TAMPA, Fla. – The race for both first place, and a berth in the playoffs, in the USL Western Conference takes center stage this Labor Day weekend with a number of contests among top-eight sides in the conference set to shape the landscape further as the regular season moves toward its conclusion. Games between Sacramento Republic FC and Orange County Blues FC, the Swope Park Rangers and Rio Grande Valley FC, and Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC and the LA Galaxy II will be must-sees on Saturday night.

Every game of the 2016 USL season will be available on the league’s Match Center, with updates from across the league also available via Twitter, Facebook, Vine and Instagram.

GAMES TO WATCH
Saturday, September 3
Charleston Battery vs. Rochester Rhinos
7:30 p.m. ET, MUSC Health Stadium
With both teams having clinched a place in the Eastern Conference playoffs in midweek, the battle between two of the most historic teams in the USL matters now for playoff seeding, as the two sides sit outside the top four positions, and are separated by just a point entering Saturday’s game.

The Battery (11-5-9, 42pts) are coming off a 1-1 draw with their archrivals the Richmond Kickers on Wednesday night at City Stadium that saw Justin Portillo score a brilliant equalizer with 20 minutes to go to book the Battery’s place in the playoffs. Charleston is now in sixth position, but could move as high as third by the end of Monday night with a win should other results go their way.

The Rhinos (10-5-11, 41pts) clinched a playoff berth without kicking a ball. A draw between the Harrisburg City Islanders and Bethlehem Steel FC on Tuesday and another between Wilmington Hammerheads FC and FC Montreal on Wednesday put the side out of range for the teams in ninth and below. Coming off a 2-2 draw with Wilmington last weekend, the Rhinos will now look to boost their position as they prepare to defend their USL championship.

Swope Park Rangers vs. Rio Grande Valley FC
8:30 p.m. ET, Children’s Mercy Victory Field
The Swope Park Rangers will aim to solidify their top-eight position in the Western Conference standings on Saturday night, but in order to do so will need to reckon with a second-place Toros side that enters on a nine-game undefeated streak, and currently holds the inside track to first place in the conference standings.

The Rangers (10-9-6, 36pts) got a stoppage-time winner from the penalty spot by Ayrton on Wednesday night against fellow playoff contender San Antonio FC for their second consecutive victory. Now in seventh place in the West, Swope Park still has a game in hand on eighth-place Orange County, and a four-point lead on 10th-place Real Monarchs SLC, but will want to take something from Saturday night’s contest as it looks to lock down a playoff berth in its first season.

The Toros (11-5-9, 42pts) look secure in being part of the postseason in their inaugural year after a 2-1 win against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, but have the chance to make sure the road to the Western Conference Championship goes through South Texas if it can continue its strong recent form. RGVFC sits two points back of current conference leader Sacramento entering the weekend, but has a game in hand, and the highest potential points total of any team in the conference.

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs. LA Galaxy II
9 p.m. ET, Switchbacks Stadium
The Switchbacks will look to rebound from their defeat to the Toros a week ago as they host a Galaxy II side that broke a five-game winless streak in midweek to bolster their playoff credentials on Wednesday night.

Colorado Springs (11-8-7, 40pts) got pushed out of the top four of the Western Conference on Wednesday when OKC Energy FC drew 1-1 with Saint Louis FC, and will face a challenge on Saturday night with both Miguel Gonzalez and Josh Phillips suspended after red cards in their loss to the Toros. With a road record this season of 3-6-4, the Switchbacks would certainly like to secure at least one home playoff game, but will need to take their first win against LA this season to boost those chances.

The Galaxy II (10-6-9, 39pts) moved within a point of the Switchbacks with their 2-1 win against Arizona United SC on Wednesday night as Adonis Amaya had the game-winning goal and an assist in the victory. With a 1-0-1 record against the Switchbacks so far this season, and a victory last year at Switchbacks Stadium to give the side confidence, Los Dos could be looking at an opportunity to make their own run to a top-four berth with a second consecutive win on the road.

Sacramento Republic FC vs. Orange County Blues FC
10:30 p.m. ET, Bonney Field
Sacramento Republic FC and Orange County Blues FC both need a victory on Saturday night, but for very different reasons as the first-place and eighth-place teams in the Western Conference square off for the final time this season.

Republic FC (12-6-8, 44pts) currently sits on top of the Western Conference, but is under pressure from both second-place Rio Grande Valley FC (42pts), third-place Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (41pts), and fourth-place OKC Energy FC (41pts), all of which hold a game in hand. Sacramento went undefeated in the month of August (4-0-2) to regain the conference lead, but needs to keep winning if it is to stay there.

