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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 28

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 09/19/22, 4:58PM EDT

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Detroit reaches the summit after wins over Colorado Springs and Tampa Bay

There’s a new top dog in the USL Championship Power Rankings this week. Detroit City clinched its postseason berth Saturday night with a 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Rowdies, but the real reward is right here: the top spot in the Power Rankings.

Le Rouge have lost just twice since June 26 and finally broke a bizarre home winless streak by the narrowest of margins Saturday night, when Antoine Hoppenot scored against his former club in the 81st minute at Keyworth Stadium.

Detroit City still sits just sixth in the Eastern Conference, but with a game in hand and some real momentum, it’s not crazy to think Detroit could charge a few spots higher in the next few weeks. Detroit has to play three of its five remaining regular season matches away from home, but it is 5-1-1 in its last seven road games.

Detroit City’s next three matches are all against teams eliminated from postseason contention already, so while the schedule is compact, it looks relatively soft until a heavyweight showdown on the road against Louisville City FC on October 5.

Trevor James’ side doesn’t stand out in any offensive category. It ranks 19th in scoring, 12th in conversion rate, and 23rd in passes completed, but it does boast a very strong defense. Led by goalkeeper Nate Steinwascher, Detroit has allowed just 25 goals this season, the third-lowest total in the USL Championship.

That’s the profile of a team you don’t want to play in the postseason home or away. 

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 Detroit City FC
(13-6-10)
Week 29: @ NY, v. TUL
1
Last Week:
2
Le Rouge climb to the top of the Power Rankings after breaking a home winless streak with a 1-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rowdies. It wasn’t a pretty match, but Detroit has now beaten Colorado Springs and Tampa Bay in back-to-back matches.
2 Louisville City FC
(19-5-6)
Week 29: v. MEM
1
Last Week:
3
The Eastern Conference leaders didn’t put in their best performance in a 4-2 win over Loudoun United, but they kept Memphis 901 FC and the Rowdies at arm’s length in the race for the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed.
3 San Antonio FC
(20-5-4)
Week 29: v. COS, v. SAC
2
Last Week:
1
San Antonio FC has plenty of cushion in the Western Conference, but a 1-1 draw against New Mexico United courtesy of a questionable goal sees SAFC slip a bit in the power rankings.
4 Memphis 901 FC
(18-7-4)
Week 29: @ LOU
1
Last Week:
5
A 5-0 hammering of the Charleston Battery on Friday night meant Memphis could enjoy watching Saturday’s matches knowing it would stay in second place in the East regardless of results. The Rowdies’ loss in Detroit was just a bonus.
5 Sacramento Republic FC
(14-8-7)
Week 29: @ SA
2
Last Week:
7
Open Cup hangover? No such problem for Sacramento, which cruised to a 4-0 halftime lead and victory over Orange County SC – its second-straight 4-0 win.
6 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(16-7-6)
Week 29: v. BHM

