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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 8

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 05/02/22, 4:00PM EDT

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LouCity gives its fans a night to remember as it continues to drive its own standards higher

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of the Championship’s Power Rankings, where Louisville City FC continues to sit atop the rankings after one of the displays of the season on Saturday.

In his postgame comments, LouCity Head Coach Danny Cruz said he wanted “the players to give the crowd something they wanted to come back for, and hopefully they did that.”

I think we can all say they did.

The crowd of 11,093 fans – and 307 dogs on hand for the first Pups at the Pitch night – were treated to the sort of performance you’d expect from one of the title favorites. Now undefeated in nine games, LouCity looks to have made a smooth transition from its past to its present. Recently retired defender Pat McMahon – who was honored during the night – must have greatly enjoyed watching Amadou Dia’s stellar display at full back, while Wilson Harris and Enoch Mushagalusa each found the net.

Those newcomers are living up to the standard that was there before them, the one longtime players including Paolo DelPiccolo, Brian Ownby, Sean Totsch and Niall McCabe have helped keep in place. LouCity never seemingly leaves its place as a contender because it not only goes and gets good players, but then gives them a structure and standards they want to uphold.

That recipe for success has been recreated elsewhere, of course, but never quite so consistently as LouCity continues to deliver.

As a result, the fans will certainly be back.

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

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary

1 Louisville City FC
(6-0-3)
Week 9: @ LOU

Last Week:
1
LouCity is still undefeated, and emphatically so. Saturday’s performance against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC was outstanding from back to front and opened a four-point lead in the standings.
2 San Antonio FC
(7-1-0)
Week 9: @ PHX
1
Last Week:
3
San Antonio slammed down the gas pedal from the start and never hit the brakes in their club-record six-goal performance against Monterey Bay F.C. ahead of their rematch with Phoenix on Saturday.
3 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(7-1-0)
Week 9: v. RGV
1
Last Week:
4
The Switchbacks got a match-winning performance from goalkeeper Jeff Caldwell in Oakland, and quietly Hadji Barry is up to three goals and four assists this campaign.
4 Detroit City FC
(5-1-2)
Week 9: @ TUL
1
Last Week:
5
If there’s a lesson for any USL Championship club so far this season it’s to not be level with Detroit City at halftime. As evidenced in their current four-game winning streak, it likely won’t end well for you.
5 The Miami FC
(4-3-1)
Week 9: @ BHM
3
Last Week:
8
You figured Kyle Murphy had to find the net on his return to AutoZone Park on Saturday night, and Miami’s early goals allowed the visitors to settle in and put in a strong defensive display that didn’t give away much in high-quality chances for Memphis.
6 Sacramento Republic FC
(3-2-2)
Week 9: v. NM, @ NY
1
Last Week:
7
Republic FC isn’t perfect at home anymore, but you can’t really fault the effort in the face of a brilliant goalkeeping display by Las Vegas’ Tomas Romero. Picking back up for Wednesday’s game with New Mexico is going to be important.
7 San Diego Loyal SC
(6-2-1)
Week 9: v. NM
4
Last Week:
11
SD Loyal’s comeback win against Tampa Bay gave the visitors a first win in the Eastern Time Zone in their history. Those points are going to be very helpful in keeping touch with the top two.
8 Phoenix Rising FC
(5-3-0)
Week 9: v. SA
6
Last Week:
2
After 3-0 defeats in each of its past two visits – and having a player sent off each time – Rising FC is going to be glad to have seen the last of the Galaxy II at Dignity Health Sports Park.
9 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(5-2-1)
Week 9: v. BHM
3
Last Week:
6
The Hounds didn’t rise to the occasion in their visit to Louisville City FC as Head Coach Bob Lilley wanted to see a bit more battle from his group after their 2-0 defeat.
10 New Mexico United
(2-2-2)
Week 9: @ SAC, v. SD

