The opening month of the 2022 USL Championship regular season is in the books, giving us plenty to think about as we evaluate which sides are looking like early contenders or pretenders when it comes to contention for the league title. April’s slate will continue to build those narratives – as evidenced by some of the matchups below – but there’s also plenty else to look forward to with games that bring their own built-in narratives from past history and people.

Here are 13 games we’ve got our eye on over the course of the upcoming month, including rivalries, first-time meetings and nationally televised contests that should bring entertainment as well as push storylines forward.

Detroit City FC and Memphis 901 FC have each made positive starts to the 2022 season, with DCFC impressing in its debut in the Championship with four points from its opening three games. This matchup has less to do with form, however, as it does the return of longtime DCFC Head Coach Ben Pirmann to his former stomping grounds with 901 FC. Pirmann led Detroit for six seasons at the amateur level, and still has strong friendships with many of the front office staff that he worked alongside in the years prior to DCFC moving into the professional ranks. That will be set aside for 90 minutes as Memphis, the side Pirmann departed Detroit for as he moved into the professional ranks in 2019, looks to pick up a result on the road against DCFC Head Coach Trevor James’ squad.

Monterey Bay F.C. earned its inaugural victory in the Championship last weekend as it faced off with regional foe Oakland Roots SC for the first time. Now the squad led by Head Coach Frank Yallop will get the chance to make it a double as it squares off with Sacramento Republic FC in what should complete a stellar three-way duel between the Northern California clubs each season. Republic FC has won each of its first two games at home thanks to late goals with Douglas Martinez Jr. off to a strong start with two goals and two assists in the club’s first three games overall. The hosts, therefore, will enter as favorites, but MBFC won’t be concerned about that after last week’s heroics by Chase Boone and Hugh Roberts.

San Diego Loyal SC has made a strong start to its third campaign, winning three out of four contests in March as the national television cameras return to Torero Stadium for a Sunday matinee on ESPN Deportes. The same can’t be said for El Paso Locomotive FC, which has suffered three consecutive defeats under new Head Coach John Hutchinson while conceding a league-high 10 goals. It would be a mistake to think this is going to be a mismatch, though, especially when Locomotive FC has maybe the most intriguing player to watch on both sides. Current U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team forward Diego Luna – a finalist for the Championship’s Young Player of the Year award last season – should make his return from international duty with the U-20s in Argentina and can team with the likes of Luis Solignac, Dylan Mares and Josue Aaron Gomez to make things very interesting in America’s Finest City.

The USL Championship’s two Florida clubs saw their rivalry progress in the 2021 season as over four meetings the home side claimed victory on each occasion. With the Rowdies having made an undefeated start to the season over its first four games, the two-time defending Eastern Conference title holders once again are one of the leading contenders for the title as veterans like Sebastian Guenzatti and newcomers Jake LaCava – who had three goals in the opening month – meshing well together. Miami hasn’t quite sprung out of the gates as quickly under new Head Coach Anthony Pulis, but there’s a lot of talent in the South Florida side’s roster, including forward Kyle Murphy, who spent a season with the Rowdies in 2020 before his All-League campaign for Memphis a year ago. If available, his presence could make for a high-spirited and entertaining contest in the Sunshine State.

The last time we saw Orange County SC and San Antonio FC square off, it was for a place in the 2021 USL Championship Final when OCSC earned victory in a penalty shootout on its way to putting a first star above its crest. The stakes won’t be quite as high as the teams meet for the first time this regular season, but the opportunity to claim three points against a side each will expect to be vying for position over in the Western Conference this season will be big for both clubs. There will be new faces this time around as well, with Erick “Cubo” Torres and Milan Iloski each having established themselves in Orange County’s front line and San Antonio having reshuffled the attacking deck with the arrival of David Loera and Elliot Collier. As high as expectations are for both clubs, this should be a must-see contest.

The Friday night lights of national television arrive at Keyworth Stadium for the first time this season as Detroit City FC plays host to Birmingham Legion FC in the first all-time meeting between the squads on ESPN Deportes. It could also see the opportunity for new Legion FC addition Juan Agudelo to shine with the former United States international reuniting with Birmingham Head Coach Tom Soehn after signing with the club this week as the side looks to bolster an attack that scored only twice in the opening month of the season. DCFC has boasted a solid defensive record so far, though, with goalkeeper Nathan Steinwascher having recorded eight saves and his first shutout in the Championship as one of the notable retentions in the squad from a season ago. With the backdrop of the Northern Guard Supporters providing the color, this should be a memorable night for the hosts.

