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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 32

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 10/14/19, 5:30PM EDT

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Monarchs move into top three after handing Rising FC its first home loss

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 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(18-4-11)
Week 32: W, 1-0 @STL
Week 33: @BHM

Last Week: 1
The Hounds held serve in the race for first place in the Eastern Conference thanks to Steevan Dos Santos’ late winner in Saint Louis. Now they can earn homefield advantage until the Championship Final with a victory in Birmingham on Sunday.
2 Nashville SC
(19-7-7)
Week 32: W, 2-1 LOU, W, 2-0 NC
Week 33: ATL
1
Last Week: 3
Nashville’s two-win week secured the side a top-two finish and kept it in with a chance of surpassing Pittsburgh on the final weekend of the season if the Hounds slip up.
3 Real Monarchs SLC
(15-10-7)
Week 32: W, 2-0 OC, W, 2-1 @PHX
Week 33: AUS, SAC
5
Last Week: 8
The Monarchs strengthened their grip on fourth place in the West after becoming the first team to take victory at Rising FC this season. They’ll clinch a home playoff game if they win either of their two contests this week.
4 Phoenix Rising FC
(23-4-6)
Week 32: L, 1-2 SLC
Week 33: OKC
2
Last Week: 2
Zac Lubin’s late error saw Phoenix suffer its first home defeat since the final weekend of the 2018 regular season, but Rising FC will get a chance to move past it quickly as it hosts Energy FC on Dollar Beer Night with new league records for wins and points in a season still within reach.
5 Orange County SC
(14-10-9)
Week 32: L, 0-2 @SLC, W, 3-2 @SAC
Week 33: FRS

Last Week: 5
After losing to the Monarchs in midweek, Orange County’s bounce-back victory in Sacramento kept the side in control of its destiny to avoid the Play-In Round, but its chances of a top-four finish are slim heading into Saturday’s home finale against Fresno.
6 El Paso Locomotive FC
(12-9-11)
Week 32: T, 1-1 AUS
Week 33: POR, @LA

Last Week: 6
Locomotive FC enters the week on a five-game unbeaten run and needs just one more point to secure its spot in the postseason, which could come as soon as Tuesday night. A top-four finish isn’t mathematically out of reach, either.
7 Austin Bold FC
(13-11-8)
Week 32: T, 1-1 @ELP
Week 33: @SLC, @TAC

Last Week: 7
Andre Lima’s goal and subsequent celebration was a touching tribute to fallen teammate Promise Isaac and earned Bold FC a crucial road draw in El Paso to move the side within a point of a playoff place with two games to play.
8 Louisville City FC
(16-8-9)
Week 32: L, 1-2 @NSH, W, 8-3 SPR
Week 33: @MEM
4
Last Week: 4
Should we be concerned that Louisville conceded three first-half goals at home against Swope Park or impressed by the eight unanswered goals that followed? Whichever your view, there’s no denying that was a sensational way to say goodbye to Slugger Field.
9 Reno 1868 FC
(17-10-6)
Week 32: W, 2-0 @LV
Week 33: @TUL
2
Last Week: 11
Reno’s road victory over in-state rival Las Vegas secured the side’s second straight Silver State Cup and, paired with Fresno’s 2-2 draw with the Galaxy II, moved 1868 FC up to second place in the West heading into a tricky trip to Tulsa.
10 Atlanta United 2
(9-16-8)
Week 32: W, 5-2 BST
Week 33: @NSH
2
Last Week: 12
Atlanta’s resounding win over Bethlehem in midweek extended the side’s undefeated streak to seven games (4-0-3) and was the first match during that run against a team already eliminated from playoff contention. Nashville, beware.
11 Indy Eleven
(18-9-6)
Week 32: T, 1-1 @TBR
Week 33: SPR
1
Last Week: 10
The Eleven ended their four-game road losing streak with a hard-fought point in Tampa Bay on Saturday night to keep control of their destiny for a top-four finish. If Indy can beat the Swope Park Rangers at home to complete an unbeaten home slate, it will host a playoff game.
12 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(16-7-10)
Week 32: T, 1-1 IND
Week 33: @HFD
3
Last Week: 9
The Rowdies missed out on a chance to overtake Indy on Saturday night and now needs to win and see either the Eleven or the New York Red Bulls II drop points over the coming week to avoid hitting the road in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.
13 Fresno FC
(16-8-9)
Week 32: T, 2-2 LA
Week 33: @OC

