The most important part
Well, there is no most important part, really. Both the Legion and Birmingham City over in England are both off this week. It is an international break, which explains the Blues being idle, but that is entirely coincidental for the Legion, not to mention fortuitous, as 3 of the team’s centerbacks have been called up (Phanuel Kavita, A.J. Paterson and Ramiz Hamouda). Although since the Legion is now eliminated from the playoffs, it would effectively have not done any real harm.
Which therefore leads us on to the remainder of the Championship.
Best of the rest
As can be seen in the header image, there are now 3 teams in each conference locked in to the playoffs, and of those 2 have secured home field advantage. In an oddity of the USL’s convoluted tiebreaker system, Hartford Athletic are 3rd in the East but have not locked in a playoff spot yet even though North Carolina FC in 4th have done so. Hartford may have a tough time getting that done this week; after winning the Jägermeister Cup 1-0 over Sacramento Republic last Saturday they stayed in California and beat Oakland Roots 3-1 on Tuesday and now return home to play Saturday against…well, you’ll see in a moment. Busy week.
Anyway, you have a wide open slate of games to watch; here are our recommendations:
North Carolina FC v. Phoenix Rising (Friday, 6:00pm, CBS Sports Golazo Network). North Carolina will be aiming to edge back ahead of Hartford after dropping a spot in the standings on Tuesday and need every point they can muster to lock in home field. The Rising is 8th in the West and just 2 points clear of Orange County who have a game in hand. Much at stake here.
Hartford Athletic v. Sacramento Republic (Saturday, 6:00pm, ESPN+). Yes, these two teams have a rematch on the other side of the continent this week. Unlike Hartford, SacRep are rested and doubtless will have revenge on their minds. Should be a good one.
Louisville City v. The™ Miami FC (Saturday, 6:30pm, ESPN+). Normally, a late-season match between the league’s best and worst teams would not merit much attention, but Miami is the Legion’s last home opponent next Sunday and is only 3 points behind. The chances of them making up those 3 points in the wooden spoon race are poor, but Lou City will be without starting keeper Damian Las for a red card suspension and Miami whipped the Pittsburgh Riverhounds 3-1 last week.
FC Tulsa v. San Antonio FC (Saturday, 7:00pm, ESPN+). This one features #1 and #4 in the West. Tulsa is rolling to easily its best season ever but has not yet clinched the Western Conference title. A win this week will do that. San Antonio for their part are clinging to the last home playoff spot on tiebreakers. They have a game in hand but will want to take points from this one.
