The playoff pictures in both the Atlantic and Central Divisions took on more clarity overall in the past weekend of action in the USL Championship, but one result in particular stood out in opening up a fascinating race over the final month of the season. Here are five storylines we took away from the past three days.

MIAMI COMEBACK OPENS ATLANTIC RACE

Going into Saturday night, the only team Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC had lost to this season after both scoring first or holding a lead against was Miami FC at Highmark Stadium on August 10. The scene may have shifted to FIU Stadium on Saturday night, but the Hounds may have experienced some serious déjà vu as Miami turned the same trick in a 3-2 victory capped by Pierre da Silva’s 90th-minute winner for the hosts that opened more broadly the race for second place in the Atlantic Division.

“You could tell there was something at stake,” said Miami Head Coach Paul Dalglish. “You could tell that second-place spot and that homefield advantage was at stake. … We’re on a really good run. Winning is a habit and this is a team that finds a way to win, and it’s the mentality of the guys in there. They’re a special group and it’s an honor to work alongside these guys.”

Miami has now not only moved into second place in the standings, but its second win against the Hounds gives it the head-to-head tiebreaker should the teams end level on points at the end of the regular season. With the two sides set to meet again in South Florida in two weeks, we could expect another massive contest to conclude the regular-season series between the sides.

MARTINEZ HITS LANDMARK AS INDEPENDENCE ROLL

It’s not just Miami FC and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vying for second place in the Atlantic now, though, with the Charlotte Independence’s 5-1 rout of Loudoun United FC on Sunday evening pushing them further into the conversation sitting two points behind in fourth place while having won six of their last seven games overall. Five different players found the net, with Sylvain Marveaux and Brandt Bronico each recording a goal and assist to continue the contributions the newcomers to the team this season have brought in pushing Charlotte to the verge of a playoff berth.

“The goals were really well taken,” said Independence Head Coach Mike Jeffries. “It was nice to get first goals for some guys like Joel [Johnson] and Brandt. I think that is a big confidence boost for us and them. I thought guys did a really good job of making the right choices in the final third and being unselfish when it was called for and got rewarded for it. Obviously, it was a really strong start to the game, with three goals in fifteen minutes, I thought we moved the ball well and got guys really good likes and the finishing was on.”

One of the team’s stalwarts reached his own piece of history on Sunday as well, though, with Enzo Martinez’s assist on Johnson’s first goal in the Championship that got the scoring started for the hosts at American Legion Memorial Stadium the 30th helper for the local standout’s regular season career in the Championship. With 41 goals, Martinez is now the third player in the league’s history to have notched both 40 goals and 30 assists in the regular season alongside former teammate Jorge Herrera and two-time MVP Solomon Asante, and continues to find a consistent place in the lineup with four goals, three assists and 15 key passes in his last 11 games.

LOUCITY’S EARLY INCISIVENESS PAYS OFF

If there’s one thing visitors must know going in to face Louisville City FC at Lynn Family Stadium, it’s that you’re going to get put under early pressure as the hosts try to get a jump on the game. That proved the case again on Sunday afternoon as LouCity clinched its seventh consecutive postseason berth with a 3-1 victory against New Mexico United with a pair of goals by Paolo DelPiccolo inside the opening 15 minutes setting up the win for the hosts.

With DelPiccolo’s pair of goals, seven of LouCity’s 13 first-half goals at home this season have come in the opening 15 minutes of the game. The side has not lost any of those contests and has only suffered one home defeat when scoring in the first half overall this season. While the second half proved challenging as New Mexico pushed for an equalizer before Jimmy McClaughlin’s insurance goal with 15 minutes to go, the cushion the early tallies produced paid off in an important win to push LouCity back on top of the Central Division.

“It’s the end of a difficult, obviously, five, six games when we were traveling so long,” said LouCity coach Danny Cruz. “Being able to be home, here in front of our fans at Lynn Family, there’s nothing better. So, to end these games with a win against New Mexico, really proud of the group.”

ROWDIES WIN, KEEP FOCUS ON BIG PICTURE

The Tampa Bay Rowdies might have been clued into what it needed against the Charleston Battery on Saturday night to clinch a playoff place – a draw would have sufficed at Patriots Points – but the 2-1 win the side produced after conceding an early penalty kick kept the side on course for its bigger aims this season. After Laurence Wyke produced an equalizer soon after, Sebastian Guenzatti’s penalty kick not only notched his 50th regular-season goal in the Championship provided the winner.

With Phoenix Rising FC taking victory at Orange County SC later in the night and El Paso Locomotive FC being held by Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, the Rowdies’ eighth consecutive victory kept them in prime position for the best record in the league ahead of a tricky week ahead that sees the side host the Battery on Thursday night before visiting Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Sunday. The aim of the best record – and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs – is now the motivating force for the defending Eastern Conference Title-holders.

“I think it’s a credit to the boys that we’ve managed to [earn a playoff spot] in record time, which is really impressive considering the conference that we’re in and how difficult it's been,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “But I’ll tell you someone who won’t be celebrating and that’s the players. Their eyes are on further things down the road. I’m glad I’ve got a group like that. They only see the playoffs as a step along the road to where we want to be.”

MEMPHIS TAKES DRIVER’S SEAT IN CENTRAL RACE

There are games for some teams where everything just seems to go right. For Memphis 901 FC, Saturday’s 3-0 win on the road against FC Tulsa was just that, and couldn’t have come at a more ideal moment for the side as it pushes for its first postseason berth. An early penalty kick missed by the hosts and a subsequent own goal put 901 FC ahead at ONEOK Field before a pair of sublime finishes by Laurent Kissiedou set up the visitors, and from there Cody Cropper was basically flawless in an eight-save shutout.

“It’s a great team result. We rode our luck in the first few minutes with the penalty, but we took advantage of the momentum shift as a team,” said Cropper. “Following the penalty miss, we put a winning performance together. Without that momentum shift, it may have been a little tougher. Ultimately, we made our own luck and took advantage of the opportunity tonight.”

Good fortune hasn’t always been on 901 FC’s side this year, but the side has now caught some sizeable breaks in two of its victories in a current four-game undefeated streak, with Kyle Murphy’s bizarre goal against Indy Eleven that saw the ball carom off him on an attempted clearance and into the net another example. After OKC Energy FC’s defeat to San Antonio FC on Sunday, and the 1-1 draw between Indy Eleven and Atlanta United 2 on Saturday, the road is open for 901 FC to drive into the fourth and final playoff position in the Central.