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USL League Two Power Rankings: Week 9

By USLLeagueTwoStaff, 07/05/23, 5:15PM EDT

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Team

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Record

Summary
1
Chicago City SC
Last Week: 1 		9-0-0
v. FC Wichita
July 6 / 7:00 p.m. CT 		This was always going to be a formality after they won at the death against Des Moines Menace in Valley Stadium on Saturday. Some ridiculous stats about that win: For the first time since 2017, Des Moines lost a match at home in the regular season (St. Louis FC U-23). For the first time since 2017, a club has beaten Des Moines twice in one season (St. Louis FC. U-23). Chicago City SC is the first League Two team since Des Moines Menace in 2021 to start a season with nine consecutive wins. Two of their last three games are at home, and their last three opponents have a combined 15 league points. They’re still a long way from lifting any kind of silverware, but the Windy City side is playing like they’re untouchable.
2
Flint City Bucks		 1
Last Week: 3 		8-0-1
v. AFC Ann Arbor
July 8 / 7:00 p.m. ET 		A 78th-minute goal from AFC Ann Arbor’s Ryan Hannosh is the only reason the Bucks don’t have a perfect record right now. They still have another test with AFC Ann Arbor on the schedule – a six-pointer at Atwood Stadium against Ann Arbor again. Win that match, and the Bucks are Great Lakes champions. There is a clear divide between them and the rest of the division.
3
Fort Wayne FC		 1
Last Week: 4		 9-0-2
@ Kings Hammer FC
July 11 / 7:00 p.m. ET		 Another week, another dominant showing from Fort Wayne FC. They’ve now gone seven matches without conceding and have scored 20 goals in those seven matches. Nobody in the Valley can touch them, and they’re comfortably walking away with the divisional title. Their +26 goal differential is near the top in the league. Damarcus Beasley’s Fort Wayne FC is for real.
4
Long Island Rough Riders		 1
Last Week: 5 		10-1-1
v. Manhattan SC
July 8 / 7:00 p.m. ET		 The draw to Manhattan SC and loss to Cedar Stars are fully in the rearview mirror now. A revenge win over Cedar Stars and a +29 goal differential overall, top three in the league, hopped the Rough Riders up to fourth as they continue their quest for a return to the Final.
5
AHFC Royals		 5
Last Week: 10 		9-1-1
v. AC Houston Sur
July 10 / 7:00 p.m. CT		 The Royals won the division with their win over Round Rock SC, securing their place in the playoffs despite their division not getting two outright bids. They loved toeing the line between disaster and triumph a few weeks ago, but this emphatic win makes their intentions clear: They’re here to win.
6
Des Moines Menace		 4
Last Week: 2 		8-2-0
v. St. Charles FC
July 8 / 7:00 p.m. CT		 Maybe one of the unluckiest standings situations in all of League Two, Des Moines Menace have conceded only six goals all season. Five have been at the hands of Chicago City SC. When it looked like they may have been able to salvage a draw after going down at home with less than ten minutes remaining, it was Sidney Warden getting free on the right side during a counterattack that sealed Des Moines’ fate. Two losses in a season is a rare sight for the Menace – two losses to the same team is nearly unheard of in recent history. Against every other opponent, they’ve dominated, but not Chicago City. They cannot be any higher than this at this moment.
7
Monterey Bay FC 2		 4
Last Week: 11 		8-1-1
@ San Francisco City FC
July 9 / 2:00 p.m. PT 		Doing the quick double over Academica SC is a quick way to cure yourself of any concerns following the 3-0 defeat they took at the hands of SF Glens. In control of the division now, wins against SF City and Project 51O will put a bow on a fantastic first season without many road bumps.
8
Ventura County Fusion		 1
Last Week: 9 		8-1-1
@ Southern California Seahorses
July 8 / 7:00 p.m. PT		 It says a lot about the ability and production of the top teams in the league if a club that is playing as well as Ventura County Fusion sits eighth on this list. A 7-0 hammering of Capo FC capped off a perfect home record – nobody could touch them in Ventura. It’s the road where they’ve had issues, and they still have two more road matches to play, against Southern California Seahorses and Redlands FC.
