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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 2

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com , 05/05/21, 2:00PM EDT

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Our opening look at much of the league gives us some notable ups and downs

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of the Championship’s Power Rankings.

Here’s a question, how much can you learn from one performance?

The past week in the Championship put that to the test, because teams we thought were going to impress – to name two, New Mexico United and San Diego Loyal SC – fell flat, while others we had more questions over – say, Rio Grande Valley FC and Hartford Athletic – came through with all three points.

Given the Championship’s general nature of change, where most clubs don’t have the continuity Louisville City FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies have built, it can make for quick knee-jerk reactions. Are the Toros the 10th-best team in the Championship, and SD Loyal the 17th-best? After Saturday, it’s a notion we should be prepared to engage with, at least for the time being.

Thursday night’s matchup between those two squads on ESPN Deportes will give us another clue as to their potential directions this year. So will what looks like a must-see game on Saturday between Indy Eleven and FC Tulsa, and El Paso Locomotive FC’s clash with New Mexico United.

As always, feel free to come and yell at me on Twitter (@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 Oakland Roots SC OKC Energy FC Orange County SC Phoenix Rising FC
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Real Monarchs SLC Rio Grande Valley FC Sacramento Republic 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 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(1-0-0)
Week 3: v. PIT

Last Week:
1
The Rowdies took a little while to get going, but once they did they looked every bit the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. They’ll look for more of the same against Pittsburgh on Saturday.
2 Phoenix Rising FC
(1-0-0)
Week 3: v. OAK

Last Week:
2
Friday night’s performance is why you get the benefit of the doubt when it comes to preseason. Phoenix flicked the switch to dominate San Diego, holding their visitors to only three shots overall.
3 El Paso Locomotive FC
(0-0-0)
Week 3: v. NM

Last Week:
3
We get our first look at Locomotive FC on Saturday night against regional rival New Mexico United in what should be one of the must-see games of the week in any league in North America.
4 Louisville City FC
(1-0-0)
Week 3: v. BHM

Last Week:
4
After Medina Spirit led wire-to-wire to win the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, LouCity will continue their bid to do the same in the Central Division as it hosts Birmingham Legion FC.
5 San Antonio FC
(1-0-0)
Week 3: v. SLC

Last Week:
5
It doesn’t get much better than an opening-night hat trick. If you believe in omens, Santiago Patino could be to 2021 for SAFC what Rufat Dadashov was for Phoenix Rising FC in 2020.
6 FC Tulsa
(2-0-0)
Week 3: @IND
1
Last Week:
7
Two wins out of two and an end to the hex that Sporting Kansas City II had held over the club was a good night for Tulsa. Now comes a serious road test against Indy Eleven.
7 Indy Eleven
(1-0-0)
Week 3: v. TUL
4
Last Week:
11
Manuel Arteaga’s goal came from a beautiful move that stood out in the difficult conditions at BBVA Field. Indy will be hoping for more of that as it returns to Michael A. Carroll Stadium on Saturday.
8 Sacramento Republic FC
(1-0-0)
Week 3: --

Last Week:
8
It was heavy sledding for Sacramento on the road against the Galaxy II, but the side came away with all three points in the end and that’s all you can really ask in the opening game of the season.
9 The Miami FC
(1-0-0)
Week 3: v. HFD
6
Last Week:
15
That opening 10 minutes looked really impressive on Miami’s part before Janos Loebe got his marching orders and the hosts were forced to battle to withstand Loudoun United’s barrage of shots to hold onto victory.
10 Rio Grande Valley FC
(1-0-0)
Week 3: v. SD
13
Last Week:
23
The Toros took the club’s first season-opening victory in its history against New Mexico. It’s still a work in progress, but another three points on Thursday against San Diego would continue to build confidence.
11 New Mexico United
(0-1-0)
Week 3: @ELP
5
Last Week:
6
We definitely didn’t see United’s attack – which had looked excellent in preseason – getting stifled so effectively in its regular-season debut. Whether it was an opening-night glitch or something more remains to be seen.
12 Orange County SC
(0-0-0)
Week 3: --

Last Week:
12
We’ve still got to wait another week before we get to see Head Coach Braeden Cloutier’s new lineup in Tacoma.
13 Charleston Battery
(0-0-0)
Week 3: @NY

