 | -6 | 1-2-2 | The Switchbacks did everything they could to get on level terms with Monterey Bay but were utterly stymied. Still struggling to find their feet in the title defense. | v. El Paso |
| 17 | Phoenix Rising | 9 | -8 | 1-3-2 | The Rising played an excellent first half but weakened in the second and eventually blew up badly to go down 2-3 to Detroit. A very erratic side so far. | v. Sacramento |
| 18 | The Miami FC | 24 | 6 | 1-4-0 | Miami scored twice in 2 minutes in the first half then rode an epic defensive effort to beat San Antonio 2-1, the 3rd straight time. A very impressive effort on the road. | v. North Carolina |
| 19 | Lexington SC | 19 | 0 | 1-2-3 | Lexington and Las Vegas combined for just 2 shots on target in a boring 0-0 draw. The only win was over Hartford in Week 1 and this team is now having rookie problems. | v. Monterey Bay |
| 20 | El Paso Locomotive | 12 | -8 | 2-2-2 | El Paso got the early lead but ultimately were unable to play their own counterattacking game and lost 1-2. This Locomotive side can still be dangerous though. | @ Colorado Springs |
| 21 | Oakland Roots | 22 | 1 | 1-4-1 | The Roots finally got a win and can thank 3 big saves by Kendall McIntosh for it as they were largely on the back foot all night. | v. Orange County |
| 22 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 20 | -2 | 1-4-0 | Firing your head coach the day before a game against a top contender is not optimal. The 1-2 loss was fairly close but the Rowdies didn’t score until late in stoppage time. | v. Louisville |
| 23 | FC Tulsa | 7 | -16 | 3-2-0 | Tulsa outshot Oakland 21-9 but were 4-4 on target and couldn’t penetrate more than once. Only 1 good outing this season to date. | @ Las Vegas |
| 24 | Hartford Athletic | 23 | -1 | 0-4-0 | Hartford’s game against Indy was postponed. | v. Birmingham |
