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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 5

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 07/27/20, 3:55PM EDT

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Indy gets to keep top spot, Orange County shifts up after its big home win

TAMPA, Fla. – One important thing to remember about Power Rankings is they’re not just about wins and losses, but also about how you play the game. And that’s why – despite their first defeat of the season on Sunday – Indy Eleven gets to keep its top ranking in this week’s list, with its overall display against Saint Louis FC one that matched up to the club’s success this season.

We’re going to give a boost to STLFC as well, though, while Orange County gets to shift into the No.2 spot after its solid victory against Phoenix Rising FC and there’s a return to the Top 10 for New Mexico United.

And, as always, feel free to come and yell at me on Twitter if you’d like (@NJEMurray).

Atlanta United 2 Austin Bold FC Birmingham Legion FC Charleston Battery Charlotte Independence Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC El Paso Locomotive FC
Hartford Athletic Indy Eleven LA Galaxy II Las Vegas Lights FC Loudoun United FC Louisville City FC Memphis 901 FC
The Miami FC New Mexico United New York Red Bulls II North Carolina FC OKC Energy FC Orange County SC Philadelphia Union II
Phoenix Rising FC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Portland Timbers 2 Real Monarchs SLC Reno 1868 FC Rio Grande Valley FC Sacramento Republic FC
Saint Louis FC San Antonio FC San Diego Loyal SC Sporting KC II Tacoma Defiance Tampa Bay Rowdies FC Tulsa

Biggest Movers

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary

1 Indy Eleven
(4-1-0)
Week 6: HFD, SKC

Last Week:
1
The Eleven suffered their first loss on Sunday, it’s true, but their midweek win against Pittsburgh and positive overall display against STLFC keeps them on top for now.
2 Orange County SC
(1-0-2)
Week 6: @SAC
4
Last Week:
6
There’s still work to do for OCSC in what’s shaping up as a highly competitive Group B, but if you can beat Rising FC, you can beat anyone in this league.
3 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(2-0-2)
Week 6: CHS
1
Last Week:
4
The Rowdies picked up a solid road point in Birmingham to stay undefeated in what might end up being their hardest away trip of the season.
4 Phoenix Rising FC
(2-1-1)
Week 6: ELP
2
Last Week:
2
We’re all expecting Rising FC to rebound after a below par performance in Orange County, but there’s going to be added pressure to do so given San Diego and the Galaxy II’s wins this weekend.
5 Birmingham Legion FC
(2-0-1)
Week 6: @NC
3
Last Week:
8
Legion FC isn’t perfect anymore, but they’re still undefeated and holding a comfortable lead on the rest of Group G.
6 Saint Louis FC
(3-1-0)
Week 6: @MEM
3
Last Week:
9
Back-to-back victories against the teams you’re battling for a place in the playoffs? That’s a really good pair of results, even if the attack is probably going to need to be more active moving forward.
7 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(2-2-0)
Week 6: PHI
4
Last Week:
3
What an absolutely rotten week for the Hounds, losing in the 97th and 95th minutes in back-to-back games.
8 San Antonio FC
(2-0-1)
Week 6: @ATX
2
Last Week:
10
SAFC learned its lesson from its first meeting with RGVFC and salted away the victory on Saturday night well. Now it’s on top of Group D and looking in good shape.
9 New Mexico United
(2-1-1)
Week 6: @OKC
3
Last Week:
12
Chris Wehan is heating up with three goals in the past three games, and Devon Sandoval’s heading in that direction too. Very good signs for United this weekend.
10 Sacramento Republic FC
(1-1-2)
Week 6: OC, @SD
5
Last Week:
5
The good news for Republic FC is despite its loss in LA, it’s still on top of Group A. The bad news is it has kept the door wide open for Reno and Tacoma.
11 Louisville City FC
(2-2-0)
Week 6: SKC
2
Last Week:
13
The weight should be off the shoulders of LouCity’s players now they’ve got their first win at Lynn Family Stadium. That’s big, because there’s work to be done to reel in Indy and Saint Louis.
12 Hartford Athletic
(3-0-0)
Week 6: @IND, LDN
8
Last Week:
20
The Athletic must have given their fans a scare with the start of Saturday’s game with the Union II, but a convincing rally means its three wins out of three to start the season ahead of a big litmus test against Indy.
13 Reno 1868 FC
(1-1-0)
Week 6: @POR, @LV
6
Last Week:
7
Reno gets the chance to get back on the horse on Wednesday in Portland after its loss in its return to action, and the chance to jump up to first place in Group A with a victory.
14 El Paso Locomotive FC
(1-1-2)
Week 6: @PHX
3
Last Week:
11
El Paso is a fine team, but it still can’t find a way to solve New Mexico. Locomotive FC has yet to take victory against its regional rival after Friday’s setback.
15 San Diego Loyal SC
(3-1-1)
Week 6: @LA, SAC
1
Last Week:
16
The tradition of scoring against your former club was upheld in fine fashion by Irvin Parra against Lights FC on Saturday, and it picked up San Diego its first home win in a solid performance.
16 Charleston Battery
(2-1-0)
Week 6: @TBR
2
Last Week:
18
The positives the Battery showed in their opener against Birmingham shone through even more brightly against Atlanta, resulting in a well-earned victory to close the gap on Tampa Bay.
17 North Carolina FC
(0-1-1)
Week 6: BHM
3
Last Week:
14
Draws for every other member of Group G made for a good weekend for NCFC, and Saturday’s playoff rematch between it and Birmingham Legion FC should be a must-see.
18 LA Galaxy II
(3-1-0)
Week 6: SD
5
Last Week:
23
Two consecutive victories against solid opposition have Los Dos in position to move into first place in Group B with a win on Wednesday night against San Diego Loyal SC.
19 New York Red Bulls II
(2-2-0)
Week 6: --
7
Last Week:
26
Two wins out of two over the week and the Red Bulls II are starting to look like themselves again, which is going to make for a very good playoff race in Group F.
20 Austin Bold FC
(1-1-0)
Week 6: SA
5
Last Week:
15
It’s got games in hand on both San Antonio FC and OKC Energy FC, but Austin is going to need to start stringing together victories to keep itself in the playoff picture.
21 Real Monarchs SLC
(0-2-1)
Week 6: @COS
4
Last Week:
17
The Monarchs did enough to beat the Switchbacks last time out but collapsed late. Will they learn the lesson and find a first victory in Colorado Springs on Saturday?
22 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(1-1-1)
Week 6: SLC
3
Last Week:
19
The resilience the Switchbacks showed against Real last time out should give them confidence ahead of Saturday’s rematch, where Colorado Springs could jump into second in Group C.
23 The Miami FC
(0-1-0)
Week 6: @ATL
2
Last Week:
21
We finally get to see how Miami FC is going to come out of the season resumption on Wednesday night against Atlanta United 2. With the way Tampa Bay and Charleston are going, victory might be a must.
24 Charlotte Independence
(1-0-1)
Week 6: --
2
Last Week:
22
The Independence shook their rust off well enough to earn a point in Memphis, and what a good night for Luke Haakenson and Valentin Sabella with their well-taken goals.
25 OKC Energy FC
(1-1-2)
Week 6: NM
1
Last Week:
24
Energy FC pulled a point out of its midweek game with Rio Grande Valley FC, but it’s going to have to start picking up wins with Austin and Tulsa both lurking with games in hand.
26 FC Tulsa
(0-0-2)
Week 6: @RGV
1
Last Week:
25
There’s the chance for Tulsa to make its move this week after OKC Energy FC and Rio Grande Valley FC’s draw last week. If it can pick up a win against the Toros, the ascent up Group D can begin in earnest.
27 Sporting KC II
(0-3-0)
Week 6: @LOU, @IND

