It’s possible that Saturday night provided a glimpse into the new hierarchy in the USL Championship this season. Here are six of the key storylines we took away from the action, leading off with a potential change in the hierarchy of the Eastern Conference.

Let’s dig in.

1. BIRMINGHAM GLAD BRETT’S BACK IN THE FOLD

Given his two prior seasons at the club, Birmingham Legion FC knew exactly what it was getting when it brought Neco Brett back into the fold this offseason.

After working back into fitness, the 31-year-old reminded everyone else with a two-goal performance on Saturday night that earned the visitors a 2-0 win on the road against the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium to carry Legion FC four points clear at the top of the Eastern Conference.

“I think everybody has a purpose, and obviously one of the reasons why Neco is here is because he can score goals,” said Legion FC Head Coach Tom Soehn. “He’s proven that. He’s also a great teammate and he fits the ideas we have as far as playing. I think adding guys like Juan [Agudelo for] hold up play and Enzo [Martinez, he] will press like crazy. When [Tyler] Pasher is on, he can get in behind Neco.

“[Brett’s] that guy in the box that if you give him a look, he’s going to finish. I could probably tell you how many touches he had in their box. It's probably two. And he had two goals.”

Soehn was close in his estimation. Brett had three touches in the Rowdies’ penalty area out of his 28 overall in the game – the third resulted in a blocked shot not long before his second goal of the night – but he was clinical as the Rowdies’ defense floundered. The Jamaican is now tied for fifth all-time in the Championship’s regular season with 72 goals alongside Colombian legend Jorge Herrera. It could very well be he’s in the top three all-time by the end of this season, with both Corey Hertzog (74 goals) and Hadji Barry (79 goals) within view.

2. ROWDIES STILL LOOKING FOR ANSWERS

The flipside of that result was that the Rowdies’ poorest start to a season since they arrived in the Championship continued. Without a win in four games, Tampa Bay produced better moments than in their crashing defeat, but the defensive work is still starkly lacking – Head Coach Neill Collins termed the two goals “schoolboy mistakes,” something that was very hard to argue.

“I thought we were more improved tonight – which wouldn't have been too difficult for the previous two performances,” said Collins. “We've set very high standards here and we’re way off them right now. There’s multiple reasons for that – not excuses, reasons – and it’s the people in that locker room that are going to change it between staff and players. We’ve got a lot of things we need to solve, but we’ve been in spots like this in the past and we’ve solved them. As long as people keep working hard and coming in with the right attitude, we will continue to solve them.”

There is, of course, a long way to go, and it’s not hard to recall the struggles the Rowdies had early last season when they had as many losses as wins through their first 10 games of the season before turning the ship on the right course. Next Saturday’s game against fellow winless side Miami FC, though, is looking very important right now.

3. LOUCITY CRASHES IN SACRAMENTO

Tampa Bay’s drop from its normal standard is one thing. What’s happened to Louisville City FC in the past two weeks is quite another.

“I thought our pressure was not good enough. I thought our defending in the box was shocking, and I thought our quality on the ball wasn't good enough,” said LouCity Head Coach Danny Cruz after his side suffered a 5-0 demolition against Sacramento Republic FC.

That was the first time Louisville City had conceded five goals in a game in its USL Championship history. It was also the first time LouCity had conceded 3+ goals in consecutive games in its history after its 3-0 defeat to El Paso Locomotive FC in its home opener.

The side has allowed five shots and two goals off defensive errors already this season – its worst regular season numbers in those categories were eight shots and five goals allowed in 2019, when the side finished with its lowest all-time finish in the Eastern Conference of fourth.

As with the Rowdies, it’s something you figure will get fixed – and LouCity does at least have two wins to its credit – but there’s work to be done to keep pace with the Players’ Shield leaders.

“You don't just become a [bad] team overnight,” Cruz added. “We did some really good things the first couple weeks of the season, and we've done some very, very poor things the last two weeks. I’m confident we're going to be able to turn it around. I’m still confident in the group. But by no means is this acceptable.”

4. PHOENIX RISES, SUFFERS LETDOWN

The party was on at Phoenix Rising Stadium. Manuel Arteaga had notched not only the first goal at Phoenix Rising FC’s new home in the city limits, bringing the club-record crowd of 10,437 fans to its feet, but had added a second to put the side on its way to a much-needed victory against rival San Diego Loyal SC.