Last Week:
10
New month, new opportunity for New Mexico to re-establish itself in the Western Conference with big games this week on the road at Sacramento and at home to San Diego.
11 Indy Eleven
(4-2-2)
Week 9: ---
3
Last Week:
14
The Boys in Blue had to dodge lightning strikes on the way to victory against Hartford Athletic on Saturday. It might not have been the prettiest performance, but the club’s four-game winning streak has it rising quickly.
12 Memphis 901 FC
(4-2-1)
Week 9: @ CHS
1
Last Week:
13
One up, one down in the past week for 901 FC, which might be disappointed it didn’t turn its possession into something more clear-cut chance-wise as it looked to rally against Miami on Saturday night.
13 Las Vegas Lights FC
(4-3-2)
Week 9: @ MB
1
Last Week:
12
You can ding Tomas Romero for the ineffective clearance that resulted in Sacramento’s equalizer on Saturday, but the young goalkeeper was outstanding otherwise to earn Lights FC another point.
14 Birmingham Legion FC
(3-3-2)
Week 9: v. MIA, @ PIT
1
Last Week:
15
We still can’t get over how great Prosper Kasim’s game-winner last Wednesday night was against Charleston. When he’s in form, it’s a great thing to watch.
15 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(3-3-4)
Week 9: ---
6
Last Week:
9
The Rowdies hadn’t let a halftime lead slip in 50 games dating back to the 2018 season before Saturday night’s late defeat to SD Loyal. Time for a break before May 15’s trip to Phoenix.
16 Orange County SC
(2-3-2)
Week 9: v. OAK
1
Last Week:
17
Cubo Torres is finding his rhythm with four goals in all competitions, and that can only bode well for Orange County to use Saturday’s win at Rio Grande Valley as a springboard up the standings.
17 El Paso Locomotive FC
(2-5-1)
Week 9: v. TUL, v. LA
3
Last Week:
20
In terms of entertainment value, Locomotive FC continues to be top-notch. The trio of Luis Solignac, Dylan Mares and Diego Luna were outstanding in Saturday’s win at Loudoun United FC.
18 LA Galaxy II
(3-3-2)
Week 9: @ ELP
3
Last Week:
21
Los Dos’ Jonathan Perez was outstanding on Sunday evening against Rising FC, an example of why he’s been regularly part of the Mexico U-20 National Team set-up this cycle.
19 Rio Grande Valley FC
(3-5-0)
Week 9: @ COS
3
Last Week:
16
The Toros paid the penalty for letting Cubo Torres escape their attention twice on Saturday night at home. They can’t afford to make similar mistakes in Thursday night’s trip to Colorado Springs.
20 FC Tulsa
(3-5-0)
Week 9: @ ELP, v. DET
2
Last Week:
18
Tulsa and El Paso played a playoff classic two seasons ago at Southwest University Park. This time around, both teams are in major need of a victory as Tulsa returns to action after a bye this past week.
21 Oakland Roots SC
(1-4-4)
Week 9: @ OC
2
Last Week:
19
Roots SC created all the chances it needed to put a serious hold on Saturday’s game against Colorado Springs. It didn’t take advantage, and ended up on the losing end on a frustrating night.
22 Loudoun United FC
(2-5-1)
Week 9: @ HFD

Last Week:
22
Loudoun put together a fine first-half performance to hold the lead against El Paso, then let it slip away as the visitors carved out four big chances and took advantage of three of them.
23 Charleston Battery
(1-5-1)
Week 9: v. MEM

Last Week:
23
Defeat on the road in Birmingham was a tough one to swallow given the way the side played overall, but that’s the way it’s going right now in Charleston. Friday’s home game against Memphis is big.
24 New York Red Bulls II
(1-6-1)
Week 9: v. SAC
1
Last Week:
25
The Red Bulls II battled but couldn’t hold on against Detroit City FC on Saturday afternoon and has now been held scoreless in five of eight games this season.
25 Monterey Bay F.C.
(1-6-0)
Week 9: v. LV
1
Last Week:
24
Monterey Bay is going to be very happy to see a home crowd for the first time this season. No matter what’s come before – especially this past Saturday – there’s a chance to wipe the slate clean this week.
26 Hartford Athletic
(0-6-1)
Week 9: v. LDN

Last Week:
26
The Athletic have added attacking pieces – Corey Hertzog the latest – but still can’t find the win column. It’s getting late early at Trinity Health Stadium.
27 Atlanta United 2
(2-6-0)
Week 9: v. LOU

Last Week:
27
Atlanta got a bye to prepare for a visit from Louisville City FC on Wednesday night. The hosts couldn’t pull off a shock again, could they?

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