The Football Forge Power Rankings: Weeks 1 and 2A lot of questions from the first two weeks of the new season
We did not produce a power rankings post last week, partly due to time constraints, but also because a full quarter of the Championship didn’t play. After week 2, all teams have played at least one game (El Paso is already up to three), so we can begin to see how things are shaping up. It’s still far too early in the season for the Forge Factor to figure into the calculations (that will take 5 games played for every team), so the rankings are entirely our own opinion. Disagree at your leisure.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Note |
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Note |
| 1 | Sacramento Republic | N/A | 0 | 1-0-1 | SacRep played two very even games, tying Orange County 2-2 and beating Miami FC 1-0. All three goals were scored by Trevor Amann, who moved up from the USL1 Hailstorm this offseason. Notice is served. |
| 2 | Louisville City | N/A | 0 | 1-0-0 | Lou City lost Brian Ownby for an extended period but had little trouble winning 1-0 in El Paso over what must have been a tired Locomotive team. |
| 3 | Indy Eleven | N/A | 0 | 1-1-0 | Indy went down early in Oakland and couldn’t quite make up the deficit in a 1-2 loss in a very close game. Then they completed dominated in Memphis 901, winning by the same score. Home opener against Sacramento this week. |
| 4 | Orange County | N/A | 0 | 1-0-1 | OC came from behind twice to draw Sacramento 2-2, including a late goalie goal. Then they had just 2 shots against Pittsburgh but converted both of them to win 2-0. 4 good points. Miami this week. |
| 5 | Oakland Roots | N/A | 0 | 1-0-1 | Oakland Roots scored in the 3rd minute of their first game and went on to edge Indy 2-1. Then they had to survive an onslaught by the Battery to maintain a 1-1 draw. They go on the road for the first time this week at Phoenix. |
| 6 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | N/A | 0 | 0-0-1 | Jordan Farr will not be happy to allow 2 late goals against his former team in the 2-2 season-opening draw this week. The Rowdies have plenty of attacking punch, though. A trip to North Carolina will likely improve their position. |
| 7 | Loudoun United | N/A | 0 | 1-0-1 | Loudoun played down a man for 61 minutes in San Antonio and still outshot the hosts and managed a 2-2 draw. The 3-1 win over North Carolina was impressive, if a little lucky. Loudoun is in the unaccustomed position of top in the East as they head to Detroit. |
| 8 | Birmingham Legion | N/A | 0 | 1-0-0 | The Legion needed a heroic performance by MVO to keep a clean sheet and a little luck to score to beat a tough Phoenix team – and some iffy refereeing – in week 1. Off in week 2; Hartford next. |
| 9 | San Antonio | N/A | 0 | 0-0-2 | San Antonio blew leads twice over 10-man Loudoun in the 2-2 home opener, then needed two late goals in Tampa to pull off another 2-2 draw. They are not looking as strong as history suggests. Switchbacks next. |
| 10 | FC Tulsa | N/A | 0 | 1-0-0 | Tulsa headed west to Las Vegas for their first game this week and came home with a fairly comfortable 3-1 win. Not really indicative of their true strength And they are off again this week. |
| 11 | Hartford Athletic | N/A | 0 | 1-0-0 | Hartford went to El Paso in week 1 and came home with a 1-0 win, although it could have been more. A much improved squad; but will they present a danger to the Legion this week without Romario Williams? |
| 12 | The Miami FC | N/A | 0 | 1-1-0 | Miami were outshot by the Switchbacks 21-10 but ended up 2-0 winners, with both teams having many good scoring opportunities. The 0-1 loss to Sacramento was tight, and several more good chances were not capitalized on. Miami is a strong attacking team this year. |
| 13 | Rhode Island FC | N/A | 0 | 0-0-1 | Rhode Island looked very, very good in their inaugural match. 20 shots and 9 on target but ended up with a 1-1 draw with New Mexico off an own goal. An interesting matchup with an improved Monterey Bay side this Sunday. |
| 14 | Charleston Battery | N/A | 0 | 0-0-2 | Charleston went to North Carolina and found no breakthrough in the 0-0 draw. They then pummeled Oakland with 21 shots but ended up with another draw, 1-1. At home for the first time this week against New Mexico. |
| 15 | New Mexico United | N/A | 0 | 1-0-1 | A rather boring 1-0 home win over Pittsburgh to start the season, then Alex Tambakis put up 9 saves to preserve a 1-1 draw in Rhode Island. 4 points, but Charleston coming up. |
| 16 | Detroit City | N/A | 0 | 1-0-0 | Detroit look to have more attacking punch this season but still needed a couple of good saves by Nate Steinwascher and a man advantage to get the 2-1 win in Colorado Springs. The jury is very much still out on this squad. |
| 17 | Memphis 901 | N/A | 0 | 1-1-0 | Area Code FC came from behind to beat Las Vegas 2-1 in the home opener but then imploded against Indy, losing 1-2. Worse, they will be without fullbacks Oscar Jimenez and Akeem Ward on red card suspension next week at…Sacramento. |
| 18 | Monterey Bay Union | N/A | 0 | 1-0-1 | Off in week 1, Monterey had their chances in a 1-1 draw in El Paso after giving up a very early goal. Then a convincing 1-0 home win over Phoenix. The Union look good so far. |
| 19 | North Carolina FC | N/A | 0 | 0-1-1 | North Carolina’s 0-0 draw with Charleston was as dreary as the score suggests. Then they wasted some good chances in a 1-3 loss to Loudoun. The return to the Championship probably won’t get any easier with Tampa coming to town. |
| 20 | Phoenix Rising | N/A | 0 | 0-2-0 | Phoenix put up 13 shots on goal in two games and lost 1-0 twice to the Legion and Monterey Bay. Defensive errors led to both goals and they were stymied by two in-form keepers. Will they rebound against Oakland? |
| 21 | El Paso Locomotive | N/A | 0 | 0-2-1 | The Locomotive were denied a goal against Hartford on a very questionable offside call. A midweek 1-1 draw with Monterey Bay was a fair result. They then lost 0-1 again to Lou City. 1 point from 3 home games is not good. |
| 22 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | N/A | 0 | 0-2-0 | The Riverhounds were thoroughly unimpressive in the 0-1 loss in New Mexico. They put up a better attacking performance at home against Orange County but still lost 0-2. A very poor start and Louisville is next. |
| 23 | Las Vegas Lights | N/A | 0 | 0-2-0 | The Lights scored first but lost 1-2 in Memphis and then were handled 1-3 by Tulsa at home. Not surprising for a team that is still a work in progress. El Paso this week could mean breaking into the win column. |
| 24 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | N/A | 0 | 0-2-0 | 1 goal from 31 shots is…wasteful. And 4 goals allowed over 2 games for a 0-2 loss to Miami and a 1-2 loss to Detroit leaves the Switchbacks in a bad position already. San Antonio this week could make it worse. |