And then just like that – with two goals in the space of eight minutes – the lead had evaporated and Rising FC Head Coach Juan Guerra’s side saw its good work result in just a point.

“I think we relaxed. We relaxed a bit, and when you relax versus teams that are good, that have individual talent – and they’ve been together for a while, and the collective is strong – these things happen,” said Guerra. “At the end of the day, I’m very bothered.”

It’s a lesson Phoenix will have to absorb, but the side certainly seemed to have made a major step forward since we last saw it two weeks ago in San Diego. Arteaga could have had a hat trick – he had a golden chance in the 22nd minute that was pulled wide – and there was plenty to like overall.

As high as the expectations are at Rising FC, that will have to serve as the silver lining as the side still waits for its first win of the season.

“Tonight, we have almost 11,000 people here cheering for us, and we really wanted to send them home with a win,” said Guerra. “We didn’t win tonight, but they saw a team that didn’t quit until the end. They saw a team that kept battling. They saw a team that fought, they saw team that went forward, that wasn’t afraid to play. This is the identity we want to adopt. We want to have an identity when the fans come to the stadium. they feel identified with the product that we’re putting on the field.”

5. SAN ANTONIO ABSORBS HITS, KEEPS GOING

At this point, it feels like San Antonio FC Head Coach Alen Marcina could do a roaring business on the motivational speaking circuit. The buy-in that he continues to achieve – even with players who have been part of San Antonio FC officially for less than a month – is remarkable.

On Saturday night it was the turn of Zico Bailey, who signed a 25-day contract with the club on March 16 and then just over two weeks later became the latest player to deliver a game-winning goal for the club. Brought on as an emergency forward after Ignacio Bailone went down with an injury in the 49th minute, the nominal right back produced a superb finish to lift SAFC to a 2-1 win against Monterey Bay F.C.

“It’s really just … being ready when you’re called upon, just try to do your best and bring energy to the game,” said Bailey, who has clearly mastered his cliches in a way Crash Davis would be proud of.

The big test for San Antonio now, however, is what will its lineup look like next week? With not only Bailone but also Niko Hansen – who scored the opening goal in Monterey Bay – having to be removed from the game and Justin Dhillon sidelined, the club’s front line could look thin when Sacramento Republic visits for a top-two showdown next week.

Still, it would be very foolish to discount what this squad is made of, and whether it can get a result given what we know from the past 12 months.

6. INDY TAKES COMPLIMENT FROM LIGHTS FC SET-UP

A scoreless draw after a game in which your side held 79.6 percent of possession and completed 624 passes might have felt frustrating. For Indy Eleven Head Coach Mark Lowry, after his side was held by Las Vegas Lights FC in its home opener on Saturday night at Michael A. Carroll Stadium, it served as a sign his side is on the right tract.

“That’s a massive compliment to us,” said Lowry. “When a team comes and sets up like that, that shows the respect we’re earning by the way we’re playing. That didn't happen last season. Teams didn’t come with that plan last season, teams came in last season thinking they could beat us. Now teams are coming in just hanging on for a point.”

As Lowry went on to point out, his side could – and maybe should – have earned all three points from the contest before more than 9,000 fans at the Mike. Still, there’s a lot of positives from Indy’s undefeated start.

Here’s a few other things we took away from the weekend…

- El Paso’s Luis Solignac is off the mark, and that’s potentially very good news for Locomotive FC. Here’s more on Friday night’s clash in Tulsa.

- San Diego Loyal SC Head Coach Nate Miller talked about the goal of winning every series his side plays this season. Four points out of six from its games with Phoenix is a good start after a nice fightback.

- Taylor Davila continues to look like an ideal fit for what Rio Grande Valley FC wants to accomplish. Two games, two goals, but his quick feet and technical qualities are what catch the eye.

- Orange County SC taking the lead and Hartford Athletic responding but not kicking on to win seems very predictable in hindsight give the past 12 months.

- Oakland Roots SC got just about everything right in its win against New Mexico United. The visitors? Five touches inside the opposing penalty area just isn’t enough.

- Detroit City FC has logged 5.12 expected goals in four games. It’s scored only three times, another sign it needs to find that clinical finisher if this season is going to end up the way it wants.

- Welcome to the USL Championship, Bill Hamid. What a crucial save for Memphis 901 FC to keep your side in it on the way to a point in Miami.

- Christian Herrera, take a bow. Massive display for Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC’s second win of the season.