skip navigation

USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 5

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 04/10/23, 4:30PM EDT

Share

Battery stand as last undefeated side in East as attack continues to fire

Last season was just about rock bottom for the Charleston Battery.

The side recorded its fewest regular season wins in a campaign in a 30-season history, was unceremoniously dumped out of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup at the first hurdle, a far cry from its days as a contender.

Well, now the Battery are back, just as we suspected they might be this offseason.

And they’re the last undefeated team standing in the Eastern Conference.

Yes, this past Saturday’s win against Hartford Athletic was due to a slice of good fortune, but you can argue it balanced out the draw the side had to settle for in its opener after a dominant display against Phoenix Rising FC.

With Head Coach Ben Pirmann at the helm and the arrival of new attacking pieces Nick Markanich to the already-present qualities for Augustine Williams and Fidel Barajas, the Battery are fun to watch as well.

Can they be a contender? That remains to be seen. Wednesday night’s early-season rematch against a Tampa Bay Rowdies side the Battery jumped at Patriots Point will likely give us a decent barometer.

For the faithful fans that stuck by the side last season, though, the promise this season is offering has already been highly rewarding.

Here’s how this week’s rankings look. 

Birmingham Legion FC Charleston Battery Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC Detroit City FC El Paso Locomotive FC Hartford Athletic Indy Eleven Las Vegas Lights FC
Loudoun United FC Louisville City FC Memphis 901 FC The Miami FC Monterey Bay F.C. New Mexico United 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 Sacramento Republic FC
(3-0-2)
Week 6: v. COS

Last Week:
1
Republic FC earned a valuable point on the road in San Antonio to maintain its edge in the standings, and just as importantly in the Power Rankings.
2 San Antonio FC
(3-0-2)
Week 6: @ LOU

Last Week:
2
Cristian Parano came so close to a spectacular finish against Sacramento. As he heats up, so will San Antonio’s attack.
3 San Diego Loyal SC
(3-1-1)
Week 6: @ NM
1
Last Week:
4
SD Loyal is still perfect at home thanks to FC Tulsa’s misfortune on Saturday afternoon. Those are the sort of breaks that come mighty handy later in the season.
4 Charleston Battery
(2-0-2)
Week 6: @ TBR, @ TUL
1
Last Week:
5
Speaking of breaks, that was certainly one way for Arturo Rodriguez to introduce himself to Patriots Point. This week’s road trip to Tampa Bay and Tulsa will be challenging
5 Louisville City FC
(3-2-0)
Week 6: v. SA
4
Last Week:
9
In terms of 1-0 victories, LouCity was well worth its victory against Detroit City. Getting Wilson Harris onto the scoresheet was a nice boost as well.
6 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(3-1-1)
Week 6: @ SAC
1
Last Week:
7
Nice try, Maalique Foster. At least your teammates bailed you out in another good victory against a solid Pittsburgh side.
7 Birmingham Legion FC
(3-1-1)
Week 6: @ LDN
4
Last Week:
3
Legion FC put the ball in the net three times. Unfortunately, two of them – both delightful finishes – didn’t count due to offside. Entertaining stuff in defeat, nonetheless.
8 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(1-2-2)
Week 6: v. CHS
3
Last Week:
11
The Rowdies weren’t completely at their best on Saturday, but they had more than enough to handle Miami FC. This week’s rematch with Charleston is must-see.
9 Monterey Bay F.C.
(2-2-1)
Week 6: @ PHX
4
Last Week:
13
Monterey Bay has scored nine goals in two victories, and two goals otherwise. Their explosiveness in transition is something everyone is going to have to handle.
10 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(1-1-3)
Week 6: v. RGV
2
Last Week:
8
The Hounds battled but didn’t hold possession well enough in Colorado Springs for Bob Lilley’s liking. Add in Robbie Mertz’s red card, and it was a tough night.
11 Oakland Roots SC
(2-1-1)
Week 6: v. HFD
4
Last Week:
15
Two consecutive victories for Oakland, with its win in Indy beautifully conceived by Head Coach Noah Delgado. Roots SC is on the move.
12 El Paso Locomotive FC
(2-3-1)
Week 6: --
2
Last Week:
14
Three consecutive defeats have given way to three consecutive games with a positive result in the league for Locomotive FC. That’s much better.
13 Indy Eleven
(1-1-2)
Week 6: @ OC
7
Last Week:
6
Indy got outfoxed by Oakland, and despite midweek’s success we’re still waiting on first league goals for Sebastian Guenzatti and Solomon Asante.
14 Rio Grande Valley FC
(1-0-3)
Week 6: @ PIT
4
Last Week:
10
Going into Pittsburgh on Saturday night will be another good test for the Toros as they look to put their Open Cup disappointment behind them.
15 Phoenix Rising FC
(1-1-2)
Week 6: v. MB
4
Last Week:
19
Phoenix had to dig in to earn a result in Birmingham and found a way through. Things keep moving in the right direction, especially with Danny Trejo finding the net again.
16 FC Tulsa
(1-2-3)
Week 6: v. CHS
4
Last Week:
12
You had to feel for Collin Fernandez on Saturday afternoon. Tough week for Tulsa overall, and Charleston’s going to be a very good test as the side returns home this weekend.
17 Loudoun United FC
(1-2-1)
Week 6: v. BHM
1
Last Week:
18
Great night for Loudoun to win its Open Cup debut and get another home draw in the Third Round. United will hope to translate that into league success when Birmingham visits.
18 Las Vegas Lights FC
(0-0-3)
Week 6: @ MEM
2
Last Week:
20
Lights FC remains undefeated after its Open Cup romp on a bye week. Real Salt Lake coming to Cashman Field could be a lot of fun to watch.
19 Orange County SC
(0-2-3)
Week 6: v. IND
2
Last Week:
17
We keep holding a torch for OCSC, which is just not seemingly getting the bounce of the ball right now. Saturday’s home game with Indy isn’t a must-win, but it kind of is.
20 New Mexico United
(1-2-0)
Week 6: v. SD
4
Last Week:
16
New Mexico got burned three times by Monterey Bay’s direct play. Getting things turned around in its home opener against San Diego is going to be a must.
21 Miami FC
(0-2-3)
Week 6: v. DET

Last Week:
21
Half of Miami’s 10 shots against the Tampa Bay Rowdies came in the last 10 minutes, which isn’t ideal when you’re chasing a two-goal deficit.
22 Hartford Athletic
(0-3-2)
Week 6: @ OAK
1
Last Week:
23
The Athletic deserved something out of its visit to Charleston. That they didn’t get anything is a real gut-punch.
23 Detroit City FC
(1-4-0)
Week 6: @ MIA
1
Last Week:
22
Le Rouge’s attacking woes continue as the side went without an official shot on target against Louisville City FC. The misery loves company derby in Miami this weekend is huge.
24 Memphis 901 FC
(0-2-1)
Week 6: v. LV

Last Week:
24
Memphis pulled an Open Cup victory out of the fire in Knoxville. It needs to have a knock-on effect when Las Vegas comes to visit this weekend.

Follow the USL Championship

Most Recent News

Most Read News

Latest Videos