9
Thunder Bay Chill		 3
last Week: 12		 7-1-1
v. FC Manitoba, v. Minneapolis City SC
July 5 / 7:00 p.m. CT / July 7 / 7:00 p.m. CT 		That uncomfortable start to the season has completely evaporated, and Thunder Bay Chill hold a seven-match winning streak – one of the longest in the league. They’ve done it mostly on the road – five of those seven wins were away from home. Now, to finish the season, they’ll get to welcome Manitoba, Minneapolis City and Bavarian United to Thunder Bay to cap off what has become a fantastic season for the club.
10
Texas United		 4
Last Week: 6 		7-0-2
v. Blue Goose SC
July 8 / 7:00 p.m. CT		 This one really isn’t their fault – their win against LA Parish over the weekend was another display of the large separation between the top of the Mid-South Division and the bottom, and we’re sure to see similar displays over their last two matches, but it’s hard to shake that recent draw against LA Krewe, who lost to Mississippi Brilla and drew with LA Parish over the last week.
11
Ballard FC		 3
Last Week: 8 		8-1-1
@ Capital FC Atletico
July 12 / 7:00 p.m. PT		 Slotting Ballard FC in at 11 is a function of the week they’ve had as much as anything else: a loss at the death against Oly Town FC, who were shorthanded, then a draw with United PDX while losing Lesia Thetsane to a DOGSO red card, then conceding in the first minute for the second time in three matches to Capital FC Atletico and trailing 2-0 before mounting the comeback in the last 16 minutes. While it is good to win, and their playoff spot is secure, Ballard FC look vulnerable without Christian Engmann, Stas Korzeniowski and Alex Mejia to produce.
12
San Francisco Glens		 5
Last Week: 7		 7-2-1
v. Marin FC Legends
July 8 / 1:00 p.m. PT		 Losing to Marin FC Legends was a massive blow to the Glens’ divisional title hopes, and the 1-0 win over Project 51O didn’t instill the utmost confidence that it wouldn’t happen again. A stellar season overall for the Glens – they’ve been held without a goal only once this season, and only been held to a single goal four times. Unfortunately for them, two of those four times have been in the last week.
13
Little Rock Rangers
Not Ranked 		8-1-1
@ Mississippi Brilla FC
July 8 / 7:00 p.m. CT		 40 goals scored and only four conceded is pretty absurd, when you look at it. The degree to which Little Rock dominate most of their opponents is borderline dangerous, and a double-digit win over the weekend emphasizes that. However, only one other team in the Mid-South division possesses a point-per-match average of at least 1.5, and that’s Texas United, a club that Little Rock Rangers have played against twice and have come away with one league point. It’ll be a photo finish in the division – the Rangers trail by just a single point. They’re among the best in the league when it comes to taking care of business that needs to be taken care of – it’s only up to Texas United whether that ends in a divisional title.
14
Vermont Green FC
Not Ranked		 8-2-0
@ Western Mass Pioneers
July 7 / 7:00 p.m. ET		 Four wins on the bounce now for the syrup-chugging Green, who are loving this stretch of matches at Virtue Field. They’re now set for what will be the ultimate test this weekend – a trip to Ludlow, Massachusetts to face Western Mass Pioneers, one of the two teams that got the better of them this season in Vermont. Their road record has been far more solid than at home, mostly due to their defense, so if they come away with the win in that match, they have to have the Northeast Divisional title in their sights.
15
South Carolina United FC 		1
Last Week: 14 		7-1-1
@ North Alabama SC
July 8 / 7:30 p.m. ET		 The race for the South Central Division is one of the most exciting in the league – and this ranking even splits hairs. South Carolina United only gets the nod because they beat Asheville City SC in their most recent matchup and have four wins in a row. Their schedule now moves to three clubs they’ve already defeated this season, but they either need to win each of those matches by a lot or need the Blues to falter. The two clubs have the exact same record, and the same head-to-head results. We could be in for a very exciting set of tiebreakers in the South Central.

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