For the first time this season, all 12 clubs saw action on the same weekend. Middle-of-the-pack clubs faced the top of the table and bottom-of-the-table clubs looked to separate themselves into the middle.
When the dust settled, the two clubs from the state of North Carolina flip-flopped, but remain on top. From there, we saw a shakeup: Omaha, Richmond, and Madison moved up, while Hailstorm and Tormenta fell down. Meanwhile, Chattanooga made a case with their come-from-behind thumping of Lexington but will need one more to prove they’re on track. And One Knox gained a win over bottom-of-the-table Fuego FC, but it wasn’t very impressive.
As the official table also starts to widen a bit, here’s where we rank the clubs based on current momentum going into the quarter mark of the 2023 season.
1) North Carolina FC
Last week: 2
Record: 4-1-1 (1st)
Matches since last ranking: WIN at Greenville Triumph, 2-1
Next league match: at Fuego FC, 5/5
The Louis Perez and Rafa Mentzingen show went to Greenville and emerged with a 2-1 victory. Perez caught the rebound on a Jared Mazolla save of a Rafa Mentzingen penalty kick, and Mentzingen put away his second chance later in the half. Sure, the second penalty call was weak. But NCFC played the better first half to get these chances to begin with. It was all they’d need, and a late Greenville goal wasn’t enough for a comeback. NCFC moved to the top of the table with the win, with a larger goal differential over in-state rivals Charlotte Independence.
With Mentzingen currently leading the league in goals, NCFC will travel to Fresno on Friday, facing a Central Valley Fuego FC side struggling to find its identity.
2) Charlotte Independence
Last ranking: 1
Record: 3-0-4 (2nd)
Matches since last ranking: DRAW at Forward Madison, 0-0
Next league Match: vs. Greenville Triumph, 5/3
With playmakers Gabriel Obertan and Clay Dimick out of the roster, The Jacks relied on Austin Pack to get them out of Madison with a point. The goalkeeper put up another stellar performance and a clean sheet, and his club is undefeated after seven matches. Is it slightly concerning that they’ve only scored once in the last three matches? Maybe. But as long as Obertan and Dimick return soon, it shouldn’t be a problem.
Finishing its busy stretch, Charlotte will host I-85 rivals Greenville on Wednesday. Perhaps it was wise to rest Obertan and Dimick with all of this action. But if it’s more serious than that, the unbeaten streak may come to an end at the hands of an increasingly healthier Greenville side coming off a bitter loss to NCFC.
3) Union Omaha
Last ranking: 5
Record: 2-1-2 (4th)
Matches since last ranking: WIN vs. Hailstorm FC, 3-2
Next Match: at Richmond Kickers, 5/5
The Owls ended Hailstorm FC’s undefeated streak by exploiting their opponents’ absence of key defender Rob Cornwall and a 15th-minute red card ejection of Stefan Lukic. Junior Palacios got things started with a rocket of a free kick, followed by a goal-of-the-week-worthy bicycle kick from Noe Meza. The forward then put away an insurance goal in the 56th minute.
Slightly concerning was the concession of two second-half goals, one on a miss by Palacios that resulted in the defender getting burned by Trevor Amann and another on a beauty of a corner kick from Arthur Rogers that also found Amann. But the home side held off the last-ditch onslaught and took the win.
Omaha will travel to Richmond on Friday where it will face a suddenly resurgent Richmond Kickers in what should be an exciting match.
4) Richmond Kickers
Last week: 6
Record: 2-1-2 (5th)
Matches since last ranking: WIN at Tormenta FC, 3-1
Next match: vs. Union Omaha, 5/5
The close loss to MLS side DC United on Wednesday lit a fire under this squad, as they went into Statesboro hot. Defender Nathan Aune deflected in a Zaca Morán shot in the 7th minute, followed by a Justin Sukow goal from a Michael Hornsby cross. Emiliano Terzaghi put away a free kick as the half came to a close, his first goal of the year. The Kickers fell back on defense and the goalkeeping of Akira Fitzgerald to ride out the second half, only conceding an unstoppable goal to Kingsford Adjei in the 82nd minute.
With Nil Vinyals and Owayne Gordon out of the roster, Sukow stepped up in the midfield to ensure there was no momentum lost. The Kickers will hope to keep this going when they host Union Omaha on Friday.
5) Forward Madison
Last week: 7
Record: 1-0-3 (9th)
Matches since last ranking: DRAW vs. Charlotte Independence, 0-0
Next match: at One Knoxville, 5/3
Forward Madison hosted top-ranked Charlotte Independence and despite a lot of quality chances, had to settle for a 0-0 draw. As we’ve seen before when facing Charlotte, it can turn into a battle of the goalkeepers, and Madison’s Bernd Schippman held his own with the mighty Austin Pack on the other end. There’s a question as to whether or not Jayden Onen (red card suspension) would have made the difference here, but a clean sheet draw on the top team isn’t bad.
The Mingos will test their unbeaten streak at One Knoxville SC on Wednesday. A second win to propel them into the top half of the table sure would be nice.
6) Hailstorm FC
Last week: 3
Record: 1-1-2 (10th)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS at Omaha, 3-2
Next league match: at One Knoxville SC, 5/13
Things went sour quickly for Hailstorm FC this weekend, forced to play with ten men after Stefan Lukic took a second yellow in the 15th minute. After conceding three goals, they didn’t give up, netting two in the second half. First, Trevor Amann burned Junior Palacios and beat the one-on-one with Rashid Nuhu, and then Amann landed a second assisted by a beauty of an Arthur Rogers corner kick. However, it wasn’t enough and the club took its first loss of the season.
