You know the season’s begun when teams are already posting about their position on the USL Championship’s Power Rankings, a completely arbitrary means of judging where a team stands that actually matters very little in the grand scheme of things.

Congratulations, Loudoun United FC social media team. You made us laugh, at least.

Loudoun is on top of the Eastern Conference after two games, and is one of three teams that weren’t popular preseason picks to get out of the blocks well alongside Monterey Bay F.C. and Oakland Roots SC.

So, maybe a quick look at whether this feels for real or not is needed?

Loudoun United FC (1-0-1, 4pts, +2GD) – Two impressive results here, for sure, including rallying for a point while down a player at San Antonio FC. At the same time, we remember last year – the great start to the season, the promise of it being a turning point, and how it all ended up with five wins in the last 31 games of the season.

There are echoes of that here. Loudoun has five goals on 1.53 Expected Goals – small sample size, certainly, but maybe destined to cool off – but it feels like there’s also something more substantial in place here as well. Head Coach Ryan Martin has been well-admired by his peers for a while, and now he could have the squad to make it work.

Monterey Bay F.C. (1-0-1, 4pts, +1GD) – Taking a first win against Phoenix Rising FC in club history was big, but how Monterey Bay played in its victory on Saturday was bigger. The hosts pressed the defending title holders, carried more of the play, and deserved their three points.

What was maybe most telling came after the game, though, in Head Coach Frank Yallop’s comments. “We’re trying to work on that, especially this year with the guys we have that are willing and able to fight and run and do the right things and listen to the coaching.” Change can be a good thing to break old habits.