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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 30

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 09/30/19, 9:00PM EDT

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Hounds ride shutout streak, two-win week to top spot in rankings

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

11 ATL 9 SAC

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary
1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(16-4-10)
Week 30: W, 1-0 @MEM, W, 3-0 IND
Week 31: @LDN, ATL		 3
Last Week: 4		 The Hounds haven’t conceded a goal since August 17 – their shutout streak now spans 646 minutes after two more clean sheets over the week – and took pole position in the race to the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a convincing home win over Indy.
2 Phoenix Rising FC
(22-3-6)
Week 30: T, 2-2 @NM
Week 31: @POR		 1
Last Week: 3		 Rising FC has now failed to win its last two games but its late draw in New Mexico certainly felt like a victory after overcoming a two-goal deficit on the night it claimed the regular season title.
3 Nashville SC
(17-7-7)
Week 30: W, 2-0 @LDN
Week 31: --		 4
Last Week: 7		 Nashville enters its bye week atop the Eastern Conference standings on the total wins tiebreaker after passing a road test in Loudoun. It will be hoping second-place Pittsburgh fails the same test on Tuesday night.
4 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(16-6-9)
Week 30: T, 2-2 @LOU
Week 31: @LDN		 2
Last Week: 6		 The Rowdies rescued a point from the jaws of defeat on Saturday night in Louisville, overcoming a two-goal deficit with 10 men in the final five minutes of play to give their top-four hopes a massive boost.
5 Louisville City FC
(14-7-9)
Week 30: T, 2-2 TBR
Week 31: @STL
Last Week: 5		 LouCity saw its unbeaten run reach nine games and clinched its playoff berth with a draw against the Rowdies, but those two points dropped could force the defending champions to hit the road in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
6 Fresno FC
(16-6-8)
Week 30: L, 1-2 @SA
Week 31: @ELP, TAC		 4
Last Week: 2		 The Foxes suffered a bit of a letdown in San Antonio after beating Rising FC the previous weekend but got let off the hook in the race for second place thanks to 1868 FC’s subsequent home defeat.
7 Birmingham Legion FC
(11-12-6)
Week 30: --
Week 31: @SPR, CHS 		1
Last Week: 8		 Legion FC won’t have loved seeing AJ Paterson’s stoppage-time equalizer for the Battery in New York on Friday night, but the side can still create a three-point gap above Charleston on Monday ahead of their massive playoff six-pointer on Saturday.
8 Orange County SC
(12-9-9)
Week 30: L, 0-2 @RGV
Week 31: OKC		 7
Last Week: 1		 Orange County’s road woes returned in Rio Grande Valley to put an end to the side’s six-game winning streak, but the side still controls its destiny for a fourth-place finish.
9 Austin Bold FC
(13-11-7)
Week 30: W, 2-1 @POR
Week 31: @SLC		 5
Last Week: 14		 Bold FC finally got the break it needed to collect its third road victory of the season on Sunday in Portland and insert itself into the race for fourth place ahead of this weekend’s visit to the Monarchs.
10 Real Monarchs SLC
(13-10-7)
Week 30: W, 2-1 @RNO
Week 31: AUS		 5
Last Week: 15		 The Monarchs couldn’t have asked for much better results over the past weekend as they took a comeback victory in Reno while Orange County and Sacramento suffered defeats to leave Real in fourth place out West entering the week.
11 Memphis 901 FC
(9-14-7)
Week 30: L, 0-1 PIT, W, 5-0 BST
Week 31: @IND		 5
Last Week: 16		 Memphis has won five of its last six games and played Pittsburgh close in its only defeat over that stretch. Getting a result in Indy won’t come easy, but the Eleven should be wary of a 901 FC that is certainly not checking out early.
12 Reno 1868 FC
(16-10-5)
Week 30: L, 1-2 SLC
