There are twenty-seven teams in the USL, I've ranked them all, and I have no creativity: thus, a column name was born. These are my mostly-weekly power rankings featuring write-ups and snide remarks on whichever clubs capture my sprit. If you want more, make sure to check out:
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Before I get into it, I want to thank y'all for brooking my off week. It's greatly appreciated. It turns out that I, uh, place a stupid amount of my self-worth in my interactions with the broad USL internet, so I just want you to know that every read and response means a lot. But without further ado...
Title Contenders
1.) SAN ANTONIO: Two weeks back, San Antonio took care of business against a decent Miami side, but they were unfortunate enough to have this week's game cancelled by a Colorado Springs COVID outbreak. In the meantime, let's revel in the fact that Jordan Farr is in the 90th percentile or better by every single goalkeeping metric. I'm interested in the Jordy Delem signing too; this roster is wildly stacked with positionally fluid wingback types. Delem played as a PC- or Connor Maloney-esque defensive midfielder and right back in Seattle, playing a season's worth of matches in 2019 and 2020 while winning a title. At worst, he's depth. At best, San Antonio is getting an MLS-caliber player for an already-deep squad.
2.) LOUISVILLE: Cameron Lancaster slid back into the matchday squad, an exciting development for an already-supercharged attacking unit. Monterey, uh, wasn't an overly imposing opponent, but they came into the match in their ever-improving 4-4-2 defensive look and frustrated Louisville this weekend. A late switch to a back three and Lancaster's debut brought a spark, but they also left the side vulnerable to a counter goal. Go figure. I'm unconcerned about Louisville as a whole, but I think I want to see a statement win just to settle the slight nerves that are developing.
I got into an interesting Twitter conversation about the merits of Sean Totsch relative to a chart I posted last year showing the USL’s leading defenders by raw defensive action totals. That number can be informative, but the real insight comes when you weigh the data by shots faced or possession. After all, a side like Louisville doesn’t give its defenders as much to do. The results were interesting, and five Louisville players were amongst the 20 or so biggest gainers in DAs with the weight. I think you can argue that Totsch has lost a half step, but don’t fault him on the numbers.
Note: I got a gentle reminder from my man Benton from the indispensable Vamos Morados that it's actually six Louisville players and that I forgot to highlight Niall McCabe. So yeah. And why do I have McCabe labelled as an attacking midfielder?!
3.) COLORADO SPRINGS: We're two-and-a-half weeks removed from the last Switchbacks game at this point, and they’re falling just because they aren't at the front of my mind. Still, those two matches against Rio Grande Valley and Oakland were fairly unconvincing; we've not seen a dominant look from Colorado Springs in a month. Fun fact: Cam Lindley is responsible for a larger share of this side's completed passes than any other midfielder with any other USL club. It's a testament to this team's territorial dominance and Lindley's brilliance.
4.) MEMPHIS: I'm officially in on Memphis, and so much of that positivity stems from Aaron Molloy in the central midfield. He's in the top third of players at his position for passes, shots, xG, xA, and defensive actions; he does it all as the box-to-box engine behind a fearsome attacking four. This team is so much more than just Molloy, and they're in the elite group of just seven teams with a +0.50 xG differential per 90, but he's key. The pairing next to a holder in Leston Paul or Chris Allan is sharp, but yeah; Molloy rocks. On that xG group, by the way: you’ve got a clear top chunk, then a big dip down to New Mexico, whose differential is half that of seventh-placed Memphis. Stratification, eh?
5.) TAMPA: I've moaned and groaned about Tampa's midfield defending, specifically in the center of the park. Too often, there would be weird splits and miscommunicated closes that opened gaps. The Rowdies really looked stronger in that sense against Pittsburgh. Yann Ekra and Lewis Hilton were active, and the Dos Santos-LaCava-Fernandes attacking front knew when someone needed to drop down. Pair that with the fivesome's solidity in possession, and you have a vintage-looking Rowdies performance for the second straight week.
Playoff Locks
6.) PITTSBURGH: I'm already anxious to see Dane Kelly really get a consistent runout at the striker spot in a match-to-match, full-game context. Albert Dikwa is delightful and talented, but his movement lacks the verve and gravity that the league's all-time goal leader brings to the table. Against Tampa, I think the Riverhounds were outplayed in the midfield, which is supremely rare for a Bob Lilley side. Dani Rovira and Kenardo Forbes had their moments, but neither was able to find space in the final third with much regularity.
7.) EL PASO: The Locomotive rebounded to get a great 1-0 result against Sacramento in the midweek, and I thought they were extremely successful inflicting their style on the Republic. Their high possession game and visually effortless counterpressure tilted the pitch and worked wonders. The Orange County game was more frustrating, but that three-forward, two-midfielder pressing system looked good. When it's flowing, that pressure lets the fullbacks push high in their own right because it prevents accurate balls into the channels, thereby stemming El Paso's early-season Achilles heel.
