The 2019 USL Championship Power Rankings are compiled each week by staff writers John Arlia and Nicholas Murray. Check back every Monday during the regular season to see who’s hot, and who’s not, as the biggest season in the league’s history progresses.
Rank |
Team |
Change |
Summary |
|
1 | Phoenix Rising FC (15-2-5) Week 23: W, 2-1 ELP Week 24: RNO |
Last Week: 1 |
Rising FC became the first team to reach 50 points this season with its 13th straight win and is now on pace to match FC Cincinnati’s record-setting total of 77 points for the season. | |
2 | New York Red Bulls II (14-4-5) Week 23: W, 5-1 @HFD Week 24: PIT |
Last Week: 2 |
The Red Bulls II showed off their devastating attack against Hartford, scoring five goals in the final half-an-hour to knock off the Athletic and go top of the Eastern Conference. | |
3 | Nashville SC (12-5-6) Week 23: W, 4-0 HFD, T, 0-0 BST Week 24: @CLT |
2 Last Week: 5 |
Nashville’s club-record shutout streak reached 466 minutes with two more clean sheets over the week as the center back pairing of Jimmy Ockford and Forrest Lasso continue to shut down opposing offenses. | |
4 | Fresno FC (12-3-7) Week 23: W, 2-1 @OKC Week 24: SLC |
2 Last Week: 6 |
The Foxes have won seven of their last eight games and have a chance to move into second place in the West over their upcoming two-game homestand. | |
5 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC (10-3-8) Week 23: W, 3-2 SPR Week 24: @NY, @NC |
2 Last Week: 7 |
The Hounds have scored 12 goals over their four-game winning streak and can gain ground on the teams ahead of them if that form continues over a tough two-game road trip this week. | |
6 | Tampa Bay Rowdies (13-3-7) Week 23: L, 0-1 BHM Week 24: -- |
3 Last Week: 3 |
The Rowdies suffered their second home loss of the season on Saturday against Legion FC and fell behind the Red Bulls II in the standings as a consequence. | |
7 | Indy Eleven (12-4-4) Week 23: -- Week 24: STL |
1 Last Week: 8 |
The Eleven will have a new look in attack when they take the field this weekend after sending Thomas Enevoldsen to Sacramento and signing Cristian Novoa and Gabriel Rodrigues. | |
8 | North Carolina FC (11-5-7) Week 23: W, 2-1 @MEM Week 24: PIT |
3 Last Week: 11 |
Nazmi Albadawi’s late heroics ensured that North Carolina kept pace in the race for the top six in the East and continued its recent trend of alternating wins and losses. | |
9 | Reno 1868 FC (13-6-5) Week 23: L, 1-4 SA Week 24: @PHX |
5 Last Week: 4 |
Reno suffered its second home loss of the season on Saturday against SAFC and now faces a trip to Phoenix Rising FC, which handed 1868 FC its first home loss back in June. | |
10 | Birmingham Legion FC (7-10-5) Week 23: W, 1-0 @TBR Week 24: MEM |
7 Last Week: 17 |
Legion FC extended its shutout streak to 465 minutes and moved into the playoff places in the Eastern Conference with an impressive road victory against the Rowdies. | |
11 | San Antonio FC (8-9-6) Week 23: W, 4-1 @RNO Week 24: RGV |
5 Last Week: 16 |
San Antonio scored its biggest road victory of the season against 1868 FC to complete a season sweep of the Nevada side and move into the playoff places out West. | |
12 | Real Monarchs SLC (10-7-4) Week 23: W, 4-1 TUL Week 24: @FRS |
3 Last Week: 15 |
The Monarchs have won seven of their last nine games to move up to fourth place and will get leading scorer Douglas Martinez back from the Pan American Games next weekend. | |
13 | Louisville City FC (10-7-6) Week 23: W, 5-1 ATL Week 24: @CHS |
1 Last Week: 14 |
A season-high five goals will be a welcome sight to Head Coach John Hackworth, but the departure of Brian Ownby to injury put a damper on things. | |
14 | Ottawa Fury FC (8-4-9) Week 23: -- Week 24: @LDN |
2 Last Week: 12 |
Fury FC will want to get back into the win column when it makes its first visit to Loudoun United FC this weekend as the side won just one of its six games before its bye week. | |
15 | New Mexico United (8-6-9) Week 23: L, 2-3 @POR Week 24: LA |
6 Last Week: 9 |
New Mexico has kept just three clean sheets in its 23 games and will need to tighten things up at the back if it wants to secure a top-six spot and make a run in October. | |
16 | LA Galaxy II (8-8-8) Week 23: W, 3-1 @AUS Week 24: @NM |
10 Last Week: 26 |
The Galaxy II are unbeaten in their last five road games (4-0-1) and can continue their climb up the standings with a win against New Mexico at Isotopes Park on Saturday. | |
17 | Austin Bold FC (9-8-6) Week 23: L, 1-3 LA Week 24: TUL |
4 Last Week: 13 |
Bold FC suffered its second home loss of the season on Saturday against Los Dos, but will like its chances to get back to winning ways when the Roughnecks visit this weekend. | |
