Quail City Soccer Power Rankings: Week 1
The USL Championship season kicked off Friday night in front of a sellout crowd in Lexington, as the Western Conference side hosted Eastern Conference juggernaut Louisville City in the latest edition of El Bluegrassico. The rest of the weekend stayed just as entertaining out west, with an average of 2.5 goals a game and 4 goals coming in the final 10 minutes of matches. We know what the table looks like just one week in, but how does each team look and how did they perform compared to what was expected? Let’s take a look!
1: Sacramento Republic FC (1-0-0)
Last match: 2-0 win vs Tulsa
A 2-0 win during a sold-out opening night home match for the club’s 200th win through all competitions is the sort of storybook result we’ve come to expect from the Quails. That it comes against a Tulsa team that won the West last season and hasn’t lost to Sacramento since 2023 makes it all the sweeter. A road match against a re-vamped Lexington in Week 2 will really show what this squad is made of.
2: San Antonio FC (1-0-0)
Last match: 2-1 win vs Phoenix
San Antonio also won their home opener, a 2-1 win over Phoenix, giving up the lone goal after going up by 2. While they’ll be disappointed that they let off the gas in the second half, they continue their streak of never losing a home opener. They’ll count themselves a tad fortunate on the second goal - really, it’s one that should have been saved.
3: Lexington SC (0-0-1)
Last match: 2-1 loss vs Louisville
Lexington at three after a loss?? Well, that loss is by 1 goal in a derby to a Louisville team that lost just a single game last season. Lexington lost steam at the end of the match, but they easily passed the eye test. This is going to be a tough team to beat, and Aaron Molloy may be the best signing of the offseason in the whole of USL.
4: Oakland Roots SC (1-0-0)
Last match: 1-0 win at Monterey Bay
Other than Sacramento and San Antonio, Oakland was the only other Western Conference team to win a game this week. They dominated possession in Monterey and scored an 85th minute goal to take all 3 points. It’s a win, but it’s against a Monterey side that hasn’t shown they have what it takes. Hosting New Mexico in Week 2 will make for a more intriguing matchup.
5: El Paso FC (0-1-0)
Last match: 2-2 draw vs Colorado
El Paso was really hard done to come out of this match with only a point. They managed 16 shots, 7 of which were on target, but a brace from Rubio Rubin was not enough to see the match out. Both goals they allowed, which came off of Colorado’s only 2 shots on target, were off of set-pieces - and they’ll need to fix that issue up quickly before it becomes a problem.
6: New Mexico United (0-0-0)
Last match: None
New Mexico had a week 1 bye - but still made a splash over the weekend as they signed Finnish international Niko Hämäläinen. Hämäläinen, 29, has spent time with both LA teams in MLS, as well as QPR in the English Championship and appearances in the top divisions of Scotland, Belgium, and Finland.
7: FC Tulsa (0-0-1)
Last match: 2-0 loss at Sacramento
The Scissortails will be disappointed with the loss, as they really just didn’t have an outlet up top to relieve pressure when Sacramento had the ball. Their underlying numbers are really actually decent - and I think we’ll see new loan signing Nelson Pierre start up top sooner rather than later.
8: Phoenix Rising FC (0-0-1)
Last match: 2-1 loss at San Antonio
Phoenix’s defense looked flat-footed on both allowed goals and the second probably should have been saved. On the bright side, their xG was 1.21 higher than San Antonio’s. On another night, they win this match 2-1.
9: Colorado Switchbacks FC (0-1-0)
Last match: 2-2 draw at El Paso
New signing Khori Bennett proved his worth with a goal from a corner in the 5th minute of the match and Isaiah Foster scored a second off another set piece in the second half to steal a point on the road. The Switchbacks looked like the far weaker team, losing the xG battle and only having 2 shots on target, but goalkeeper Christian Herrera made 5 saves to keep things level.
10: Las Vegas Lights (0-1-0)
Last match: 1-1 draw at Orange County
Other than one big chance early in the first half, not much went the Light’s way in the first half. But down 1-0, Vegas came out of halftime ready to control the game, holding 64% of the possession and forcing Orange County onto the backfoot for most of the second half. It finally paid off with a late headed goal to steal 2 points on the road. It still wasn’t a good game, but Vegas will take all the points they can get after being the worst team in the entire league last season.
11: Orange County SC (0-1-0)
Last match: 1-1 draw vs Las Vegas
A nothing of a match that will still leave OC fans with a bitter taste in their mouth, OC came out strong with a goal midway through the first half… and it would be their only shot on target the entire match. A weak deflected header in the 84th minute from Vegas to equalize leaves OC with a big 2 points dropped. It’s only weak 1, but only managing 5 total shots against a not-very-good Vegas team may be early signs of something to be worried about.
12: Monterey Bay FC (0-0-1)
Last match: 1-0 loss vs Oakland
On the bright side, it could have been worse. Monterey kept Oakland to just 3 shots on target, almost scored one of their own before it was cleared off the line, and implemented their low-block counter-attack tactic fairly well. They’ll certainly frustrate some good teams this season with it. On the downside, when your counter-attacks can’t score goals and your defense can’t win a second ball on a set-piece… you’re in for a bad time.
Week One power rankings are always a pain - do you go off of pre-season expectations? Purely the results? Some balance of the two? We tried to find a middle ground here. The actual state of all 12 teams becomes much clearer as the season goes on. So how did we do? If you disagree with us, let us know either below or on our socials - we’d love to hear your thoughts!
