Quail City Soccer Western Conference Power Rankings: Week 7
Well, this was a week of absolute and complete chaos. We had a last minute winner, a few beat downs, a goal from over 60 yards out, and only one match with fewer than 2 goals scored. The wild, wild west is keeping it’s reputation this year. So who’s stock is up and who’s is down? Let’s take a look.
1: San Antonio FC (4-3-1) ⬆️4
Last match: 3-2 win at El Paso
Hey, a win over a rival is a win, even if they basically handed it to you on a silver platter. They scored a chip goal from deep in their own half (you’ll see that later) and were basically handed the ball in front of net in the final minute of the game to win it. Did they deserve the win? Absolutely not! Does that matter in the standings? Nope! Good teams find ways to make things happen… San Antonio is exceptional at just that.
2: Oakland Roots SC (3-3-1) ⬆️1
Last match: 1-1 draw vs Tulsa, 4-2 win vs Las Vegas
A two-game week for Oakland saw them pick up 4 points at home. After picking up a goal in the 4th minute against Tulsa, they went down a man just before half and then weathered a storm of *20* shots to secure a draw. Things turned around mid-week as they battered a bad Vegas defense to win 4-2, led by a hat-trick from Peter Wilson. The Roots are the real deal, folks.
3: Orange County SC (4-3-1) ⬇️1
Last match: 0-0 draw vs Lexington
If you sat through this match, you have our sympathies. A 0-0 draw with 5 total shots on target and 26 fouls isn’t a fun one. OC will be annoyed to have that weak of a showing against a Lexington team that’s now winless in 5.
4: El Paso Locomotive FC (4-1-1) ⬇️3
Last match: 3-2 loss vs San Antonio
This one stings. In the first Copa Tejas match up of the season, El Paso also took their first loss of the season, falling to San Antonio 3-2. What’s wild is the stats - El Paso had an xG 2.13 higher than San Antonio, had double the number of shots on target, and completely controlled the game. But a defensive miscue led to a last gasp allowed goal, and then there is… whatever this was:
It’s a game they’ll want to quickly forget - it’s also probably just a small bump in the road on their way to the top of the table.
5: Phoenix Rising FC (2-3-2) ⬆️2
Last match: 3-0 win at Miami
Phoenix traveled all the way out east to play in Miami and made the flight worth it with a 3-0 win that started early with a goal in the 8th minute. Miami peppered Phoenix with shots, but could only get 3 of the 16 attempts on target (and hit the woodwork twice). For a team trying to get their feet under them, this was a much needed 3 points.
6: New Mexico United (2-0-3) ➡️-
Last match: Bye
Another bye week for New Mexico means they have the fewest games played of any USL-C team. United has been very stop-and-go to start the season, and a lack of field time hasn’t helped - they’re going to have to deal with making up these games later in the season.
7: Sacramento Republic FC (2-4-1) ⬇️3
Last match: 1-1 draw at Brooklyn
A weird Tuesday night on a small Coney Island pitch in front of a roller coaster led to a late PK for the Quails, as they snagged a last minute penalty to equalize and take a point on the road. Republic recorded just 3 shots on target, all in the second half, and their control and pressure has regularly not been good enough to win games. They’ll need several missing starters to return from injury soon if they want to get back into the title chase.
8: FC Tulsa (1-3-2) ➡️-
Last match: 1-1 draw at Oakland
Before the match, Tulsa would have been happy with a 1-1 draw on the road in Oakland. After the match? That felt like a loss. They played the entire second half up a man due to an Oakland red card, and could only muster just the one goal on 15 second half shots. The finishing just has to be better for this team to earn any confidence.
9: Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (2-2-2) ⬆️2
Last match: 4-1 draw at Colorado
Well that was easy. One way to break a 3 game winless streak is to just... play Monterey Bay. The Switchbacks did what they needed to do, dominated Monterey, and picked up an easy 3 points at home. And talk about dominant; they had twice as many shots on target than the Union had shots total! Kohri Bennett taking the top slot in the Golden Boot race is a nice little bonus.
10: Lexington SC (1-3-3) ➡️-
Last match: 0-0 draw at Orange County
We said it above, and we’ll say it again here: If you sat through this match, you have our sympathies. A 0-0 draw with 5 total shots on target and 26 fouls isn’t fun. Lexington will be happy to take the point, but they’re now winless in 5 matches - a streak of matches where they've only managed to score twice. This is an expensive ship that is slowly filling with water.
11: Las Vegas Lights FC (1-2-4) ⬇️2
Last match: 4-2 loss at Oakland
Two things are true of every single Vegas game:
1, they will score goals.
2, they will allow goals.
The league’s worst defense allowed 4 goals on the night - and scored 2 of their own. The Lights are pure chaos and, like the city of Vegas itself, the chaos is the attraction. At a certain point, you’re not watching soccer - you’re on a ride.
12: Monterey Bay FC (0-2-5) ➡️-
Last match: 2-1 loss at Colorado Springs
The Union just can’t seem to stop the bleeding. They haven’t won a game yet, they’ve scored just 3 goals all season, and have just 2 points. They’ve won just 1 game in their last 15 matches going back to last season. Unfortunately, I think the Switchbacks put it best:
After another crazy week in the Western Conference, all teams will be taking a break from league play this coming weekend - to play in the USL Cup. Some of these match ups are just fun. Saturday morning we get our first New York Derby as the Cosmos (USL-1) host Brooklyn (USL-C). Later in the day, Hartford (USL-C) and Rhode Island (USL-C) continue their series of grudge matches, while Vegas (USL-C) hosts Boise’s (USL-1) first ever match against a Championship side.
And don’t forget - qualifying out of the group stage in this tournament is hard. Just a single loss can borderline eliminate a team from the competition entirely, so every team will be fighting for their lives every match. For us, we’ll be rooting for a few cupsets.