For the Blues (10-12-4, 34pts) the situation is even tougher. The side currently sits in the final playoff berth in the Western Conference, but could be overtaken by both San Antonio and Real Monarchs SLC should it fall against Sacramento, and both sides would retain their game in hand on the Blues as well. Orange County has had success in Sacramento before, including a 1-0 win at Bonney Field on April 30 earlier this season, and will likely need a similar result to keep its playoff bid moving.

NUMBER CRUNCHING
758 – Rio Grande Valley FC’s shutout streak ended at a USL record 758 minutes when Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC’s Josh Suggs scored in the 38th minute of their contest last Saturday night.

39 – Jorge Herrera’s goal on Wednesday night for the Charlotte Independence was his 39th in the USL, moving him into third place in the league’s history behind the Swope Park Rangers’ Dane Kelly (45) and Richmond Kickers’ Matt Delicate (42).

11 – Eleven current USL players have been called up for international duty for World Cup Qualifying this weekend, including first-time call-up Greg Ranjitsingh (Louisville City FC) for Trinidad & Tobago.

7 – The New York Red Bulls II are seven points away from clinching the USL regular season championship, and home field advantage throughout the 2016 USL Playoffs.

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES
- A group of leading Arizona businessmen led by Kona Grille CEO Berke Bakay completed the purchase of Arizona United SC this week, with the new group officially unveiled on Wednesday morning. Also included in the group are Mark Detmer, the Managing Director of JLL; Tim Riester, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RIESTER Advertising; Dave Stearns, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Connect Wireless; Jim Scussel, the Co-Founder of Four Peaks Brewing Company; Richard Hauser, the President and Owner of Capital Real Estate, Inc.; and Brandon McCarthy, the veteran Major League Baseball player currently pitching for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

- OKC Energy FC Co-Owner Bob Funk is set to lead a group of investors that will close on the 37-acre plot of land that has been home to the Producers Cooperative plant south of Bricktown. The land is the largest available for development in downtown Oklahoma City, with the potential in the long-term it could be used for an expanded home for Energy FC.

- Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (11-6-8, 41pts) opens a home-and-home series with Seattle Sounders FC 2 (8-11-6, 30pts) on Friday night with an outside chance to clinch a place in the playoffs with a victory in both contests (10:30 p.m. ET | Match Center), combined with a Real Monarchs SLC draw or loss to Tulsa Roughnecks FC on Saturday. Three points behind Sacramento for first place in the West, WFC2 can also boost its chances of a top-four finish with a pair of positive results.

- Louisville City FC (14-4-8, 50pts) will try to boost its chances of a top-two finish when it visits a recently hot FC Montreal (6-18-2, 20pts) at the Complexe Sportif Claude Robillard on Saturday afternoon (3 p.m. ET | Match Center). Montreal is undefeated in its past five games after a 2-2 draw with Wilmington on Wednesday night, and has scored 16 goals over that span.

- Real Monarchs SLC (9-11-5, 32pts) will look to build on a three-game winning streak when it hosts Tulsa Roughnecks FC (5-17-3, 18pts) at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday night (9 p.m. ET | Match Center). The game will be of major interest elsewhere in the conference, as a Monarchs victory would keep any Western Conference side from clinching a playoff berth this weekend.

- The New York Red Bulls II (17-3-5, 56pts) can move closer to a USL regular season championship when they visit Bethlehem Steel FC (6-11-9, 27pts) on Sunday afternoon at Goodman Stadium (3 p.m. ET | Match Center). The Steel, however, desperately need to take a victory if they are to try and bridge the five-point gap to eighth-place Orlando City B with four games remaining in their regular season.

- San Antonio FC (9-9-7, 34pts) and Arizona United SC (8-12-6, 30pts) will both try to bounce back from midweek defeats and keep their playoff hopes alive when they meet at Toyota Field on Sunday evening (6 p.m. ET | Match Center). With five games remaining, San Antonio remains in good position for a top-eight finish, but with only four games to go, United really needs all three points from the contest if its playoff bid is to come to fruition.

- The Charlotte Independence (12-7-6, 42pts) will look to build on a midweek victory against FC Cincinnati when it visits Toronto FC II (6-16-5, 23pts) on Sunday afternoon at the Ontario Soccer Centre (4 p.m. ET | Match Center). The Independence have won three of their past four games to move fifth in the Eastern Conference, and would move into a top-four position with a win on the road.