skip navigation

Four questions for Wednesday night’s USL Championship national doubleheader

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 05/27/25, 1:30PM EDT

Share

San Antonio FC plays host to FC Tulsa, while Phoenix Rising heads to visit Las Vegas Lights on CBS Sports Network, TUDN


FC Tulsa's Taylor Calheira has been one of the Championship best all-around forwards since his arrival from New York City FC this offseason. | Photo courtesy Courtney Tinius / FC Tulsa

Week 13 in the USL Championship begins and ends on Wednesday night with the second full round of the USL Jägermeister Cup set for this weekend, and it includes a nationally televised doubleheader on both CBS Sports Network and TUDN.

San Antonio FC will play host to FC Tulsa in a top-four clash in the Western Conference at 8 p.m. ET before Phoenix Rising FC looks to continue its recent upturn in form as it visits Las Vegas Lights FC at 10:30 p.m. ET.

Here are four questions we have ahead of the action.

  • 1. Can San Antonio FC figure out its home form?

San Antonio FC got out to a flyer with four consecutive wins to start the season but since then the side’s form has fluctuated, winning only once in league play since the end of March. A large part of that has been the club’s home form, where it’s now split three wins and three losses at Toyota Field, including a 2-1 defeat to Oakland Roots SC in its last outing at the venue. That defeat added to a run of conceding at least two goals at home, which is now at four games. After suffering a four-goal drubbing on the road at the Charleston Battery with veteran center back Mitchell Taintor sidelined last time out, there’s a bit of pressure on Head Coach Carlos Llamosa and his side to tighten up.

  • 2. Is FC Tulsa’s Taylor Calheira ready for his closeup?

Wednesday night will mark Tulsa’s first game on CBS Sports Network this season and give the broader audience a chance to see forward Taylor Calheira (pictured above) for the first time. The 23-year-old isn’t setting the league on fire in the way Cal Jennings is currently, but he’s bagged five goals in his first eight games in the Championship after being acquired from New York City FC via a transfer this offseason and found the net in the USL Jägermeister Cup and U.S. Open Cup. What’s more, Calheira’s doing the work in his all-around game – he currently rates second to Charleston’s Juan David Torres in American Soccer Analysis’ Goals Added metric at +3.76. He should get attention from San Antonio’s back line, but will be one to watch as Tulsa looks to add to a strong start.

  • 3. Can Las Vegas Lights loosen the reins a little more?

We want to give Las Vegas Lights and Head Coach Antonio Nocerino a little credit. Having been aggressively defensive-minded at times this season, after scoring with their only shot of the first half against El Paso Locomotive FC on Saturday night they got aggressive with their substitutes. Bringing on United States youth international Nighte Pickering and winger Joe Gyau as halftime substitutes and Christian Pinzón during the second half loosened up the game and made the Lights a threat in the attack despite the side falling to a 2-1 defeat to Locomotive. It might go against Nocerino’s instincts of how he wants his side to play, but it sure looked more interesting. Hosting Phoenix, we’d like to see a bit more of that to get things moving back in the right direction after three games without a victory.

  • 4. Has Rising figured things out defensively?

There are no two ways about it, for the first eight games of the regular season, Phoenix Rising was a mess defensively. The side averaged 1.67 Expected Goals Against, 15.5 shots faced, and 4.75 shots on target faced per game. Over the past two outings, however, Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah’s structure has clicked into place. Phoenix has earned victories in each of its past two league contests against Western leader New Mexico United and Monterey Bay FC while allowing only 18 shots and two shots on target, with the side’s midfield helping screen opponents away to the sidelines, reducing the number of high-quality chances the team is facing. Going into Las Vegas, Rising will be looking for its first three-game winning streak in USL Championship play since it lifted the 2023 league title. It could end the night in the top four if it does.

Follow the USL Championship

Most Recent News

Most Read News

Latest Videos