For a certain segment of fans, the accomplishment of earning the best record in the regular season is more valuable than being the side that lifts the trophy after the USL Championship Final. Proving your quality game-in and game-out certainly has its virtues, especially in the USL Championship’s current era of balanced schedules between conference and interconference play.

Some campaigns – such as that recently completed by Louisville City FC – stand among the best we’ve seen in the USL Championship era from 2011 to the present day. We’ve picked out four that have a strong case for being the best we’ve seen in regular season history among the league’s current clubs.

Here are the arguments for each of those clubs. Then we want to hear from you – which club should sit at the top of the list?

Phoenix Rising FC, 2019 – 24-4-6, 78pts, +53GD

The only place you can start with Phoenix Rising’s 2019 squad is the streak. Rising’s run of 20 consecutive victories doubled the previous mark in the USL Championship era, stands as the longest winning streak in American outdoor history, and is something that we’ll almost certainly never see again. Partly powered by Dollar Beer Nights – which saw the Bud Light Knight join the pregame team photo – the side was an attacking juggernaut, recording a league-record 89 goals.

It also boasted the only trio in league history to each record at least 15 goals for the same club. Player of the Year Solomon Asante (22 goals), Adam Jahn (17 goals) and Junior Flemmings (15 goals) each reached that mark, with Asante adding a single-season record 17 assists. Rising wasn’t a defensive slouch, either, allowing 36 goals, but it was hard to stop when it gained a lead, dropping only two points from winning positions all season.

Tampa Bay Rowdies, 2021 – 23-7-2, 71pts, +32GD

The Rowdies recorded the fewest points and suffered the most defeats of the quartet, but this side’s defensive quality meant that if you fell behind against Tampa Bay, you weren’t going to find a way back, and that puts them in this elite category. Led by Goalkeeper of the Year Evan Louro, Defender of the Year Forrest Lasso and fellow center backs Aaron Guillen and Jordan Scarlett, the Rowdies conceded only 23 goals in 32 regular season games for a 0.72 goals-against average over the campaign.

With the attacking duo – and best friends – Sebastián Guenzatti and Leo Fernandes leading the way in attack with 18 goals and 10 assists respectively, the Rowdies put together the longest winning streak (9 games) and undefeated streak (12 games) in the campaign, and posted the longest shutout streak in league history, recording eight consecutive clean sheets during a run of not allowing a goal in 891 minutes. The side also posted the unmatchable mark of dropping zero points in games in which it held a lead – one of only two Players’ Shield winners alongside Orlando City SC in 2014 to accomplish that feat.

San Antonio FC, 2022 – 24-5-5, 77pts, +28GD

San Antonio reached its apex as a take-no-prisoners juggernaut during the 2022 campaign when only two of its standouts were named to the USL Championship’s All-League Team – Goalkeeper of the Year Jordan Farr and Defender of the Year Mitchell Taintor – but the overall combination of high pressure and defensive pressure delivered results at an astonishing rate. San Antonio’s foundation was also in the defensive third as the side conceded only 26 goals in 34 games for a 0.76 goals-against average while Farr equaled a USL Championship record with 15 shutouts individually.

San Antonio’s attack, meanwhile, boasted a pair of double-digit goalscorers in Samuel Adeniran (12 goals) and Santiago Patiño (11 goals) who led the way in the final third, but the glue to the side were the likes of do-it-all defender/midfielder Connor Maloney, central midfield play-breaker PC, and a supporting cast that helped the side become a formidable unit that always found a way to respond to adversity. After each of its five defeats in the season, San Antonio responded with a win. The side also went 21-0-1 when scoring first, dropping only two points from winning positions all season.

Louisville City FC, 2024 – 24-6-4, 76pts, +43GD

Louisville City FC’s 10th anniversary season saw the club achieve club records for wins – equaling the single-season record – and obliterate the single-season records for home dominance but do so in a manner that moved in the opposite direction of its predecessors. Where Phoenix, Tampa Bay and San Antonio were lockdown merchants of the highest order, LouCity was never in a game it could truly be counted out of. Head Coach Danny Cruz’s side conceded 43 goals but doubled that total in attack to sit second to Phoenix with 86 goals as the side earned 23 points from losing positions, one off the highest total amassed in a single Championship regular season.

The attack featured Wilson Harris, whose single-season best 19 goals led a group of nine players who recorded at least four goals. That attack powered LouCity to 10 games in which it recorded four-or-more goals, a single-season USL Championship record. Eight of those performances came at home as the side went 16-1-0 at Lynn Family Stadium while recording 58 goals – an average of 3.41 goals per game – two marks that are going to be incredibly difficult to surpass in future seasons.