The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 20Upsets, upsets and more upsets
Trivia question: what did FC Tulsa do this week that no other team managed? Aside from forming a 5-game winning streak, that is.
The answer: they beat a team with fewer points than they had going into the week.
Every other winning team this week (there were two draws) started the week with fewer points than their opponent. Detroit City even did it twice. This made for a crazy week in the Power Rankings and possibly an even crazier one in the actual standings. In the Eastern Conference 11th-place The™ Miami FC trails 4th-place Memphis 901 by just 10 points. In the West it’s even tighter: the 11th-place Rio Grande Valley Toros are only 11 points behind conference-leading Sacramento Republic. Absolutely wild.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Forge Factor | Note |
| 1 | San Diego Loyal | 2 | +1 | 8-5-6 | 22.365 | San Diego Loyal were on a bye this week. |
| 2 | San Antonio | 1 | -1 | 9-4-7 | 20.930 | San Antonio tried and tried but couldn’t penetrate the Miami back line or its heroic keeper Adrian Zendejas, losing 0-1 to 10 men in probably the biggest upset of the week. |
| 3 | New Mexico United | 9 | +6 | 8-7-4 | 19.357 | New Mexico got the biggest win of the weekend, 3-0 over Sacramento. And it wasn’t that close. 4-0-1 over the last 5 is the best record in the West. |
| 4 | Oakland Roots | 15 | +11 | 8-6-6 | 17.961 | The Roots spotted El Paso the lead with an own goal, then scored 3 at the other end in a comprehensive win. Up into the home playoff spots and looking very dangerous. |
| 5 | FC Tulsa | 8 | +3 | 7-7-7 | 17.734 | Tulsa extended its win streak to 5 with a 2-1 decision over Rio Grande Valley. That was assisted by 2 RGV red cards. Weak opposition in the streak though and a visit to Tampa coming up. |
| 6 | Orange County | 7 | +1 | 8-9-4 | 16.819 | Orange County won the wildest game of the week 4-3 in Memphis, converting all 4 of their shots on goal. 4-1-0 over the last 5 and above the playoff line. |
| 7 | Phoenix Rising | 5 | -2 | 6-5-8 | 15.972 | The Rising got some good goalkeeping from Rocco Rios Novo, drawing 1-1 at home with Colorado Springs. Still below the playoff line but with 2 games in hand. |
| 8 | Birmingham Legion | 13 | +5 | 9-8-2 | 15.205 | The Legion’s 2-1 win in Louisville was sloppy but effective. 2 straight over highly-placed teams in the East; can they make it 3 over Charleston? |
| 9 | Charleston Battery | 12 | +3 | 10-5-6 | 14.891 | The Battery went 3 goals up on Pittsburgh before the Hounds finally found the net, by which time it was too late. They edge closer to the top of the East. |
| 10 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 6 | -4 | 10-5-5 | 14.509 | The Rowdies were shut out for the second straight game, drawing with Indy Eleven 0-0 this week. An uninspiring performance and they drop to 3rd in the East. |
| 11 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 4 | -7 | 10-3-8 | 13.726 | The Riverhounds were never really in the key matchup with Charleston, losing 1-3, their first loss since April 22nd. Indy and Memphis this week. |
| 12 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 3 | -9 | 5-6-9 | 13.132 | Rio Grande Valley did themselves no favors with 2 red cards in the 1-2 loss in Tulsa. Even so they outshot the home team 14-11. Those cards won’t help against El Paso this week. |
| 13 | The Miami FC | 17 | +4 | 4-9-8 | 12.875 | In the first 10 minutes Miami scored then lost Paco Craig to a second yellow. Then they survived a 22-shot barrage from hosts San Antonio for a massive 1-0 win. |
| 14 | Detroit City | 22 | +8 | 6-11-5 | 11.745 | Detroit City beat Louisville City 2-0 and Monterey Bay Union 1-0 in dominating fashion and jumped into playoff position. A trip to Oakland next. |
| 15 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 14 | -1 | 9-10-2 | 11.121 | The Switchbacks probably should have converted a few good scoring chances but ended up drawing 1-1 in Phoenix. They head to rested San Diego next. |
| 16 | Indy Eleven | 16 | 0 | 5-7-7 | 9.410 | Indy were the better team in the 0-0 draw with Tampa, but only just. 3 points from the last 4 games and they fall below the playoff line. |
| 17 | Sacramento Republic | 10 | -7 | 9-3-8 | 6.848 | SacRep’s 0-3 embarrassment in New Mexico caps a 4-game winless stretch in which they scored just twice. Lead in the West is down to 1 point. |
| 18 | Hartford Athletic | 24 | +6 | 3-13-4 | 5.542 | Hartford changed its keeper and got 7 saves from Joe Rice on the way to a 2-0 win in Las Vegas. The 6-game losing streak is over but San Antonio is next. |
| 19 | Memphis 901 | 20 | +1 | 8-5-6 | 4.756 | Memphis started off 2 goals up against Orange County but it went downhill from there. 2 red cards on top of the 3-4 home defeat. Area Code FC have been outscored 16-5 in the last 5 games. |
| 20 | El Paso Locomotive | 18 | -2 | 9-6-5 | 4.520 | The Locomotive lost to Oakland Roots 1-3 and weren’t very threatening. 0-3-2 in the past five games but still in the top 3 in the West. |
| 21 | Las Vegas Lights | 19 | -2 | 1-10-8 | 3.492 | The Lights put up 24 shots and 8 on target but still lost the battle of cellar-dwellers 0-2. Just one win all season (over Phoenix). |
| 22 | Louisville City | 11 | -11 | 8-7-5 | 2.838 | Lou City had a rough week, losing 0-2 in Detroit and then 1-2 against Birmingham. They are suffering under a number of injuries and have a big scoring problem. |
| 23 | Loudoun United | 21 | -2 | 6-14-2 | 2.481 | Loudoun United were on a bye this week. |
| 24 | Monterey Bay Union | 23 | -1 | 7-8-6 | -0.368 | The Union had one shot on goal all game in Detroit City, a deflection into their own net. It would have been worse but for heroics by keeper Anthony Siaha. A league-low 1 point in the last 5 games. |