Last Week:
6
The Rowdies lost ground on Memphis 901 FC this weekend and have now lost each of their last four road matches. If results don’t turn upward, Tampa Bay risks opening the postseason away from Al Lang Stadium.
7 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(16-11-3)
Week 29: @ SA, v. OAK
3
Last Week:
4
Colorado Springs lost 1-0 in South Texas, it’s second-consecutive defeat. Tuesday night’s tilt in San Antonio looks like a tasty matchup and a good chance for Switchbacks FC to bounce back.
8 Birmingham Legion FC
(16-8-6)
Week 29: @ TBR
2
Last Week:
10
Legion FC trailed 1-0 at halftime in a match with seeding implications against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC last week before rallying to a 2-1 win behind Enzo Martinez’s goal and assist. Birmingham is now level on points with the Rowdies ahead of their head-to-head meeting Friday night.
9 Rio Grande Valley FC
(11-12-6)
Week 29: @ CHS
3
Last Week:
12
The Toros find themselves above the playoff line after a gritty home win over Colorado Springs, their third-consecutive win against teams in the current playoff field. Matches against Memphis and Louisville loom in the near future.
10 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(15-8-7)
Week 29: v. OC
2
Last Week:
8
Pittsburgh led a road lead slip in Birmingham last week, but the Hounds are still in the fight for a home game in the first round of the playoffs.
11 Monterey Bay F.C.
(12-14-2)
Week 29: v. PHX, @ MIA
2
Last Week:
13
The Union are peaking at the right time, with three consecutive wins by a combined score of 9-1 following a 5-0 thrashing of the Indy Eleven at Cardinale Stadium. Monterey Bay F.C. still sits just below the playoff line, but its games in hand are coming at a good time.
12 San Diego Loyal SC
(17-9-4)
Week 29: @ LV
2
Last Week:
14
San Diego broke a losing skid with a 3-0 win over Phoenix Rising and opened a four-point gap over Colorado Springs in the process. Upcoming matches against Las Vegas Lights FC and Orange County SC could see Landon Donovan’s side go on a run.
13 The Miami FC
(13-8-9)
Week 29: v. MB
2
Last Week:
11
Miami FC is unbeaten in its last six matches and clinched a playoff spot this past weekend, but a 2-2 draw at home against Atlanta United II will feel like two points dropped.
14 Indy Eleven
(9-15-5)
Week 29: v. LDN
5
Last Week:
9
A four-game unbeaten run crashed to a halt with a 5-0 humbling on the west coast last week. Indy looked completely outclassed in a heavy defeat to Monterey Bay F.C., a team below the Western Conference’s playoff line.
15 El Paso Locomotive FC
(12-12-7)
Week 29: ---
1
Last Week:
16
Locomotive FC had to gut out a 3-2 win over LA Galaxy II this weekend, hanging on to that scoreline for the last 20 minutes, but every win is a good win as El Paso tries to consolidate its place above the playoff line.
16 Oakland Roots SC
(9-9-12)
Week 29: @ COS
1
Last Week:
15
A 1-0 home win over New York Red Bulls II doesn’t look particularly impressive for a team trying to sneak above the playoff line, but that’s three wins out of the last five for Roots SC. A tough road lies ahead with three of its last four matches away from home including two on the east coast.
17 Hartford Athletic
(9-15-6)
Week 29: @ LDN

Last Week:
17
Hartford has won three straight and is unbeaten in five matches after a 3-0 win over Las Vegas Lights FC. Some momentum is building as the end of the season approaches.
18 New Mexico United
(11-9-10)
Week 29: ---

Last Week:
18
The good news? New Mexico came out of San Antonio without losing. The bad news? New Mexico hasn’t won in a month and its position above the playoff life is starting to look pretty tenuous as Oakland and Monterey Bay gather steam.
19 FC Tulsa
(10-15-5)
Week 29: @ DET
2
Last Week:
21
Tulsa had the weekend off to regroup after a loss to Hartford. Now officially eliminated from postseason contention, Tulsa can look toward 2023.
20 Atlanta United 2
(5-21-5)
Week 29: ---
6
Last Week:
26
Atlanta drew 2-2 on the road against Miami FC, which is a good point for a team languishing near the bottom of the table.
21 Loudoun United FC
(7-19-3)
Week 29: v. HFD, @ IND
4
Last Week:
25
Loudoun United can take some pride from its 4-2 loss at Lynn Family Stadium, clawing back from a 3-0 deficit to get within a goal before ultimately conceding another to the Eastern Conference leaders.
22 LA Galaxy II
(10-14-6)
Week 29: ---
1
Last Week:
23
The Galaxy II hung with El Paso Locomotive before falling 3-2. That’s three defeats in a row now.
23 Phoenix Rising FC
(9-15-5)
Week 29: @ MB
1
Last Week:
22
Rising FC has now lost five of its last six matches following a 3-0 defeat in San Diego, the first match of a three-game swing through California. This is a team that looks like it can’t wait for the season to end.
24 Charleston Battery
(6-18-6)
Week 29: v. RGV
5
Last Week:
19
Charleston gave up three goals in the first half hour and then had three players sent off in a 5-0 loss in Memphis. That’s a very bad night.
25 Las Vegas Lights FC
(10-12-7)
Week 29: v. SD
1
Last Week:
24
Lights FC is still hanging around the playoff picture just two points below the line, but it has lost its last three games by a combined score of 14-1, including a 3-0 defeat in Hartford last weekend. It’s hard to climb above the line with results like those.
26 Orange County SC
(7-13-10)
Week 29: @ PIT
6
Last Week:
20
Orange County SC was completely dominated by Sacramento, which led 4-0 at halftime. Playing down a man, there was no way back into the match.
27 New York Red Bulls II
(3-22-5)
Week 29: v. DET

Last Week:
27
New York is stuck firmly at the bottom of the table, but it stayed competitive with Oakland in a narrow loss.

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