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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 25

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 08/26/19, 5:00PM EDT

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Top-heavy Eastern Conference goes through midweek, weekend upheaval

The 2019 USL Championship Power Rankings are compiled each week by staff writers John Arlia and Nicholas Murray. Check back every Monday during the regular season to see who’s hot, and who’s not, as the biggest season in the league’s history progresses.

Atlanta United 2 Austin Bold FC Birmingham Legion FC Bethlehem Steel FC Charleston Battery Charlotte Independence Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC El Paso Locomotive FC Fresno FC
Hartford Athletic Indy Eleven LA Galaxy II Louisville City FC Las Vegas Lights FC Loudoun United FC Memphis 901 FC Nashville SC North Carolina FC
New Mexico United New York Red Bulls II Orange County SC OKC Energy FC Ottawa Fury FC Phoenix Rising FC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Portland Timbers 2 Rio Grande Valley FC
Reno 1868 FC San Antonio FC Real Monarchs SLC Saint Louis FC Sacramento Republic FC Swope Park Rangers Tacoma Defiance Tampa Bay Rowdies Tulsa Roughnecks FC

Biggest Movers

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary

1 Phoenix Rising FC
(17-2-5)
Week 25: W, 2-1 SAC
Week 26: @TAC, @COS

Last Week: 1
Rising FC conceded the opening goal for the second time this month, but once again managed to turn the game around to extend its winning streak to 15 games.
2 Fresno FC
(13-3-8)
Week 25: W, 2-1 COS
Week 26: @TUL
1
Last Week: 3
The Foxes are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games after a late comeback against the Switchbacks and have an edge over Reno for second place ahead of a crucial showdown with 1868 FC in two weeks.
3 Indy Eleven
(14-4-4)
Week 25: W, 3-1 CLT
Week 26: @LOU
3
Last Week: 6
The Eleven may sit in fourth place in the East but Martin Rennie’s squad has the highest possible points total (82) of any team in the conference.
4 North Carolina FC
(13-6-7)
Week 25: W, 4-2 TBR, L, 0-1 @LOU
Week 26: @LDN
1
Last Week: 5
North Carolina completed a season sweep of the Rowdies with a convincing midweek win but didn’t have enough gas in the tank to accomplish the same feat against Louisville.
5 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(14-4-7)
Week 25: L, 2-4 @NC, W, 5-0 MEM
Week 26: NSH
1
Last Week: 4
The Rowdies rebounded to their midweek loss to NCFC with a five-star performance against Memphis that should give Tampa Bay confidence heading into next Saturday’s top-three clash with Nashville.
6 New York Red Bulls II
(16-5-5)
Week 25: W, 2-1 @NSH, W, 5-1 @SPR
Week 26: --
2
Last Week: 8
New York has always been lethal at home but seven goals in two road wins over the week moved it into the league lead with 2.27 goals per road contest.
7 Nashville SC
(14-6-6)
Week 25: L, 1-2 NY, W, 2-1 CHS
Week 26: @TBR
5
Last Week: 2
Nashville failed to take advantage of another opportunity against a top-six side, but Bolu Akinyode’s late winner against the Battery should help morale after Wednesday’s home loss to New York.
8 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(12-4-8)
Week 25: W, 1-0 LDN
Week 26: @OTT
1
Last Week: 7
The Hounds weren’t convincing against Loudoun but still managed three points to extend their unbeaten run at Highmark Stadium to 22 games.
9 Birmingham Legion FC
(9-10-5)
Week 25: W, 3-2 @BST
Week 26: @LDN

Last Week: 9
Legion FC’s shutout streak was snapped at 624 minutes, but Birmingham extended its unbeaten run to seven games with another important victory.
10 Louisville City FC
(12-7-6)
Week 25: W, 1-0 NC
Week 26: IND
2
Last Week: 12
Four straight wins haven’t helped Louisville climb into the top six just yet, but the back-to-back champs can change that if results go their way on Friday.
11 Reno 1868 FC
(13-7-5)
Week 25: --
Week 26: POR

