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USL Championship News & Notes | Week 30

By USLChampionship.com Staff, 09/27/22, 7:58PM EDT

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San Antonio FC pushes for home field advantage throughout postseason

Welcome to the USL Championship’s News & Notes, where this week we examine San Antonio FC’s chances of locking up the top overall seed in the USL Championships presented by Hisense. Will the USL Championships run through Toyota Field? It could be confirmed this week.

Plus, we’ll look at the aftermath of last week’s fiery meeting between Louisville City FC and Memphis 901 FC and how the ramifications of that game will play out in the week ahead.

More on all of that, and your usual look ahead to upcoming individual player landmarks across the league and the Week 30 Discipline Report.

News and Notes

SAN ANTONIO PUSHES FOR TOP OVERALL SEED

After a pair of 1-0 wins last week over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC and Sacramento Republic FC, we now know the Western Conference playoffs will run through Toyota Field in San Antonio. But will SAFC earn a potential home game in the USL Championship Final? We could know as early as this week.

With San Antonio currently sitting at 70 points, there are only a couple of teams capable of catching Alen Marcina’s side before the regular season ends. If Memphis 901 FC and Louisville City FC run the table, they would reach 73 and 72 points, respectively. That means that if San Antonio beats Pittsburgh on the road this weekend and Memphis drops points in Miami, San Antonio will be confirmed as regular season champions. SAFC could get it done this week with a draw if Memphis loses and Louisville drops points at Rio Grande Valley FC. Fivethirtyeight gives roughly even odds in each of the three relevant matches, giving San Antonio a 33 percent chance of beating Pittsburgh and Miami a 37 percent chance of beating Memphis.

Could it happen this week? Yes. Will it happen this week? Only time will tell.

As far as regular season champions go, the last team to win the regular season title and go on to win the USL Championship Final was the 2016 New York Red Bulls II. Last year’s Rowdies team won the regular season title and went on to the lost the USL Championship Final on home turf.  

TWO MORE COULD CLINCH OUT WEST

Both Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC and Sacramento Republic FC could book their tickets to the postseason this week, joining San Antonio and San Diego in the Western Conference field.

All eyes will be on Monterey Bay’s match against Las Vegas tonight. If Monterey Bay loses, its maximum points total will fall to 49 and Colorado Springs (52 points currently) will clinch. Sacramento will need just a point Wednesday against Phoenix to become the fourth Western Conference team to book a playoff ticket.

Even if Monterey Bay beats Las Vegas, Sacramento would clinch with a win over Phoenix. In that scenario, Colorado Springs would have to wait until Saturday at least to clinch its postseason berth.

MEMPHIS AND LOUISVILLE HEAD INTO THE WEEKEND SHORTHANDED

Last week’s match saw Memphis take a 2-1 lead on Louisville in the fifth minute of added time and that was just the appetizer for three cards stemming from a single incident shortly after the restart. Add in Independent Disciplinary Panel reviews as detailed in the Discipline Report below and a total of five players will be suspended for this weekend’s matches in the aftermath of that game.

Memphis’ Phillip Goodrum, Rece Buckmaster and Laurent Kissiedou, along with Louisville’s Tyler Gibson and Corben Bone will all be unavailable for selection this weekend.

LAS VEGAS COULD PLAY SPOILER

Below the top four, the playoff picture in the Western Conference remains murky. The teams in fifth and eleventh are separated by just seven points. Las Vegas, sitting in 10th place three points below the playoff line has a huge opportunity to play spoiler this week with a pair of six-pointers.

First up, Las Vegas hosts Monterey Bay F.C. tonight at Cashman Field. A Las Vegas win would see the teams level on points just two points below the playoff line. A Las Vegas victory by more than one goal would see Lights FC win the tiebreaker between those clubs and deal a major blow to Monterey Bay’s chances of making the postseason.

Then, on Friday night, Las Vegas is back in action at home against New Mexico United, another of its closest rivals for a postseason berth. If Las Vegas wins both games, it will pull level with New Mexico on points all the way up in fifth place.

There are a lot of moving parts in the Western Conference, but by the end of Saturday night, the team in 10th place right now could be tied for fifth. That’s a big opportunity this late in the season.

upcoming player milestones

Appearances   

Approaching 200 regular-season appearances
Lewis Hilton (TBR) – 199

Approaching 150 regular-season appearances
Wes Charpie (LOU) – 141

Approaching 100 regular-season appearances
Sam Hamilton (NM) – 99
Laurent Kissiedou (MEM) – 97
Joe Kuzminsky (CHS) – 97
Jake Areman (TBR) – 97
Adrian Diz Pe (TUL) – 97

Minutes
Approaching 15,000 regular-season minutes
Lewis Hamilton (TBR) – 14,932
Lebo Moloto (TUL) – 14,900
Kyle Greig (TBR) – 14,843

Approaching 10,000 regular-season minutes
Matt Sheldon (CHS) – 9,886
Thomas Vancaeyezeele (TBR) – 9,905
Sebastian Guenzatti (TBR)– 9,874

