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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 4

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 04/04/22, 4:00PM EDT

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Switchbacks take No. 1 post after second consecutive impressive road victory

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of the Championship’s Power Rankings, where there’s one team left standing with a perfect record, which puts them on top of this week’s rankings.

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is the team this season sitting in a spot that – off and on – has been a pretty good one to be sitting in early in the season. Last year, the Tampa Bay Rowdies opened the campaign on a five-game winning streak on the way to a second consecutive Eastern Conference title, while in 2018, Louisville City FC won four in a row before ending top of the Eastern Conference and claiming its second league title.

That’s not to say silverware is automatically in the future for the Switchbacks – as the saying goes, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and in 2020 a four-game winning streak for Indy Eleven ended with it sliding out of the playoffs completely – but that doesn’t feel like it will be the case for Colorado Springs. After last season’s improvement to earn a playoff spot, Head Coach Brendan Burke’s side feels like it has taken another step forward.

Whether that results in a first-place finish in October, we’ll have to wait and see. It feels like there’s a lot to look forward to at Weidner Field this season, though.

Atlanta United 2 Birmingham Legion FC Charleston Battery Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Detroit City FC El Paso Locomotive FC Hartford Athletic Indy Eleven
LA Galaxy II Las Vegas Lights FC Loudoun United FC Louisville City FC Memphis 901 FC The Miami FC Monterey Bay F.C. New Mexico United
New York Red Bulls II Oakland Roots SC Orange County SC Phoenix Rising FC Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC Rio Grande Valley FC Sacramento Republic FC San Antonio FC
San Diego Loyal SC Tampa Bay Rowdies FC Tulsa

