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EASTERN TALKING POINTS: LouCity’s Lancaster Set Up Central Showdown

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 10/25/21, 2:36PM EDT

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Rowdies show control in win after midweek high; Tulsa gets playoff-tested in clinching postseason spot


Cameron Lancaster's hat trick on Saturday moved him to 20 regular goals for the season, marking the second time in his career he has reached the mark in a regular season. | Photo courtesy Em-Dash Photography / Louisville City FC

The playoff field was set in the Eastern Conference on Saturday night in the USL Championship’s penultimate weekend, but the results across both divisions set up some potentially intriguing storylines for the next six days. Here are five things we took away from the action.

LANCASTER EXUDING CONFIDENCE AFTER LONG-RANGE STRIKE

If Louisville City FC is going to claim first place in the Central Division on the final day of the season with a victory against Birmingham Legion FC, it could certainly be a good sign if Cameron Lancaster is at the top of his game in terms of confidence. From the evidence of the English standout’s remarkable second goal in his hat trick against Memphis 901 FC this past Saturday night, a shot from 40 yards that appeared to knuckle through the air and handcuffed Memphis goalkeeper Cody Cropper before finding the back of the net, that confidence is on a major high right now.

“I thought that if I could hit it nice and clean, which I did, it would sort of move in the air,” Lancaster said. “I felt bad for the ‘keeper because it’s a tough one to deal with, but thankfully it went in. Most importantly, we got the three points at the end of the night.”

Lancaster’s goal landed at No. 10 on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10 on Saturday night – pretty good considering the busy slate of sports nationwide – and sent him to 20 goals for the campaign. He’s now only the second player to record two 20-goal regular seasons in the Championship’s history after Daniel Rios, who accomplished the feat at North Carolina FC in 2018 and Nashville SC – where Lancaster was his teammate – in 2019. In what’s set up as one of the big games on the busiest night of the season, we could be in for a treat at BBVA Field.

ROWDIES REMAIN ON TRACK FOR TOP SEED

A 1-0 win against a Loudoun United FC side that sat at the bottom of the Atlantic Division might not seem the best performance the Tampa Bay Rowdies put forward this season, but after a busy run of games and the adrenaline rush of the midweek 3-0 win against rival Miami FC in its regular season home finale the visitors at Segra Field were never seriously lacking control after Steevan Dos Santos provided a goal five minutes before halftime that proved the difference.

The Rowdies certainly could have had more than just one goal, too. The visitors finished with a 2.43xG mark according to American Soccer Analysis as Loudoun goalkeeper Jermaine Fordah was regularly kept busy on the night. After Phoenix Rising FC’s draw later on Saturday night against Sacramento Republic FC, though, Tampa Bay is now just a point from ensuring homefield advantage throughout the playoffs and a potential run to a title at the friendly confines of Al Lang Stadium.

“A really, really difficult game to come into on the back of a rivalry game at home on Wednesday night where we put on a great performance,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “Coming here where you’re expected to win against what we know can be a really difficult side. I thought the effort and the attitude were good. I just thought we were a step off in the first 15 minutes. We weren’t playing with the same energy and intensity. But once the boys raised that, we got a goal and should have had a couple more.”

HARD-EARNED RESULT GAVE TULSA PLAYOFF FEELING


FC Tulsa had to rally to take a point against Indy Eleven and seal its postseason berth, but the side felt the intensity of the road test was a good preparation for the postseason to come. | Photo courtesy Matt Schlotzhauer / Indy Eleven

There’s no doubt that FC Tulsa would have preferred clinching a spot in the postseason be a little less stressful than having to respond after going a goal down to Indy Eleven on Saturday night on the road at Michael A. Carroll Stadium, but after Jason Johnson’s goal with 11 minutes to go put the visitors back on level terms and set off celebrations for the side on the field and in the locker room after the game, Johnson looked at the challenge Indy posed as a potential stepping stone to what Tulsa will face as it heads on the road to open the playoffs two weekends from now.

“We had grit, we fought, we went down 1-0 and came back away from home against a really good team,” said Johnson. “That alone should just tell the players and coaches that this was difficult, what we did tonight wasn’t easy. We have had other tests in the past, San Antonio was a very difficult game. Then we had to regroup and come back to play the home game against Atlanta and had a good game. Today was a great fight. Coming so close to playoffs, that is what most of the games are going to be like. This was very positive for the team.”

Johnson has now scored in back-to-back games for Tulsa to give him three goals on the season since his arrival from Austin Bold FC in midseason. He’s also notched one assist and 13 key passes in 16 appearances for the side, and if he can find his rhythm amongst the rest of the talented attacking pieces the side has including Rodrigo da Costa, Joaquin Rivas and Dario Suarez it could provide a welcome boost for the postseason. With two more crucial games left against Memphis 901 FC on Wednesday night ahead of the final Black Gold Derby of the season again rival OKC Energy FC – which should both have the same intensity attached to them – Tulsa will go into the postseason prepared for battle.

HOUNDS DELIVER VICTORY, STAY IN THICK OF BATTLE

When you’re locked in a battle for homefield advantage in the postseason, the moments of quality are what can make the difference. That proved the case for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Saturday night as the combination of Alex Dixon and Russell Cicerone connected once again to deliver the hosts a 2-1 victory against a battling Charleston Battery side that kept the side in with a chance of overtaking the Charlotte Independence in the final week of the campaign.

“I’m not sure we maximized what we could have done in the game. I think there was space there for us to create more,” said Hounds Head Coach Bob Lilley. “But I’m relieved a little bit that we had a great crowd here. Even for momentum, no matter how the final table ends up, it’s important to end the season on the right note. Obviously, the expectation now is we can get three in Miami and put a little bit more pressure on Charlotte. If they drop any more points in the next two games … we still have an opportunity to finish in second.”

Pittsburgh’s next key moment will come on Wednesday night when following last week’s ruling it will resume its game against Miami FC with a 1-0 lead in the 67th minute at FIU Stadium. With the Independence hosting Loudoun United FC earlier in the evening on home turf, retaining that lead is going to be essential to the Hounds’ hopes of opening the playoffs at home. It will be a unique circumstance, but the focus certainly should be there for the visitors.

BULDOZING PERFORMANCE HAS BIRMINGHAM BUZZING FOR SHOWDOWN

If there’s one way to go into a decisive final game of the season, the type of 6-0 victory Birmingham Legion FC took on Sunday evening against Sporting Kansas City II at BBVA Field certainly would be a positive one. The hosts controlled the game from the opening, scoring in just the fourth minute as almost all of the key attacking pieces had a role to play across the six tallies that arrived with Bruno Lapa leading the way with two goals and one assist as well as a hit post that led to Zach Herivaux’s opening goal.

First-placed Legion FC is now set to host second-placed Louisville City FC next Saturday night with a two-point edge in the standings and a chance to clinch the Central Division title and potentially two home games in the postseason. With the postseason opening the following weekend, a matchup that features the same potential intensity is something Herivaux and his teammates appear to be relishing.

“It’s on everybody’s mind, I’m sure, and it’s on everybody’s mind here in the locker room, even after this win,” said Herivaux. “We’re excited, we get to play in a playoff type of game to set us up for the playoffs themselves. We want to win; we want the division. It’s out there, and we want everybody to know we want to win and we’re not coming out to get any type of result but three points.”

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