A busy weekend across the Championship saw three clubs find their first wins of the season, some of the league’s leading scorers continue their strong starts to the campaign, and some performances that weren’t immediately rewarded but showed promise for the weeks to come.

Here are seven things we learned from the past weekend of action.

1. The feistiness Orange County, Sacramento showed was enlivening

The longevity of the series between Orange County SC and Sacramento Republic FC, now spanning more than a decade, hasn’t always led to the sort of enmity you’d associate with other rivalries in the league, but the intensity both sides showed – including a late flare-up as Ethan Zubak was receiving treatment with OCSC out of substitutes and Republic FC desperate to try and get play resumed in search of an equalizer – brought a serious edge to the contest at Championship Soccer Stadium.

In the end, Orange County held on for its 2-1 win in a game that saw the hosts put on a stellar attacking display in the first half and then work hard to close things out defensively in the second. After the break, OCSC goalkeeper Colin Shutler did outstanding work, but he was backed by his teammates who also blocked four shots, including three in a crucial passage with 14 minutes to go as Sacramento hammered away looking for the net.

“I was pleased with how we played in the first half,” said Stone. “Second half was very different. It was a different type of way to win in the second half, though, Sacramento, as you would expect, had to come at us and had to throw more players forwards, had to become even more physically powerful.

“And, it was pleasing tonight to see the team in a very combative way in the second half and putting their bodies on the line. … After you've played the way you want to play, you also have to make sure you compete and you do whatever is required sometimes to win a game.”

This was an important game for both sides, who each entered on three-game winless runs. Orange County showed its skillfulness and speed, but also a level of steel that was impressive to come away with all three points.

2. Miami FC’s continued success against San Antonio is a marvel

Two-hundred and twenty-four days on from the last time it occurred, Miami FC won a USL Championship contest on Saturday night. And yet, it might not have been a surprise at all.

See, this is apparently what happens now when Miami faces San Antonio FC. Two years ago, the side ended San Antonio FC’s lengthy home undefeated streak, becoming the only team to win at Toyota Field in the 2023 season.

Last year, Miami became the first team to defeat San Antonio after conceding the opening goal, ending a run of 65 games without defeat for SAFC when it had scored the opening goal.

Whatever it is, there’s something marvelous happening for Miami in this series. More importantly for the side, this wasn’t lucky, just a good result powered by a pair of first-half goals from Daltyn Knutson and Francisco Bonfiglio as the visitors were able to close out in the second half.

“It was amazing to score my first goal this season and was really special to do it in back in Texas in front of a bunch of my friends and family,” said Knutson. “The team had a really good response after to get the second goal as well and go up 2-0 going into the half.”

3. Cal Jennings, MD Myers are going to be a problem

Want to know something fun about Cal Jennings and MD Myers’ first start together for the Charleston Battery? Over the 84 minutes the two shared the field before Jennings’ departure, they completed one pass apiece to each other.

And that, surprisingly, is fine. We all know what Jennings is on the field for, and while he’s shown the ability to be creative in the past, with the Battery he’s only completed 45 passes in five appearances. What’s more important is the two showed a fine understanding of where they can help each other get space. That made for consistent danger, and in the end Myers provided an assist in their 2-1 win against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and Jennings provided the 80th-minute winner.

“MD paired with Cal tonight causes a unique look,” said Battery Head Coach Ben Pirmann. “I thought Emilio [Ycaza] and Juan David [Torres] did a very good job in their structure to play in the lanes that we needed them. As we get a little bit healthier and a little bit fitter and just a little bit better, then the performances [will] continue to stand out.”

When Jennings signed with the Battery, it felt like he and Myers could fit together well. On first showing, there’s real promise there.

4. Loudoun United found the right balance

One of the hallmarks of visiting the Tampa Bay Rowdies at Al Lang Stadium over the last few years has been how much pressure they’ll try to apply to you, effectively attempting to tilt the field toward the opposing goal.

That was on display again as interim Head Coach Steve Coleman led the side after Friday’s dismissal of former Head Coach Robbie Neilson, but the club Coleman had joined the Rowdies from – Loudoun United FC – showed enough mettle to counter that and come away with a deserved 2-1 victory to spoil the Rowdies’ homecoming.

For all intents, Loudoun matched the Rowdies in terms of their attacking aggression and position, but when they got to the final third the surprise Eastern Conference contender carved out better chances. Abdellatif Aboukoura should have given the side the lead in the opening half, but converted from the spot after the break before Wesley Leggett added an insurance goal with five minutes to go. Loudoun has now won five of six to start the season, and in this outing again showed why its strategy of growing with the players that took a step forward last season was the right call.

“It was another tremendous performance from the guys,” said Loudoun Head Coach Ryan Martin. “We knew it was going to be a tough matchup, especially since Steve [Coleman] was here with us all last season. Our guys just stuck to the gameplan, and I am really proud of how they persevered.”

5. New Mexico is finding the fine margins, again

One of the notable elements from New Mexico’s push into top spot in the Western Conference a season ago was its ability to earn one-goal victories. In all, the opening 10 wins the side took in 2024 were by that margin, including some that needed late heroics.

One of those was on the road at North Carolina FC, when Sergio Rivas’ stoppage-time goal earned a 3-2 win on the east coast. This Saturday at Isotopes Park, it was a new hero in club debutant Thomas Amang whose close-range redirection delivered a 1-0 win for the side, which has now taken all four of its wins by a lone goal this season to move to second in the West.

“Look, you just got to keep going sometimes,” said United Head Coach Dennis Sanchez. “And I thought that we were more vertical at the right times tonight. I thought we created more goal-scoring opportunities. And again, I feel like [if] you walk away with a tie, you probably want more. But I feel like, again, we were the deserving team tonight.”

6. Things are going to come good for the Switchbacks

If there’s any silver lining to the start Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC has made in its USL Championship title defense – which suffered a 2-1 defeat against Monterey Bay FC on Saturday night – it’s at least better through five games a season ago when the team had lost all five games.

There are certainly things to be concerned about. Mayele Malango’s winner with seven minutes to go for Monterey Bay was the fourth goal Colorado Springs has conceded in the last 15 minutes of games this season, tied for the most in the league. While it didn’t apply in Saturday’s game, the side has also dropped five points from leading positions this season.

But there was more than enough in Monterey Bay to make you feel confident the Switchbacks will find their feet and get back up the standings. The side outshot its hosts 15-7 overall and 7-5 in shots on target and it took a stellar display by MBFC’s Nico Campuzano to keep his side in the game. That should bear out in results down the road for Head Coach James Chambers and his side.

7. We’re still concerned about Oakland Roots

As with Miami, Oakland Roots SC found its first win of the season on Saturday night with a 2-1 result against FC Tulsa at ONEOK Field. There was a good story for Roots coming out of the game, too, as Wolfgang Prentice scored his first two-goal game in the Championship. The 24-year-old is now in his fourth season with Oakland, and now finally appears to have cemented a place in the lineup after loan stints in USL League One the past three seasons.

As positive as that was for Roots, the overall way the game played out still left some concern. Tulsa dominated much of the contest, including a second half when it outshot its visitors 17-4, only for its wayward finishing to leave it on the short end of the result. Through five games, Oakland’s Expected Goals Against mark sits second-highest in the league at 8.61xGA, giving it a league-lowest -5.39 Expected Goal Differential. Those aren’t the numbers of a team that’s turning a corner, at least not yet.