As under the pump as Birmingham Legion FC was feeling going into Sunday evening’s home game against El Paso Locomotive FC – winless in all competitions so far in 2025, resulting in the first coaching change of the campaign on Wednesday with the departure of Tom Soehn – there’s something about coming out from that with a victory that can at least feel like a step in the right direction.
It might not have seemed quite as comfortable as the final 3-1 scoreline indicated, but thanks to Ronaldo Damus’ two-goal performance and the help of the woodwork late on Daniel Carter’s close-range chance to equalize for the visitors, Birmingham finally got what they were looking for.
“We needed that,” said Damus, who now has four goals in the league this campaign. “[These first few games] haven’t been easy, but that happens in life. Individually, we are all so good. Today, we played together, and we had success.”
Legion wasn’t the only team to break its duck in league play this weekend.
Miami FC did so as well, coming through with victory at San Antonio FC that continued one of the most peculiar streaks currently ongoing in the Championship. Miami has won four league games in the past two seasons, and two have come against SAFC, running the overall streak to three wins in a row for the Florida side in the interconference series.
Oakland Roots, meanwhile, broke through with a 2-1 win on the road against FC Tulsa on Saturday night as Wolfgang Prentice bagged both goals. Of the three sides, there still feels like the most work to be done in Oakland to find a path to consistent success, but this is at least a start.
On a weekend where numerous frontrunners continued to stake their claim as contenders with wins further up the standings, the tension closer to the bottom should feel alleviated.
Here are this week’s rankings.
Rank |
Team |
Change |
Summary |
|
1 | ![]() |
Louisville City FC (3-0-2) Week 7: @ TBR |
![]() Last Week: 1 |
LouCity had the weekend off before a notable Open Cup clash with Loudoun United, against which they’ve never lost at home in six meetings. |
2 | ![]() |
Charleston Battery (3-2-0) Week 7: @ IND |
![]() Last Week: 2 |
The Battery looked in fine fettle on Saturday night against Pittsburgh. If that’s where the standard is going to be, this team is going to be the threat we expected. |
3 | ![]() |
Monterey Bay FC (4-1-1) Week 7: @ LEX |
![]() Last Week: 3 |
Monterey Bay has scored nine second-half goals and only allowed one. That’s the best mark in both categories, and a serious difference-maker. |
4 | ![]() |
Loudoun United FC (5-1-0) Week 7: vs. PIT |
![]() Last Week: 5 |
Loudoun’s decision to double-down on the players it had last season is paying off handsomely right now, and Abdellatif Aboukoura’s already matched his 2024 goal total. |
5 | ![]() |
New Mexico United (4-1-0) Week 7: --- |
![]() Last Week: 6 |
New Mexico took five shots in nine seconds in the second minute of second-half stoppage time against North Carolina. Thomas Amang’s winner was the last of them, earning a big victory. |
6 | ![]() |
Detroit City FC (3-1-2) Week 7: vs. RI |
![]() Last Week: 13 |
Detroit City’s comeback was one of the most remarkable in Championship history. It also showed how valuable Darren Smith could end up being this season. |
7 | ![]() |
San Antonio FC (4-2-0) Week 7: --- |
![]() Last Week: 4 |
San Antonio didn’t record its first shot until it was two goals down against Miami. The effort to rally was decent, but they’ve got to get going more quickly. |
8 | ![]() |
North Carolina FC (2-2-2) Week 7: @ MIA |
![]() Last Week: 8 |
The risk you run when you cede possession on the road is one random moment is going to prove costly. That’s what happened to NCFC in New Mexico after having a season-low 23.8 percent of the ball. |
9 | ![]() |
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (1-2-2) Week 7: vs. ELP |
![]() Last Week: 7 |
Colorado Springs’ performance likely deserved something in Monterey Bay, but they’re going to have to stop letting in late goals. |
10 | ![]() |
