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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 24

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 08/21/23, 3:00PM EDT

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Switchbacks show value of victories in playoff pursuit after road win in Oakland

It’s quite an oddity – Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC’s 3-2 victory against Oakland Roots SC on Saturday night marked the club’s first three-game undefeated streak this season.

It also puts into perspective as we head into the final quarter of the regular season how important winning is when it comes to a club’s positioning for a playoff berth.

Consider the Switchbacks are tied for the second-most defeats in the Western Conference this season, and yet they’re in with a chance to finish in the top four and open the postseason at home for a third consecutive season.

That’s because this side also knows how to win, and in Tyreek Magee’s match-winning performance against Oakland – ably backed by Juan Tejada’s two assists – the Switchbacks again showed their drive to win games, rather than settle for a point on the road.

Colorado Springs is currently only surpassed in the win column by the current top three in the Western standings. That has the side with a five-point cushion to Rio Grande Valley FC in ninth place in the standings with nine games to go in the season.  

At the end of the season, that looks likely to make the difference between being comfortably above the playoff line or sitting nervously above or below it over the final games of the season.

 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

4 TBR, COS, BHM 6 LOU

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary
1 Orange County SC
(12-9-4)
Week 24: @ SAC
Last Week:
1		 Two shutout victories against teams that entered the week sitting first and second in the Eastern Conference and up to third place in the West. OCSC is cooking right now.
2 San Antonio FC
(13-4-8)
Week 23: v. PIT		 1
Last Week:
3		 We’re going to be glass-half-full here about Saturday. Seven points in eight days is nothing to be disappointed about, Saturday’s clash with Pittsburgh could be an epic
3 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(13-6-5)
Week 24: @ MIA		 4
Last Week:
7		 Apparently there’s something about JJ Williams and his most recent teams. He’s scored in all three games the Rowdies have played against FC Tulsa and Phoenix Rising FC this season.
4 Sacramento Republic FC
(13-3-9)
Week 24: v. OC
Last Week:
4		 On one hand, Republic FC posted its second-highest Expected Goals mark of the season on Saturday night at Loudoun United FC. At the other, there were eye-opening defensive moments that must be cleaned up.
5 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(13-5-8)
Week 24: @ HFD, @ SA		 3
Last Week:
2		 Tricky week coming up for the Hounds. They need to win against Hartford on Wednesday with the Rowdies lurking, but how do they balance that game with Saturday’s visit to San Antonio?
6 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(11-11-3)
Week 24: @ MB		 4
Last Week:
10		 The Switchbacks are on their first three-game undefeated streak this season after defeating Oakland after Tyreek Magee’s breakout game. A top-four finish is back in play.
7 San Diego Loyal SC
(10-7-7)
Week 24: @ RGV		 1
Last Week:
8		 My man Devon Kerr said on ESPN2 on Saturday night he doesn’t think we’ve seen SD Loyal at its best yet. The question is, will we this season? Or is this it?
8 Charleston Battery
(12-7-7)
Week 24: v. MEM 		2
Last Week:
6		 It’s second-guessing, but you do wonder how Saturday night turns out if Augustine Williams’ close-range chance finds the net for the Battery in Orange County. Instead, the hosts put home a pair of bangers and game over.
9 Oakland Roots SC
(10-7-7)
Week 24: @ NM, @ LOU 		4
Last Week:
5		 Oakland did a whole lot right against Colorado Springs but came out on the wrong end of the result. Nothing to be that concerned about overall.
10 Indy Eleven
(9-9-7)
Week 24: @ MEM, v. LDN		 3
Last Week:
13		 Three wins on the spin, and there’s no doubt picking up victory in his old stomping grounds was very gratifying for Indy Head Coach Mark Lowry.
11 Memphis 901 FC
(10-6-7)
Week 24: v. IND, @ CHS
Last Week:
11		 With a week off, Memphis a good portion of the results go its way. Now it faces a bit week on the field against Indy and Charleston with the top three potentially within reach.
12 Birmingham Legion FC
(10-11-3)
Week 24: @ TUL, v. DET		 4
Last Week:
16		 Diba Nwegbo didn’t officially get on the scoresheet against Louisville City FC, but his influence was key in an important win for Legion FC to get a little more breathing room.
13 Miami FC
(7-10-8)
Week 24: v. TBR 		1
Last Week:
14		 Miami got the rebound victory it needed against Hartford. Now can it step up to the mark against in-state rival Tampa Bay?
14 Rio Grande Valley FC
(7-8-10)
Week 24: v. SD		 3
Last Week:
17		 The Toros’ rotated lineup couldn’t quite get the job done in San Antonio, but beating Phoenix was the more important game of the week in the big picture and they accomplished that impressively.
15 Louisville City FC
(10-8-7)
Week 24: v. OAK 		6
Last Week:
9		 It’s starting to become a real possibility that LouCity is going to miss out on a home game to start the playoffs for the first time in its history.
16 New Mexico United
(8-10-5)
Week 24: v. OAK, v. TUL		 2
Last Week:
18		 We were looking for some kind of response from New Mexico. Amando Moreno provided it in San Diego, now United must take advantage of four consecutive home games.
17 Phoenix Rising FC
(8-8-8)
Week 24: @ LV		 5
Last Week:
12		 Five consecutive games alternating wins and losses now for Phoenix. When they’re good, they’re really, really good. When they’re not…
18 Detroit City FC
(7-12-6)
Week 24: @ BHM		 1
Last Week:
19		 It’s still going to be an uphill climb, but Le Rouge got the win it needed against Las Vegas, and that crowd was electric. Birmingham’s going to be a much bigger test.
19 FC Tulsa
(7-10-8)
Week 24: v. BHM, @ NM 		4
Last Week:
15		 One point from the past four games and Tulsa’s playoff chances are back to a toss-up. Huge week ahead against Legion FC and then out west against New Mexico.
20 Loudoun United FC
(7-17-3)
Week 24: @ IND
1
Last Week:
21		 With only seven games to go, Loudoun’s game at Indy Eleven on Saturday is a must-win. They’ll have some others in their corner hoping to see them take down the Boys in Blue as well.
21 Monterey Bay F.C.
(7-11-7)
Week 24: v. COS		 3
Last Week:
24		 Monterey Bay’s winless streak continued, but getting a clean sheet and a point on the road at San Antonio FC is no mean feat.
22 Hartford Athletic
(4-16-4)
Week 24: v. PIT, v. ELP		 2
Last Week:
20		 It’s going to take something extraordinary from here for Hartford. Even if the Athletic doubled their win total in the final 10 games, it wouldn’t be enough points on its own to overtake Tulsa or Miami.
23 Las Vegas Lights FC
(2-14-8)
Week 24: v. PHX 		1
Last Week:
22		 The way Timothie Zali’s hands immediately went to his head, he knew he’d played his team into trouble on Detroit City’s goal. Another costly mistake.
24 El Paso Locomotive FC
(9-10-5)
Week 24: @ HFD		 1
Last Week:
23		 El Paso’s defeat to Indy meant the side has now recorded double-digit undefeated and winless streaks in the same season. The last time its won was on June 14.

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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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