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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 17

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 07/04/22, 2:00PM EDT

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Rowdies’ momentum continues to build as top of East becomes three-team race

Welcome back to the USL Championship Power Rankings, where the Tampa Bay Rowdies are on a roll as the midway point of the regular season arrives.

The eight-game undefeated run Tampa Bay has built after Saturday’s 2-0 victory against Memphis 901 FC is nothing unfamiliar, of course. Last season, the side’s 12-game undefeated run – which also included its record setting 891-minute shutout streak – helped drive the Rowdies to one of the best regular seasons in the Championship’s history.

Now the two-time defending Eastern Conference title holders are in position to challenge for that top spot once again, sitting three points behind current leader and perennial nemesis Louisville City FC for the conference lead. After the struggles the side faced early in the season, in particular leaking uncharacteristic goals, the ship has been righted.

Still, there’s seemingly no room for complacency, even with a schedule that appears friendly over the upcoming month.

“I think the one thing about this league is you've got to be mindful of the schedule,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins after Saturday’s win.

“Who’s played who and who’s played who, and where. We’ve all got tough games. We’ve got an August that is going to be a great test of us, but I think we have come through a tough period well, so I wouldn't be surprised if other teams push themselves into that race.

“I think for us, it's really just keep focusing for me on that performance tonight, and how do we get better? If we keep getting these performances better, then the results will come and that will push us further to the front of that race.”

Now, here’s how the rest of the picture looks across the league.

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 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(9-3-6)
Week 18: @ HFD
1
Last Week:
2
Eight games undefeated, and with six wins in that span including those against Louisville City FC and Memphis 901 FC, the Rowdies are right back in the mix for top spot again.
2 San Antonio FC
(13-3-1)
Week 18: ---
1
Last Week:
3
Godspeed, Matt Cardone. The final bow for a San Antonio legend as part of one last shutout was a fitting end to a stellar career.
3 Louisville City FC
(11-3-3)
Week 18: v. NY
2
Last Week:
5
Debate the penalty kick decision all you want – and goodness knows everyone will – but LouCity looked a cut above Birmingham Legion FC throughout on Saturday and could have won more handily.
4 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(12-4-0)
Week 18: v. SD, @ ELP
3
Last Week:
7
The Switchbacks’ rotation almost came off in Hartford only for the side to suffer a rare misfire in the attacking third. Friday night’s victory was right back to business as usual.
5 Sacramento Republic FC
(8-4-4)
Week 18: v. OAK
4
Last Week:
5
A curiously underwhelming performance for Republic FC in Colorado Springs, but the spotlight is starting to turn toward the forward position. It’s not great when your co-leading scorers after 16 games have three goals.
6 San Diego Loyal SC
(9-4-4)
Week 18: @ COS, v. LA
5
Last Week:
11
SD Loyal gets a big opportunity to close the gap to the top two on Monday night off longer rest and with momentum going into Colorado Springs, especially with Alejandro Guido rounding into excellent form.
7 Birmingham Legion FC
(7-5-4)
Week 18: @ ATL, @ CHS
3
Last Week:
4
Birmingham’s a better team than it showed in Louisville. With games this week in Atlanta and Charleston, it has a chance to jump right back up the standings.
8 Memphis 901 FC
(11-4-2)
Week 18: v. PHX
2
Last Week:
6
It just didn’t quite get going fast enough for Memphis at the Rowdies. The second half opened more brightly, but by that point it was never going to be easy to find a way back.
9 El Paso Locomotive FC
(8-6-6)
Week 18: v. COS
1
Last Week:
8
Locomotive FC’s undefeated streak is still alive thanks to Eric Calvillo’s clever stoppage-time free kick in Atlanta, but with 20 games now played the side could be vulnerable to those sitting below it.
10 Detroit City FC
(8-4-5)
Week 18: v. HFD, @ IND
3
Last Week:
13
Le Rouge got back in the win column, and deservedly so in the end against Las Vegas. That should ease some of the nerves that might have started to creep in.
11 LA Galaxy II
(8-8-3)
Week 18: @ SD
3
Last Week:
14
The Galaxy II have won six of their nine home games so far this season after Friday night’s victory against Oakland Roots SC. The rest of this month’s schedule could tell us whether they’re a playoff team or not.
12 New Mexico United
(7-3-5)
Week 18: v. RGV, v. RGV
3
Last Week:
9
New Mexico can thank Alex Tambakis for coming away with a point from its visit to Monterey Bay. His late save to keep out Robbie Crawford was tremendous.
13 Las Vegas Lights FC
(7-7-4)
Week 18: v. ---
3
Last Week:
10
If you needed to see the difference between Lights FC with Danny Trejo and Cal Jennings, and without, Saturday night’s loss to Detroit City FC in their absence was just that.
14 The Miami FC
(6-6-6)
Week 18: @ PIT
2
Last Week:
16
Miami probably should have put the game away against Indy well before the late surge by the hosts. Connor Sparrow’s performance to see out a crucial victory was outstanding.
15 Rio Grande Valley FC
(7-8-2)
Week 18: @ NM, @ NM