Last Week:
13
The Battery have only won once against the New York Red Bulls II in their history. They’ll be looking to make it two on Friday night at MSU Soccer Park to kick off the new season.
14 Birmingham Legion FC
(0-1-0)
Week 3: @LOU
5
Last Week:
9
The conditions weren’t good, but J.J. Williams getting sent off late against Indy when Junior Flemmings was already out of Legion FC’s contest against Louisville on Saturday was not a good move.
15 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(0-0-0)
Week 3: @TBR
1
Last Week:
14
The Hounds make their season debut against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Saturday looking for their first win in club history at Al Lang Stadium.
16 Hartford Athletic
(1-0-0)
Week 3: @MIA
5
Last Week:
21
It got a bit tense at the end, but victory on the road to start the new season is nothing to sneeze at. Saturday’s trip to Miami is going to be very interesting indeed.
17 San Diego Loyal SC
(0-1-0)
Week 3: @RGV
7
Last Week:
10
Losing on the road in Phoenix isn’t a massive shock, but what was eye-opening was the 25-3 disparity in shots. SD Loyal should be better than this and has a chance to prove it against the Toros on Thursday night.
18 Austin Bold FC
(0-0-0)
Week 3: --
1
Last Week:
19
We’re still a couple of weeks out from seeing Austin in action when they head to New Mexico for the first game at Isotopes Park in more than a year.
19 LA Galaxy II
(0-1-0)
Week 3: v. LV, v. TAC
1
Last Week:
18
Los Dos will feel they should have come away with something from their contest with Sacramento given the chances they created. They’ll try to rebound tonight against Las Vegas Lights FC.
20 Charlotte Independence
(0-1-0)
Week 3: --
4
Last Week:
16
If the Independence had grabbed the opening goal in Tampa Bay – as they threatened to early in either half – it would have been interesting to see how it might have played out. 
21 Oakland Roots SC
(0-0-0)
Week 3: @PHX
1
Last Week:
20
It’s a heck of a way to get introduced to your new league, playing the defending Conference Title holders on the road. Oakland’s going to need to stay compact and organized in Phoenix on Saturday.
22 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(0-1-0)
Week 3: --
5
Last Week:
17
Not the ideal start for the Switchbacks, even as tricky a task as going to San Antonio to start the season was. A week off before heading to SKC II could be useful right now.
23 Memphis 901 FC
(0-0-0)
Week 3: --
1
Last Week:
22
901 FC is one of the teams we’ll get our first look at in Week 4 as the club continues to build its squad for the new season.
24 Atlanta United 2
(1-1-0)
Week 3: --
3
Last Week:
27
Grabbing victory on the road in Oklahoma City was a nice boost for Atlanta’s young squad, and the finish by Phillip Goodrum was sharply taken.
25 New York Red Bulls II
(0-1-0)
Week 3: v. CHS

Last Week:
25
The firepower seems to be there for the Red Bulls II, but they’re going to have to tighten up that defense if the club is going to be going places this season.
26 Real Monarchs SLC
(0-0-0)
Week 3: @SA

Last Week:
26
The Monarchs make their season debut in San Antonio this weekend and should have a very close eye on Santiago Patino after his exploits last weekend.
27 Las Vegas Lights FC
(0-0-0)
Week 3: @LA
1
Last Week:
28
The big reveal for Lights FC comes tonight as they visit the LA Galaxy II. With no prior wins in seven meetings with Los Dos, with the new LAFC influence cause a turnaround in those fortunes?
28 Sporting Kansas City II
(0-1-0)
Week 3: v. OKC
1
Last Week:
29
SKC II was so close to making an interesting final half-hour only for Grayson Barber’s long-range strike to come back off the post. The potential for a first win is there, though, against a struggling OKC Energy FC on Friday.
29 Loudoun United FC
(0-1-0)
Week 3: --
2
Last Week:
31
The end-result wasn’t what Loudoun would have hoped for given their 75-minute man advantage, but there was definitely a better spark from the side overall than we saw in 2020.
30 Tacoma Defiance
(0-0-0)
Week 3: @LA

Last Week:
30
The Defiance get things going on Sunday night against the Galaxy II with new Head Coach Wade Webber aiming to add winning to the development equation for his squad.
31 OKC Energy FC
(0-2-0)
Week 3: @SKC
7
Last Week:
24
Two games, two losses, this is far from an ideal start to the season at Taft Stadium.

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