The second month of the 2022 USL Championship season kicks off on Friday night, beginning a 12-game slate of action across the weekend that brings a pair of home openers, some important in-conference contests, and two teams aiming to continue their perfect starts to the season.

Here’s what you should know going into the action.

1. PHOENIX LOOKS TO BREAK SAN ANTONIO HEX

As great as Phoenix Rising FC has been over the past five seasons, there have been a few places where it has been unable to find a victory. The most notable of those has been San Antonio FC’s Toyota Field, where Phoenix is 0-3-2 all-time going into Saturday’s meeting between the sides. That stands as the most visits Rising FC has made to an opponent without claiming at least one win in its history, and while there have been near-misses – the thrilling 3-3 draw that kicked off the 2019 coming immediately to mind – it’s a record that Rising FC will want to put to bed this time around.

The primary reason for that is the two-game losing streak Rising FC finds itself in after last week’s 3-2 loss at home to San Diego Loyal SC. It’s the first time Phoenix has lost back-to-back regular season contests since falling in consecutive games to conclude the 2018 regular season against Las Vegas Lights FC and the Portland Timbers 2. The last time the side lost three regular season games in a row? You’d have to go back to the end of 2016 and start of 2017 for that as the side suffered defeat in the final game of the 2016 regular season and back-to-back losses to open the following campaign.

That’s a mark of pride for this current squad, but it also knows how difficult a task awaits it in San Antonio.

“They're very good, they're very athletic, they're very aggressive, they've got some really tough players, and this is gonna be a difficult game,” Schantz told the Arizona Republic’s Theo Mackie. “Considering where we are emotionally right now, I think it's extremely important that we go in there as humble as possible and do whatever we can to compete.”

2. SACRAMENTO, MONTEREY BAY OPEN POTENTIAL RIVALRY

It can be a complex question as to whether the first match between two sides in regional proximity can be considered a rivalry. Off the evidence of last Saturday’s contest between USL Championship newcomers Monterey Bay F.C. and Oakland Roots SC, where MBFC claimed a thrilling 3-2 victory at Laney Stadium, there was seemingly plenty of heat to build on between the two sides moving forward.

That should also be the case as Monterey Bay continues its season-opening road trip at the third member of the Championship’s NorCal triangle in Sacramento Republic FC, which hosts Head Coach Frank Yallop’s side at Heart Health Park on Saturday. Republic FC has taken two wins from two on home turf this season after Duke Lacroix’s late winner last Sunday against FC Tulsa and will be aiming to continue that home form against the league newcomers.

After Friday’s announcement of a new proposed home for the club at the Railyards in downtown Sacramento, there could be an added energy among the supporters as this next potential rivalry gets underway.

3. CAN AGUDELO PROVIDE BOOST FOR LEGION FC?

We had noted before this season began that Birmingham Legion FC’s attack was potentially a question mark after the departure of three players who recorded more than 50 percent of its goals a season ago, and that’s been borne out somewhat so far with the side having notched only two goals in three games on an Expected Goals mark of 3.03xG. Thursday’s announcement, then, that Juan Agudelo had signed with the club ahead of Saturday’s visit from Louisville City FC was a major jolt and could offer a serious attacking threat the side needs to maintain its position as an Eastern Conference contender.

Agudelo becomes the latest former United States international to join the league, but at only 29 years of age it’s more than possible he can quickly become one of the top forwards in the league. A record of 50 goals across the regular season and playoffs in Major League Soccer is nothing to sniff at, and as fellow USMNT alum and Orange County SC center back Michael Orozco has shown, class remains permanent. If Agudelo turns into a double-digit goalscorer – something he didn’t achieve in MLS – then Legion FC could be flying high again soon.

4. PIRMANN’S RETURN HIGHLIGHTS INTRIGUING DCFC-MEMPHIS CLASH

Over six summers, Ben Pirmann wrote himself into the history of Detroit City FC and the hearts of the club’s fans as he coached the side to on-field success that aided the growth of the club overall in the amateur ranks. On Saturday, Pirmann will return to Keyworth Stadium as the Head Coach of Memphis 901 FC in what is sure to be a memorable homecoming for the Michigan native to his former stomping grounds.

While that’s the case, there’s also an intriguing contest on offer with Memphis having claimed back-to-back victories over the past two weekends in impressive fashion. Two of the keys to that success have been newcomers Jeremy Kelly, who’s notched a goal and assist in three appearances after arriving from the Colorado Rapids, and midfielder Aaron Molloy, who has started each of the past two games and completed 89 passes at an 88 percent success rate.

The duel in the center of the park between Molloy and influential DCFC midfielder Maxi Rodriguez – whose big second half performance last week earned the side a point against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC – will be one to watch closely as Pirmann looks to get one-up on his former club.

5. INDY’S HOME OPENER OFFERS CHANCE FOR RESET

When Indy Eleven was at peak performance in 2019, a big key to its success was an undefeated home record during the regular season that saw the side win 13 of 17 games at Lucas Oil Stadium. As the side kicks off its home slate at Michael A. Carroll Stadium on Saturday night against the LA Galaxy II, there’s work to be done to reach those heights again, but in Head Coach Mark Lowry the Boys in Blue have someone who’s achieved that level of home dominance recently.