Last Week: 13
The Foxes will be disappointed to have conceded a late equalizer to the Galaxy II on Saturday night as their draw allowed 1868 FC to climb into second. If Reno beats Tulsa on Saturday afternoon, Fresno will have little to play for in Orange County with one home playoff game already in hand.
14 Ottawa Fury FC
(14-9-10)
Week 32: W, 2-1 @SPR, T, 1-1 BST
Week 33: @CLT
6
Last Week: 20
A midweek victory over Swope Park saw Fury FC into the postseason for the first time and results elsewhere over the week ensured the side will host a Play-In Round contest at TD Place. Now it’s just a matter of whether Ottawa takes the No. 7 seed from North Carolina FC.
15 LA Galaxy II
(11-10-12)
Week 32: T, 2-2 @FRS
Week 33: ELP
3
Last Week: 18
Mohammed Kamara’s 90th-minute equalizer could be the goal that gets Los Dos back into the postseason, but despite still controlling its own destiny, the side still has work to do. A home win over El Paso on Saturday would do the trick, though.
16 Loudoun United FC
(10-17-6)
Week 32: W, 4-3 STL, W, 2-1 @CHS
Week 33: NY
11
Last Week: 27
Playing spoiler seems to be Loudoun’s cup of tea as the expansion side has rattled off three straight wins over the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Charleston Battery and Saint Louis FC, with forward Alioune Ndour finding the back of the net on all three occasions.
17 Memphis 901 FC
(9-16-7)
Week 32: L, 1-2 CLT
Week 33: @CHS, LOU
3
Last Week: 14
Memphis may enter the week in 15th place in the Eastern Conference, but it’s still got a mathematical path the playoffs. Anything less than a victory in Charleston on Wednesday, though, will see 901 FC eliminated.
18 North Carolina FC
(15-10-8)
Week 32: L, 0-2 @NSH
Week 33: STL
3
Last Week: 15
North Carolina will be thanking Steel FC for taking a point in Ottawa on Saturday as that result kept the side ahead of Fury FC in the race for the No. 7 seed in the East, which Dave Sarachan’s side can claim with a home win over Saint Louis in its season finale.
19 Sacramento Republic FC
(14-13-6)
Week 32: L, 2-3 OC
Week 33: @SLC
2
Last Week: 17
Republic FC’s chances at a top-four finish evaporated with a home loss against California rival Orange County on Saturday night and Sacramento could slip into the Play-In Round if it fails to take victory at the Monarchs on Saturday afternoon.
20 New York Red Bulls II
(17-9-6)
Week 32: --
Week 33: @BHM, @LDN
1
Last Week: 19
The Red Bulls II will have been delighted to see the draw between Indy and Tampa Bay, which left the door open for New York to take a third-place finish with two wins this week. That is far from a given, though, as the side has picked up just one point from its last four games.
21 San Antonio FC
(12-13-8)
Week 32: W, 4-3 @POR
Week 33: COS
4
Last Week: 25
Ever Guzman’s hat trick – the first in SAFC history – couldn’t have come at a better time as the forward led the side to a 4-3 victory in Portland on Friday night. San Antonio now sits with a 77-percent chance to make the playoffs, according to fivethirtyeight.com, ahead of its season finale against the Switchbacks.
22 Rio Grande Valley FC
(10-15-8)
Week 32: W, 2-0 @OKC
Week 33: POR
6
Last Week: 28
Rio Grande Valley hasn’t quite reached the level of ATL UTD 2 or Loudoun United FC in recent weeks, but the Toros certainly haven’t quit on the season as their road victory over Energy FC on Sunday extended the side’s unbeaten run to four games.
23 Tulsa Roughnecks FC
(8-15-10)
Week 32: W, 2-1 NM
Week 33: RNO
3
Last Week: 26
The Roughnecks played their part in the playoff race this weekend as well, with Janu Silva’s 96th-minute winner giving Tulsa a dramatic win over New Mexico to ramp up the pressure on the expansion side heading into the final week.
24 Charlotte Independence
(8-14-11)
Week 32: W, 2-1 @MEM
Week 33: OTT
5
Last Week: 29
If you look up the word ‘streaky’ in the dictionary, you might find the Independence’s logo. It’s been an up-and-down year for Charlotte, but seems to be ending on a positive note as the side picked up its third straight win in Memphis.
