Quail City Soccer Western Conference Power Rankings: Week 2
Week 2 is complete, and already just one team remains perfect in the Western Conference. Half the West is still unbeaten, while an unexpected name sits atop the table: Oakland, who also welcomed more than 14,000 fans for their opening-night clash with New Mexico.
It’s still early in the season, which means plenty of volatility in the power rankings. The margins between teams are razor-thin right now, and even small differences in performance can send clubs sliding several spots. So after two weeks, who’s rising and who’s falling? Let’s take a look.
1: Oakland Roots SC (2-0-0) ⬆️3
Last match: 2-1 win vs New Mexico
Over 14k in attendance at the Coliseum, a beauty of a goal to open things up, and it was a party for the Roots on their home opener. No corners and only 36% possession? Who cares when you can counter your way into goals. They’ve now got 2 wins under the belt, and it’ll be fun to see where this team can go.
2: El Paso Locomotive FC (1-1-0) ⬆️3
Last match: 3-0 win at Monterey
One word describes El Paso this week: Clinical. They finished their chances, controlled the game, and kept the clean sheet. Monterey just isn’t good and El Paso played them off the field. Three different goal scorers is a nice touch, too.
3: Sacramento Republic FC (1-1-0) ⬇️2
Last match: 0-0 draw at Lexington
A solid clean sheet on the road that could have been a win if Lexington’s keeper hadn’t made 2 fantastic saves. Outside of those 2 chances, Sacramento was mostly bogged down in the midfield—but kept Lexington stuck there with them.
4: Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (1-1-0) ⬆️5
Last match: 3-2 win vs Las Vegas
This was way closer than it should have been. Colorado had 63% possession, over 2x the xG, 21 shots, complete control of the game, and yet needed an 85th minute own goal to win it. Two mistakes from the back let Vegas score 2 goals in 4 minutes—Colorado will need to clean up the defense to hang with the better sides, even if the offense looks good.
5: Lexington SC (0-1-1) ⬇️2
Last match: 0-0 draw vs Sacramento
The midfield fought hard and this is a good draw at home. While most of the game was quiet, Lexington did need their keeper to come up big twice to keep things level. Still, 50/50 possession, only 2 corners a piece, and 1 shot on target… this is about as even of a game as you’re going to see.
6: San Antonio FC (1-1-0) ⬇️4
Last match: 0-0 draw at Tulsa
This was a defensive masterclass. Tulsa had an xG of 1.54, 12 shots, and 32 touches in San Antonio’s box, yet the SAFC defense held firm. On the other side of things… the San Antonio offense managed an xG of just 0.24 and just 5 touches in Tulsa’s box. They’ll take the draw on the road, but the offense needs some work.
7: FC Tulsa (0-1-1) ➡️
Last match: 0-0 draw vs San Antonio
Is Tulsa unlucky, or just not good at scoring? They put up 12 shots on San Antonio while dominating every offensive stat available, and couldn’t find the back of the net in their home opener. They have yet to score in 2026; losing Taylor Calheira and not utilizing new loan player Nelson Pierre is a head-scratcher.
8: New Mexico United (0-0-1) ⬇️2
Last match: 2-1 loss at Oakland
One game in and it was not the start New Mexico wanted. They held 64% of the ball and had 9 corners, but just looked toothless for most of the game. They looked most dangerous on the counter—which doesn’t exactly work when you hold on to the ball. Still, it’s their first match and they played in front of probably their largest away crowd of the season. We’ll withhold judgment until we see how they do next week in San Antonio.
9: Phoenix Rising SC (0-1-1) ⬇️1
Last match: 1-1 draw vs Orange County
Somehow, Phoenix was both lucky and unlucky. Lucky to get a point after going down to 10 men in the first half… and unlucky to only get a point after Orange County went down to 10 yet still found an equalizer. When things were level, Phoenix controlled the game. But Juan Carvajal, you just can not directly stand in front of a free kick 2 minutes after you already got your first yellow and get yourself sent off. The 22-year old will need to learn from it.
10: Orange County SC (0-2-0) ⬆️1
Last match: 1-1 draw at Phoenix
Barely squeezing out a draw after being up a man for 40 minutes is not a good look, especially one week after playing poorly against Vegas. Even worse, they were actually out-shot by Phoenix while being up a man—and Phoenix’s chances were better! OC even had to take a red themselves late in the game just to stop Rising’s counter. A sigh of relief to take the point, but this team hasn’t shown signs that they can take advantage of what’s given to them.
11: Las Vegas Lights FC (0-1-1) ⬇️1
Last match: 3-2 loss at Colorado Springs
It’s not often that a keeper can give up 3 goals and still end up with an 8.0 match rating—the 3rd highest on the pitch. And yet, Jared Mazzola did exactly that with 6 saves on 9 shots on target. The Lights were played off the pitch, but a 4-minute brace from Abraham Okyere and a standout performance from Mazzola made this one look closer than it was.
12: Monterey Bay FC (0-0-2) ➡️
Last match: 3-0 loss vs El Paso
Three goals allowed before the red card is awful. What’s worse than that? Having 12 shots, 0 on target, and 10 of them weren’t blocked—they just straight up missed. Two of those were 1-on-1 with the El Paso keeper. Add in questionable goalkeeping and it’s just as bad on the other end. This team hasn’t shown any signs of being good yet.
Week 3 should start giving us real answers. Early surprise, Oakland faces its toughest test yet when they travel to Phoenix, regional rivalries take center stage as Sacramento host Monterey, and several Western Conference contenders collide in matches that could quickly reshape the table. If you’re looking for a match to keep an eye on, San Antonio vs. New Mexico feels pivotal early—both teams are expected to compete this year and will be looking to pick up their first win. With margins still tight, expect plenty more movement next week.