With El Paso Locomotive FC a season ago, Lowry led his side to a 13-0-3 record, and an overall undefeated run in the regulars season and playoffs that stretched 24 games. After earning the club’s first point of the season on the road against rival Louisville City FC last weekend, earning a first win in the club’s first meeting with Los Dos would be a very welcome start to the club’s new era.

6. SWITCHBACKS SETTING IMPRESSIVE EARLY PACE

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC made club history last Saturday night with its victory on the road at Birmingham Legion FC, earning its first three-game winning streak to start a season. That also matched the club’s longest winning streak a season ago as it returned to the postseason for the first time since 2016. What’s next to aim for? Well, the club’s longest winning streak all-time was a six-game run during its inaugural season in 2015 when the duo of Luke Vercollone and Miguel Gonzalez drove the side to within a point of first-placed Orange County SC at the end of the season.

As the side heads for a second consecutive road outing at Miami FC, that run isn’t within view yet, but the control the Switchbacks have been able to exert over games – especially in last week’s victory at Birmingham – has shown a marked step forward from a season ago. That said, the side also isn’t taking anything for granted as it heads to South Florida.

“[Miami] are a tough team – they’ve got lots of good players, guys that we’ve played against and played with…we know what we’re going into,” said Switchbacks midfielder Cam Lindley. “They’re experienced, with a good Coach in Anthony Pulis, so we know we’re going to have to be at our best, be sound defensively and hopefully get our wingers and our attackers going. When arguably your best player hasn’t scored a goal yet, and you’re still winning games; I think that’s pretty good and it’s clicking for sure.”

7. EL PASO LOOKING FOR TURNAROUND IN SAN DIEGO

After the heights El Paso Locomotive FC reached the past three seasons, for the side to be sitting without a point from three games while having conceded 10 goals – including five against Las Vegas Lights FC on March 23 in its last outing at Southwest University Park – the challenge facing the side was clear.

“We just had a massive heart-to-heart with the boys,” said Locomotive FC Head Coach John Hutchinson after the defeat to Las Vegas. “I have a good team. I have good players. Transition is hurting us massively, at the moment.”

With more than a week since its last outing, a focus on defensive transitions could hold the key as to whether Locomotive FC can take its first points of the season at San Diego Loyal SC on Sunday in this week’s nationally televised game on ESPN Deportes. El Paso’s attack is looking good – its Expected Goals mark of 5.91xG matches up with its six goals scored this season, and Diego Luna is set to return after competing for the United States U-20s last week to provide another boost. If the errors that have cost El Paso persist, though, it could be a long afternoon at Torero Stadium for the visitors.

8. LOUDOUN’S DEFENSE TO GET TEST FROM HOUNDS

If you had taken a poll of which club was going to be the last to concede at the start of the 2022 USL Championship season, it’s unlikely Loudoun United FC would have been anywhere near the top of the list. And yet, the side that conceded the most goals in the league’s regular season a year ago has opened this campaign with three consecutive shutouts and seven points after its scoreless draw on the road against Miami FC last weekend.

The notable thing about this is it hasn’t been good fortune that has resulted in Loudoun’s defensive success. The side currently sits with the third-lowest Expected Goals Against mark in the league according to American Soccer Analysis at 1.79xGA, trailing only the Tampa Bay Rowdies in average xGA per game.

That record will get tested on Saturday as United visits Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC at Highmark Stadium, a venue it has lost all four prior trips to while conceding 10 goals and scoring none. If Loudoun is competitive this time around, it would go a long way to confirming the early success the side has already produced.

9. BACK HOME, HARTFORD HAS CHANCE TO OPEN UP

In terms of a start to the season, it couldn’t have gotten much more difficult than the draw Hartford Athletic received in visiting Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who sides that over the past three seasons sit in the top five in the league for home victories. That resulted in a level of pragmatism from Head Coach Harry Watling in the way he set up his side to try and earn a result, something they achieved in a 1-1 draw against the Rowdies last Saturday.

As the club gets set for its home opener on Saturday against Atlanta United 2 at the newly-named Trinity Health Stadium, the chance is now here for Hartford to show off what its returning and new arrivals have to offer. Danny Barrera will continue to be central to that, but Saturday could give us a better picture of where Hartford is heading in Watling’s second season at the helm.

10. AFTER LATE POINT, ROOTS GET ROWDIES CHALLENGE

There was a sense of relief for Oakland Roots SC on Wednesday night as it grabbed its first point of the season for new Head Coach Juan Guerra on the road against New Mexico United thanks to Tarek Morad’s stoppage-time goal. Now, Roots SC’s squad will return home on Saturday night for a matchup against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, a former stop in their playing careers for both Guerra and Morad.

The Rowdies arrive undefeated from their opening four games and handed Oakland a 3-0 defeat when the teams met for the first time at Al Lang Stadium last season, prior to Roots SC’s impressive late run that saw the club advance to the postseason and then to the Western Conference Semifinals. The hosts will be hoping to turn the tables this time around, as big a challenge as that may present.