25 Birmingham Legion FC
(11-14-7)
Week 32: L, 0-4 @HFD
Week 33: NY, PIT
9
Last Week: 16
Legion FC enters the final week of the regular season in control of its playoff destiny thanks to Saint Louis’ poor patch of form, but Birmingham is likely going to need results from its contests with New York and Pittsburgh to cross the line.
26 Charleston Battery
(9-10-13)
Week 32: L, 1-2 LDN
Week 33: MEM, BST
5
Last Week: 21
The Battery’s 2-1 home defeat against Loudoun kept the side in danger of seeing its 100-percent record of reaching the playoffs in the Championship end, but Charleston still controls its destiny with two home games remaining on its schedule.
27 New Mexico United
(10-10-12)
Week 32: L, 1-2 @TUL
Week 33: TAC, LV
5
Last Week: 22
After a late collapse in Tulsa against the 10-man Roughnecks, New Mexico’s inaugural campaign will be determined by its response over the season’s final week. A pair of home wins will see United into the postseason, but anything less and things get nervy.
28 Tacoma Defiance
(7-19-6)
Week 32: W, 2-0 COS
Week 33: @NM, AUS
2
Last Week: 30
The Defiance needed 93 minutes to record an official shot on target against the Switchbacks on Saturday, but the first two that arrived found the back of the net as Josh Atencio’s game-winner and Danny Robles’ insurance tally saw Tacoma climb off the bottom of the West.
29 Las Vegas Lights FC
(11-14-8)
Week 32: L, 0-2 RNO
Week 33: @NM
6
Last Week: 23
Lights FC’s home dominance failed to stand up when it mattered most as the side’s Silver State Cup defeat to Reno 1868 FC at Cashman Field all but put an end to Las Vegas’ playoff hopes.
30 Saint Louis FC
(11-13-9)
Week 32: L, 3-4 @LDN, L, 0-1 PIT
Week 33: @NC
6
Last Week: 24
After its late home defeat against Pittsburgh, Saint Louis is no longer in control of its playoff fate and will need to turn things around on its trip to North Carolina after taking just one point from its past five games.
31 Hartford Athletic
(7-21-5)
Week 32: W, 4-0 BHM
Week 33: TBR
3
Last Week: 34
The Athletic could be a prime candidate to take a step forward in 2020 as the side showed its attacking ability in a 4-0 home rout of playoff hopeful Legion FC on Wednesday night. A home finale against the Rowdies offers one last chance to make more progress.
32 Portland Timbers 2
(10-14-8)
Week 32: L, 3-4 SA
Week 33: @ELP, @RGV
1
Last Week: 31
Portland still has a mathematical path to the postseason, but its hopes of making a second straight appearance essentially evaporated after coming up empty in a six-pointer against San Antonio on Friday night.
33 Swope Park Rangers
(6-19-8)
Week 32: L, 1-2 OTT, L, 3-8 @LOU
Week 33: @IND
1
Last Week: 32
The Rangers looked like they were going to spoil Slugger Field’s send-off party with three early goals, but Swope Park’s defense couldn’t hold the lead until halftime, let alone full time as Louisville put eight unanswered goals past poor John Pulskamp.
34 Bethlehem Steel FC
(8-18-7)
Week 32: L, 2-5 @ATL, T, 1-1 @OTT
Week 33: @CHS
1
Last Week: 33
Steel FC snapped its four-game losing streak with a point in Ottawa and will play a role in deciding the East’s final spots as it visits Charleston on the penultimate day of the campaign.
35 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(7-21-5)
Week 32: L, 0-2 @TAC
Week 33: @SA

Last Week: 35
The Switchbacks outshot the Defiance 14-8 (5-2 on target) but lacked the cutting edge that has been missing for most of the season as it suffered a disappointing road defeat.
36 OKC Energy FC
(9-13-11)
Week 32: L, 0-2 RGV
Week 33: @PHX

Last Week: 36
Energy FC’s home defeat to Rio Grande Valley on Sunday night summed up the side’s end to the season as OKC won just one of its final 11 home games (1-5-5) and now faces a final day trip to Western Conference leader Rising FC.

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