Last Week: 11
1868 FC had the weekend off to prepare for a three-game homestand that kicks off with a tricky visit from the Portland Timbers 2 on Saturday.
12 Ottawa Fury FC
(10-4-9)
Week 25: W, 2-1 STL
Week 26: PIT
1
Last Week: 13
Carl Haworth leads the Championship with four free kick goals this season but it’s Hadji Barry opening his account that should have Fury FC fans feeling good.
13 San Antonio FC
(9-9-7)
Week 25: W, 5-0 NM
Week 26: @TAC
2
Last Week: 15
Consistent performances are one of the toughest things to get out of young players, but 20-year-old Cristian Parano seems to be finding his groove.
14 Real Monarchs SLC
(10-8-5)
Week 25: L, 1-3 @OC
Week 26: OKC
4
Last Week: 10
After managing just a point from their two-game road trip, the Monarchs will be excited to return to Zions Bank Stadium where they’ve picked up eight of their 10 wins this season.
15 OKC Energy FC
(9-8-9)
Week 25: W, 4-2 AUS
Week 26: @SLC
6
Last Week: 21
Back-to-back 4-2 victories are rare, but Energy FC won’t be complaining after moving up to fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
16 Austin Bold FC
(10-9-6)
Week 25: L, 2-4 @OKC
Week 26: RGV
2
Last Week: 14
Bold FC still sits in fourth place in the West but is the only team in the conference above the playoff line with a negative goal differential (-2).
17 Orange County SC
(8-8-9)
Week 25: W, 3-1 SLC
Week 26: @NM
5
Last Week: 22
Back-to-back wins have Orange County above the playoff line, but its postseason credentials will be tested over its upcoming trips to New Mexico and Portland.
18 LA Galaxy II
(8-8-9)
Week 25: --
Week 26: SAC
1
Last Week: 17
Los Dos will play its next six games against teams currently above it in the Western Conference standings, starting Saturday against California rival Sacramento.
19 Sacramento Republic FC
(10-10-4)
Week 25: L, 1-2 @PHX
Week 26: @LA
1
Last Week: 18
Republic FC is one of four teams to hold a lead against Rising FC during its 15-game winning streak, but it couldn’t hold it as it fell for the first time in five games.
20 New Mexico United
(8-7-10)
Week 25: L, 0-5 @SA
Week 26: OC
4
Last Week: 16
United has conceded 12 goals over its current four-game winless run and will need to tighten things up at the back if it wants to hold onto its playoff spot.
21 Rio Grande Valley FC
(7-11-7)
Week 25: W, 1-0 ELP
Week 26: @AUS
6
Last Week: 27
Rio Grande Valley gave its playoff hopes a shot in the arm with a Copa Tejas win over El Paso. It will now hope for a repeat performance on Sunday in Austin.
22 El Paso Locomotive FC
(8-8-8)
Week 25: L, 0-1 @RGV
Week 26: --
3
Last Week: 19
Locomotive FC is now 8-8-8 on the season with a goal differential of 0. Perfectly balanced but also perfectly average.
23 Charleston Battery
(7-7-9)
Week 25: L, 1-2 @NSH
Week 26: @CLT
3
Last Week: 20
The Battery dropped into 10th place in the East with their third loss in five games and don’t have a lot of momentum heading into a busy stretch of games.
24 Saint Louis FC
(6-9-8)
Week 25: L, 1-2 @OTT
Week 26: HFD
1
Last Week: 23
Saint Louis seemed to play better after being reduced to 10 men against Ottawa but couldn’t come back to nick a point. This upcoming three-game homestand is pivotal.
25 Las Vegas Lights FC
(8-10-6)
Week 25: W, 1-0 POR
Week 26: @TUL
4
Last Week: 29
Lights FC has picked up seven of its eight wins this season at Cashman Field, but will likely need at least three points from this week’s road trip to Tulsa to stay in the hunt.
26 Portland Timbers 2
(8-9-8)
Week 25: L, 0-1 @LV
Week 26: @RNO
2
Last Week: 24
Portland hasn’t kept a clean sheet in over two months and will probably find it hard to do so this weekend in Reno. The defense needs to get sorted.
27 Charlotte Independence
(5-11-10)
Week 25: L, 1-3 @IND
Week 26: CHS
2
Last Week: 25
The Independence took the lead in Indy but conceded three straight goals and have now dropped a league-high 26 points from winning positions this season.
28 Loudoun United FC
(5-12-5)
Week 25: L, 0-1 @PIT
Week 26: BHM, NC
2
Last Week: 26
Loudoun has yet to christen its new home at Segra Field with a victory, but two more opportunities arrive this week.
29 Hartford Athletic
(5-17-4)
Week 25: W, 3-2 ATL
Week 26: @STL
2
Last Week: 31
Two late goals from Wojciech Wojcik saw the Athletic collect their first home win since July 13 and jump up a spot in the standings.
30 Tacoma Defiance
(4-14-5)
Week 25: --
Week 26: PHX, SA

Last Week: 30
Tacoma had the weekend off to prepare to host two of the West’s hottest teams this week as Rising FC and San Antonio visit Cheney Stadium.
31 Memphis 901 FC
(4-13-7)
Week 25: L, 0-5 @TBR
Week 26: @ATL
3
Last Week: 28
The Eastern Conference’s lowest-scoring side put up another goalless outing on Saturday and is now averaging 0.88 goals per game.
32 Atlanta United 2
(5-14-5)
Week 25: L, 2-3 @HFD
Week 26: MEM

Last Week: 32
Atlanta has alternated victories and defeats over its past five games but will like its chances of getting back in the win column on Saturday against Memphis.
33 Bethlehem Steel FC
(6-13-5)
Week 25: L, 2-3 BHM
Week 26: SPR

Last Week: 33
Steel FC should take some confidence in being the first team to score on Birmingham in over a month but won’t be thrilled about conceding a late winner.
34 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(6-16-4)
Week 25: L, 1-2 @FRS
Week 26: PHX

Last Week: 34
The Switchbacks looked like they were going to pull a shocking season sweep over Fresno but just couldn’t get over the finish line.
35 Tulsa Roughnecks FC
(4-13-7)
Week 25: --
Week 26: LV, FRS

Last Week: 35
The Roughnecks had the weekend off to regroup and try to build some confidence ahead of this week’s visits of Las Vegas and Fresno to ONEOK Field.
36 Swope Park Rangers
(3-14-6)
Week 25: L, 1-5 NY
Week 26: @BST

Last Week: 36
The Rangers have conceded 16 goals over their past five games and will struggle to find that elusive fourth win of the season if they don’t improve defensively.

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