There’s a packed slate of action on Saturday and Sunday night with some of the top teams and rivalries in the USL Championship’s Western Conference squaring off. Here are five storylines to keep an eye on as the weekend action unfolds.

1. SACRAMENTO AIMS TO MAINTAIN DEFENSIVE HOLD

Sacramento Republic FC has built one of the best home records in the Championship since it joined the league in 2014, winning 56 of 103 regular-season contests to sit tied for second in the league over that span with the Charleston Battery. Part of that success has come through undefeated records against some notable opponents, including Saturday’s visitor in Phoenix Rising FC against which Sacramento has gone 3-0-4 all-time at what is now Heart Health Park.

The biggest reason for that success? Sacramento’s defensive record against Phoenix. In seven games, Phoenix has scored only once, and that came in its first visit to the stadium in a 1-1 draw back on June 7, 2014. Since then, Sacramento has posted shutouts in six consecutive games, with the past two encounters ending in scoreless draws in 2018 and 2019.

Republic FC will do well to maintain that record this time around given the firepower that Phoenix has shown so far this season. Rising FC – which incidentally has the most home regular-season wins since 2014 with 62 – leads the Championship with 13 goals in four games, while Santi Moar’s scoring streak stretches back to the final game of the 2020 regular season making it five games in a row with a goal for the Spaniard entering this weekend. Another tight affair might suit Sacramento fine, but there might be much more on offer than in recent tilts between the sides this time around.

2. TOROS HEAD TO SAN ANTONIO LOOKING TO END STREAKS

Rio Grande Valley FC took the spoils in the first South Texas Derby of the season on May 16 with a 2-1 victory at H-E-B Park, but if the Toros are going to extend their lead at the top of the Mountain Division this Saturday night in the rematch at Toyota Field (8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+), they’re going to have to break a remarkable streak of home success that San Antonio has continued to build on this season.

SAFC’s 2-1 victory last Saturday night against Birmingham Legion FC was its 16th consecutive regular-season home game without a defeat, a run that dates back to August 3, 2019 when Sacramento Republic FC was the last visitor to emerge with all three points. For the Toros, the streak has been even longer. The last time Rio Grande Valley FC won in San Antonio was a 1-0 victory on September 23, 2017, when Jose Escalante scored the only goal of the game.

These Toros are different from those, of course, but the side has visited Toyota Field five times since then and come away with only a pair of points to show for it. After suffering two losses in 2020, the new-look RGVFC squad will hope to make its mark on the rivalry and keep San Antonio below it in the standings for now.

3. ORANGE COUNTY SHOWING POSITIVE EARLY SIGNS

It’s still very early days for Orange County SC, but the signs have been positive that Head Coach Braeden Cloutier’s side is going to be firmly in the postseason mix even without the injured Adam Jahn and Seth Casiple, both ruled out for the season prior to last Saturday’s 1-0 victory against Sacramento Republic FC.

After Chris Wehan got off the mark in that victory, the next player Orange County may be hoping to see find the net is Thomas Enevoldsen, who looks set to reprise his role as one of the key players to the side’s success when he was nominated as a Finalist for the Championship’s Most Valuable Player award when the club finished top of the Western Conference in 2018. The Danish veteran currently leads OC with a combined Expected Goals+Expected Assist mark of 0.91, narrowly ahead of Wehan and fellow newcomer Eero Markkanen.

As the side faces 405 Derby nemesis the LA Galaxy II on home turf this Saturday night (10 p.m. ET | ESPN+), finding a breakthrough performance in attack would be a major confidence boost against a Galaxy II side that has looked impressive in attack so far this season, but that has also been susceptible defensively through its first six games.

4. SAN DIEGO FACES CRUCIAL HOME OPENER

Is it too soon in the season for a game to be a must-win? As San Diego Loyal SC returns home from its four-game trip to start the year that saw it absorb four consecutive losses, it may be that Saturday’s game against fellow struggler Las Vegas Lights FC at Torero Stadium (10:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+) isn’t out of the realm of that reality.

As great as the club’s revival to the verge of a playoff berth was last year, San Diego has yet to find itself, especially in the defensive end where it has conceded 10 goals over four games. What’s maybe as disheartening as that figure is the underlying numbers say that’s about where SD Loyal’s defense is right now in terms of Expected Goals Against (9.80xGA), so this hasn’t been a fluky run of form.

With four teams sitting with at least six points in the early going in the Pacific Division, and another leaky defensive unit on the other side of the park, the time is now for SD Loyal to give the fans in attendance the boost they need to get things on the right track.

5. AUSTIN, TACOMA FACE OFF IN FASCINATING UNDER-THE-RADAR CONTEST

It might not have been the game you’d immediately circle on your schedule this weekend given some of the high-profile contests on tap, but Sunday night’s final game of the weekend between Austin Bold FC and Tacoma Defiance (9 p.m. ET | ESPN+) could give us a good idea of where these teams are headed as this season goes on.

For Austin, a return home proved exactly what it needed as an energetic display by Emilio Ycaza, goals by Sean Okoli and Jorge Troncoso and some good fortune from the woodwork helped earn a 2-0 victory against Real Monarchs SLC on Wednesday night. Austin is still a work in progress – the new parts are still meshing with the returning pieces in some areas – but getting that first win should provide a nice boost in confidence.

Tacoma, meanwhile, is coming back into the action after a three-game undefeated streak put it firmly in the mix in the Pacific Division to start the season, including home victories against both San Diego Loyal SC – maybe less impressive now than it was then – and Orange County SC – a solid feather in the cap. How the Defiance youngsters fare on the road this season could have a great deal to say about where their season ends, and this experienced Austin side should give them a solid test for a game you should tune in for.