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USL Power Rankings - Week 15

By USLSoccer.com Staff, 06/25/18, 7:45PM EDT

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Monarchs, Cincinnati sit 1-2 ahead of big week of action

With both Real Monarchs SLC and FC Cincinnati off this past weekend, there was a chance for those sitting below them in their respective conferences to gain ground both in the standings and in the USLSoccer.com Power Rankings. After a series of draws across the weekend’s result, though, there’s minimal movement at the top of this week’s list.

And so the Monarchs go into Tuesday night’s visit from Fresno FC both with the opportunity to add to their lead at the top of the conference while bolstering their position as the No. 1-ranked team in the league. With an undefeated home record and 10 days rest since a 1-0 win against Saint Louis FC, Real figures to put the Foxes up against it in a big game for the visitors as it looks to bounce back from Saturday night’s late defeat in Colorado Springs.

For Cincinnati, Wednesday night’s game with Toronto FC II brings the chance to add to the pressure on those sitting directly below it, particularly with No. 3-ranked Louisville City FC and No. 4-ranked Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC squaring off on the same night. With 21 games across the upcoming week, though, there’s much more potential for movement in the next seven days than over the past week.

The four-person USLSoccer.com voting panel tabulates 16 points for first-place team votes, 15 points to the second-place team and so forth to one point for 16th place. The accrued points among the group determines the final ranking.

Rank

 

Team/Record

Change

Summary
1 Real Monarchs SLC
63 pts | (11-3-1)
Week 15: --
Week 16: FRS
Last Week: T-1		 The Monarchs saw their closest rivals fail to take victory over the weekend and can stretch their lead on Tuesday night before a big road trip to Reno and Sacramento.
2 FC Cincinnati
59 pts | (9-3-3)
Week 15: --
Week 16: @TOR, OTT
Last Week: T-2		 FCC will have cheered North Carolina FC’s late equalizer against Louisville as it the past weekend off and now gets a double-dose of Canada with a visit to Toronto and home game against Ottawa on tap.
3 Louisville City FC
57 pts | (7-2-4)
Week 15: T, 2-2 @NC
Week 16: PGH, NY		 1
Last Week: T-2		 Louisville got the result it was looking for in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, but a third consecutive league draw, and a second via a lost lead, is going to smart a bit ahead of a massive week that sees Pittsburgh and New York visit Slugger Field.
4 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC
51 pts | (6-1-7)
Week 15: T, 0-0 @CHS
Week 16: @LOU
Last Week: 4		 A point on the road in Charleston is good enough in theory for Riverhounds SC, but you’d hope for a slightly more proactive approach against Louisville with the chance to move into second place with a win.
5 Phoenix Rising FC
46 pts | (9-3-5)
Week 15: T, 0-0 @RGV
Week 16: OC
Last Week: 5		 South Texas has been the place where Phoenix has gone to get frustrated in three consecutive seasons now, with Rising FC’s visits to Rio Grande Valley FC having all ended in draws after Saturday’s scoreless affair.
6 Nashville SC
42 pts | (6-2-5)
Week 15: --
Week 16: IND, ATL
Last Week: T-6		 Aside from Cincinnati, no-one was more enthused than this weekend’s results than Nashville, which goes into Tuesday’s USL Game of the Week on ESPNews knowing a win sends them into second at least for one night.
7 Sacramento Republic FC
39 pts | (8-4-5)
Week 15: T, 2-2 STL
Week 16: @FRS		 1
Last Week: T-6		 Sacramento’s late letdown against Saint Louis saw the side miss out on gaining ground on both the Monarchs and Phoenix, and now Swope Park and Orange County have drawn closer ahead of Saturday’s rivalry clash with Fresno.
8 Orange County SC
36 pts | (8-4-3)
Week 15: W, 6-1 TUL
Week 16: @PHX
Last Week: 8		 Six different goal-scorers in Saturday’s victory sent a pretty impressive message, helped usher in the end of the David Vaudreuil era in Tulsa, and set up a potentially great game on Friday in Phoenix.
9 Reno 1868 FC
34 pts | (6-3-7)
Week 15: W, 2-0 @SA
Week 16: POR
Last Week: T-9		 In completing a season-sweep of San Antonio FC, 1868 FC became only the third side to win at Toyota Field in the past two seasons and took a big step forward in its playoff pursuit.
10 Portland Timbers 2
29 pts | (8-6-2)
Week 15: --
Week 16: @RNO		 1
Last Week: T-9		 Portland got a week off to recover from its back-to-back defeats in Week 14, but now gets a big test with a visit to Reno on Saturday night with the sides separated by a point.
11 Swope Park Rangers
23 pts | (8-4-4)
Week 15: W, 3-2 LV
Week 16: --
Last Week: T-11		 The Rangers got a remarkable let-off against Las Vegas Lights FC on Sunday but are still undefeated at home in 15 games and into the top four in the Western Conference as a result.
12 Charlotte Independence
18 pts | (6-4-5)
Week 15: T, 1-1 @RIC
Week 16: TBR, @BST		 1
Last Week: T-11		 A third consecutive 1-1 draw for the Independence kept them solidly in the playoff positions but the road would appear to get decidedly more difficult after a visit from Tampa Bay on Wednesday night.
13 Bethlehem Steel FC
13 pts | (5-5-5)
Week 15: T, 2-2 NY
Week 16: CLT
Last Week: 13		 Steel FC’s furious comeback against the Red Bulls II earned a valuable point from nothing, but Bethlehem is still sitting outside the top eight as it faces a big game with Charlotte on Saturday.
14 Indy Eleven
11 pts | (6-4-3)
Week 15: --
Week 16: @NSH, PEN		 1
Last Week: 15		 Indy will get a major test of its playoff credentials in Nashville on Tuesday night as it looks to pull of a season sweep of NSC after a 2-1 victory when the sides met at Lucas Oil Stadium earlier this year.
T-15 Charleston Battery
8 pts | (5-3-7)
Week 15: T, 0-0 PGH
Week 16: @TOR		 1
Last Week: 16		 The Battery played out a second consecutive draw but are now winless since May 12 and under threat of dropping out of the top eight from teams in better form directly below.
T-15 Penn FC
8 pts | (5-4-6)
Week 15: W, 2-1 @TBR
Week 16: @IND
Last Week: NR		 And when we say directly below, we mean the likes of Penn FC, which has now won three of its last four games to push strongly into the conversation for a place in the playoffs.

Dropped from Rankings: New York Red Bulls II (14)

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Tag(s): News  Nashville SC  Power Rankings  San Antonio FC  CO Spring Switchbacks  Orange County SC  Phoenix Rising FC  Portland Timbers 2  Real Monarchs SLC  Reno 1868 FC  Sacramento Republic FC  Swope Park Rangers  Philadelphia Union II  Charleston Battery  Charlotte Independence  FC Cincinnati  Louisville City FC  New York Red Bulls II  Ottawa Fury FC  Pittsburgh Riverhounds  Penn FC  Indy Eleven 

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