TAMPA, Fla. – The two teams with the longest undefeated streaks in either conference will look to bolster their position near the top of their respective standings as Week 19 of the 2017 USL regular season concludes with a 13-game slate over Saturday and Sunday. The weekend also brings a pair of important contests that pit two challengers for first with two teams looking to push their way into the playoff picture in either conference.

The Swope Park Rangers are on a seven-game winning streak as they welcome a familiar face back to Children’s Mercy Victory Field on Sunday evening, with former Rangers forward Dane Kelly and Reno 1868 FC set for a top-five clash in one of the top games of the weekend. Saturday night also sees another member of the West’s top three head on the road, as San Antonio FC visits a Phoenix Rising FC side in serious need of a win.

The Charlotte Independence’s undefeated streak reached nine games on Wednesday night, and they now visit Bethlehem Steel FC on Saturday evening for what would be a postseason matchup if the USL Cup Playoffs began this weekend. Saturday night also sees the Pittsburgh Riverhounds visit the Tampa Bay Rowdies coming off four consecutive draws, which have the side just on the outside looking in at the Eastern Conference playoff positions.

Every game of the 2017 USL season will be available on the league’s Match Center, with updates from across the league also available via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

GAMES TO WATCH

Saturday, July 29
Bethlehem Steel FC vs. Charlotte Independence
5 p.m. ET, Goodman Stadium
Bethlehem Steel FC plays host to the Charlotte Independence looking to rebound from its first loss since May last weekend when it returns home to Goodman Stadium. Steel FC enters the contest sitting comfortably in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, while the Independence are second, three points back of conference leaders the Charleston Battery.

Steel FC (8-7-3, 27pts) fell 3-2 to the Richmond Kickers last Saturday night to bring an eight-game undefeated streak to an end. The side could be boosted by the return of Cory Burke to the lineup on Saturday, however, with the standout young forward back from international duty after helping Jamaica reach the final of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup on Wednesday night.

The Independence (9-3-6, 33pts) have drawn each of their last two outings to continue their nine-game undefeated streak, with a 0-0 draw against the Richmond Kickers on Wednesday night keeping the margin to the Battery at three points. The draw saw Jorge Herrera’s four-game goal-scoring streak come to an end, while goalkeeper Kyle Renfro recorded a shutout in the first league start of his career standing in for regular starter Cody Mizell.

Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds
7:30 p.m. ET, Al Lang Stadium
The Tampa Bay Rowdies and Pittsburgh Riverhounds meet for the second time this season, and for the first time ever at Al Lang Stadium, with the Rowdies looking to continue a good recent run of form. Tampa Bay is 2-0-1 over its last three games, which has kept the side in a top-four position in a tightly-contested Eastern Conference.

The Rowdies (8-5-7, 31pts) have been propelled on their current run of form by former Northern Ireland international Martin Paterson, who has scored in each of the past three contests. Paterson and Joe Cole were on target last Saturday in a 2-0 victory against the conference-leading Charleston Battery to earn the side its seventh home win in 10 games this season.

The Riverhounds (5-7-8, 23pts) almost took victory against the Battery in their last outing on Wednesday night at Highmark Stadium, but a late goal by the visitors forced them to settle for a 2-2 draw. Sitting one point out of eighth place going into the weekend, Pittsburgh will be aiming to complete a season-sweep of the Rowdies after a 2-0 win at Highmark Stadium earlier this year, with former Tampa Bay forward Corey Hertzog set to lead the charge for the Hounds. 

Phoenix Rising FC vs. San Antonio FC
11 p.m. ET, Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex
Phoenix Rising FC plays host to San Antonio FC on Saturday night at the Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex with both teams coming off disappointing results in their last outings. With Rising FC still sitting below the playoff line in the Western Conference, however, it is the host which is in greater need of a win when the teams square off for the second time this season.

Phoenix (6-6-4, 22pts) suffered its first defeat under Head Coach Patrice Carteron last Saturday night, as Tulsa Roughnecks FC won 3-0 at ONEOK Field. Rising FC has games in hand on teams above it in the standings, but with only one win in its last six games, the club needs to start taking advantage of those opportunities to move into the top eight.

San Antonio (10-1-7, 37pts), for a second consecutive week, had victory grabbed away late last Saturday in a 2-2 draw with first-place Real Monarchs SLC at Toyota Field. The result saw SAFC slide to third place in the Western Conference behind the Swope Park Rangers. Winless in its last four outings, San Antonio will be hoping to add to its 1-0 win against Rising FC earlier this season. 