8.) DETROIT: Detroit looked solid against a fresh Miami team on Wednesday, and I loved seeing Antoine Hoppenot (95th percentile xA and GAR) get off the scoring schneid. They drop here thanks to recent rebounds from similarly-ranked foes, but I still see this team in the upper tier of the USL right now. When they're clicking, the fluidity in their attack is legitimately impressive. I started the year thinking of Detroit as NISA fodder, then I upgraded them to a plucky, lucky defensive side. I think I'm coming around to the fact that Trevor James' side is just a really solid USL contender.
I know that Detroit is first in the East on sheer points, but I just have a creeping doubt that's informed by expectations more than anything. Maybe it's the inability to get wins against Pittsburgh in the league and Louisville in the Open Cup, or maybe I'm just an idiot, but number eight simultaneously feels entirely too low and aggressively high. Rankings are hard, but this team's sense of magic has me addled.
9.) SAN DIEGO: Tough go for San Diego against Rio Grande Valley, even keeping the controversial refereeing in mind. I love Kyle Vassell's hold-up, Tumi Moshobane's running, and the shifty shape that power both of them, but there are too many moments where the center of the shape is vulnerable without possession. This team is good, but they need to be consistent.
10.) SACRAMENTO: A loss at the midweek to El Paso isn't the most concerning thing in the world, but it continues a trend by which Sacramento sits a tier below the elite sides in the West in terms of scoring. Their xG numbers and conversion alike point to a team that's a cut beneath the A1 sides in the conference. El Paso also possessed Sacramento to death for large swathes of the game. I, with huge amounts of bias, think the Republic are legit, but I need a leading goalscorer with more than two finishes over the whole season.
11.) PHOENIX: After last weekend's Tampa disaster, Phoenix didn't get a chance to prove themselves following a COVID cancellation. I feel like I can't drop this side out of the top ten. The fullback-driven defensive errors, which I maintain were worsened by a defensive three against the Rowdies, persistently crop up, but I believe in the top-of-roster firepower wholeheartedly. There's a balance between foolishness and experimentation, and I think that Phoenix has navigated it deftly in recognizing when to just revert to the 4-3-3 and go to work.
On the Bubble
12.) MIAMI: Miami is enigmatic for me. The names on the roster paint the picture of a side that should be contending with the best of 'em, but that's not where they’re at, nor have they shown any indication of reaching those heights. Their sharpest moves against Detroit came when Mark Segbers turned into a shadow winger out of a nominal fullback role. Ditto Othello Bah against Charleston, whose adapted diamond was overwhelmed by the same wingback-driven stretching. This team is close-ish, and I can't wait to see them get a few healthy weeks, but I want a bit more.
13.) INDY: Coming off an acceptable loss to Memphis, Indy got put Solomon Asante into the active squad, and he looked entirely match fit in an industrious left-wing role to help solidify a 2-0 lead against the Baby Bulls. His dribbling left a bit to be desired, but that'll come with time. Meanwhile, how about Noah Powder's movement, Manuel Arteaga's physicality, and Jonas Fjeldberg's intelligence? I love this offense in flow.
14.) ORANGE COUNTY: I had Orange County outside of the playoffs in the preseason, and that was before the Ronaldo Damus sale. I'm back on the train, and Richard Chaplow deserves all the credit in the world for it. His experimentation has landed on a truly coherent eleven, and his willingness to be patient with new pieces - think Cubo Torres and Daniel Pedersen - is paying dividends. The defense is stout and can swarm you, and Orange County has abandoned the early-season mania that left it vulnerable. All the while, Milan Iloski is proving to be a rough-and-tumble but endlessly skillful and tricky star for Orange County. That said, the moments of coherence meet average and little more all too often. The mistakes are gone, the bits of joy are more regular, but everything ends up blasé with a crippling amount of regularity.
15.) LAS VEGAS: Las Vegas just chokes you out and never gives an inch. No Jennings or Trejo on the road? No problem, evidently. Enrique Duran has done a lovely job forging a unit that shifts, slides, and does just enough to make scoring a complete chore for opponents. They pulled all of that off against Birmingham and had a few counter half-chances, then they had the weekend off. The Lights are in the mix.
16.) NEW MEXICO: New Mexico got a few monkeys off of their back two weeks ago in downing Charleston. Neco Brett and Chris Wehan hit the score sheet, and the side kept a clean sheet. Phoenix would've been a great test of this team's mettle, but COVID gonna COVID. My playoff odds still like New Mexico, but I'm less sold on Zach Prince's crew than I ever could've anticipated in the preseason.
