The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 8Equality rears its ugly head again
The USL Championship was back to parity this week. 6 of 12 games ended in draws, 4 of those 1-1 again. So, good news for the 6 teams that actually managed to win.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Forge Factor | Note | |
| 1 | El Paso Locomotive | 3 | 2 | 4-3-1 | 21.531 | The Locomotive’s first goal in the 2-1 win at San Diego was off a fortunate deflection, but when you’re hot, you make your own luck. 3 points from the last 5 games and a 3-game win streak. | |
| 2 | Sacramento Republic | 1 | -1 | 5-0-3 | 19.219 | SacRep pummeled the Tulsa goal with 20 shots and 6 on target, but needed an open goal to find the net in the slightly surprising 1-1 draw. | |
| 3 | Phoenix Rising | 4 | 1 | 2-1-4 | 17.384 | Phoenix utterly dominated Loudoun in the 3-1 home win. They are quietly making their way up the standings as well as the rankings. They visit Tampa next. | |
| 4 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 8 | 4 | 5-2-1 | 15.664 | Colorado Springs scored twice in the first 15 minutes on the way to a 2-1 win in Charleston. The only dropped points in the last 5 games were to SacRep. | |
| 5 | Charleston Battery | 2 | -3 | 4-1-3 | 13.536 | Spotting the Switchbacks an early 2-goal lead was not the best way to play when you’re missing Augustine Williams on suspension. Off to Sin City this Friday. | |
| 6 | Louisville City | 7 | 1 | 4-2-2 | 13.271 | Lou City have a poor offside call to thank for escaping Memphis with a 1-1 draw. They were not a convincing team on the night despite taking the early lead. A bye this week to regroup. | |
| 7 | Memphis 901 | 11 | 4 | 1-2-3 | 13.147 | Phillip Goodrum was denied a goal by a bizarre offside call and Memphis had to settle for a point in the 1-1 draw with Louisville. They are beginning to look a bit better. They warm up for the US Open Cup clash with the Legion in Hartford. | |
| 8 | Monterey Bay Union | 6 | -2 | 3-2-3 | 13.060 | Monterey Bay and RGV tied 1-1 in a largely uneventful match – other than 6 yellow cards – with the only really threatening shot coming from Christian Volesky as time was almost expired. | |
| 9 | Loudoun United | 5 | -4 | 3-3-1 | 12.731 | Loudoun’s 2-game win streak came to a crashing end 1-3 in Phoenix, but they have a good chance to get back on track with Indy visiting this weekend. | |
| 10 | San Diego Loyal | 9 | -1 | 4-2-2 | 10.961 | The Loyal were just a bit unlucky in the 1-2 loss to El Paso, but all told it was an entertaining affair of closely-matched teams. | |
| 11 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 15 | +4 | 2-4-2 | 10.813 | The Rowdies were easily the better side, but needed a late PK to get past Nate Steinwascher in the 1-0 win in Detroit. A slightly tougher game next week against Phoenix. | |
| 12 | Hartford Athletic | 12 | 0 | 1-4-2 | 9.292 | The Athletic’s late loss to the Legion didn’t hurt them in the rankings, but 1 win in 7 games is not great. They are playing strong teams close, though; they lost in Charleston exactly the same way. | |
| 13 | Birmingham Legion | 16 | 3 | 5-2-1 | 9.179 | For the second time this season, a stoppage time goal gave the Three Sparks a 3-2 win. A gutsy comeback, but those 2 bad losses will keep them down in the rankings for a while. | |
| 14 | The Miami FC | 19 | 5 | 1-2-5 | 9.042 | Miami made the long trek to Oakland in a matchup of the Legion’s 2 opponents this week. Only 5 shots on goals between them, but Miami’s were the better chances. Still, it ended 0-0. | |
| 15 | New Mexico United | 22 | 7 | 2-3-1 | 8.563 | The only shot that got past New Mexico’s Alex Tambakis was an own goal as the hosts cruised to a 3-1 win over Orange County. | |
| 16 | San Antonio | 10 | -6 | 3-1-4 | 7.981 | San Antonio blew 2 attempts at an early PK, went down a goal immediately afterwards before tying 1-1 just before half time against Las Vegas. They are winless in the last four. | |
| 17 | FC Tulsa | 14 | -3 | 1-3-4 | 7.760 | Tulsa GK Michael Nelson held Sacramento at bay but made a big mistake in allowing a goal. The equalizer was a bit lucky. Tulsa are winless in 5 games but head to Detroit next. | |
| 18 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 18 | 0 | 2-2-4 | 7.266 | Pittsburgh were marginally the stronger side in the 1-1 draw in Indianapolis. The game was generally lacking in meaningful attack. A trip to Monterey next. | |
| 19 | Oakland Roots | 13 | -6 | 2-3-2 | 5.440 | Oakland have GK Paul Blanchette to thank for surviving the match with Miami 0-0. Their attack was pretty toothless. They come to the Magic City Saturday. | |
| 20 | Orange County | 17 | -3 | 1-4-3 | 4.571 | Orange County’s hapless 1-3 loss in New Mexico signaled the end of Richard Chaplow’s tenure as head coach. The first coaching domino falls; who will be next? | |
| 21 | Detroit City | 20 | -1 | 1-6-1 | 4.128 | Detroit’s scoring woes continued in the 0-1 loss to Tampa. City have scored 3 goals in 8 games; all 3 were in 1 game at El Paso. It could be a long season. | |
| 22 | Las Vegas Lights | 23 | 1 | 0-1-5 | 3.674 | The Lights’ 1-1 draw in San Antonio ends their long winless away start to the season. Home games won’t start easy though: Charleston Friday then the return fixture with San Antonio Sunday. | |
| 23 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 21 | -2 | 1-2-4 | 3.135 | The Toros traveled to Monterey and had a slight attacking edge in the game, but neither team scored in a testy game. They host New Mexico next. | |
| 24 | Indy Eleven | 24 | 0 | 1-3-3 | 1.375 | Another lackluster showing by the Eleven. Just 7 shots and 2 on goal in the 1-1 draw with the Hounds. They haven’t won since March 25th against Detroit. |
