The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 2
We did not publish any power rankings last week, as not all teams had played, Rhode Island and Indy Eleven being on a bye. As in prior years, we will be engaging the Forge Factor to determine the rankings, but we need five games of data per team to do that for the algorithm to work accurately. So we won’t be using it until at least week 6 of league play. In the meantime, the rankings will be our subjective opinion on the various performances to date, but skewed heavily to this week’s results.
| Rank | Team Name | Note | This Week |
| 1 | San Antonio | San Antonio completely dominated Pittsburgh 2-0, outshooting the Riverhounds 12-6. Two straight wins to start the season and the team is already looking much better than last year. | @ Oakland |
| 2 | Louisville City | Louisville City were perhaps a bit lucky to get the win over Charleston last week. Other than one bad error they were held at bay by the Legion for a draw. | v. Loudoun |
| 3 | Detroit City | Beating Miami last week was not a big achievement; beating the reigning champs this week was, especially on their field. The winning own goal in the close 2-1 contest would likely have been scored by Sebastian Guenzatti anyway. | v. Birmingham |
| 4 | Loudoun United | For the second straight week Loudoun came back quickly from an early deficit to ultimately dominate North Carolina in the 2-1 road win. They stay on the road next week for a major indication of whether this team is for real. | @ Louisville |
| 5 | New Mexico United | New Mexico and Las Vegas played to a stalemate for 50 minutes before the floodgates opened. 2 big Vegas defensive errors allowed 2 goals but it still took until 4 minutes of stoppage time for the 3-2 win. | v. El Paso |
| 6 | Orange County | Orange County got an early goal, then gave up two goals either side of half-time and needed a last gasp score for the 2-2 draw with Lexington. Two so-so results from a team that should be in contention. | v. Monterey Bay |
| 7 | Sacramento Republic | Sacramento Republic were on a bye this week. | v. Colorado Springs |
| 8 | Lexington SC | Lexington felt a bit aggrieved by the late goal that tied the game in Orange County 2-2 (their keeper did not have control). Still, the Championship newcomers have impressed so far. | v. Indy |
| 9 | Charleston Battery | After a tough opening week loss, the Battery were not going to be denied. They took it to Rhode Island in the 2-0 win. Solid in all aspects of the game. | Bye |
| 10 | FC Tulsa | Tulsa were outpossessed and outshot by Tampa but needed just one shot on goal to get the 1-0 win. Two wins to start the season but sitting back like this will not win championships. | v. North Carolina |
| 11 | Indy Eleven | A trip to Miami is a relaxing way to start your season. No surprises in the 3-1 win but it tells us very little about the team. | @ Lexington |
| 12 | Monterey Bay FC | Monterey came back from a goal down to score 3 fast second-half goals to take a commanding 3-2 win over Oakland. A good recovery from the opening week loss to San Antonio. | @ Orange County |
| 13 | Las Vegas Lights | The 2-3 home loss to New Mexico exposed some weaknesses on the back line but the game was otherwise very even. Two quality teams going at it. | Bye |
| 14 | Birmingham Legion | The Legion recovered from its poor showing last week to force a draw with Louisville City despite missing several key players. Open Cup Wednesday before another big test at the weekend. | @ Detroit |
| 15 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | One point from two games is not the way to start a title defense. The 1-2 loss at home to Detroit this week was not a demonstration of any real intent. SacRep next week won’t make it easier. | @ Sacramento |
| 16 | Phoenix Rising | Phoenix’s Mohamed Traore scored from the center circle to upstage Amando Moreno’s bike goal and get the 4-4 draw in El Paso. Quite a way to get your first point of the season. | v. Rhode Island |
| 17 | Rhode Island FC | A 0-2 loss, even to Charleston, was not how Khano Smith wanted to celebrate his new contract. In particular, the defense looked shaky. Are they missing Turnbull? | @ Phoenix |
| 18 | North Carolina FC | North Carolina scored first but probably should have lost to Loudoun by more than the 1-2 result. They looked largely disorganized and did not impress. | @ Tulsa |
| 19 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | Pittsburgh looked utterly lost in the 0-2 loss in San Antonio and had just one shot on goal. They have only a single point from two games and will be raising some questions. | v. Hartford |
| 20 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | The Rowdies had most of the play but did not really change the Tulsa goal all night, losing 0-1. The loss to Las Vegas was perhaps not a surprise but this is a very bad start. | @ Miami |
| 21 | El Paso Locomotive | El Paso managed to blow a 4-1 lead over Phoenix in a staggering 8-goal scoring contest. That’s two draws now and this team is looking much stronger than a year ago. | @ New Mexico |
| 22 | Hartford Athletic | Hartford Athletic were on a bye this week. | @ Pittsburgh |
| 23 | The Miami FC | Miami gave up 3 goals in the first 35 minutes before getting one back in the second half. Nothing has changed in South Florida and the club already has the league’s worst goal difference. | v. Tampa Bay |
| 24 | Oakland Roots | The good news: Oakland can score. The bad news: they can’t defend. The 2-3 loss in Monterey takes their goals allowed to 7 already, worst in the league. | v. San Antonio |