FC Tulsa (3-2-0) Week 7: @ LV |
![]() Last Week: 9 |
Tulsa fell against Oakland, but we still felt good about their performance. On another day the hosts get something out of that contest and maybe win it. |
11 | ![]() |
Orange County SC (2-2-1) Week 7: @ OAK |
![]() Last Week: 19 |
Orange County had to battle through the second half to pick up a big win against Republic FC on Saturday. That’s a big statement for a team with no shortage of flair. |
12 | ![]() |
Sacramento Republic FC (1-2-2) Week 7: @ PHX |
![]() Last Week: 10 |
Lewis Jamieson made a great start, but we’re starting to wonder if Sebastián Herrera might be the better player to sit at the top of Republic FC’s attack. |
13 | ![]() |
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (2-2-1) Week 7: @ LDN |
![]() Last Week: 11 |
The Hounds were surprisingly off the pace against Charleston, giving the Battery too much time and space. Don’t expect that to happen again soon. |
14 | ![]() |
Indy Eleven (1-1-2) Week 7: vs. CHS |
![]() Last Week: 14 |
Indy’s ice-out in Hartford gave the side some extra rest before a two-game week. It should expect a more lively Miami side than it faced to open the season in Wednesday’s Open Cup game. |
15 | ![]() |
Rhode Island FC (1-2-1) Week 7: @ DET | ![]() Last Week: 15 |
RIFC is going to host a sellout in its inaugural home game in May at Centreville Bank Stadium. We’d expect that to be a trend this season. |
16 | ![]() |
Birmingham Legion FC (1-2-2) Week 7: @ HFD |
![]() Last Week: 21 |
Legion is finally in the win column this season with Ronaldo Damus getting another pair of goals. They’ve just got to hang in until some more veterans get healthy. |
17 | ![]() |
El Paso Locomotive FC (2-2-2) Week 7: @ COS |
![]() Last Week: 12 |
Locomotive was so close to a stoppage-time equalizer by Daniel Carter. Bit of a shame given the three-game winning run the side was on across all competitions. |
18 | ![]() |
Lexington SC (1-2-3) Week 7: vs. MB |
![]() Last Week: 18 |
Saturday was the first time Lexington failed to break 1.00 Expected Goals this season on a season-fewest seven shots. Safe to say, the Lights defensive block stifled things. |
19 | ![]() |
Miami FC (1-4-0) Week 7: vs. NC |
![]() Last Week: 22 |
Of course it was San Antonio that Miami finally broke its winless run against. Now, let’s see what happens against a different opponent. |
20 | ![]() |
Las Vegas Lights FC (2-1-2) Week 7: vs. TUL |
![]() Last Week: 16 |
Only Orange County has won possession fewer times than Las Vegas’ nine so far this season. The difference is OCSC has enterprise in attack, while the Lights aren’t much fun to watch yet. |
21 | ![]() |
Tampa Bay Rowdies (1-4-0) Week 7: vs. LOU |
![]() Last Week: 20 |
The Rowdies are looking for a new Head Coach after the departure of Robbie Neilson on Friday, but are still stuck in neutral after falling to Loudoun. |
22 | ![]() |
Oakland Roots SC (1-4-1) Week 7: vs. OC |
![]() Last Week: 23 |
Roots picked up their first win of the season but weren’t all that convincing in Tulsa. They’re going to need to be better to make sure they advance on the road in the Open Cup. |
23 | ![]() |
Phoenix Rising FC (1-3-2) Week 7: vs. SAC |
![]() Last Week: 17 |
Rising hadn’t lost after holding a two-goal lead in more than a decade before Saturday. Painful lesson for Pa-Modou Kah’s young squad. |
24 | ![]() |
Hartford Athletic (0-4-0) Week 7: vs. BHM |
![]() Last Week: 24 |
With the way results went this weekend for the other winless teams – who all picked up victories – it’s another slice of misfortune for Hartford its game was postponed by the weather. |
Tag(s): Power Rankings San Antonio FC CO Spring Switchbacks Orange County SC Phoenix Rising FC Sacramento Republic FC FC Tulsa Charleston Battery Louisville City FC Pittsburgh Riverhounds Tampa Bay Rowdies Las Vegas Lights FC Birmingham Legion FC North Carolina FC Indy Eleven El Paso Locomotive FC New Mexico United Loudoun United FC Hartford Athletic Miami FC Oakland Roots SC Detroit City FC Monterey Bay FC Rhode Island FC Lexington SC