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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 9

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 05/08/23, 4:30PM EDT

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Miami heads to Louisville looking to shake pretender tag in first nationally televised game of the season

When it joined the USL Championship in 2020, there were big expectations for Miami FC.

So far, we’ve yet to see that manifest in the way the side has performed on the field.

And that’s what makes the club’s visit to Louisville City FC on Saturday night in the curtain-raiser for this season’s USL on ESPN slate the most interesting game in Week 10.

There’s little question about the quality in Miami’s squad. Its players have had success both individually and for good teams in the past. We’ve seen dazzling moments this season – just look at Christian Sorto’s free kick to open last Wednesday night’s 3-1 win against Birmingham Legion FC.

But the reality has been it’s been too few and far between to make an impression as one of the league’s serious contenders. Consecutive Eastern Conference Quarterfinals to its opponent on Saturday in 2021 and rival the Tampa Bay Rowdies have seen to that.

It’s why a club with as much potential sits at No. 15 in the USL Championship Power Rankings. Some good things to show, but not enough to truly believe there’s something building there.

 

This weekend, Miami will arrive at Lynn Family Stadium looking to try and change that perception. It’s got a major task on its hand with LouCity once again taking aim at topping the Eastern Conference and claiming the Players’ Shield.

If there’s a stage to change perceptions on, though, it’s this one. A win for the visitors could be another step toward becoming a proper contender.

Here’s how the rest of 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
(5-0-3)
Week 10: v. IND

Last Week:
1
Republic FC returns to action after a week off with a big home game in the Open Cup against the Colorado Rapids and a visit from Indy Eleven to look forward to.
2 Charleston Battery
(5-1-3)
Week 10: v. SA
2
Last Week:
4
The Battery – and Trey Muse in particular – delivered in key moments in Las Vegas. We’ll see how they fare in another tricky week on the road at Inter Miami CF and then hosting San Antonio FC.
3 Louisville City FC
(4-2-2)
Week 10: v. MIA

Last Week:
3
Mage – derived from the Spanish for magician – claimed the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. LouCity will be hoping its own Spanish magician – Jorge Gonzalez – has a few tricks up his sleeve on Saturday.
4 El Paso Locomotive FC
(5-3-1)
Week 10: v. LDN
1
Last Week:
5
Locomotive FC is surging with four consecutive victories in the Western Conference and has seven goals across the past three games to almost double its season total.
5 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(5-3-1)
Week 10: @ MEM
3
Last Week:
2
The Switchbacks fell behind early to El Paso and couldn’t quite recover despite a good overall effort. They’re still in very solid shape overall.
6 San Antonio FC
(4-1-4)
Week 10: @ CHS
1
Last Week:
7
San Antonio was up against it both in personnel and on the field in Las Vegas but found a way to pick up all three points. That’s the defending title holder we remember.
7 San Diego Loyal SC
(5-2-2)
Week 10: v. RGV
1
Last Week:
8
SD Loyal rebounds back to second place after defeating Orange County with a solid road display. Good chance to build on that this week at home to RGVFC.
8 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(3-4-2)
Week 10: v. DET
3
Last Week:
11
Two wins in a row for the Rowdies, but more importantly two consecutive strong attacking displays. Tampa Bay has a gap to close, but it’s moving in the right direction.
9 Monterey Bay F.C.
(3-2-4)
Week 10: @ NM

Last Week:
9
Christian Volesky is a man in superb form. Another outing with a goal and assist to help MBFC rally for a point at home against Riverhounds SC.
10 Memphis 901 FC
(2-2-3)
Week 10: v. COS
3
Last Week:
13
Add another game to the undefeated streak, and a second consecutive victory. If Phillip Goodrum finds his scoring touch again, Memphis could become even more dangerous than they look now.
11 Birmingham Legion FC
(5-4-1)
Week 10: @ PIT
5
Last Week:
6
There might have been complaints for Legion FC against Oakland, but two losses and seven goals conceded isn’t the week the side envisioned when it began.
12 Oakland Roots SC
(3-3-2)
Week 10: v. OC
4
Last Week:
16
Talk about making the most of your opportunity. Roots SC was right back at it in Birmingham on Saturday night and gets a struggling Orange County SC next.
13 Loudoun United FC
(3-4-1)
Week 10: @ ELP
1
Last Week:
12
Loudoun was hard-done-by in its loss to Indy Eleven by a missed goal call, but it also didn’t remain tight enough defensively late. Need to find a positive result quickly.
14 Phoenix Rising FC
(2-2-4)
Week 10: v. HFD
4
Last Week:
10
Rising FC hasn’t won consecutive league games yet this season and is 0-3-0 against Tampa Bay after Saturday night. This is a solid team, but it’s got to start being more consistent
15 Miami FC
(2-2-5)
Week 10: @ LOU
2
Last Week:
17
Christian Sorto, what a strike. Miami needed that win in a big way, will it be the performance that sparks the club to bigger things?
16 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(2-2-5)
Week 10: v. BHM
2
Last Week:
14
The Hounds looked like they had everything under control in Monterey Bay, until the moment they didn’t. Five draws now in nine games, and middle of the pack as a result.
17 New Mexico United
(2-3-2)
Week 10: v. MB
2
Last Week:
15
On one hand, that stoppage-time comeback was impressive. On the other where was that sort of attacking threat in the opening 90 minutes? Still too up and down.
18 Indy Eleven
(2-3-3)
Week 10: @ SAC
2
Last Week:
20
Indy got a vital three points on Saturday night, even if it was very fortunate not to be down by a pair of goals in the second half. Is this the result that sparks the side?
19 Las Vegas Lights FC
(0-3-5)
Week 10: v. TUL

Last Week:
19
Lights FC outshot and had plenty of clearcut chances over the weekend, resulting in a cumulative 3.78xG mark. That’s a good sign, but it’s got to start taking those opportunities.
20 FC Tulsa
(1-3-5)
Week 10: @ LV
1
Last Week:
21
On balance, you’d probably look at FC Tulsa as the better team in its visit to Detroit City FC, but that’s six games without a win in the league and a drop out of the playoff positions as a result.
21 Hartford Athletic
(1-5-2)
Week 10: @ PHX
3
Last Week:
18
The Athletic couldn’t find a way past Memphis goalkeeper Bill Hamid, and that’s three losses in a row across all competitions and just one win all season.
22 Rio Grande Valley FC
(1-2-5)
Week 10: @ SD
1
Last Week:
23
The Toros had the win in their hand against New Mexico and then collapsed defensively in stoppage time. That’s just not good enough.
23 Orange County SC
(1-5-3)
Week 10: @ OAK
1
Last Week:
22
A coaching change couldn’t snap Orange County out of its malaise, although it was good to see U.S. youth international Korede Osundina bag his first professional goal.
24 Detroit City FC
(1-6-2)
Week 10: @ TBR

Last Week:
24
Le Rouge finally broke their shutout streak thanks to Abdoulaye Diop. They still got pretty outplayed by Tulsa, though, which doesn’t inspire great optimism.

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