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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 10

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 05/12/25, 5:00PM EDT

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Once again, the Western Conference is proving to be extremely unpredictable

Over the past four games, can you name the hottest team in the USL Championship’s Western Conference?

If you said Oakland Roots SC – a team that is currently below the playoff line – then you win the prize of having stared at the standings for too long this morning.

After earning only one point from their first five games, Roots have taken nine points from their past four outings, including Saturday’s 2-1 win on the road at San Antonio FC, their first against SAFC in club history.

Sure, it came under somewhat fortuitous circumstances – Peter Wilson is unlikely to be gifted a goal in the same manner again in his career for what proved to be Oakland’s game-winner – but it sums up the state of the Western Conference.

We think there are some good teams out West.

Some of them are living up to their current points total according to American Soccer Analysis’ Expected Points metric – see San Antonio FC at the top of the pile at 14.73xP, or El Paso Locomotive at 13.59xP.

Some are overperforming the same metric – New Mexico United, for example, which sits on 15 points on a 9.63xP mark. There are also some notable underachievers like Sacramento Republic FC – 10 points on 14.35xP – or Lexington SC, which sits in the basement on 7 points despite a 13.24xP mark.

All these projections, though, melt away when it comes down to a key question – who do you trust to go out and win you a game right now?

As we enter the second quarter of the season, it’s still tricky to pin down.

Biggest Movers

7 OAK 5 NM, SA

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary
1 Charleston Battery
(6-2-0)
Week 11: vs. SA		 1
Last Week:
2		 The Battery have won five in a row in the league while Cal Jennings and MD Myers have combined for 12 goals in eight games. Add in the rest of the attacking power this side has and that’s trouble.
2 Loudoun United FC
(7-2-0)
Week 11: @ MIA 		2
Last Week:
4		 Did Loudoun get the benefit of a couple of decisions going in their favor against Lexington SC? Most likely. Are they also very good indeed? Absolutely.
3 Louisville City FC
(5-0-3)
Week 11: @ HFD		 2
Last Week:
1		 LouCity is still undefeated but isn’t showing the cutting edge it did a season ago. That was always going to be hard to live up to, but it’s still a surprise to see the side on the fringe of the Top 10 in goals.
4 Detroit City FC
(4-1-4)
Week 11: @ BHM		 1
Last Week:
3		 Le Rouge are undefeated in their past five games, but couldn’t find a way past Hartford Athletic’s Antony Siaha on Saturday evening. Will be looking for better against Birmingham this weekend.
5 El Paso Locomotive FC
(3-2-4)
Week 11: vs. IND		 1
Last Week:
6		 Andy Cabrera continued his strong recent form, and while Locomotive will be disappointed to have conceded late on, their three-game undefeated run is currently tied for the longest in the West.
6 Sacramento Republic FC
(2-2-4)
Week 11: vs. LV		 3
Last Week:
9		 After the points they’ve dropped previously this season, Republic FC found a way back for a point against Indy. Still only one win at home this season, though.
7 Indy Eleven
(1-2-4)
Week 11: @ ELP		 3
Last Week:
10		 The Boys in Blue still can’t hold onto a lead and have only themselves to blame after Edward Kizza’s clumsy challenge in stoppage time. The underlying numbers are still good, but they need to start earning results.
8 Miami FC
(2-4-1)
Week 11: vs. LDN
Last Week:
8		 While they were on a bye this past weekend, Miami FC has earned the most points (7) in its last three games of anyone in the Eastern Conference outside the top four.
9 Monterey Bay FC
(4-2-4)
Week 11: @ PHX 		2
Last Week:
11		 One-third of the way through their regular season, Monterey Bay is almost halfway to its point total from a season ago. We’d like to see the side get back into the win column soon, though.
10 San Antonio FC
(5-3-1)
Week 11: @ CHS		 5
Last Week:
5		 Richard Sanchez, what a calamity. Here’s the thing though – while Oakland only had seven shots, five of them were graded as Big Chances by Opta. That needs to tighten up.
11 North Carolina FC
(4-3-2)
Week 11: vs. OAK 		1
Last Week:
12		 Tip of the hat to Jake McGuire, who was outstanding against Orange County on Friday night. NCFC’s underlying numbers aren’t great, but consecutive wins have given them a nice cushion.
12 New Mexico United
(5-3-0)
Week 11: @ OC		 5
Last Week:
7		 United’s consecutive defeats against its two biggest rivals isn’t what we were expecting. They’re going to need to find a way to deliver more central attacking thrust.
13 FC Tulsa
(4-3-1)
Week 11: @ LEX		 3
Last Week:
16		 With the chances they created, it would have been unfortunate for Tulsa to not come away with something against El Paso. Sunday’s game in Lexington could be a good opportunity.
14 Oakland Roots SC
(3-5-1)
Week 11: @ NC		 7
Last Week:
21		 Saturday’s result might have come in fortuitous fashion, but Roots created some really good chances besides. That’s three wins in the last four league games to get back into the playoff picture.
15 Birmingham Legion FC
(1-3-3)
Week 11: vs. RI; vs. DET		 2
Last Week:
13		 New Legion Head Coach Mark Briggs spoke about the past week as a mini-camp ahead of Wednesday’s game with Rhode Island. We’re interested to see how they look.
16 Orange County SC
(3-4-1)
Week 11: vs. NM		 1
Last Week:
15		 Orange County did everything but score against North Carolina on Friday night. It’s a frustrating one, but should offer a little optimism that things are moving in the right direction.
17 Rhode Island FC
(1-3-3)
Week 11: @ BHM; @ TBR		 3
Last Week:
14		 Rhode Island earned another point, but the side has scored only six goals in seven games this season. There’s work to be done, starting in Birmingham.
18 Phoenix Rising FC
(2-3-4)
Week 11: vs. MB		 5
Last Week:
23		 Rising went into New Mexico with a good plan and executed it well. That’s the sort of game that can spark a season, but it needs to happen again vs. Monterey Bay.
19 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(2-4-2)
Week 11: @ COS		 5
Last Week:
24		 The Hounds still aren’t an attacking juggernaut, but they looked much more up for the battle against Louisville and deserved a point on the road. Need to start getting Augustine Williams going.
20 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(1-3-5)
Week 11: vs. PIT		 1
Last Week:
19		 The Switchbacks were the better team against the Lights but were frustrated by the defensive set-up the hosts employed. Hosting Pittsburgh on Saturday won’t offer a respite from that.
21 Las Vegas Lights FC
(3-2-3)
Week 11: @ SAC 		4
Last Week:
17		 The Lights continue to eke out points with their defensive structure. At least Valentin Noël provided some moments to get excited about on Saturday.
22 Lexington SC
(1-4-4)
Week 11: vs. TUL		 4
Last Week:
18		 This is the way things go when nothing is going right for you as a side. Lexington’s got a positive Expected Goal Differential per Opta, but it can’t get things right consistently enough in either penalty area.
23 Hartford Athletic
(1-5-1)
Week 11: vs. LOU		 3
Last Week:
20		 Hartford Athletic’s 10 shots against Detroit City was a single-game season high for the side in league play. That’s a stunning number.
24 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(1-6-1)
Week 11: vs. RI		 2
Last Week:
22		 The Rowdies tried to fight back against Charleston, but you’re not going to win games when you’re three goals down inside half-an-hour.

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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 

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