They’ll have next week off to regroup before traveling to One Knoxville SC on Saturday, May 13th. A win there would do wonders to boost momentum.
7) Tormenta FC
Last week: 4
Record: 3-4-0 (3rd)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS vs. Richmond Kickers, 3-1
Next match: at Red Wolves SC, 5/5
Unfortunately, the bad Tormenta FC showed up against Richmond this weekend, giving up three first-half goals en route to a lopsided loss at home. Jake Dengler’s return to the backfield wasn’t enough to stop a resurgent and well-rounded Kickers attack, which saw goals from a forward, midfielder, and defender. They’re still sitting in third place in the table on the strength of their league-tied three wins, but also have a -3 goal differential and four losses after seven matches. It’s probably not a sustainable path, as North Carolina FC and Charlotte Independence pull away at the top, and Omaha and Richmond creep up the table from behind.
Tormenta FC will travel to Chattanooga to face an unpredictable Red Wolves SC side on Friday. Again, which Tormenta FC will show up?
8) Red Wolves SC
Last week: 9
Record: 2-2-1 (6th)
Matches since last ranking: WIN vs. Lexington, 3-1
Next match: vs. Tormenta FC, 5/5
In one of the more chaotic matches of the weekend, Chattanooga spoiled what almost became a celebratory night for Lexington SC. After Soso Kim came off the bench to put Lexington ahead with a highlight-reel goal, Red Wolves SC struck back in quick succession. First, Nico Cardona headed in a Riley Kraft corner kick that deflected off the post; then minutes later, Ropapa Mensah blocked a Lexington clearance and turned on the jets to exploit an Austin Causey slip-up to get the loose ball into the net. Mayele Malango drove the final nail in the coffin in stoppage time with a driving goal past a hapless Lexington defense.
Now that the Wolves have separated themselves from the bottom of the table, they’ll get another opportunity to climb higher as they host an unpredictable Tormenta FC side on Friday. Has this rebuilt offense finally clicked with the addition of Mensah? Or will the “good” Tormenta FC side shut them down? We anticipate even more chaos.
9) Greenville Triumph
Last week: 8
Record (2-4-0, 8th)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS vs. NCFC. 2-1
Next match: at Charlotte Independence, 5/3
The momentum stalled when hosting NCFC on Saturday. Greenville players and fans will argue that the second penalty (resulting in a Rafa Mentzingen conversion) was weak, but NCFC exploited weaknesses on the left side multiple times in the first half to get into those spots to begin with. The good news for Greenville is the injury list may be getting smaller, as Brandon Fricke, Gabo, Nate Schultz, and Daniel Wu all returned to or debuted on the roster. The latter scored a stoppage-time goal to prevent the clean sheet.
Greenville will have a quick turnaround, traveling the hour up I-85 to Charlotte on Wednesday. If they continue to improve the health of the roster, they may be able to exploit a tired Charlotte side, possibly dealing with some key injuries of its own.
10) One Knoxville SC
Last week: 11
Record: 2-2-1 (7th)
Matches since last ranking: WIN at Fuego FC, 1-0
Next match: vs. Forward Madison, 5/3
One Knox escaped Fresno with a 1-0 victory on a stoppage-time goal from Yesin van der Pluijm. While a win is a win, it wasn’t a pretty affair. Having a man advantage for 86 minutes of the match, One Knox failed time and time again to capitalize with whiffed shots and a missed penalty kick. Without Angelo Kelly-Rosales, this team looked lost at times. Thankfully, he’ll return from his red card suspension this week.
It’s a quick turnaround to figure out how to improve, as One Knox hosts a remarkably better Forward Madison side on Wednesday.
11) Lexington SC
Last week: 10
Record: 1-4-1 (11th)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS at Red Wolves SC, 3-1
Next match: vs. Charlotte Independence, 5/13
A match of ups and downs ended on an unfortunate down as Lexington conceded three goals late in the match. First, regular defender Terique Mohammed exited the match with an injury in the 21st minute. However, things were looking up when Soso Kim came off the bench in the second half and scored a highlight-reel-worthy goal in the 78th minute. Going up against a squad that has struggled to score with a 1-0 lead after beer sales have been cut off should have been cause for optimism. However, Chattanooga suddenly rediscovered an ability to score, first when Nico Cardona converted a corner kick, and then with highlight-reel-worthy goals of its own from Ropapa Mensah and Mayele Malango to close things out.
While we don’t yet know the extent of Mohammed’s injury, Lexington will have this week off to recover before hosting Charlotte Independence on May 13th.
12) Fuego FC
Last week: 12
Record: 1-4-1 (12th)
Matches since last ranking: LOSS vs. One Knoxville SC, 1-0
Next match: vs. North Carolina FC, 5/5
Fuego FC continues to look lost and hopeless. Hosting One Knox, they went down a man on a Mouhamed Dabo red card in the 9th minute. And while they still managed a few offensive drives, they only converted to six shots on goal, and only one on target. This is a recurring theme over the last few matches, even with 11 men on the pitch. At some point, we can’t say “It’s still early in the season” anymore. On the bright side, we may be getting closer to seeing José Carrera-García on the roster, which should give this squad some direction.
However, things won’t get any easier this week, as Fuego FC hosts red-hot North Carolina FC on Friday.