18 | Charleston Battery (6-5-9) Week 23: T, 1-1 @STL Week 24: @LDN, LOU |
Last Week: 18 |
Apparently, it’s “LOU” week for the Battery as their busy stretch continues with a trip to Loudoun and a home date with Louisville. | |
19 | El Paso Locomotive FC (7-7-8) Week 23: L, 1-2 @PHX Week 24: TAC |
9 Last Week: 10 |
Locomotive FC is winless in its last eight games and has fallen below the playoff line but can take some positives from giving Phoenix a fight with 10 men. | |
20 | Sacramento Republic FC (9-9-4) Week 23: T, 0-0 LV Week 24: COS |
Last Week: 20 |
We’re excited to see what a forward partnership of Thomas Enevoldsen and Cameron Iwasa looks like. His arrival is surely a boost for an inconsistent Republic FC. | |
21 | Saint Louis FC (6-7-8) Week 23: T, 0-0 MEM, T, 1-1 CHS Week 24: @IND |
Last Week: 21 |
Saint Louis settled for a pair of draws over the week despite having a man-advantage in both contests. Now it sees itself outside the playoff places once again. | |
22 | Charlotte Independence (5-9-10) Week 23: T, 3-3 @LDN Week 24: NSH |
1 Last Week: 23 |
Jorge Herrera moved into a tie atop the Championship’s all-time regular-season goalscoring chart on Friday with his 71st career goal, but the Independence could’ve used a win against Loudoun. | |
23 | Loudoun United FC (5-9-5) Week 23: T, 3-3 CLT Week 24: CHS, OTT |
1 Last Week: 24 |
The first match at Segra Field saw the hosts battle back three times for a thrilling 3-3 draw in front of a crowd of 5,015 fans. That certainly qualifies as an exciting home debut. | |
24 | Portland Timbers 2 (8-7-8) Week 23: T, 2-2 @COS, W, 3-2 NM Week 24: OKC |
4 Last Week: 28 |
Foster Langsdorf helped T2 snap its seven-game winless streak against New Mexico United to move Portland back into in the playoff places. | |
25 | OKC Energy FC (7-8-9) Week 23: L, 1-2 FRS Week 24: @POR |
6 Last Week: 19 |
Energy FC has now dropped 20 points from winning positions – second-most in the Championship behind the Charlotte Independence – after giving away a home lead against Fresno. | |
26 | Orange County SC (6-8-9) Week 23: L, 1-2 @TAC Week 24: LV |
4 Last Week: 22 |
Orange County learned not to underestimate the Defiance at home as the side’s playoff hopes took another serious hit. | |
27 | Las Vegas Lights FC (7-9-6) Week 23: T, 0-0 @SAC Week 24: @OC |
Last Week: 27 |
A home draw against Republic FC isn’t a bad result, but it makes Saturday’s trip to Orange County look like a playoff six-pointer. | |
28 | Tacoma Defiance (4-13-5) Week 23: W, 2-1 OC Week 24: @ELP |
3 Last Week: 31 |
All four of Tacoma’s wins this season have come at Cheney Stadium and the hosts were good value for their victory over Orange County. | |
29 | Memphis 901 FC (4-11-7) Week 23: T, 0-0 @STL, L, 1-2 NC Week 24: @BHM |
Last Week: 29 |
901 FC has scored one goal in its past three games and now travels to a Legion FC side that has kept five consecutive clean sheets. That’s not promising. | |
30 | Rio Grande Valley FC (6-11-6) Week 23: T, 3-3 @COS Week 24: @SA |
Last Week: 30 |
Rio Grande Valley’s already-slim playoff hopes took a gut punch on Saturday as the side conceded a stoppage-time equalizer to Colorado Springs after coming back from two goals down. | |
31 | Hartford Athletic (4-17-4) Week 23: L, 0-4 @NSH, L, 1-5 NY Week 24: -- |
6 Last Week: 25 |
The Athletic have conceded a league-worst 62 goals this season after New York added five to that tally in the final half-hour of Saturday’s contest at Dillon Stadium. | |
32 | Bethlehem Steel FC (6-12-5) Week 23: T, 0-0 @NSH Week 24: -- |
1 Last Week: 33 |
Steel FC was outshot 19-4 on its trip to Nashville and surrendered 69 percent of possession to its hosts but will certainly take a point given the performance. | |
33 | Atlanta United 2 (4-13-5) Week 23: L, 1-5 @LOU Week 24: SPR |
1 Last Week: 32 |
The 5-1 scoreline is slightly misleading as Jackson Conway certainly provided Louisville a scare in the second half, but Atlanta has now conceded 25 goals in its past six games. | |
34 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (6-14-4) Week 23: T, 2-2 POR, T, 3-3 RGV Week 24: @SAC |
1 Last Week: 35 |
Since recording back-to-back shutout victories in mid-July, the Switchbacks have conceded 10 goals over their following four games. | |
35 | Tulsa Roughnecks FC (4-12-7) Week 23: L, 1-4 @SLC Week 24: @AUS |
1 Last Week: 34 |
The Roughnecks are two points clear of the basement in the West and are going the wrong way with nine losses from their last 11 outings. | |
36 | Swope Park Rangers (3-12-6) Week 23: L, 2-3 @PIT Week 24: @ATL |
Last Week: 36 |
The Rangers have conceded 15 goals in their past five games and remain the last team in the Championship sitting on three wins for the season. |
Tag(s):