The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 10A crazy weekend in a crazy league
Across 12 games this week an impressive 45 goals were scored. Despite that, 3 teams managed not to score. Which means that the 21 teams who did score averaged 2.14 goals between them. Only 1 game had lass than 3 goals. 3 hat tricks and 2 short-handed wins. Defense, shall we say, was not much in evidence this week.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Forge Factor | Note |
| 1 | El Paso Locomotive | 1 | 0 | 6-3-1 | 23.392 | It took until the 89th minute but the Locomotive finally broke through against Loudoun for the 1-0 home win. 5 straight wins and 6 in the last 7 games and El Paso are soaring. |
| 2 | San Antonio | 13 | 11 | 5-1-4 | 22.922 | San Antonio didn’t need a Charleston own goal, but they got one anyway in a club record 7-0 win on the road. Tani Oluwaseyi got a hat trick in the runaway victory. |
| 3 | Memphis 901 | 3 | 0 | 3-2-3 | 19.233 | Memphis split goals with Colorado Springs before a Bruno Lapa red card and held on for a late allez-oop goal from Luiz Fernando for the short-handed win. Tulsa next and a chance to make it 3 straight in league play. |
| 4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 5 | 1 | 4-4-2 | 18.736 | JJ Williams got a hat trick as the Rowdies romped to a 5-1 win over Detroit. 3 straight wins, but 2 were Detroit. A road trip to RGV could easily make it 4 in a row. |
| 5 | Sacramento Republic | 2 | -3 | 6-0-3 | 16.661 | Russell Cicerone scored twice in the first 8 minutes and added a 3rd late as SacRep cruised to a 3-1 win over Indy to keep the Western Conference lead over El Paso. Orange County next. |
| 6 | Louisville City | 7 | 1 | 5-2-2 | 16.642 | Lou City’s 3-1 win over Miami was never really in doubt, although much of it was due to poor defending on the opponent’s part. 11 points from the past 5 games now. |
| 7 | Oakland Roots | 10 | 3 | 4-3-2 | 15.724 | No assistance from the referees this week, but the Roots didn’t need it as they handled Orange County 3-0 with not too much effort. A tougher task in Sacramento this week though. |
| 8 | New Mexico United | 16 | 8 | 3-3-2 | 13.231 | New Mexico took an early lead, then saw Sam Hamilton ejected for a double-yellow, but scored just 3 minutes later and rode it out for a 2-1 win over Monterey Bay. Still below the playoff line but inching closer. |
| 9 | Phoenix Rising | 11 | 2 | 3-2-4 | 12.461 | Phoenix got 3 slightly strange goals in the 3-1 win over Hartford, but they all count anyway. They head to Orange County this week with a chance to solidify their position above the playoff line. |
| 10 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 22 | 12 | 2-2-5 | 12.028 | The Toros got probably the most surprising result of the weekend, beating San Diego Loyal 3-2 on the road, and it wasn’t really that close. A much needed confidence boost with Tampa Bay coming to town. |
| 11 | The Miami FC | 4 | -7 | 2-3-5 | 11.877 | Miami scored in Louisville, but only thanks to a penalty. Otherwise, they never really looked threatening despite 10 days between games. |
| 12 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 18 | 6 | 3-2-5 | 11.319 | The Riverhounds completely stymied the Legion attack, which was possibly tired and a tad under strength. Still, Pittsburgh is beginning to make itself felt in the tight Eastern standings. |
| 13 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 6 | -7 | 5-4-1 | 11.176 | The Switchbacks looked less than impressive against a 10-man Memphis team and gave up a silly late goal for a 1-2 loss. 3 defeats in the past 5 games now. |
| 14 | Indy Eleven | 15 | 1 | 2-4-3 | 10.136 | The Eleven managed just 4 shots total and 1 on goal as they were predictably beaten 1-3 in Sacramento. 4 points from the past 5 games and they are not looking as if improvement is coming. |
| 15 | San Diego Loyal | 8 | -7 | 5-3-2 | 9.799 | The Loyal got a late consolation PK goal but were outclassed at home by RGV, losing 2-3. Under the shadow of a potential MLS team that was not the result they needed. |
| 16 | Monterey Bay Union | 12 | -4 | 3-3-4 | 8.114 | The Union had the bulk of the attack but couldn’t penetrate New Mexico’s defense until late despite a man advantage, losing 1-2 on the road. They go to an embarrassed Charleston next. |
| 17 | FC Tulsa | 14 | -3 | 1-3-6 | 7.908 | Tulsa and Las Vegas fought to a very even 1-1 draw with both teams failing to capitalize on some good chances. 3 straight 1-1 draws and Tulsa are finding it difficult to earn points. Memphis in town this week. |
| 18 | Las Vegas Lights | 20 | 2 | 0-3-6 | 6.042 | The Lights may have had a few of the better chances, but the 1-1 draw with Tulsa was fair. Las Vegas is still winless on the season and a trip to Pittsburgh won’t make breaking that streak easy. |
| 19 | Charleston Battery | 9 | -10 | 5-2-3 | 4.792 | The Battery had a horrendous week, losing in the Open Cup before getting annihilated 7-0 by San Antonio. But no one had it as bad as Juan Palma, who scored own goals in both matches. |
| 20 | Loudoun United | 17 | -3 | 3-5-1 | 4.617 | Loudoun’s late 0-1 loss to El Paso was a gritty road performance and they were not outplayed at all. Even so, 3 losses in a row and the gilding may be off the lily. A double-game week coming up. |
| 21 | Hartford Athletic | 19 | -2 | 1-6-2 | 2.099 | Hartford weren’t really outplayed in the 1-3 loss in Phoenix, but they didn’t help themselves with silly defensive errors, and their only goal was a softish PK. Not in the Eastern Conference cellar, but only on tiebreakers. |
| 22 | Birmingham Legion | 23 | 1 | 5-5-1 | 0.903 | The Three Sparks lost Neco Brett early to injury and with a heavily rotated squad never really challenged. 3 straight losses and El Paso at home coming up. |
| 23 | Detroit City | 21 | -2 | 1-7-2 | 0.653 | Surprisingly, 5 goals got past Nate Steinwascher. Equally surprisingly, Detroit scored a goal, even if it was on a free kick. San Antonio is next, so things aren’t looking up. |
| 24 | Orange County | 24 | 0 | 1-6-3 | -0.924 | Simply put, Orange County are bad. A 3-0 loss in Oakland this week and they were never really in it. A league-worst 4-game losing streak already and they play Sacramento and Phoenix this week. |