Last Week:
27
It felt like this season was going to be a tough one for SKC II, and so far it’s proving correct. The club’s youngsters are good, but they’ve yet to find a way past their division rivals.
28 Tacoma Defiance
(1-2-1)
Week 6: --

Last Week:
28
Tacoma might have benefited most from Sacramento’s loss to the LA Galaxy II on Saturday night, which kept the Defiance only a point back of Republic FC in Group A.
29 Las Vegas Lights FC
(0-1-1)
Week 6: RNO

Last Week:
29
There were some good moments for Lights FC on Saturday in San Diego, but as we mentioned before the game, a loss meant the hill to climb to the playoff places just got that much steeper.
30 Loudoun United FC
(0-1-1)
Week 6: @HFD

Last Week:
30
Loudoun is going to have to click into gear quickly to stay in touch with the top three, and Sunday’s game at Hartford is as good a place to start as any.
31 Rio Grande Valley FC
(0-3-2)
Week 6: TUL

Last Week:
31
One point from two games – including one in which you led late – isn’t the return the Toros would have been looking for from this road trip.
32 Memphis 901 FC
(0-2-2)
Week 6: STL

Last Week:
32
Memphis was inches away from scoring a late go-ahead goal against the Independence as Duane Muckette’s lunging attempt just failed. That’s unfortunately the way it seems to be going so far for 901 FC.
33 Atlanta United 2
(0-3-1)
Week 6: MIA

Last Week:
33
A second loss to the Charleston Battery this season further dented Atlanta’s playoff chances as it completed its first quarter of the season.
34 Portland Timbers 2
(0-2-0)
Week 6: RNO

Last Week:
34
It’s not gone to plan for T2 so far this season but with its rivals also struggling there’s still a glimmer of hope, especially if Portland can defeat Reno on Wednesday.
35 Philadelphia Union II
(0-3-1)
Week 6: @PIT

Last Week:
35
It was all going so well early for the Union II in Hartford. Then it fell apart again to send the side to a third consecutive defeat.

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