With just three weeks left, the USL League One playoff race is falling into place.
Out: Lexington, Richmond, Chattanooga, and Central Valley.
In: NCFC, Omaha, Northern Colorado.
Battling it out for spots four, five, and six: Charlotte, Greenville, and Madison, with Tormenta, and Knoxville still hanging out on the fringes.
Here’s how we have the clubs stacked up going into week 29.
1) Union Omaha
Last week: 1
Record: 16-7-5 (2nd)
Matches since last ranking: WIN at Chattanooga, WIN vs. Fuego
This week: at NCFC
The Owls did not fall into any traps at Chattanooga and then escaped the one set against Fuego with a stoppage time match-winning goal from Joe Gallardo. They extended their win streak to ten and set up a massive test this Friday at NCFC. It’s the start of a tough homestretch, in which they’ll also face off with Charlotte, South Georgia, and Madison while seeking a first-round bye.
2) North Carolina FC
Last week: 3
Record: 17-5-7 (1st)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS vs. Tormenta, WIN at Fuego, WIN at Northern Colorado
This week: vs. Omaha
Since the last rankings, NCFC fell to a scrappy Tormenta side but recovered with solid clean-sheet wins at Fuego and Northern Colorado to re-take the top spot in the table. Oalex Anderson added a goal in each match, taking his season total to 16. Anderson has more than doubled his previous season high of seven.
They’ll host Union Omaha on Friday, looking for revenge after falling 4-3 a few weeks ago. They’ll finish the season at Lexington before hosting One Knoxville.
3) Hailstorm FC
Last week: 2
Record: 15-8-6 (3rd)
Matches since last ranking: WIN at Fuego, DRAW at Madison, LOSS vs. NCFC
This week: at Greenville
At the end of an exciting, ever-shifting week at the top of the table, NOCO found itself just outside the top two after failing to win at Madison and losing to NCFC. While maintaining a comfortable six-point lead over fourth-place Charlotte, they’re still in contention for one of the top two spots. The path goes through Greenville, followed by home matches against Madison and Chattanooga. Two of these clubs are fighting for the last two playoff spots, while the other would love to play spoiler.
4) Charlotte Independence
Last week: 4
Record: 13-8-8 (4th)
Matches since last ranking: DRAW at Lexington, WIN vs. Madison
This week: vs. One Knoxville
The Jacks took four of six possible points since the last ranking, with a draw at Lexington and a clean sheet win against Madison. They’re still cruising into the fourth seed, although Greenville presents a slight threat from the rear, only four points back. The club seems to have adapted to the loss of captain Clay Dimick to a season-ending injury, owing to the built-in roster depth.
The race to lock up their seed will see them host One Knoxville, travel to Omaha, and then finish up with a home match against Tormenta.
5) Greenville Triumph
Last week: 6
Record (12-7-9, 5th)
Matches since last ranking: WIN at Knoxville, WIN at Richmond
This week: vs. Northern Colorado
Greenville managed to grind away two badly needed wins to send them that much closer to a playoff spot. Leo Castro scored the winning goal in each one, bringing his club-leading season total to 12. They sit four points back from Charlotte, and only one point above sixth place Madison, but a nice five points ahead of seventh place Tormenta. They also have four chances to earn more points, hosting Northern Colorado, traveling to Fuego and Chattanooga and finishing with a home match against Lexington. With the exception of NOCO, this is one of the easier schedules to close out the season. But they cannot take that for granted if they want to lock up a decent spot.
6) Forward Madison
Last week: 7
Record: 11-9-9 (6th)
Matches since last ranking: WIN vs. Richmond, DRAW vs. Northern Colorado, LOSS at Charlotte
This week: vs. Lexington
Madison continues to limp into the playoffs, but all you have to do is make it, right? They took care of Richmond on goals from Derek Gebhard and Aiden Mesias, but the goals stopped when it came to a 0-0 draw with Northern Colorado and a 2-0 loss to Charlotte. They’re tied for 10th in the league when it comes to goals scored, reminding us of a Union Omaha side from 2022. That side also limped into the playoffs on the strength of a good defense, but had major issues finding the back of the net, resulting in a first round elimination.