Sunday, July 30
Swope Park Rangers vs. Reno 1868 FC
5 p.m. ET, Children’s Mercy Victory Field
The Swope Park Rangers will welcome former player Dane Kelly back to Children’s Mercy Victory field, as Reno 1868 FC heads to the Midwest in an important game in the top five of the Western Conference. With the Rangers on a seven-game winning streak and five-game shutout streak, the hosts will be aiming to continue to close the gap on Real Monarchs SLC at the top of the Western standings.

The Rangers (12-4-2, 38pts) earned a 2-0 victory against Seattle Sounders FC 2 on July 20 to complete a perfect trip to Cascadia that saw the side win all three games without conceding a goal. The Rangers are nine points back of the Monarchs after Real’s midweek win, however, and need to keep their streak going if they’re to have a chance at claiming to USL Regular Season Championship.

1868 FC (7-4-6, 27pts) was held to a 1-1 draw by the Portland Timbers 2 last Saturday night at Greater Nevada Field, as a standout display by T2 goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh earned the visitors a point. Kelly, who helped the Rangers claim the Western Conference Championship a season ago, has been one of the big stories of the season so far and enters with a single-season career high of 13 goals already this year.

NUMBER CRUNCHING

4,728 – Players with USL experience logged 4,728 minutes of action at the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup across more than 70 cumulative appearances.

540 – Tampa Bay Rowdies defender Damion Lowe played every minute for Jamaica, one of only four players to do so in the tournament overall.

471 – The Swope Park Rangers’ shutout streak is currently at 471 minutes, a little less than 200 behind Rio Grande Valley FC’s league record of 658 minutes.

35 – Reno 1868 FC’s Antoine Hoppenot leads the USL with 35 chances created from open play this season.

20 – Corey Hertzog scored his 20th goal for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Wednesday night, and now has 33 all-time in the USL regular season.

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES

- The USL welcomed Fresno FC for the 2018 season on Wednesday, as a strong local ownership group led by Ray Beshoff was awarded a franchise by USL President Jake Edwards at a ceremony in downtown Fresno, California. “Ray has a passion for the sport, a passion for this community and to continue to deliver and build upon everything that’s going on in this community,” said Edwards during the presentation ceremony.

- FC Cincinnati’s Omar Cummings announced his retirement this week, taking his final bow in front of 23,114 fans at Nippert Stadium, as FCC hosted La Liga’s Valencia C.F. in an international exhibition on Monday night. “It felt so special to go out on this type of stage,” said Cummings, who had first played at Nippert Stadium as a standout collegiate player at the University of Cincinnati.

- Real Monarchs SLC (15-2-2, 47pts) took a 2-1 victory against Rio Grande Valley FC (6-9-3, 21pts) on Wednesday night at H-E-B Park, as Chandler Hoffman converted a penalty kick for his 13th goal of the season with 11 minutes to go. Hoffman is now one goal behind the Charleston Battery’s Romario Williams for the league-lead.

- Former USL standout Alphonso Davies earned both the Golden Boot and Young Player of the Tournament award following the conclusion of the 2017 CONCACAF Gold Cup on Wednesday night. The 16-year-old Davies – who became the youngest goal-scorer in USL history last season for Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 – scored three goals in the tournament for Canada.

- Louisville City FC (9-3-5, 32pts) will try to complete a season sweep of the New York Red Bulls II (7-10-3, 24pts) on Saturday night when the teams meet at Slugger Field (7:30 p.m. ET | Match Center). City rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat Saint Louis FC 4-1 on Saturday at Toyota Stadium – Saint Louis to retain the Kings’ Cup. Louisville CIty will be hoping to add to a 3-0 win against the Red Bulls II earlier this season as they look to remain in contention at the top of the Eastern Conference. The Red Bulls II are also coming off a victory, as Vincent Bezecourt’s goal earned a 1-0 win against Toronto FC II last Friday at MSU Soccer Park.

- Orange County SC (6-4-4, 22pts) will aim to continue its six-game undefeated streak when it faces Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (4-9-5, 17pts) on Saturday night at Orange County Great Park (8 p.m. ET | Match Center). Orange County notched a 4-0 victory against Rio Grande Valley FC last Saturday and is now 3-0-3 in its last six outings. Vancouver earned a 1-1 draw with Reno 1868 FC on July 15 at Thunderbird Stadium in its last outing, as New Zealand Under-20 international Myer Bevan scored his first goal for the club.