Goals
Approaching 75 regular season goals

Cameron Lancaster (LOU) – 73

Approaching 50 regular season goals
Chris Wehan (NM) – 49
Alex Dixon (PIT) – 48
Lucky Mkosana (TBR) – 47

Assists
Approaching 30 regular season assists

Oscar Jimenez (LOU) – 29
Lewis Hilton (TBR) – 28
Leo Fernandes (TBR) – 28
Niall McCabe (LOU) – 27
Justin Portillo (NM) – 27

Saves
Approaching 250 regular season saves

Jeff Caldwell (COS) – 244

Shutouts
Approaching 60 regular-season shutouts

Evan Newton (ELP) – 58

Approaching 40 regular-season shutouts
Matt VanOekel (BHM) – 38
Alex Tambakis (NM) – 38

Approaching 30 regular-season shutouts
Joe Kuzminsky (CHS) – 29
CJ Cochran (TBR) – 29

discipline report - week 30

TAMPA, Fla. – The following is the USL Championship’s discipline report for Week 30 of the 2022 USL Championship season:

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC’s Elvis Amoh has been suspended for one game for receiving two cautions and a red card in Colorado Springs’ match against Oakland Roots SC on September 24. Amoh will be unavailable for selection against El Paso Locomotive on October 5.

Phoenix Rising FC’s Kevon Lambert received his 11th caution of the season against Monterey Bay F.C. on September 21 and has been suspended two games for caution accumulation. Lambert will be unavailable for selection September 28 against Sacramento Republic FC and October 1 against New York Red Bulls II.

San Antonio FC’s Mitchell Taintor received his 11th caution of the season in San Antonio’s match against Sacramento Republic FC on September 24 and has been suspended two games for caution accumulation. Taintor will be unavailable for selection October 1 against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and October 9 against Birmingham Legion FC.

San Antonio FC’s Shannon Gomez has been suspended for one game for receiving two cautions and a red card in San Antonio’s against Sacramento Republic FC on September 24 and has been suspended one game. Gomez will be unavailable for selection against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on October 1.

Sacramento Republic FC’s Rodrigo Lopez received his 11th caution of the season in Sacramento’s match against San Antonio FC on September 24 and has been suspended two games for caution accumulation. Lopez will be unavailable for selection September 28 against Phoenix Rising FC and October 2 against LA Galaxy II.

Las Vegas Lights FC’s Christopher Jaime has been suspended one game for receiving a red card for violent conduct in Las Vegas’ match against San Diego Loyal SC on September 24. Jaime will be unavailable for selection against Monterey Bay F.C. on September 27.

Louisville City FC’s Tyler Gibson has been suspended one game for receiving a red card for violent conduct in Louisville’s match against Memphis 901 FC on September 23. Gibson will be unavailable for selection against Rio Grande Valley FC on October 1.

Louisville City FC’s Corben Bone has been suspended one game by the Independent Discipline Panel for violent conduct in Louisville’s match against Memphis 901 FC on September 23. Bone will be unavailable for selection against Rio Grande Valley FC on October 1.

Memphis 901 FC’s Phillip Goodrum has been suspended one game for receiving a red card for violent conduct in Memphis’ match against Louisville City FC on September 23. Goodrum will be unavailable for selection against The Miami FC on October 1.

Memphis 901 FC’s Rece Buckmaster has been suspended one game for receiving a red card for violent conduct in Memphis’ match against Louisville City FC on September 23. Buckmaster will be unavailable for selection against The Miami FC on October 1.

Memphis 901 FC’s Laurent Kissiedou has been suspended one game by the Independent Discipline Panel for violent conduct in Memphis’ match against Louisville City FC on September 23. Kissiedou will be unavailable for selection against The Miami FC on October 1.

Memphis 901 FC’s Graham Smith has been fined an undisclosed amount by the Independent Discipline Panel for kicking the corner flag into a section of spectators during Memphis’ match against Louisville City FC on September 23.

Sacramento Republic FC Assistant Coach Danny Dichio has been suspended one game following a red card in Sacramento’s match against San Antonio FC on September 24. Dichio will not be on the bench for Sacramento’s match against Phoenix Rising FC on September 28.

The following players enter the upcoming matches one caution away from a yellow card accumulation suspension for their eighth yellow card of the season. Here is the breakdown per club:

  • Birmingham Legion FC (1): Enzo Martinez
  • Charleston Battery (1): Preston Kilwien
  • Indy Eleven (1): Jesus Vazquez, Manuel Arteaga
  • LA Galaxy II (1): Remi Cabral
  • New York Red Bulls II (1): Curtis Ofori
  • Orange County SC (1): Milan Iloski
  • Rio Grande Valley FC (1): Erik Pimentel
  • San Diego Loyal SC (2): Kyle Adams
  • Tampa Bay (1): Aaron Guillen

The following players enter the upcoming matches one caution away from a yellow card accumulation suspension for their 11th yellow card of the season. Here is the breakdown per club:

  • Birmingham Legion FC (1): Mikey Lopez
  • El Paso Locomotive FC (1): Eder Borelli
  • Hartford Athletic (1): Younes Boudadi

San Antonio FC (1): Victor Giro

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