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USL Championship Power Rankings – Week 20

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 07/21/25, 5:00PM EDT

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Phoenix Rising’s road form is stellar, now it needs to replicate that on home turf

You’ll likely not be surprised to find out the top three teams on the road in the USL Championship this season are the top three teams in the Players’ Shield standings.

Louisville City tops the list with 18 points from nine games, with the Charleston Battery a point back on 17 points from nine games, and there’s FC Tulsa with 15 points from eight games.

The fourth, however, might surprise you.

It’s Phoenix Rising, which is currently not in line to host a postseason game in fifth place in the West, but has picked up 15 points from nine regular season road contests this season. It’s also picked up five of its seven points in the USL Jägermeister Cup on the road, rallying in both contests to stay in with a chance of a Wild Card.

The problem for Rising? Its home form hasn’t matched up.

Phoenix ranks in the bottom quarter of the league with only eight points from seven home games this season on a 2-3-2 record – only Tampa Bay and Rhode Island have fewer points on home turf – but it’s been on the road where the side has been prone to come alive, tying for the league-lead with 15 goals away from home.

It’s been fascinating to see how Rising has fared this season, especially with the confidence Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah has shown in giving the club’s young talent minutes. With seven of the club’s final 10 regular season games at home, however, the side needs to find a way to lift itself and its fans to give it a chance at a high seed in the playoffs.

Here are this week’s rankings.

Biggest Movers

6 NC 6 LV

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary
1 Charleston Battery
(13-3-2)
Week 21: vs. TBR		 1
Last Week:
2		 The Battery have reeled off eight consecutive home wins in league play and are averaging more than two goals per game overall. Pretty comprehensive display against Miami.
2 Louisville City FC
(11-1-5)
Week 21: @ LEX		 1
Last Week:
1		 Louisville City’s five draws are more than they had all last season. It’s going to be a serious fight with the Battery for first, and late slip-ups like that against Tulsa aren’t useful.
3 FC Tulsa
(8-3-5)
Week 21: @ IND
Last Week:
3		 Tulsa showed its resilience twice in one week to move top of the West, first changing things up at halftime to defeat Monterey Bay and then rallying in Louisville for a point. That’s character.
4 San Antonio FC
(8-5-3)
Week 21: vs. NM
Last Week:
4		 SAFC’s in the driver’s seat to finish top of its USL Jägermeister Cup group, and with a week to prepare it’ll be expecting to close things out against New Mexico.
5 Sacramento Republic FC
(6-4-6)
Week 21: @ SPK
Last Week:
5		 Sometimes you’ll do enough right to win and the opposing goalkeeper can’t be beat. Adding Khori Bennett to the front-line options should be a good boost.
6 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
(6-6-4)
Week 21: @ POR
Last Week:
6		 The Hounds keep moving forward with a point on the road in Detroit. Four games undefeated, things continue to look solid if unspectacular.
7 North Carolina FC
(8-6-2)
Week 21: vs. LDN		 6
Last Week:
13		 NCFC was on point against Indy on Friday night for a tremendous four-goal outburst. Best thing? The balance the side showed. There are plentiful options in attack.
8 New Mexico United
(8-6-1)
Week 21: @ SA		 1
Last Week:
9		 New Mexico had a bye week, but its stadium is looking closer than ever to coming to life. In the long-term, that’s tremendous news for United fans
9 Phoenix Rising FC
(6-5-5)
Week 21: ---		 2
Last Week:
11		 Giving Jamison Ping the captain’s armband was a great move by Rising Head Coach Pa-Modou Kah. The kids showed they’re alright in a shootout win against El Paso.
10 Indy Eleven
(5-6-5)
Week 21: vs. TUL		 3
Last Week:
7		 The Boys in Blue got outfoxed by North Carolina’s directness. It’s a step back, and a lesson to be learned, but nothing too disastrous in the big picture.
11 El Paso Locomotive FC
(6-5-5)
Week 21: @ OMA		 3
Last Week:
8		 Locomotive is struggling to put together results right now. The performances aren’t bad, but they need to find a way to get a few wins over the line before the Western leaders get out of reach.
12 Lexington SC
(4-6-7)
Week 21: vs LOU		 2
Last Week:
14		 Impressive work by Brooks Thompson to keep Sacramento Republic FC at bay. That point down to 10 players could come in very useful down the line.
13 Oakland Roots SC
(6-9-2)
Week 21: vs. OC		 4
Last Week:
17		 Oakland got a pair of good early goals against Loudoun and then a masterclass performance from Kendall McIntosh to see it out. Important bounce-back win on the road.
14 Loudoun United FC
(8-6-3)
Week 21: @ NC		 4
Last Week:
10		 Loudoun’s winless in its last five, but at least there were positive signs in the attacking third with Abdellatif Aboukoura absent. We still have hope this is going to get better soon.
15 Orange County SC
(6-7-2)
Week 21: @ OAK		 5
Last Week:
20		 When OCSC is on its game, it’s tremendous fun to watch. Now we’ll see if the side can put together consecutive league wins for the first time this season.
16 Birmingham Legion FC
(4-8-6)
Week 21: vs. MAD		 4
Last Week:
12		 Legion’s consistent idea against the Switchbacks was to get the ball at Tyler Pasher’s feet. It worked to an extent, but there wasn’t enough end product despite 43.1% of play tilting to the right.
17 Tampa Bay Rowdies
(4-10-2)
Week 21: @ CHS		 4
Last Week:
21		 The Rowdies would have been kicking themselves for the missed chance Ollie Basset had into an open net in the first half against Hartford if not for Woobens Pacius delivering late. Still a lot of work to do overall.
18 Miami FC
(5-8-3)
Week 21: vs. TRM		 3
Last Week:
15		 Want to know something? Felipe Rodriguez might have conceded three times against Charleston, but he posted a -0.46 Goals Prevented mark. That’s how tough a night Miami had overall.
19 Hartford Athletic
(3-8-4)
Week 21: @ RI		 1
Last Week:
18		 Antony Siaha’s postgame presentation on making friends and influencing people sure was something. Just amps things up for this weekend’s rematch in Rhode Island where everything’s up for grabs.
20 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC
(4-6-6)
Week 21: vs. TXO		 3
Last Week:
23		 The Switchbacks finally got back in the win column, and Adam Beaudry looked solid in his debut. The U.S. U-20 international could be a great addition on loan from the Rapids.
21 Monterey Bay FC
(6-8-4)
Week 21: @ AV		 2
Last Week:
19		 The first five minutes of the second half against FC Tulsa undid the good work Monterey Bay had done prior to the break. They’re now tied for the league-lead with six goals conceded in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.
22 Las Vegas Lights FC
(5-9-3)
Week 21: ---		 6
Last Week:
16		 The interim Head Coach bounce seems officially over. Las Vegas only had one touch in the Orange County penalty area, the first time that’s happened in the Championship since 2022.
23 Rhode Island FC
(4-8-5)
Week 21: vs. HFD		 1
Last Week:
22		 JJ Williams almost sparked a big victory, but that’s four games without a win in the league and only one goal in that span. At least a draw will do to advance in the USL Jägermeister Cup.
24 Detroit City FC
(5-6-6)
Week 21: vs. WES
Last Week:
24		 Lot of half-chances, and Ates Diouf looked bright, but no breakthrough for Le Rouge. Other results went their way, at least.

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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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