- The Charleston Battery (10-4-6, 36pts) return home after a three-game road trip to host Orlando City B (5-6-7, 22pts) on Saturday night at MUSC Health Stadium (7 p.m. ET | Match Center). The Battery earned a 2-2 draw with the Pittsburgh Riverhounds to conclude their trip on Wednesday night, as Maikel Chang scored with six minutes to go. OCB is coming off three consecutive draws, including a 1-1 draw with the Tampa Bay Rowdies on July 13 at Orlando City Stadium that saw Danny Deakin score from the penalty spot in stoppage time. Saturday’s game is the first of two meetings this season between the clubs, with OCB having gone 1-0-2 in its inaugural season against the Battery.

- FC Cincinnati (8-6-6, 30pts) will try to continue its three-game winning streak when it hosts the Rochester Rhinos (7-3-8, 29pts) at Nippert Stadium for the second meeting between the clubs this season (7 p.m. ET | Match Center). Cincinnati’s three-game league winning streak is the first in the club’s short history and came via a lightning delayed 3-0 victory against the Harrisburg City Islanders last Saturday. Djiby Fall had a goal and assist in the win and now has 11 goals this season in addition to tallies in three consecutive games. The Rhinos are coming off a 2-0 victory on Wednesday night against Toronto FC II, which moved the side a point behind FCC into sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

- Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (6-8-6, 24pts) and Seattle Sounders FC 2 (7-11-2, 23pts) will both try to bounce back from defeats in their last outings when they meet on Saturday night at Weidner Field (8 p.m. ET | Match Center). The Switchbacks suffered a second consecutive loss last Saturday when a late rally came up short in a 4-3 defeat to OKC Energy FC at Taft Stadium. Colorado Springs has now lost three of its last four, with the other result in that span a draw. S2, meanwhile, has lost four in a row after its 2-0 defeat against Sacramento Republic FC last Sunday at Papa Murphy’s Park. Entering the week in eighth place in the Western Conference, Seattle needs a quick turnaround in form to hold off the teams just below it in the race for the playoffs.

- Ottawa Fury FC (5-6-6, 21pts) returns to action after a bye week, aiming to get its push to reach the USL Cup Playoffs back on track as it hosts Battle of Ontario rival Toronto FC II (3-11-5, 14pts) at TD Place (7 p.m. ET | Match Center). Fury FC scored a late equalizer through Tucker Hume in its last outing on July 15 at TD Place to earn a 1-1 draw against the Rochester Rhinos, but the draw extended the club’s winless streak to four games (0-2-2). Ottawa and Toronto are meeting for the third and final time in the regular season on Saturday, with Toronto holding a 1-0-1 edge after Canada U20 international Luca Uccello’s goal gave the side victory at the Ontario Soccer Centre in its last meeting on July 8. Toronto fell 2-0 to the Rochester Rhinos on Wednesday night, however, and has now lost four of its last five outings.

- OKC Energy FC (6-8-4, 22pts) heads west to take on the LA Galaxy II (4-11-3, 15pts) on Sunday night at StubHub Center Track & Field Stadium (9:30 p.m. ET | Match Center), as the visitors look to build on a big win in the race for the Western Conference postseason last time out. OKC’s Miguel Gonzalez and Jose Angulo each recorded two goals and an assist in a 4-3 win against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC that broke a five-game winless streak for Energy FC, giving Gonzalez three goals in his past two games. The Galaxy II have earned points in their last two outings, but they lost a two-goal halftime lead in a 2-2 draw against Tulsa Roughnecks FC on July 13 in their most recent contest to remain in 14th place in the Western Conference.

- The Richmond Kickers (3-10-7, 16pts) return home for their second game of the week to play host to Saint Louis FC (5-8-4, 19pts) on Saturday night at City Stadium (7 p.m. ET | Match Center). The Kickers played to a 0-0 draw on Wednesday night with the Charlotte Independence to add to a 3-2 win against Bethlehem Steel FC last Saturday night. STLFC is coming off a 4-1 defeat to Louisville City FC – which saw the side lose a halftime lead and, with it, the chance to win the Kings’ Cup for the first time. Saturday’s game will be the first meeting between the teams since the 2015 season, when the Kickers won both meetings between the teams.

- The Portland Timbers 2 (1-15-3, 6pts) will try to build on its second draw in the last four games when it hosts Rio Grande Valley FC on Saturday night at Providence Park (11 p.m. ET | Match Center). Portland earned a 1-1 draw with Reno 1868 FC last Saturday at Greater Nevada Field as Gio Calixtro scored his first professional goal for T2 to equalize late. Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh was key to the result, as he finished with seven saves. The Toros will try to rebound from their midweek loss to Real Monarchs SLC at H-E-B Park as they look to break out of a four-game winless streak.