Week 31: ELP		 3
Last Week: 9		 Reno missed out on an opportunity to close the gap to second-place Fresno after surrendering an early lead against the Monarchs and will want to make amends this weekend against playoff-chasing El Paso in its home finale.
13 LA Galaxy II
(11-9-10)
Week 30: W, 5-1 OKC
Week 31: @SAC, @COS		 5
Last Week: 18		 Los Dos scored five unanswered goals to bury Energy FC in a 5-1 victory on Saturday night but are still the only team above the playoff line out West with a negative goal differential.
14 El Paso Locomotive FC
(11-9-9)
Week 30: W, 2-1 @SAC
Week 31: FRS, @RNO		 6
Last Week: 20		 Locomotive FC gave its playoff chances a solid boost on Saturday night with three points in Sacramento, which could come in handy with two games against top three sides on tap for this week.
15 New York Red Bulls II
(17-8-6)
Week 30: T, 1-1 CHS
Week 31: @NC		 2
Last Week: 13		 Taking just one point from three games surely hasn’t helped the Red Bulls II in their pursuit of the East’s top spot, but New York is still squarely in the race for a top-four finish and could still finish first if results go their way.
16 Atlanta United 2
(8-16-7)
Week 30: W, 2-1 IND, T, 1-1 @STL
Week 31: @PIT		 11
Last Week: 27		 Atlanta is unbeaten in its last five games (3-0-2), all of which have come against teams fighting for playoff positioning. A trip to Pittsburgh pits two form sides in the conference against each other on Saturday night.
17 Saint Louis FC
(11-10-9)
Week 30: T, 1-1 ATL
Week 31: LOU		 3
Last Week: 11		 Saint Louis’ home draw against ATL UTD 2 certainly isn’t the end of the world with one of Birmingham or Charleston set to drop points this week, but a result in the home leg of the Kings’ Cup would do a world of good.
18 Indy Eleven
(17-8-5)
Week 30: L, 1-2 @ATL, L, 0-3 @PIT
Week 31: @OTT, MEM		 8
Last Week: 10		 The Eleven have lost three straight games and slipped down to fifth place in the standings. Indy maintains the inside track to a top-two finish but will have to get things turned around soon, starting on Wednesday in Ottawa.
19 New Mexico United
(10-9-11)
Week 30: T, 2-2 PHX
Week 31: RGV
Last Week: 19		 United will certainly be disappointed to have let a two-goal lead slip to rival Phoenix, but in the bigger picture it’s a good point for New Mexico’s playoff hopes heading into its final four games against non-playoff sides.
20 Charleston Battery
(9-9-12)
Week 30: T, 1-1 @NY
Week 31: @BHM		 1
Last Week: 21		 The Battery found a late goal for the second straight game to steal a point in New York and will now turn their attention to Monday night’s clash between Birmingham and Swope Park before visiting BBVA Field at the weekend.
21 Sacramento Republic FC
(13-12-5)
Week 30: L, 1-2 ELP
Week 31: LA, @TUL		 9
Last Week: 12		 Republic FC is no longer the favorite to finish fourth in the West after dropping three points against Locomotive FC and will need to bounce back quickly on Wednesday against an in-form Los Dos side if it wants to avoid falling further.
22 San Antonio FC
(11-12-8)
Week 30: L, 3-4 @TUL, W, 2-1 FRS
Week 31: @LV
Last Week: 22		 San Antonio saved its season with a home win against second-place Fresno on Saturday night but will now have to prove its playoff mettle on a trip to Las Vegas against an equally-desperate Lights FC side.
23 North Carolina FC
(14-9-8)
Week 30: W, 3-1 OTT
Week 31: NY		 1
Last Week: 24		 North Carolina snapped its five-game winless run with a comeback victory over Ottawa and kept itself in position to host a playoff game in the play-in round. NCFC could clinch a postseason spot as soon as this weekend if results go its way.
24 Ottawa Fury FC
(12-9-9)
Week 30: L, 1-3 @NC
Week 31: IND		 7
Last Week: 17		 Ottawa will be disappointed to have seen an early lead slip in North Carolina, but Fury FC is still in good position to host a play-in game after Saint Louis’ draw with ATL UTD 2.
25 Las Vegas Lights FC
