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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 3

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 05/12/21, 1:30PM EDT

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Both off to perfect starts, our top two square off this weekend on national television

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

Since the Championship schedule – and subsequent USL on ESPN broadcast schedule – were released, this Saturday night was circled as maybe the biggest game in the regular season as the Tampa Bay Rowdies play host to Phoenix Rising FC.

With both sides having claimed two wins out of two to start their seasons, it now has the potential to be one of the biggest regular-season games in the league’s 11-season history.

The Rowdies have picked up right where they left off defensively with back-to-back shutouts to start the campaign, but their new attacking option in Steevan Dos Santos has fit in very quickly alongside Sebastian Guenzatti, adding a new dimension to the side and how it can build attacks.

Phoenix, on the other hand, has made the most of its chances in attack as usual, but its new-look back line has held up to early scrutiny as well with the combination of Tobi Adewole and James Musa faring well alongside each other.

The weekend is billed as Unfinished Business, but as much as Saturday’s game is a nod back to the 2020 USL Championship Playoffs, it could just as easily be a look ahead to what’s to come at the end of this season as well. You’ll want to tune in on ESPN2.

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
(2-0-0)
Week 4: v. PHX

Last Week:
1
The Rowdies continued to impress with a second consecutive 3-0 victory, this time against Pittsburgh. Saturday’s clash could be a preview of a showdown in November.
2 Phoenix Rising FC
(2-0-0)
Week 4: @ TBR

Last Week:
2
Phoenix wasn’t as crisp in attack as in its opener, but another three-goal victory certainly kept things right on track ahead of this weekend’s visit to Tampa Bay.
3 FC Tulsa
(3-0-0)
Week 4: --
3
Last Week:
6
Three wins out of three has Tulsa and Joaquin Rivas both off to a flying start, and this past Saturday’s on the road against Indy was the most impressive of the lot so far.
4 El Paso Locomotive FC
(0-0-1)
Week 4: --
1
Last Week:
3
Leandro Carrijo pulled a point out of the bag for Locomotive FC on Saturday night against New Mexico in another classic encounter between the two rivals.
5 Louisville City FC
(1-0-1)
Week 4: --
1
Last Week:
4
LouCity got out to a perfect start against Birmingham, but then couldn’t capitalize to earn a second consecutive win. That will be the big point of discussion in its upcoming bye week.
6 San Antonio FC
(1-0-1)
Week 4: @ RGV
1
Last Week:
5
San Antonio’s undefeated streak at home continues, but it will still be disappointed to have let a two-goal halftime lead slip away even while playing down to 10 men in the second half.
7 Sacramento Republic FC
(1-0-0)
Week 4: v. LV
1
Last Week:
8
Sacramento returns to action on Wednesday night against Las Vegas Lights FC looking to continue a six-game undefeated streak in home openers dating back to 2015.
8 Rio Grande Valley FC
(2-0-0)
Week 4: v. SA
2
Last Week:
10
Vicente Sanchez’s late winner provided one of the stories of the week as he became the oldest goalscorer in Championship history, but what’s as important is the Toros have two wins from two.
9 Indy Eleven
(1-1-0)
Week 4: v. --
2
Last Week:
7
The game could have changed for Indy against Tulsa but for the width of the post in the first half. The Boys in Blue still look like a dangerous foe moving ahead.
10 New Mexico United
(0-1-1)
Week 4: v. ATX
1
Last Week:
11
Yes, United couldn’t quite hold on for victory in El Paso, but that was a much better and sharper performance than we saw in the opener.
11 Orange County SC
(0-0-0)
Week 4: @ TAC
1
Last Week:
12
Orange County makes its debut on Sunday afternoon in Tacoma where it will look to keep pace with Phoenix at the top of the Pacific standings with a victory off the bat.
12 Hartford Athletic
(2-0-0)
Week 4: v. PIT
4
Last Week:
16
Preston Tabort Etaka’s goal in Miami was a great moment of quality, and now the Athletic have two wins out of two to start the season, exceeding preseason expectations.
13 Charleston Battery
(0-0-1)
Week 4: v. CLT

Last Week:
13
The Battery looked like the better side against the Red Bulls II but couldn’t quite find a winner. A sellout crowd now awaits for their home opener this Friday against the Independence.
14 Birmingham Legion FC
(0-1-1)
Week 4: v. MEM

