With both teams posting back-to-back victories over the past week, we’ve got a new top two in the USLSoccer.com Power Rankings, as Real Monarchs SLC reclaimed the top spot and Phoenix Rising FC followed in second place. Meanwhile, Louisville City FC’s and FC Cincinnati’s road defeats over the past weekend saw both teams fall down the rankings.
The six-point weeks for both the Monarchs and Rising FC also started to create gap in the race for the USL Regular Season Championship, with Real’s game in hand putting it in very handy shape to add to its first piece of silverware a season ago. With a four-point lead on third-place Western Conference side Sacramento Republic FC and a five-point lead on the top of the Eastern Conference, we could be seeing the start of the sort of two-horse race that was waged between the Monarchs and San Antonio FC a season ago.
The losses for Louisville and Cincinnati – and Friday night’s draw by Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC – also meant there’s another major bounce for the Charleston Battery into the top three, tied on points with FCC. With the longest current winning streak in the league, Charleston has gone from an afterthought three weeks ago to center stage in the Eastern Conference race, a run the Battery will be looking to continue on Saturday as it welcomes former standout Colin Falvey and Ottawa Fury FC to town.
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 | (7-1-1) Week 9: W, 4-1 SPR, W, 1-0 FRS Week 10: @LV |
2 Last Week: 3 |
Ten points out of 12 for the Monarchs in the opening home stand at Zions Bank Stadium means top spot in the West and an undefeated home record as it heads to Las Vegas on Saturday. | |
2 | Phoenix Rising FC 59 pts | (6-1-3) Week 9: W, 3-0 @OKC, W, 5-1 @TUL Week 10: SAC |
2 Last Week: 4 |
Phoenix doubled its win total in the state of Oklahoma in one week – the only previous road win in the Sooner state came against OKC Energy FC in 2014 – and kept the pressure on the Monarchs as a result. | |
T-3 | Charleston Battery 48 pts | (5-2-2) Week 9: W, 2-1 BST Week 10: OTT |
6 Last Week: 9 |
A fourth consecutive victory, and losses and draws elsewhere, have the Battery right in the middle of the race for first in the Eastern Conference. With two more games to go in its home stand, Charleston is looking poised for more. | |
T-3 | FC Cincinnati 48 pts | (5-2-2) Week 9: L, 1-4 @CLT Week 10: NC |
1 Last Week: 2 |
Cincinnati’s worst defensive display since it lost back-to-back games to Louisville and New York by a combined 9-0 last season brought its winning streak to an abrupt end. North Carolina could provide a test on Saturday, too. | |
5 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 47 pts | (4-0-4) Week 9: T, 0-0 IND Week 10: @TBR |
Last Week: T-5 |
Riverhounds SC is still undefeated and has yet to concede a goal at Highmark Stadium, and it still feels like there’s room to grow for this side as it heads to face the Tampa Bay Rowdies. | |
6 | Louisville City FC 46 pts | (5-2-1) Week 9: L, 0-2 @NSH Week 10: ATL |
5 Last Week: 1 |
Louisville could weather one loss to retain top spot, but two in a row while being held scoreless in both means a drop down. The defending champion should rebound but need to regain some confidence in front of goal. | |
7 | Orange County SC 37 pts | (5-3-2) Week 9: T, 1-1 STL Week 10: -- |
1 Last Week: 8 |
A 1-1 draw at home against Saint Louis FC isn’t that much to write home about, but with others falling beside it, the point did prove useful for Head Coach Braeden Cloutier’s side. | |
T-8 | New York Red Bulls II 34 pts | (3-1-5) Week 9: -- Week 10: @BST |
2 Last Week: T-10 |
The Red Bulls II will have been very pleased onlookers this week as the club’s bye week saw it remain in touch with the top ahead of its visit to Bethlehem Steel FC on Wednesday evening. | |
T-8 | Swope Park Rangers 34 pts | (4-2-3) Week 9: L, 1-4 @SLC Week 10: @RGV |
3 Last Week: T-5 |
The Rangers midweek defeat to the Monarchs saw it slip seven points back of first place by the end of the week. A positive result in South Texas is going to be important before Phoenix comes to town on May 26. | |
10 | Indy Eleven 33 pts | (4-2-2) Week 9: T, 0-0 @PGH Week 10: BST |
Last Week: T-10 |
A solid point on the road against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC keeps things moving for Indy, although a shot on goal at some point during the contest would have been nice. | |
11 | Sacramento Republic FC 31 pts | (5-2-3) Week 9: L, 2-3 RNO Week 10: @PHX |
4 Last Week: 7 |
It was only the second loss of the season for Sacramento, but letting a two-goal halftime lead slip at home to your biggest rival isn’t going to sit well at all, especially with a trip to Phoenix next. | |
12 | Portland Timbers 2 19 pts | (5-3-2) Week 9: W, 1-0 @SEA Week 10: LA |
4 Last Week: 16 |
A season ago, T2’s game against Seattle on Saturday would have been one it would have found a way to lose. Now the opposite is true, and Portland’s a playoff contender as a result. | |
T-13 | Nashville SC 12 pts | (3-2-3) Week 9: W, 2-0 LOU Week 10: -- |
Last Week: NR |
A very solid win against Louisville saw Nashville break a three-game winless streak, and it feels like Head Coach Gary Smith has found a starting lineup that can carry this side higher. | |
T-13 | San Antonio FC 12 pts | (3-2-4) Week 9: T, 0-0 @RGV Week 10: TUL |
Last Week: 13 |
San Antonio has goalkeeper Diego Restrepo to thank for its point against South Texas Derby rival Rio Grande Valley FC as it continues to hover around the playoff cutoff. | |
15 | Reno 1868 FC 7 pts | (3-3-4) Week 9: T, 1-1 @TUL, W, 3-2 @SAC Week 10: SEA |
Last Week: NR |
Reno is 3-0-3 over its last six games after Saturday’s remarkable comeback against Sacramento and starting to threaten the playoff positions. | |
16 | Saint Louis FC 4 pts | (3-2-5) Week 8: L, 3-6 @LA, T, 1-1 @OC Week 10: -- |
4 Last Week: 12 |
A solid bounce-back display against Orange County from Wednesday night’s horror show against the Galaxy II just keeps Saint Louis in the rankings, but a pair of important tests come next against Colorado Springs and Phoenix. |
Also receiving votes: Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 3, North Carolina FC 3, Tampa Bay Rowdies 3, Charlotte Independence 1
Dropped from Rankings: North Carolina FC, Tampa Bay Rowdies
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