The Football Forge Power Rankings: Week 21A less chaotic week in the Forge Rankings
OK, this week’s power rankings are very weird. But that’s the consequence of recent form and who you’ve been playing lately. Even so, that 4 teams with losses this week rose in the rankings and 5 with wins fell still comes as a surprise.
| Rank | Team | Previous | Change | Record | Forge Factor | Notes |
| 1 | San Diego Loyal | 15 | 14 | 13-5-4 | 6.31 | 3 solid wins since the 0-5 loss to LA and the Loyal are still in the hunt for top on the West. Barely. The 3-2 win in Orange County was close though. The bad news: the 36 goals allowed is the worst of all teams in playoff position. |
| 2 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 4 | 2 | 13-3-6 | 5.86 | Despite being easily the better team, the Rowdies let Indy score first and then need two PKs to get to the 3-1 win and the streak extends to 6. Still very much in the battle for first place in the East. |
| 3 | Louisville City | 2 | -1 | 14-3-4 | 5.51 | Lou City traveled to El Paso this week and had a very even game that was decided in their favor by a bizarre goal off a corner kick that the entire defense just stared at. That opens up a little breathing room at the top of the East, but it’s still tight and the Rowdies are playing well. |
| 4 | San Antonio | 1 | -3 | 16-3-2 | 5.44 | The Men in Black beat Las Vegas 2-0 and it wasn’t anywhere near that close. Then they returned home and needed a stoppage time short-handed goal to draw 1-1 with LA. The win streak is over, but they are still the cream of the league. |
| 5 | Phoenix Rising | 18 | 13 | 8-10-4 | 4.90 | The Rising were lucky to escape Oakland with a 0-0 draw, then they traded for JJ Williams and blew out Colorado Springs 4-0, including an olimpico by Aodhan Quinn. Has their season finally turned around? |
| 6 | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | 3 | -3 | 12-6-4 | 4.56 | Pittsburgh needed a heroic off-the-line stop in the first half to avoid going down a goal but took over in the second half on their way to a 1-0 win over Tulsa. 3rd in the East, but they have teams breathing down their necks. |
| 7 | Orange County | 17 | 10 | 5-10-7 | 4.04 | The oddest move of the week. OC lose a shootout 2-3 to San Diego at home but get a huge boost in the rankings. Why? The loss to Monterey falling of the form book. That didn’t stop them falling to worst in the West though. But with a brace Milan Iloski now leads the Golden Boot race. |
| 8 | Monterey Bay Union | 6 | -2 | 7-11-2 | 3.84 | The Union were the better side at Loudoun but couldn’t find a breakthrough until the 93rd minute with a remarkable triple-header score by Seku Conneh. But with a win dropping out of their form and other teams doing well, they fall in the rankings. |
| 9 | Birmingham Legion | 9 | 0 | 11-6-5 | 3.81 | The Legion stuck it to Loudoun United 6-1 at home before eking out a 1-0 win in Hartford. 6 points against struggling teams and that gets them absolutely no boost in the rankings. Next up is Atlanta, which probably will result in the same, barring points dropped. |
| 10 | Detroit City | 11 | 1 | 9-4-8 | 3.65 | Detroit City were on a bye this week. |
| 11 | FC Tulsa | 7 | -4 | 7-12-4 | 3.62 | Tulsa couldn’t repeat their winning performance over the Legion in Pittsburgh, going down 0-1. Right below the playoff line, but teams around them have games in hand. And trading JJ Williams may have been a big mistake. |
| 12 | New Mexico United | 8 | -4 | 10-3-8 | 3.51 | In probably the first ever face-off of Greek goalkeepers in the USL, New Mexico came out on top 2-1, but needed the Baby Bulls to go down a man to do it. And they failed to convert a late PK after Giannis Nikopolidis apparently thought the sport was Greco wrestling. |
| 13 | Memphis 901 | 13 | 0 | 12-5-3 | 3.49 | Memphis 901 were on a bye this week. |
| 14 | The Miami FC | 12 | -2 | 8-7-7 | 3.43 | The Miami FC were on a bye this week. |
| 15 | Oakland Roots | 10 | -5 | 6-7-11 | 3.40 | Oakland continues its erratic season with a 0-0 draw against Phoenix, although they were definitely the better team on the night. 1-1-1 in their last 3 games but still within sight of the playoff line. |
| 16 | Las Vegas Lights | 5 | -11 | 9-8-5 | 3.14 | Las Vegas were flattered by the 0-2 loss at home to San Antonio, frankly, and then could have done better than a 1-1 draw in Atlanta with both teams wasting a few chances. |
| 17 | Sacramento Republic | 22 | 5 | 9-5-6 | 3.02 | The massive Open Cup win doesn’t factor in here of course, but the 4-2 win in Charleston does. And that was after giving hero Danny Vitiello and 7 others the night off. SacRep are a very good side and the ranking here is probably understating their quality. |
| 18 | Charleston Battery | 16 | -2 | 3-15-4 | 2.89 | The Battery have Augustine Williams. Other than that, nothing much to speak of. They did score 2 first half goals against a B Sacramento team, which is hardly a big accomplishment. They still lost 2-4. |
| 19 | Hartford Athletic | 25 | 6 | 4-13-5 | 1.56 | The Athletic managed to survive 32 shots by RGV in a 0-0 draw in Texas and went into stoppage time against Birmingham before losing due to a forced error by Yannik Oettl. But they are entirely lacking in attack. A loss to the Battery is out of their form now, so they rise. |
| 20 | New York Red Bulls II | 26 | 6 | 2-16-3 | 1.54 | Another week, another loss, this time to New Mexico 1-2, although it was fairly close. Poor results elsewhere give them a bump in the rankings but it will likely be temporary. Memphis and Atlanta in a home double-game week upcoming. |
| 21 | Rio Grande Valley Toros | 21 | 0 | 7-11-4 | 1.09 | The Toros allowed just 2 shots in the 0-0 draw with Hartford, but got absolutely nowhere with their own mountainous 32 attempts. Going nowhere fast. |
| 22 | Indy Eleven | 23 | 1 | 6-11-4 | 0.94 | Indy shot themselves in the foot giving up 2 silly PKs after taking the lead against Tampa and ultimately lost 1-3. The playoffs are beginning to look like a stretch for this team. |
| 23 | LA Galaxy II | 14 | -9 | 9-10-4 | 0.92 | Los Dos are a feisty group, but couldn’t make a 1-goal lead stand up against 10-man San Antonio. A big win over San Diego drops out of their form and they sink badly in the rankings. |
| 24 | El Paso Locomotive | 20 | -4 | 9-9-6 | 0.74 | The Locomotive basically gave the game away against Lou City by opting not to defend a corner kick. Clinging to 6th place but everyone around them has games in hand. |
| 25 | Atlanta United 2 | 27 | 2 | 4-15-4 | 0.67 | Twonited could have gone down a couple of goals early but survived with a 1-1 draw with the Lights. They needed a stoppage time DOGSO red though to prevent Cal Jennings getting the late winner. |
| 26 | Loudoun United | 24 | -2 | 4-14-3 | -0.95 | Loudoun’s drubbing in Birmingham was followed by a home game against Monterey, but another futile attacking performance led to a loss in stoppage time and a very miserable week. |
| 27 | Colorado Springs Switchbacks | 19 | -8 | 13-8-1 | -0.95 | The Switchbacks will be glad to see the back of July and a hellish early summer schedule made worse by injuries and COVID. The 0-4 whipping in Phoenix led to a social media apology (sort of). Next up: Orange County and a chance to regroup. |