(10-13-8)
Week 30: W, 3-1 @COS
Week 31: SA		 1
Last Week: 26		 Lights FC got the road win it desperately needed on Saturday night in Colorado Springs and still has an outside shot at a postseason berth if it can claim victories over its upcoming two-game homestand against San Antonio and in-state rival Reno.
26 Tulsa Roughnecks FC
(7-14-10)
Week 30: W, 4-3 SA, T, 1-1 @TAC
Week 31: SAC		 3
Last Week: 29		 The Roughnecks are officially out of postseason contention but took four points over the week and have lost just once in their last seven games. Tulsa will have a chance to play spoiler over the next few weeks as it finishes with three home games against teams fighting for playoff positioning.
27 Portland Timbers 2
(10-12-8)
Week 30: L, 1-2 AUS
Week 31: PHX
Last Week: 27		 Portland’s home defeat against Austin on Sunday dropped its playoff chances to just 10 percent, according to fivethirtyeight.com. T2 probably needs something from Saturday’s home date with Rising FC to keep that number from shrinking further.
28 Rio Grande Valley FC
(9-15-7)
Week 30: W, 2-0 OC
Week 31: @NM		 3
Last Week: 31		 H-E-B Park continues to be a tough place to go to as Rio Grande Valley earned its eighth home win of season on Saturday against Orange County, but the Toros now head to New Mexico looking for just their second road win of the campaign.
29 OKC Energy FC
(9-11-11)
Week 30: L, 1-5 @LA
Week 31: @OC		 4
Last Week: 25		 Two points from its past five games has Energy FC three points out of the playoff places with three games to go. Its heavy defeat in LA on Saturday doesn’t give us much confidence of a miraculous turnaround to reach the postseason.
30 Loudoun United FC
(7-16-6)
Week 30: W, 4-1 SPR, L, 0-2 NSH
Week 31: PIT, TBR		 2
Last Week: 32		 Gordon Wild netted the first hat trick in Loudoun history against the Rangers in midweek, but United slumped to a home defeat against Nashville at the weekend. The expansion side will have five more chances to play spoiler down the stretch, though.
31 Charlotte Independence
(6-14-11)
Week 30: W, 4-0 HFD
Week 31: @BST		 5
Last Week: 36		 After scoring just once in its previous four games, the Independence’s attack arose from its slumber to put four goals past the Athletic in the final half-hour at Sportsplex at Matthews.
32 Bethlehem Steel FC
(8-16-6)
Week 30: L, 0-5 @MEM
Week 31: CLT		 4
Last Week: 28		 After shipping six goals against the Rowdies last weekend in Tampa Bay, Bethlehem conceded five more times on its trip to Memphis. Pretty safe to say the side isn’t showing a lot of steel right now.
33 Swope Park Rangers
(5-17-7)
Week 30: L, 1-4 @LDN
Week 31: BHM, @HFD		 3
Last Week: 30		 The Rangers’ two-game winning streak came to an end against Loudoun in midweek but will have a chance to play a part in the playoff race on Monday night when they host Legion FC.
34 Hartford Athletic
(6-21-4)
Week 30: L, 0-4 @CLT
Week 31: SPR		 1
Last Week: 33		 The Athletic have been outscored 9-1 over their three-game losing streak but will want to be strong when they embark on a three-game homestand to close out the season on Saturday against Swope Park.
35 Tacoma Defiance
(5-19-6)
Week 30: T, 1-1 TUL
Week 31: @FRS
Last Week: 35		 The Defiance have conceded 19 goals over their past five games and are likely to add to that total when they visit a Fresno side on Saturday that’s coming off a loss and still fighting for second place.
36 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(6-20-5)
Week 30: L, 1-3 LV
Week 31: LA		 2
Last Week: 34		 Thanks to Charlotte’s victory, the Switchbacks now have the longest active winless streak in the Championship at 11 games. Finishing with two home games and a trip to Tacoma sandwiched in between should give Colorado Springs a chance to end that before season’s end.

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

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