The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 17
Only two teams held position this week; everyone else was subject t quite a lot of movement. The USL Championship this season has become very much a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately kind of league.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Forge Factor | Note |
| 1 | Phoenix Rising | 6 | 5 | 6-4-7 | 24.259 | A 6-0 beatdown will get you a big jump in the rankings. 6 different players scored in the game against Memphis 901, and 10 of 12 shots were on target. |
| 2 | Orange County | 9 | 7 | 6-8-4 | 20.712 | Orange County went down a goal but were not to be denied on their 10th anniversary, winning 3-1 over Monterey Bay. And they racked 26 shots and 12 on goal in the process. A league-high 3 straight wins. |
| 3 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 16 | 13 | 4-5-8 | 19.791 | A very good week for the usually unimpressive Toros. They beat Oakland Roots 2-0 on 2 Wilmer Cabrera Jr. goals and then scored deep into second half stoppage time to tie Sacramento Republic 1-1, both on the road. |
| 4 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 4 | 0 | 9-4-4 | 19.202 | Cal Jennings scored on his return to :Las Vegas as the Rowdies won 2-1, although it was probably closer than it should have been. Now in 3-way points tie at the top of the East. |
| 5 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 3 | -2 | 8-2-7 | 15.854 | The Riverhounds had the only shot on goal in the 0-0 draw with Louisville, but they may have gotten away with a disqualified Lu City goal. |
| 6 | Monterey Bay Union | 1 | -5 | 7-5-5 | 14.989 | The Union lost to a highly motivated Orange County 1-3 despite taking the early lead. The 4-gamew win streak is broken. |
| 7 | New Mexico United | 18 | 11 | 6-7-3 | 14.125 | New Mexico had all the run of play but still needed 88 minutes to get the Santi Moar goal for the win in El Paso. Getting better, but still out of the playoffs. |
| 8 | Charleston Battery | 20 | 12 | 9-5-4 | 12.586 | The Battery didn’t really need a man advantage for 50 minutes, but they got it anyway as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Loudoun United. Still, they are losing to quality opposition. |
| 9 | Sacramento Republic | 7 | -2 | 9-2-6 | 12.250 | SacRep fund themselves in a surprisingly even game with RGV, which ended with a 1-1 scoreline. Still top of the West, but just 1 win in the past 5 games. |
| 10 | Indy Eleven | 11 | 1 | 5-6-5 | 11.800 | Indy were down 2 goals and a man after 58 minutes but were the better team after that and got 2 PKs to draw 2-2 with San Diego. |
| 11 | San Antonio | 15 | 4 | 7-3-7 | 11.606 | No Jordan Farr, no problem. Second-stringer Carlos Mercado made 3 saves as SAFC capitalized on a few Legion mistakes to win 3-1. |
| 12 | Louisville City | 14 | 2 | 7-4-5 | 11.182 | Did Louisville put one in the net? Very possibly, but it was ruled out and that was as close as they got in the 0-0 draw in Pittsburgh. |
| 13 | El Paso Locomotive | 5 | -8 | 9-4-3 | 10.871 | The Locomotive have GK Benny Diaz to thank for not getting totally waxed by New Mexico, but still lost 0-1. Even so, they are 3 points off the Western lead with a game in hand. |
| 14 | Birmingham Legion | 12 | -2 | 7-8-1 | 10.372 | The Three Sparks had much of the run of play, but couldn’t find the net more than once, although they got close in the 1-3 loss in San Antonio. |
| 15 | San Diego Loyal | 13 | -2 | 6-5-6 | 9.892 | In a game of 3 PKs, the Loyal blew a 2-goal and 1-man advantage in Indianapolis to finish even at 2-2. Just 4 points from the last 6 games and they are struggling. |
| 16 | Memphis 901 | 2 | -14 | 8-3-4 | 9.855 | Area Code couldn’t stop Phoenix, and couldn’t shoot either. with just 1 shot on target all night. A 0-6 embarrassment and they sink in the rankings. |
| 17 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 17 | 0 | 8-9-1 | 8.944 | The Switchbacks handled Miami pretty comfortably in the 2-0 win, and it probably should have been more. |
| 18 | Oakland Roots | 8 | -10 | 6-5-5 | 8.361 | The Roots had 2/3rds of the possession but only generated 2 shots on target in the otherwise tight 0-2 loss to RGV. Worse, Guillermo Diaz picked two stoppage time yellows. |
| 19 | Detroit City | 10 | -9 | 4-9-4 | 6.773 | Detroit were a little unlucky to lose 2-3 in Tulsa in what was a very even game. But that’s 2 straight losses to teams below the playoff line. |
| 20 | Las Vegas Lights | 21 | 1 | 1-9-6 | 1.052 | The Lights’ 1-2 loss to Tampa Bay was their 5th straight. Still the worst record in the league, but others are doing jut as poorly. |
| 21 | Loudoun United | 19 | –2 | 5-12-1 | 0.626 | Loudoun’s 0-3 loss to Charleston was their 3rd straight, all against Eastern teams above them. Are they back to normal? |
| 22 | Hartford Athletic | 23 | 1 | 2-10-4 | 0.422 | Hartford Athletic were on a bye this week. |
| 23 | FC Tulsa | 24 | 1 | 3-7-7 | -0.861 | Tulsa got a PK goal, and open play goal and an assist from Player of the Week Phillip Goodrum as they edged Detroit 3-2 to break a 3-game skid. |
| 24 | The Miami FC | 22 | -2 | 2-8-7 | -1.250 | Miami’s 0-2 loss in Colorado Springs takes them to 2 whole months and 8 games without a win. Still above Hartford, but just barely. |
