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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 14

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 06/12/23, 4:30PM EDT

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Switchbacks deliver morale-boosting victory to end downturn, with potential for more to come

The underlying numbers indicated there wasn’t a reason for Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC to panic as their losing streak reached five games.

Still, apparently it doesn’t hurt to get some good vibes going away from the field to break a downturn in form.

“We had a good get-together as a team over the weekend,” said Switchbacks midfielder Drew Skundrich on Saturday after scoring the opening goal in the side’s 4-0 victory against Orange County SC. “That brought us together and that brought us a lot of unity, and I think that showed on the field especially defensively. We were absolutely solid, we were working so hard for each other.”

With one of the biggest roster overhauls this offseason, the Switchbacks were one of the teams it was hard to peg in terms of a prediction for how their season would play out in March. Overall, though, the group under promoted Head Coach Stephen Hogan has delivered enough quality to certainly be a playoff side while potentially having enough to go further than that.

A victory like Saturday’s illustrated that. A goal and two assists from Romario Williams and a first goal for 17-year-old USL Academy signing Marco Rios to cap things off made for a great reward for another strong crowd of 6,930 fans at Weidner Field.

With four consecutive games against teams currently outside the playoff positions in their respective conferences, this could be the chance for Colorado Springs to not only solidify its position in the top right, but also make a move on the teams above them in the Western Conference.

Certainly, nothing helps the mood of a squad like winning.

