skip navigation

USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 17

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 07/03/23, 3:00PM EDT

Share

Orange County moves into Top 10 as it starts to hit stride in recent weeks

A few weeks ago, there was a definitive gap between the teams in the top eight in the Western Conference and those that looked like also-rans in the playoff race.

But, such is the competitiveness we’re seeing this season, that picture is looking a whole lot different now.

After this past weekend, there are now six points separating eight teams between fourth and 11th position in the standings. As we’ll often point out about this time of year, wins are gold, and draws can be death when it comes to a side’s playoff prospects, and you only need look at Orange County SC to see how.

The 2021 title winners are back in contention as they enter the second half of the season with Saturday’s 3-1 comeback victory against Monterey Bay F.C. the club’s fourth in its past five games to shift give the sort of momentum it has lacked in the past 18 months.

It was also the first time OCSC had won a game after trailing at halftime in more than two years, and while there were ups and downs the rest of that season on the way to claiming the crown for the first time, these are the sort of moments that can galvanize a squad to rise higher.

“I think the commitment into the group and the ability to invest in the team and I think the quality that we have in the team is also showing,” said interim Head Coach Morten Karlsen. “The fitness levels are going up and you can see as we grow as a team.”

As crowded as the field currently looks, a winning run in the next few weeks could provide the difference between being alive in October, or looking ahead to a long winter.

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

7 PHX, RGV 7 MEM

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary
1 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(9-4-4)
Week 18: v. OAK		 2
Last Week:
3		 The Rowdies weren’t at their best taking victory in Las Vegas but JJ Williams’ exceptional finish saw them through to another good three points.
2 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(8-2-7)
Week 18: v. SAC		 3
Last Week:
5		 The Hounds are undefeated in 10 games after Saturday’s draw against LouCity but we’re going to get a good measure of how good this team can be in the next few weeks.
3 Sacramento Republic FC
(9-2-6)
Week 18: @ PIT		 1
Last Week:
4		 Republic FC will be annoyed to not have seen out the win against Rio Grande Valley FC. They’re on top of the West, sure, but that was an opportunity to rebuild some separation from El Paso.
4 El Paso Locomotive FC
(9-4-3)
Week 18: @ MB		 3
Last Week:
1		 Locomotive FC’s undefeated streak came to an end in dramatic fashion but there just didn’t seem to be enough creativity from the hosts to earn a result in front of a club-record crowd.
5 San Antonio FC
(7-3-7)
Week 18: @ MEM		 5
Last Week:
10		 The flow of the game might have seemed to favor Legion FC on Saturday night but make no mistake this is the sort of game that SAFC thrives in. Back into third place with more big tests to come.
6 Phoenix Rising FC
(6-4-7)
Week 18: @ MIA		 7
Last Week:
13		 Saturday night was the first time Rising FC had scored six goals in a game since the end of the 2021 regular season. If this is fully up to speed, then we could be looking at a rapid rise in the standings.
7 Charleston Battery
(9-5-4)
Week 18: --- 		4
Last Week:
11		 The Battery seemed to go into cruise control a little bit early in the second half up a goal and a player against Loudoun United but weren’t punished and ended up with a solid victory.
8 Louisville City FC
(7-4-5)
Week 18: v. LDN		 1
Last Week:
7		 LouCity is undefeated in 10 visits to Highmark Stadium after Saturday’s scoreless draw but we’re going to have to keep banging the drum about the finishing problems the side has.
9 Memphis 901 FC
(8-3-4)
Week 18: v. SA		 7
Last Week:
2		 901 FC had never conceded six goals in a game before Saturday's defeat in Phoenix. The most disconcerting part? It could have been more.
10 Orange County SC
(6-8-4)
Week 18: @ RGV		 5
Last Week:
15		 Three straight wins and four in the past five games overall and Orange County is on the move. Good to see people other than Milan Iloski on the scoresheet as well.
11 Monterey Bay F.C.
(7-4-5)
Week 18: @ COS, v. ELP		 5
Last Week:
6		 That was an absolute bombardment Monterey Bay had to endure in the second half against Orange County. Tough way for the winning streak to end.
12 Birmingham Legion FC
(7-8-1)
Week 18: @ LV		 3
Last Week:
9		 Legion FC became the latest side to understand you just can’t afford to concede the opening goal against San Antonio FC. The comeback effort was good, so at least there were some positives.
13 Rio Grande Valley FC
(4-5-8)
Week 18: v. OC 		7
Last Week:
20		 Don’t look now but the Toros are starting to put together the pieces for a typical second-half run into a lower playoff seed. Four points from two games in NorCal was impressive.
14 Oakland Roots SC
(6-5-5)
Week 18: @ TBR 		6
Last Week:
8		 This is the moment when an undefeated streak turns into a winless run, and with a trip to face Tampa Bay up next the pressure is going to be on Roots SC to find something good as the playoff picture gets crowded.
15 Indy Eleven
(5-6-5)
Week 18: v. TUL		 1
Last Week:
14		 It’s a sort of chicken or the egg question – did Indy fight back to earn a result down to 10 men, or was it handed to them on a platter by a profligate opponent? Either way, take the point and run.
16 New Mexico United
(6-7-3)
Week 18: @ LV, v. DET		 1
Last Week:
17		 That was exactly the sort of goal Santi Moar needed to get some confidence. That it earned a victory against United’s biggest rival – one which on balance it probably deserved – was the cherry on top.
17 San Diego Loyal SC
(6-5-6)
Week 18: @ HFD		 5
Last Week:
12		 For a second straight week, SD Loyal found a way to give away a result in a game it had a measure of control over. That’s not good at all.
18 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(8-9-1)
Week 18: v. MB		 1
Last Week:
19		 The Switchbacks are fifth in the Western Conference. That means they’re somewhat good, right? We’re still not quite sure ourselves.
19 FC Tulsa
(3-7-7)
Week 18: @ IND		 2
Last Week:
21		 It’s nigh-on impossible to have one player carry a side to a playoff place on his own – see Milan Iloski last season – but goodness me Phillip Goodrum might be about to give it a try.
20 Detroit City FC
(4-9-4)
Week 18: @ NM		 4
Last Week:
16		 Le Rouge still haven’t picked up a point this season in a game in which they’ve conceded the opening goal. Friday night’s loss in Tulsa, though, was a tough one to take.
21 Loudoun United FC
(5-12-1)
Week 18: v. HFD, @ LOU
 1
Last Week:
20		 Loudoun isn’t among the league-leaders in shots faced, or shots on target faced, which makes the leaks the defense has sprung all the more concerning.
22 Las Vegas Lights FC
(1-9-6)
Week 18: v. NM, v. BHM		 1
Last Week:
23		 Lights FC overall played well against Tampa Bay, but just couldn’t find the quality in finishing the visitors have at their disposal. Fine margins that become chasms in the standings.
23 Hartford Athletic
(2-10-4)
Week 18: @ LDN, v. SD		 1
Last Week:
22		 The Omid Namazi era starts tonight for the Athletic. A win isn’t out of the question in Loudoun.
24 Miami FC
(2-8-7)
Week 18: v. PHX
Last Week:
24		 At this point it feels like it’s as much about the confidence level for Miami as anything. They just need to find a way to break the current downward cycle. What better moment to do it than against Phoenix?

Follow the USL Championship

Most Recent News

View All |

Most Read News

View All

Latest Videos

View All |

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. 

Share