Biggest Movers

7 ATL 7 SA

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary
1 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(4-0-0)
Week 5: @ LV		 2
Last Week:
3		 Hadji Barry’s off the mark, and Michee Ngalina continues to shine. He’s got 11 goals and nine assists since the start of last season in 2,166 minutes of regular season action.
2 Louisville City FC
(3-0-2)
Week 5: @ LDN		 1
Last Week:
1		 Kyle Morton showed why LouCity brought him in to be its new starter this offseason on Saturday, earning his side a solid point despite being down to 10 men.
3 San Diego Loyal SC
(4-1-0)
Week 5: v. CHS		 2
Last Week:
5		 SD Loyal topped 50 goals a season ago, which is solid, but this year feels different so far with the positivity players like Nick Moon, Thomas Amang and others are bringing with Kyle Vassell at center forward.
4 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(2-0-3)
Week 5: v. MIA		 2
Last Week:
2		 The Rowdies could count themselves fortunate to not have suffered a first defeat on Saturday night if not for CJ Cochran’s stellar goalkeeping display.
5 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(3-0-1)
Week 5: @ TUL		 1
Last Week:
6		 The Hounds became the first team to find the net against Loudoun United FC on Saturday. The impact Dane Kelly can make is noticeable for a strong squad.
6 Sacramento Republic FC
(3-1-0)
Week 5: --		 3
Last Week:
9		 With three wins out of three at home this season, Republic FC is only one win behind its home victory total for the entire 2021 campaign. That’s how you become a contender.
7 New Mexico United
(2-0-2)
Week 5: --
Last Week:
7		 New Mexico is still undefeated, but it’s let leads slip away in second-half stoppage time in consecutive games. That’s a habit that has carried over from last season and needs to end.
8 Orange County SC
(1-1-1)
Week 5: v. SA
Last Week:
8		 The defending title holders had the weekend off ahead of the start of their Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign and a Western Conference Final rematch with San Antonio FC this Saturday.
9 FC Tulsa
(3-2-0)
Week 5: v. PIT		 1
Last Week:
10		 Tulsa’s perfect home record continues after victory against the Red Bulls II with JJ Williams delivering his first big performance in Black and Gold.
10 Phoenix Rising FC
(2-2-0)
Week 5: v. LA
 6
Last Week:
16		 Saturday’s win was a reminder of how good Phoenix can be, and also how it’s prepared to battle when needed, with Darnell King putting in work on both sides of the ball.
11 San Antonio FC
(3-1-0)
Week 5: @ OC		 7
Last Week:
4		 SAFC should bounce back from Saturday’s defeat to Phoenix, but that performance was not a pretty one in the slightest on home turf.
12 Detroit City FC
(1-1-2)
Week 5: @ ATL		 1
Last Week:
13		 DCFC continues to impress, especially after it’s halftime adjustments. If they can start putting chances away consistently, there’s a chance to put in a run of results.
13 Las Vegas Lights FC
(3-2-0)
Week 5: v. COS		 2
Last Week:
15		 Danny Trejo and Cal Jennings are flying right now and making Lights FC the most competitive it’s been since early in its inaugural season.
14 Memphis 901 FC
(2-1-1)
Week 5: --
Last Week:
14		 Seven points from the past three games is a good return after Saturday’s trip to Detroit, now the side gets an Open Cup outing before a weekend off from league action.
15 The Miami FC
(1-2-1)
Week 5: @ TBR		 2
Last Week:
13		 Miami FC couldn’t find an equalizer against Colorado Springs, but its second-half performance felt like a sign some good results are getting closer for Head Coach Anthony Pulis’ side.
16 Loudoun United FC
(2-1-1)
Week 5: v. LOU		 5
Last Week:
11		 Goalkeeper Luis Zamudio finally conceded, but there was enough in the side’s visit to Pittsburgh to make you think United isn’t an early-season flash in the pan.
17 Birmingham Legion FC
(0-2-2)
Week 5: v. HFD
Last Week:
17		 Juan Agudelo’s signing was a major addition and could provide Legion FC’s underperforming attack the figurehead it needs to achieve success.
18 Atlanta United 2
(2-3-0)
Week 5: v. DET		 7
Last Week:
25		 Two consecutive victories and Atlanta is starting to get on track. The underlying numbers don’t paint a pretty picture, though, with the side’s Expected Goal Differential currently at -7.56.
19 Rio Grande Valley FC
(1-3-0)
Week 5: v. IND		 1
Last Week:
20		 The Toros had the weekend off to try, and should have used the time to figure out its attack as it heads into the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup for the first time.
20 Oakland Roots SC
(0-3-2)
Week 5: --		 4
Last Week:
24		 Two points against New Mexico and Tampa Bay and it feels like that first victory for Head Coach Juan Guerra is right around the corner. Could it arrive on April 13 at home to SD Loyal?
21 Indy Eleven
(0-2-2)
Week 5: @ IND
Last Week:
21		 A second consecutive draw, this time in the club’s home opener. Indy’s showing positive signs, but a visit to Rio Grande Valley will be tough this weekend.
22 El Paso Locomotive FC
(0-4-0)
Week 5: v. MB		 4
Last Week:
18		 The underlying numbers for El Paso say this is a team that should be in the top-third of the league. That’s not going to be much comfort after a fourth consecutive defeat to start 2022.
23 Monterey Bay F.C.
(1-3-0)
Week 5: @ ELP		 4
Last Week:
19		 The late consolation goal was nice, but there never quite felt there was enough going forward for MBFC against Sacramento to come away with a result.
24 LA Galaxy II
(1-2-1)
Week 5: v. PHX		 1
Last Week:
23		 Los Dos claimed a point on the road in Indy, but this weekend’s visit to Phoenix is going to be a major test for the squad.
25 Hartford Athletic
(0-2-1)
Week 5: @ BHM		 3
Last Week:
22		 On balance, Hartford probably deserved to take something from its defeat to Atlanta United 2. The attack is going to have to find its shooting boots soon.
26 Charleston Battery
(1-3-0)
Week 5: @ SD
Last Week:
26		 The Battery have scored three goals inside the opening 10 minutes this season. The problem has been they’ve not scored in the 80 minutes that have following on all three occasions.
27 New York Red Bulls II
(1-4-0)
Week 5: --
Last Week:
27		 Shout-out to Derrek Chan, who did almost everything he could in a seven-save performance on his debut against FC Tulsa but couldn’t quite earn his side a point.

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Tag(s): Power Rankings  San Antonio FC  CO Spring Switchbacks  LA Galaxy II  Orange County SC  Phoenix Rising FC  Rio Grande Valley FC  Sacramento Republic FC  FC Tulsa  Charleston Battery  Louisville City FC  New York Red Bulls II  Pittsburgh Riverhounds  Tampa Bay Rowdies  Las Vegas Lights FC  Birmingham Legion FC  Atlanta United 2  Indy Eleven  Memphis 901 FC  El Paso Locomotive FC  New Mexico United  Loudoun United FC  Hartford Athletic  San Diego Loyal SC  Miami FC  Oakland Roots SC  Detroit City FC  Monterey Bay F.C. 

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