Last Week:
14
Birmingham rebounded well after their early concession in Louisville to pick up their first point of the season. Saturday afternoon’s clash with Memphis could be another good one.
15 The Miami FC
(1-1-0)
Week 4: @ NY
6
Last Week:
9
Miami’s finishing left plenty to be desired against Hartford after a decent overall display, but they may get a good road test on Friday night in a visit to the Red Bulls II.
16 LA Galaxy II
(1-1-1)
Week 4: @ SLC
3
Last Week:
19
The Galaxy II were so close to a six-point week before conceding a late penalty kick against Tacoma. The way the attack is playing, though, Friday’s visit to Real Monarchs SLC could be a fun one.
17 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(0-1-0)
Week 4: @ HFD
2
Last Week:
15
Pittsburgh Head Coach Bob Lilley acknowledged his side was second-best in Tampa Bay, the Hounds will be looking for much better as it visits Hartford on Saturday night.
18 Austin Bold FC
(0-0-0)
Week 4: @ NM

Last Week:
18
Austin and its new-look attack makes its first bow this Saturday night in New Mexico as it looks to spoil United’s return to Isotopes Park.
19 San Diego Loyal SC
(0-2-0)
Week 4: @ TAC
2
Last Week:
17
San Diego looked better than in its opener, but that late defensive letdown means two losses to start the season. SD Loyal needs to get back on track this Thursday in Tacoma.
20 Charlotte Independence
(0-1-0)
Week 4: @ CHS

Last Week:
20
Charlotte heads to rival Charleston on Friday night in what should be one of the more interesting games of this week’s action looking for their first points of the season.
21 Real Monarchs SLC
(0-0-1)
Week 4: v. LA
5
Last Week:
26
The Monarchs took advantage of San Antonio’s sending off before Chris Garcia’s red card evened the numbers back up, but coming away with a point from Toyota Field was a solid result overall.
22 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(0-1-0)
Week 4: @ SKC

Last Week:
22
The Switchbacks head to Sporting Kansas City II on Friday night looking for a better performance than their opener, and I think the quality here could break out nicely.
23 Memphis 901 FC
(0-0-0)
Week 4: @ BHM

Last Week:
23
Memphis has added some good pieces to its roster in the build-up to its opener on Saturday, and it will be eager to put one over again on its rival Birmingham after last year’s late-season win.
24 Oakland Roots SC
(0-1-0)
Week 4: --
3
Last Week:
21
Oakland looked reasonably good in its visit to Phoenix, but it’s not going to get away with those types of defensive errors against most teams in this league, let alone Rising FC.
25 New York Red Bulls II
(0-1-1)
Week 4: v. MIA

Last Week:
25
The Red Bulls II managed to earn their first point of the season last Friday night while not creating as much as we’d expect. Look for the attack to try and ramp up against Miami.
26 Atlanta United 2
(1-1-0)
Week 4: @ OKC
2
Last Week:
24
A second consecutive trip to face OKC on Sunday afternoon gives Atlanta a chance to build on its 1-0 victory when it visited Taft Stadium 11 days ago.
27 Sporting Kansas City II
(0-1-1)
Week 4: v. COS
1
Last Week:
28
SKC II was rewarded for its persistence with a 1-1 draw against Energy FC, and Tyler Freeman looks like a real live-wire in attack.
28 Loudoun United FC
(0-1-0)
Week 4: --
1
Last Week:
29
Next Tuesday night brings Loudoun’s home opener against the Red Bulls II and a chance to build on the attacking display we saw against Miami in Week 2.
29 Tacoma Defiance
(0-0-1)
Week 4: v. SD, v. OC
1
Last Week:
30
Tacoma bent plenty defensively but managed to grab a point thanks to Abdoulaye Cissoko’s perfectly-placed penalty kick. Thursday night against San Diego should be interesting.
30 OKC Energy FC
(0-2-1)
Week 4: v. ATL
1
Last Week:
31
Energy FC got its first point of the season in Kansas City, but it will likely be annoyed not to have held on for all three after conceding late against its hosts.
31 Las Vegas Lights FC
(0-1-0)
Week 4: @ SAC
4
Last Week:
27
The first half looked pretty good for Lights FC, but conceding five goals in the second half exposed the holes in this lineup. Going to have to tighten up against Sacramento on Wednesday night.

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