With Tormenta just four points back, The Mingos will need to maximize the last nine possible points, with a home match against Lexington, away against Northern Colorado, and then the rivalry match of the season, at home against Omaha. It will not be easy.
7) Tormenta FC
Last week: 8
Record: 11-5-13 (7th)
Matches since last ranking: WIN at NCFC, WIN vs. Knoxville
This week: at NCFC
Tormenta managed to stay alive with a pair of wins since the last rankings. First, they came from behind to take down NCFC, with Kingsford Adjei scoring the match-winner in stoppage time. Then they managed to hold off their fellow just-out-of-the-bubble rivals, One Knox. With three matches to go, the defending champs find themselves four points back, with a relatively difficult schedule. They’ll travel to Richmond, a club that has not won since July, before hosting red-hot Omaha and finishing up at Charlotte. Like with Madison, maximizing these points won’t be easy, and they’ll need a lot of external factors to go their way (like Madison taking losses). But they are still in it for now.
8) One Knoxville SC
Last week: 5
Record: 9-9-11 (8th)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS vs. Greenville, LOSS at Tormenta
This week: at Charlotte
One Knox’s exciting push for the playoffs in its expansion year may have suffered its death blow with consecutive losses to Greenville and Tormenta. With three matches remaining, they sit six points out of the bubble. And like Madison and Tormenta, the remaining schedule is not easy. They’ll travel to Charlotte, host Richmond, and then finish up at NCFC.
Look, this side stayed alive longer than four other clubs, one of which was last year’s players’ shield winner and another was the playoffs runner-up. That’s something of which the city can be proud as they inevitably look ahead to 2024.
9) Lexington SC
Last week: 9
Record: 7-9-13 (9th)
Matches since last ranking: DRAW vs. Charlotte, LOSS at Chattanooga
This week: at Madison
It was always going to be a long shot, but the fact that Lexington kept hope alive this long into the season is pretty amazing. But after an impressive come-from-behind draw against Charlotte to stay alive, it all came to an end with a 5-3 loss at Chattanooga. It was still an exciting season for the league newcomers, especially with Ates Diouf’s breakout. The forward now places third in the league for goals with 14, and will look to add to that total with three matches remaining.
They’ll finish out the season looking to play seed-spoiler at Madison, against NCFC, and at Greenville.
10) Red Wolves SC
Last week: 11
Record: 7-6-16 (11th)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS vs. Omaha, WIN vs. Lexington
This week: vs. Fuego
As the Red Wolves are prone to do, the club scored seven goals in two matches since the last ranking. While one of those was a 3-2 loss to Omaha, the other was a 5-3 walloping of Lexington, which ended their long-shot playoff hopes. Ropapa Mensah saw his season goals total hit ten, joining Chevone Marsh in the double-digits club. The pair will look to add to their totals, as they finish out the season against Fuego, Greenville, and then at Northern Colorado.
11) Richmond Kickers
Last week: 10
Record: 6-10-13 (10th)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS at Madison, LOSS vs. Greenville
This week: vs. Tormenta
The Kickers remain stuck at six wins since July and continue without the services of an injured Emiliano Terzaghi. The roster will likely see a bit of an overhaul in the off-season. A solid core group including Nathan Aune, Dakota Barnathan, Chris Cole, Simon Fitch, Akira Fitzgerald, Landon Johnson, Zaca Moran, Terzaghi, and Nil Vinyals all hold contracts for 2024. But the club desperately needs depth beyond this to remain competitive in an increasingly competitive league.
They will finish out the year at home against Tormenta, at Knoxville, and then at home against Fuego.
12) Fuego FC
Last week: 12
Record: 5-5-19 (12th)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS vs. Northern Colorado, LOSS vs. NCFC, LOSS at Union Omaha
This week: at Chattanooga
Fuego faced down a 1-2-3 punch of the top three clubs and lost all three. They’ll finish up against Chattanooga, Greenville, and Richmond before an offseason sure to be full of uncertainty.