17.) BIRMINGHAM: If you follow my man Kaylor Hodges, the voice for the Birmingham Legion faithful, you know that the club is fed up with an inability to stick the ball in the damn net. I've highlighted how Edi Horvat, a late substitute against Las Vegas, is a willing shooter and ferocious energy guy in comparison to, say, Juan Agudelo or Enzo Martinez at striker, but I worry about the finishing from him. There's too much midfield talent and creative verve for the dry spell to persist.
18.) RIO GRANDE VALLEY: This team is just tough, and they're figuring things out. I've rued the lack of Ricky Ruiz in the lineup, so seeing the team sheet with a Ruiz-Frank Lopez-Dylan Borczak front line was borderline pornographic. Rio Grande Valley's pressure against San Diego addled the Loyal's shape brilliantly, powered by that front three, but Emilio Ycaza was the real difference maker. Second-half shifts put him higher up the pitch, where he dictated play, kept the point of attack and run of play tilted into the attacking zone, and scored twice to boot.
19.) OAKLAND: I know Los Angeles is flagging after a hot few weeks, but Oakland totally took it to the Galaxy. I slept on Ottar Karlsson for too long, but his Norwegian teammate Mikael Johnsen has been a real spark since his recent integration into the squad. This team is spoilt for choice in the attacking midfield roles, as I’ve harped on, but Johnsen can be a central difference maker.
20.) LOS ANGELES: That performance for the Galaxy against Memphis, a brutal five-goal loss, was a wakeup call, one that paints a picture of a team that labors to look competitive outside of Southern California. The shifty back three-turned-four that did so well against a formulaic Phoenix was caught out time and again by Memphis' fluidity. Oakland did much the same at the weekend, utilizing a winger- and wingback-driven system to exploit this side's uniquely narrow approach. The late return to a back four improved things, but the Roots were content to sit off-ball anyway. I want this side to prove it on the road at some point.
21.) MONTEREY: How about the Louisville game for this team? I know I'm always invoking last year's late-arriving Oakland squad in reference to Monterey, but the comparison is so apt. Notes from this weekend: Chase Boone mostly played down the left side as opposed to his usual center-right deployment, Adrian Rebollar got a full run-out at forward, and Christian Volesky showed an extra willingness to drop deep and roam as a striker. All of this experimentation and fluidity is only possible because of the rock-solid nature of the Kai Greene pairing with Hugh Roberts at back.
22.) TULSA: Since my last power ranking, the only data point we have for FC Tulsa is the 5-1 loss to Orange County. I hate dropping them this low, but I need to see signs off life. Sad decline after a really promising start, but all isn't lost by a long stretch; my playoff model has them at a 38% chance of getting in.
Down Bad
23.) HARTFORD: Given the COVID issues, Hartford is coming off of a win last weekend amidst a general improvement in form. Corey Hertzog is very much doing Corey Hertzog things. He's in the 85th percentile or better for goals and xG per 90, and he's generating 99th percentile xG per shot. Can this team claw their way back into the playoff race? I'd think not given the sheer number of decent Eastern teams, but Hartford is due to be competitive.
24.) NEW YORK: New York kept up their pressureful sort of style against Indy, doing that usual thing where they scrape off a few genuinely good chances, look competitive, but inevitably eff things up by losing shape. The second allowance, coming off of a mistimed centerback step amidst a suicidally high line, is indicative of what ails this Red Bulls II team. I’m sort of in love with the Sam Williams-Steven Sserwadda midfield? They weigh like eight pounds soaking wet, but they combine ceaseless pressing with smart passing and tight technique to make this team interesting.
25.) ATLANTA: Atlanta continued to look half-alive as they continue the cycle of mostly-decent performances and bed-shittings. Nelson Orji looked strong as a marauding, Tampa-esque centerback, pressing high into the midfield as a matter of style, but doing it with panache. He was rewarded for his efforts with a headed goal late in the first half, and he's in the 90th percentile or better for pass completions and defensive duel win rate this year.
26.) CHARLESTON: The Battery haven't won since March, and there are just too many games where they're out of things after a quarter of an hour, as it was against Miami this weekend. Conor Casey's crew ditched the proper diamond for more of a 4-2-3-1, but it still left the team narrow and did nothing to rectify a persistently sloppy defensive shape in the midfield. Ugh.
27.) LOUDOUN: I'm sad. If we're being honest, I pre-wrote this whole damn piece before Sunday's Loudoun-Memphis game, and that's because this team is so bad. Sami Guediri didn't start, I got hammered in the midst of the weather delay out of a loss of interest, and then Loudoun conceded in, like, five minutes flat. I so, so, so wanted this side to compete, and their hot start misled me, but it's over for Loudoun.