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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 11

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 05/22/23, 4:30PM EDT

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It’s May, which means the Tampa Bay Rowdies are going on a winning run

May 1 has got to be Tampa Bay Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins’ favorite day of the year.

Why? Because he knows whatever else has happened, his team is due to start a winning streak.

You might scoff, but the numbers are undeniable. Since Collins took over the Rowdies five years ago, May has been a month where the club has been absolutely dominant. Just look at the numbers over the past four seasons – y’all know where we were that time in 2020.

2023 – 3-0-0 in May*
2022 –2-0-0 in May
2021 – 4-0-0 in May
2019 – 3-0-1 in May

It’s absolutely uncanny.

(That draw in 2019, by the way? On May 1 against Indy Eleven. Yes, the Rowdies have won 12 consecutive league games in the fifth month of the year.)

 

It helps, of course, that the Rowdies have been good in pretty much every month since Collins has taken the helm. Now the second-longest tenured Head Coach in the Championship after Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC’s Bob Lilley, Saturday’s 3-0 win at Rio Grande Valley FC was the club’s 81st regular season win in 152 games with Collins on the sideline.

So, fair warning to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. Getting a result on Saturday is going to be an even bigger task than you might have expected.

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 El Paso Locomotive FC
(7-3-1)
Week 12: --
3
Last Week:
4
First comeback win in more than a year? Check. Longest winning streak in club history at six games? Check. Longest goalscoring streak in club history? Check. Good stuff here.
2 Louisville City FC
(5-2-2)
Week 12: v. TUL @, IND

Last Week:
2
Games in hand, but ground to be made up for LouCity as it enters a two-game week capped by the first LIPAFC of the season on the road at Indy Eleven.
3 Sacramento Republic FC
(7-1-3)
Week 12: @ HFD
2
Last Week:
1
The response to Republic FC’s first loss of the season was an impressive one. Sacramento has now scored six goals in the opening 15 minutes of games, most in the league.
4 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(5-4-2)
Week 12: v. COS
1
Last Week:
5
Connor Sparrow saved the Rowdies in the first 45 minutes before his teammates matched his level to earn a fourth consecutive win. Good for Cal Jennings to get on the scoresheet, too.
5 Memphis 901 FC
(4-2-3)
Week 12: --
1
Last Week:
6
Three wins in a row, undefeated in seven, and Aaron Molloy pulling all the strings. 901 FC is in the right position to make a serious move with its games in hand.
6 San Antonio FC
(5-2-4)
Week 12: v. NM
3
Last Week:
3
After hitting the jackpot multiple times in Charleston, the handle on the slot machine broke off in San Antonio’s hand in Detroit. No reason for concern, though.
7 Charleston Battery
(6-2-3)
Week 12: @ RGV

Last Week:
7
Winning was important, but more so was putting in a solid defensive display. It wasn’t overwhelming, but the Battery got what they needed on Saturday evening.
8 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(4-2-5)
Week 12: @ LDN
2
Last Week:
10
The Hounds were clinical in their finishing against Lights FC and got to pull most of their major players before the final whistle ahead of Wednesday’s Open Cup clash with Columbus. Pretty ideal.
9 San Diego Loyal SC
(6-3-2)
Week 12: @ OAK
2
Last Week:
11
Anyone else get a flashback to SD Loyal’s last visit to Florida on Saturday night? That one ended up 3-2 as well, only this time Elliot Collier provided the late drama instead of Evan Conway.
10 Phoenix Rising FC
(4-2-4)
Week 12: v. LV
2
Last Week:
12
Have to admit, we were waiting for the other foot to drop on Saturday night with the pressure Orange County was putting on, but Rising FC managed to emerge with a win. Good, good.
11 New Mexico United
(4-3-2)
Week 12: @ SA
2
Last Week:
13
Undefeated in four games, three wins in that span, and Alex Waggoner looks like the real deal, and Chris Wehan’s back. Going to be a major test of United’s pedigree at San Antonio on Saturday, though.
12 Oakland Roots SC
(4-4-2)
Week 12: v. SD
4
Last Week:
8
Roots SC couldn’t withstand Sacramento’s fast starts in either half. As good as the chances the visitors created were it never felt like a comeback was in the offing.
13 Indy Eleven
(3-4-3)
Week 12: v. LOU
8
Last Week:
21
The weekly Power Rankings conundrum: Are we ranking this team too high? Indy has at least won two of its last three games, which is a lot more than the teams below it this week can say.
14 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(5-5-1)
Week 12: @ TBR
5
Last Week:
9
The Switchbacks felt dangerous enough against Indy, but that’s three consecutive defeats ahead of a trip to face Tampa Bay, so it gets no easier from here.
15 Birmingham Legion FC
(5-6-1)
Week 12: @ DET

Last Week:
15
Legion FC is reminding us of New Mexico United in 2019 – good Open Cup run, mediocre league form while it was happening. Let’s see what happens on Wednesday night.
16 Monterey Bay F.C.
(3-4-4)
Week 12: --
2
Last Week:
14
The gaps caused by injury in Monterey Bay’s back line were shown up in the Battery’s early goal and try as they might the visitors were unable to recover. Below the playoff line now.
17 Hartford Athletic
(2-6-2)
Week 12: v. SAC
5
Last Week:
22
What a downpour to get your first home win of the season in. Still, that was as impressive as we’ve seen Hartford this season, hopefully that kickstarts a run of better form.
18 Rio Grande Valley FC
(2-3-5)
Week 12: v. CHS

Last Week:
18
The Toros dominated the Rowdies in the first half, couldn’t capitalize, and then left Tampa Bay too much space to operate in. As Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera said, “We can’t allow ourselves to create mistakes, clear ones.”
19 Detroit City FC
(2-7-2)
Week 12: v. BHM
5
Last Week:
24
There were a lot of people asking for some patented Keyworth Magic last week. How about that? Quality finish by Skage Simonsen for his first for the club.
20 Orange County SC
(2-7-3)
Week 12: @ MIA
3
Last Week:
23
One up, one down. As much as Milan Iloski is trying to carry the attack right now, he’s going to need some backup to get OCSC back up the standings.
21 Miami FC
(2-4-5)
Week 12: v. OC
4
Last Week:
17
Miami hadn’t lost a game after scoring the opening goal since last August, and the manner of the side’s late collapse against San Diego was really surprising. Needs to be sharper.
22 FC Tulsa
(1-4-6)
Week 12: @ LOU
2
Last Week:
20
The winless streak continues for Tulsa after falling to Memphis. They’re still right there when it comes to the top eight, but Head Coach Blair Gavin’s side needs to start winning.
23 Loudoun United FC
(3-7-1)
Week 12: v. PIT
7
Last Week:
16
Loudoun has hit a tailspin with five consecutive defeats. Going to need to find a turnaround against a good Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC side on Sunday evening.
24 Las Vegas Lights FC
(0-4-6)
Week 12: @ PHX
5
Last Week:
19
Lights FC hasn’t been outclassed often this season, but they were in Pittsburgh. Still looking for that elusive first win.

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