As the USL Championship introduced interconference matchups a season ago, San Diego Loyal SC headed to Louisville City FC and Lynn Family Stadium for an early test of its credentials. LouCity came out on top with a 2-1 win despite a spectacular late finish by Jack Blake for SD Loyal, but now we get a rematch that once again will see the visitors serve as a measuring stick for San Diego’s progress. Now in its third season under U.S. Men’s National Team legend Landon Donovan, SD Loyal has made a strong start including becoming the first side to defeat Phoenix Rising FC at Wild Horse Pass to close out March. If SD Loyal can deliver another big performance here, we could be talking about a potential USL Championship Final matchup further down the line.

Officially in the record books, New Mexico United has yet to claim a victory against Phoenix Rising FC. The lone instance in which United came out on top was in the 2019 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup when goalkeeper Cody Mizell’s heroics in a penalty shootout send New Mexico on after a 2-2 draw after extra time. And yet, the meetings between the two sides have rarely lacked drama, going back to the 3-3 draw that began the series in Phoenix early in the 2019 season. From Joey Calistri’s late equalizer at Isotopes Park late in the campaign, to Santi Moar’s move from United to Rising FC before the 2020 campaign, and Moar’s subsequent 90th-minute winner when Phoenix took a 3-2 win in their last meeting a season ago, these two teams are box office whenever they square off. As United heads to Wild Horse Pass with new signing Neco Brett leading the way, expect much more of the same this season.

Two teams ended the end of March with perfect records. One of them was Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, which after earning its first postseason appearance in five years a season ago seems to have taken the next step toward becoming a serious title contender to start Head Coach Brendan Burke’s second campaign in charge. The attack led by 2021 Championship MVP Hadji Barry and supplemented by new arrivals Elvis Amoh and Malik Johnson and returning winger Michee Ngalina as Cam Lindley pulls the strings in midfield should get a good road test from an FC Tulsa side that has been tough to knock off at ONEOK Field this season. Tulsa brings its own firepower in El Salvador international Joaquin Rivas, Dario Suarez and playmaker Rodrigo da Costa among others, making for an abundance of talent in each attacking third.

After both El Paso Locomotive FC and Phoenix Rising FC suffered home defeats in March, the longest current home regular season undefeated streak in the Championship going into the new month now belongs to New Mexico United, which while having let late leads slip twice already at Isotopes Park this season is on a 17-game streak going into April. One of the teams that has had difficulties in prior visits is San Antonio, with last year’s Western Conference Finalist having fallen in both visits to New Mexico a season ago. The visitors will be keen to change that here in a matchup of two teams sitting at the top of the West standings presently.

After missing the postseason in each of the past two seasons, Indy Eleven is rebuilding under new Head Coach Mark Lowry this year and as the defending title holders in Orange County SC come to visit Michael A. Carroll Stadium on ESPN Deportes we may get a sense of the host’s progression. The Boys in Blue won only five times at home a season ago and scored a league-fewest 14 goals in its 16 regular season contests at The Mike. With the progressive style that Lowry employed at El Paso Locomotive FC over the club’s first three seasons – which delivered 36 goals at home in the regular season a year ago – Indy’s fans should get better entertainment this year, but facing a defense including former United States international Michael Orozco and rising star Kobi Henry will be a good test for the hosts here.

Louisville City FC and Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC have had a solid rivalry since the Hounds took their position as consistent contenders under Head Coach Bob Lilley during the 2018 season, but there’s been a quirk to the series that has made it somewhat unique. All-time, the Hounds have gone 4-2-1 in its visits to Louisville, including claiming victory in the inaugural game at Lynn Family Stadium when these teams last met in the regular season in 2020. By contrast, Louisville has gone 5-0-3 at Highmark Stadium, including a memorably extra time victory during the 2019 USL Championship Playoffs. That flip of the script on the way homefield advantage usually plays out has added an extra layer of intrigue to the meetings between the clubs that will again be present here as they face off for the first time this campaign.

Having had the opportunity to host one of the Eastern Conference’s top contenders in Louisville City FC earlier in the month, San Diego Loyal SC gets another chance to test itself as it heads to Al Lang Stadium for a first meeting with two-time defending Eastern Conference title-holder the Tampa Bay Rowdies to close out April. The Rowdies tied the Championship’s single-season record with 13 home victories a season ago on the way to recording the third-highest points total in the Championship’s regular season, making their scenic venue on the waterfront one of the most difficult places to visit for opponents. You can be sure, though, that former Rowdie Jack Blake – now part of SD Loyal’s midfield – will be aiming to upset the odds and come away with a big result in another contest that as of now certainly could be the matchup we see in November’s Championship Final.