Last Week:
15
The Toros could have earned all three points against El Paso on Wednesday night but couldn’t find a decisive finish. They’ll need to deliver in this week’s doubleheader against New Mexico.
16 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(8-6-3)
Week 18: v. IND, v. MIA
2
Last Week:
18
The Hounds looked more like themselves against the Red Bulls II on Friday night as Kenardo Forbes finally got his 50th regular season assist. Now, they need to deliver like that against a stronger opponent.
17 Oakland Roots SC
(5-6-9)
Week 18: @ SAC
5
Last Week:
12
Roots SC was the latest team to fall on the road against the Galaxy II, and that will only put a bigger spotlight on this weekend’s rivalry clash with Republic FC.
18 Hartford Athletic
(4-9-3)
Week 18: @ DET, v. TBR
7
Last Week:
25
Hartford still has an uphill battle to get back into the playoff race, but a win against a side as good as Colorado Springs can do nothing but raise morale and belief.
19 FC Tulsa
(5-10-4)
Week 18: v. ATL
2
Last Week:
17
Rodrigo da Costa’s late equalizer against Loudoun United salvaged a point on Sunday, but Tulsa is going to need to put in a run soon if it’s to have a chance to be part of the playoff race.
20 Loudoun United FC
(4-10-3)
Week 18: ---

Last Week:
20
Letting two points slip away in the manner Loudoun did on Sunday night was another tough ending for a side that continues to compete strongly.
21 Orange County SC
(4-8-6)
Week 18: v. MB
2
Last Week:
19
Orange County has dropped 12 points from winning positions this season after Saturday’s stoppage-time concession to Phoenix resulted in a draw. The gap to the playoff positions remains daunting.
22 Atlanta United 2
(4-12-2)
Week 18: v. BHM, @ TUL
4
Last Week:
26
Tip of the hat to Tristan Trager, who’s now scored five goals in the past three games and notched the fastest goal of the season so far for Atlanta in its 4-3 win on Wednesday against Charleston.
23 Phoenix Rising FC
(7-9-1)
Week 18: @ MEM

Last Week:
23
Richmond Antwi’s strike salvaged a point for Phoenix, but that wasn’t the start to the month Rising FC needed as difficult as its upcoming schedule looks.
24 Indy Eleven
(6-7-3)
Week 18: @ PIT, v. DET
3
Last Week:
21
After three consecutive defeats, the next two outings are going to be pivotal for the Boys in Blue as they try to find a way back above the playoff line.
25 Monterey Bay F.C.
(4-11-1)
Week 18: @ OC
1
Last Week:
24
MBFC picked up a point against New Mexico – and could have grabbed all three late – but will be looking for its first victory in over a month when it heads to Orange County on Saturday.
26 Charleston Battery
(2-12-3)
Week 18: v. BHM
4
Last Week:
22
Early this season, the Battery were the team getting a jump on their opponents. Now they’ve conceded six times in the opening 15 minutes of games, tied for second-most in the league, and 22 times in the first half overall.
27 New York Red Bulls II
(1-13-3)
Week 18: @ LOU

Last Week:
27
It’s a bit of a surprise the Red Bulls II decided to part ways with Gary Lewis after only half a season. When your team has only scored nine goals, though, it’s somewhat understandable.

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