In retrospect, 2022 was the outlier.

Since the USL Championship era began in 2011, San Antonio FC’s 3-1 victory against Louisville City FC marks the only time the top two point-getters in the USL Championship’s regular season squared off in the USL Championship Final, when Santiago Patiño capped an epic postseason with two goals and MVP honors.

This year, we’re back to the sort of chaos that has typified the USL Championship Playoffs historically. After last week’s road victories for Rhode Island FC at Players’ Shield winner Louisville City and Las Vegas Lights FC’s elimination of the West’s No. 1 seed New Mexico United, away teams are now 5-7 this postseason.

It’s part of the deal with the single-elimination bracket the league has used every season and its win-or-go-home decisiveness.

But this year, it could also be part of a shift in the landscape that could see each of the three potential first-time title winners become a perennial power within the league for years to come.

• RIFC RISING: Expectations were high for Rhode Island going into its inaugural season with an eye on the move into the club’s permanent home in 2025. Despite that, Head Coach Khano Smith’s side has blown all of those out of the water already. Saturday’s 3-0 victory on the road at Louisville City was another high point in a run that could see the side become only the second expansion team to win it all after Sacramento Republic FC 10 years ago.

• LIGHT IT UP: In Las Vegas, there was curiosity as to what the Lights’ new regime led by José Bautista could deliver in a short time after last year’s three-win campaign. Now the team is thriving on the field under Head Coach Dennis Sanchez, not only reaching its first postseason but advancing twice. Off the field, the club is also showing the ambition that can carry it even further no matter what happens this weekend. It was intriguing to last week hear Bautista talk about potentially creating a “soccer-first venue” for the club on ESPN’s Futbol Americas. 

• SWITCHED ON: By comparison, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC has been on the verge of this moment for a hot minute. Two years ago, it fell in the Western Conference Final to San Antonio FC, but the brain trust led by Sporting Director Stephen Hogan, Head Coach James Chambers and Technical Director Alan McCann have made incremental improvements to make this the most well-rounded side Colorado Springs has seen. With Weidner Field one of the toughest places to visit in the league since it opened, all the pieces are in place for the Switchbacks to be a contender for years to come.

Make no mistake, the clubs that have come to be known as perennial powers in the league aren’t going anywhere. The likes of Louisville City, Republic FC, San Antonio, the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Phoenix Rising FC will redouble their efforts this offseason in pursuit of a title in 2025.

There are also teams like the fourth club in this weekend’s Conference Finals, the Charleston Battery, who have shown how to thrive as a smaller-market club with smart scouting and coaching and a passionate fan-base. Their showdown with Rhode Island on Saturday night is going to be must-see.

But there’s no denying the ambition being shown around the Championship at clubs that want to elbow their way into being identified as a title challenger year-in and year-out.

In the long term, that will only make the league – and its postseason – even more competitive.