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

6 LDN 4 OC

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary
1 El Paso Locomotive FC
(8-3-2)
Week 15: v. LV, v. TBR
Last Week:
1		 It’s hard to strike a volley more sweetly than Luis Solignac’s equalizer against San Antonio FC. That’s 41 goals in 85 regular season games in the Championship for the Argentine.
2 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(7-4-3)
Week 15: @ ELP		 1
Last Week:
3		 Tampa Bay had to work for its win against New Mexico, but Charlie Dennis has already doubled his goal total from a season ago in Oakland and is on course for a career high overall.
3 Memphis 901 FC
(6-2-3)
Week 15: v. DET		 1
Last Week:
4		 901 FC has scored eight goals in two games since its moves to bring in Rodrigo da Costa, and that makes five consecutive wins for a team steaming up the standings.
4 Sacramento Republic FC
(8-1-5)
Week 15: v. MB		 2
Last Week:
2		 Consecutive draws for the first time this season, but no-one’s been able to capitalize properly below Republic FC in the standings.
5 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(7-2-5)
Week 15: @ OAK		 1
Last Week:
6		 Five league wins in a row and on top of the Eastern Conference after a victory against Charleston. The Hounds’ visit to Oakland should be interesting.
6 San Antonio FC
(6-2-6)
Week 15: @ SD		 1
Last Week:
5		 With dropped points at home in consecutive games, San Antonio has let more points slip from winning positions in the past two games (4) than it did in the entire 2022 regular season (2).
7 Oakland Roots SC
(6-4-3)
Week 15: v. PIT
Last Week:
7		 Roots SC capitalized beautifully on its chances to earn a result on the road in Phoenix, keeping the side right in the mix for a spot in the top four.
8 San Diego Loyal SC
(6-4-4)
Week 15: v. SA		 1
Last Week:
9		 Gaining points against fellow contenders is a plus, but SD Loyal could really use another statement win like the one it earned against Tampa Bay when SAFC visits on Wednesday night.
9 Louisville City FC
(6-4-3)
Week 15: @ PHX		 1
Last Week:
8		 The chances were there for LouCity on Saturday night. A combination of some great goalkeeping by Memphis’ Drew Romig and some off-target finishing meant they went to waste.
10 Monterey Bay F.C.
(5-4-5)
Week 15: @ SAC		 5
Last Week:
15		 Two goals, two assists and two Man of the Match awards in the past two wins for Sam Gleadle. His return has been such a big boost for Monterey Bay’s attack.
11 Phoenix Rising FC
(4-4-5)
Week 15: v. LOU		 2
Last Week:
13		 Rising FC probably did enough to win against Oakland, and it feels like there’s better ahead if this side can find some level of consistency.
12 Indy Eleven
(4-5-4)
Week 15: @ BHM		 2
Last Week:
10		 Indy still doesn’t quite feel like a cohesive squad yet, but at least it’s got players who can produce moments when they’re needed like Jack Blake’s equalizer on Saturday.
13 Charleston Battery
(7-4-4)
Week 15: @ HFD 		2
Last Week:
11		 Three games without a win for the Battery, and no goals in that span either. We don’t expect this to last, but getting something out of Saturday’s trip to Hartford is important.
14 Detroit City FC
(3-7-3)
Week 15: @ HFD, @ MEM		 2
Last Week:
12		 Three consecutive shutouts are something to keep building on in a two-game week, but Saturday’s visit to Memphis is going to be a very big test of that record.
15 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(6-7-1)
Week 15: v. LV		 4
Last Week:
19		 Much more like it from the Switchbacks. They’ll have to do without Jairo Henriquez for international duty – potentially for a few weeks with the Gold Cup – but this should lift morale.
16 Birmingham Legion FC
(5-7-1)
Week 15: v. IND		 1
Last Week:
17		 The Open Cup run is, sadly, over and done, which means it’s time to pick up the pace in the Eastern Conference. Legion FC certainly won’t want to get jumped by Indy on Saturday.
17 New Mexico United
(4-6-2)
Week 15: v. RGV		 3
Last Week:
14		 There were positives for United to take from its defeat by the Rowdies, but it must stay in touch with the top eight by defeating Rio Grande Valley FC on Saturday night back at home.
18 Loudoun United FC
(4-9-1)
Week 15: @ MIA
 6
Last Week:
24		 Welcome back, Zach Ryan. It’s a sign of how tight the lower-half of the Eastern Conference is right now that with one win, Loudoun’s back above the playoff line. Good crowd, too.
19 FC Tulsa
(2-5-7)
Week 15: v. OC		 3
Last Week:
16		 We see you, Phillip Goodrum, but that’s a pretty decent bump in the road for Tulsa. Will need to get back on track at home against Orange County this weekend.
20 Hartford Athletic
(2-7-4)
Week 15: v. DET, v. CHS
Last Week:
20		 If Hartford gets a second goal while it’s up a player – say, Prince Saydee’s chance after 15 minutes – then it could be a very different story. As it is, the Athletic are still propping up the East.
21 Orange County SC
(3-8-4)
Week 15: @ TUL		 4
Last Week:
18		 Back to earth with a bump for OCSC, which never really seemed to get going in Colorado Springs and ended up with a heavy defeat. Not what they were looking for
22 Las Vegas Lights FC
(1-5-6)
Week 15: @ ELP, @ COS		 1
Last Week:
21		 You could see the competitiveness in Lights FC again, but if you hand a player with Sam Gleadle’s quality a golden opportunity late, he’s probably going to take it.
23 Rio Grande Valley FC
(2-5-6)
Week 15: @ NM 		1
Last Week:
22		 Glass-half-full: The Toros managed to grab a point in second-half stoppage time. Glass-half-empty: It’s more points dropped at home, which this side can’t afford at this point.
24 Miami FC
(2-5-7)
Week 15: v. LDN		 1
Last Week:
22		 The winless streak reached five games after conceding in second-half stoppage time to the Toros. Fourth time in the last five games the side has conceded at least three goals as well.

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Tag(s): Power Rankings  San Antonio FC  CO Spring Switchbacks  Orange County SC  Phoenix Rising FC  Rio Grande Valley FC  Sacramento Republic FC  FC Tulsa  Charleston Battery  Louisville City FC  Pittsburgh Riverhounds  Tampa Bay Rowdies  Las Vegas Lights FC  Birmingham Legion FC  Indy Eleven  Memphis 901 FC  El Paso Locomotive FC  New Mexico United  Loudoun United FC  Hartford Athletic  San Diego Loyal SC  Miami FC  Oakland Roots SC  Detroit City FC  Monterey Bay F.C. 

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