The most obvious thing that will jump out at you from this week’s Power Rankings is the big jump the Legion took. Surprising? Perhaps. But consider: in the last 5 games only one team has fewer losses (FC Tulsa with 0), only 8 teams have a better points record and all the Legion’s points were earned against teams with better overall records. All of that will get you a big boost in the Forge Factor algorithm.
Another interesting point about this week’s games: the 9 winning teams averaged 44.7% possession. That’s with San Antonio having a man advantage for almost 30 minutes. Phoenix Rising was the only other team to dominate possession at just 52.8%.
On to the rankings:
| Rank | Team | Change | Previous | Record | Forge Factor | Note | Next |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sacramento Republic | 4 | +3 | 6-4-5 | 22.315 | The Republic cruised to a 3-0 win over El Paso and it could have been worse. They are now level on points with the Locomotive and Phoenix but lead on tiebreakers. They also hold the league’s best win streak at 3. | v. Lexington |
| 2 | Louisville City | 1 | -1 | 11-1-4 | 20.474 | Louisville City were on a bye this week. | v. Tulsa |
| 3 | Charleston Battery | 3 | 0 | 12-3-2 | 18.767 | The Battery generated most of the good chances in a very tight 2-1 win in Albuquerque. They made it interesting by giving up a penalty though. Still, they edge into the Eastern Conference and Players’ Shield leads. | v. Miami |
| 4 | Hartford Athletic | 9 | +5 | 3-7-3 | 17.782 | The Athletic scored in the 5th minute and never really looked back in the 2-1 win in Detroit. They blew a PK in the second half though. 2 straight wins over strong competition and things are on the upswing. | v. Tampa Bay, @ Rhode Island |
| 5 | Lexington SC | 2 | -3 | 4-6-6 | 16.650 | Lexington’s 3-game win streak came to an end with a 1-1 draw in Miami but they are now out of the playoffs only on tiebreakers. They did need a 94th minute equalizer though in a very tight contest. | @ Sacramento |
| 6 | Birmingham Legion | 15 | +9 | 4-7-6 | 14.834 | The 3-2 scoreline was somewhat flattering to the home-standing North Carolina. The Legion’s counter-attacking strategy worked nearly perfectly. Is everything clicking for Briggs? | v. Colorado Springs |
| 7 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 6 | -1 | 6-6-3 | 14.602 | A typically scrappy Riverhounds game ended a 2-2 draw with Loudoun. Loudoun were marginally the better team on the day but the home side led until a late equalizer. Pittsburgh stays 5th in the East. | @ Detroit |
| 8 | FC Tulsa | 5 | -3 | 7-3-4 | 13.628 | Tulsa may be unbeaten in the last 5 but they needed a stoppage time own goal to get the 4-3 win over Las Vegas. This was a wild one; Tulsa blew an early 2-goal lead and even trailed after 62 minutes. | v. Monterey Bay, @ Louisville |
| 9 | San Antonio | 8 | -1 | 8-5-3 | 13.551 | San Antonio go top of the West with a 1-0 win over Tampa Bay. It should have been easier; they had a man advantage after 68 minutes but couldn’t break the deadlock until deep in stoppage time. | Bye |
| 10 | Orange County | 7 | -3 | 5-7-2 | 13.249 | County scored with their first shot on target. But that was in the 51st minute. A 69th minute red card to Stephen Kelly did not stop the comeback attempt but they lose 1-2 in Monterey. | v. Las Vegas |
| 11 | Oakland Roots | 11 | 0 | 5-9-2 | 12.954 | Oakland will be ruing not converting several good scoring chances as they lose at home 1-2 to Phoenix. The 2-game win streak ends but even in 11th place they are only 1 point out of the playoffs. | @ Loudoun |
| 12 | Indy Eleven | 18 | +6 | 5-5-5 | 10.403 | A typically low-scoring game for Indy. They take advantage of a poor clearance to get the 1-0 win over Rhode Island in a largely uninteresting contest. 3 wins in the last 5 games, all with clean sheets. | @ North Carolina |
| 13 | North Carolina FC | 10 | -3 | 7-6-2 | 10.336 | North Carolina had a 16.2% edge in possession and 21 shots. Only 4 were on target and the 2 that found the net were more defensive errors than design. They fall 2-3 to the Legion. | v. Indy |
| 14 | Las Vegas Lights | 13 | -1 | 5-8-3 | 10.331 | Elias Gärtig’s stoppage time own goal was the decider in a completely crazy 3-4 loss in Tulsa. To be fair, it was going in anyway. 3 losses in the last 5 games but they stay above the playoff line on tiebreakers. | @ Orange County |
| 15 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 12 | -3 | 3-10-2 | 9.823 | The Dominic Casciato era in Tampa Bay starts with a tough assignment against San Antonio. Still, they played it fairly close even after a Forrest Lasso red card. The Rowdies go down 0-1 on a 95th-minute goal. | @ Hartford |
| 16 | New Mexico United | 16 | 0 | 8-6-1 | 9.374 | United scored an own goal in the 1-2 home loss to Charleston but also hit the crossbar as time expired. This was a close and entertaining matchup that saw the winners go top of the East and the losers drop to 2nd in the West. | Bye |
| 17 | Phoenix Rising | 21 | +4 | 6-5-5 | 8.290 | The Rising had to come from behind to get the 2-1 win in Oakland. They also had to survive being down a man for 7 minutes to a Roots team that was creating chances all game. First win in 4 games. | @ El Paso* |
| 18 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 19 | +1 | 3-6-6 | 7.586 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks were on a bye this week. | @ Birmingham |
| 19 | The Miami FC | 14 | -5 | 5-7-3 | 6.871 | Each team dominated a half in the 1-1 draw with Lexington to generate what was ultimately a very fair result. Francisco Bonfiglio continues to threaten as a top newcomer in the USL Championship. | @ Charleston |
| 20 | Rhode Island FC | 17 | -3 | 4-8-4 | 5.342 | Rhody never looked threatening in Indianapolis and lost 0-1 as a result. 1-3-1 in the last 5 games and they have slipped 2 points below the playoff line in an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference. | v. Hartford |
| 21 | El Paso Locomotive | 20 | -1 | 6-5-5 | 4.902 | The Locomotive had 2 good scoring chances in the game in Sacramento. That wouldn’t have been enough as the home team scored 3. El Paso is 1-3-1 in the last 5 and falling off the pace. | v. Phoenix* |
| 22 | Loudoun United | 23 | +1 | 8-5-3 | 4.587 | Loudoun were without Abdellatif Aboukoura, gave up a dumb handball PK and needed a stoppage time equalizer for the 2-2 result in Pittsburgh. They should have done better. | v. Oakland |
| 23 | Detroit City | 22 | -1 | 5-6-5 | 3.286 | Detroit has fallen off a cliff. The 1-2 home loss to Hartford means they have earned just 1 win and 6 points total since April. Down 2 goals in the first 23 minutes and they looked helpless. | v. Pittsburgh |
| 24 | Monterey Bay FC | 24 | 0 | 6-7-4 | 2.710 | A man advantage for the last 28 minutes should have made the 2-1 win over Orange County easy but the Seasiders had to weather some desperate attacking to hang on. 4 points clear of the playoff line. | @ Tulsa |
* Jägermeister Cup
