On July 5th, we published a first-half season review with first-team, second-team, and honorable-mention players. Last week, the league’s official All-League teams came out, so let’s see how much changed over the second half of the season.
USL League One Table: July 5th, 2023
| Team | W | L | D | PTS | Finish |
| North Carolina FC | 8 | 4 | 2 | 26 | 2nd |
| Forward Madison FC | 7 | 4 | 4 | 25 | 6th |
| Richmond Kickers | 6 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 11th |
| Charlotte Independence | 6 | 4 | 5 | 23 | 4th |
| Greenville Triumph SC | 6 | 5 | 4 | 22 | 5th |
| Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC | 6 | 1 | 4 | 22 | 3rd |
| One Knoxville SC | 5 | 4 | 6 | 21 | 8th |
| Union Omaha | 4 | 3 | 7 | 19 | 1st |
| South Georgia Tormenta FC | 5 | 7 | 3 | 18 | 7th |
| Lexington SC | 3 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 9th |
| Chattanooga Red Wolves SC | 3 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 10th |
| Central Valley Fuego FC | 3 | 1 | 10 | 10 | 12th |
Notable Second Half Turns
Union Omaha
Does anyone remember when Union Omaha was struggling in 8th place in the table? The eventual table winners would go on to lose one more match, on July 15th, to Northern Colorado. After that, they would not lose again until the semi-finals of the playoffs in October.
Richmond Kickers
And does anyone remember when the Richmond Kickers were in the top three? The defending table champs were just off a 2-0 win against Chattanooga, which would end up being their last win of the season.
Forward Madison
After a slow start, The Mingos went on a mid-season four-match win streak which ended at Greenville on July 1st. They briefly took over the top of the table, and it seemed things had truly turned around in Madison. However, they struggled to pick up essential wins down the stretch (except against Richmond), and would finish the season barely limping into the playoffs on a five-match winless streak.
Northern Colorado Hailstorm
On July 5th, Hailstorm was in the midst of an eight-match undefeated streak, having not lost since April 29th at Omaha. They’d extend this streak to 12, finally taking a loss at NCFC on July 26th. It was good enough to propel them into the top three, a position they’d maintain until the end of the season, earning a first-round playoff matchup.
The Players
Trevor Amann
The Northern Colorado Striker led the Golden Boot Race on July 5th with eight goals. He’d go on to score a record-breaking 23, plus three more in the first round of the playoffs. Amann finished on the USL League One All-League first team.
Oalex Anderson
The NCFC forward led the league in goals + assists at the time with ten. He’d finish with 17 goals and six assists, en route to helping carry his squad into a second-place finish and a spot in the playoff final. Anderson also finished on the league’s All-League first team.
Isidro Martinez
After an MVP nomination worthy first-half of the season, Martinez would unfortunately suffer an injury that saw him miss six matches in August and September. The squad would go 1-2-3 during this time, missing his presence in the central midfield. He would return in a limited role in the second half of September before regaining his starting spot for the final three matches. Martinez was not awarded a spot in the All-League squads.
Rafa Mentzingen
Any other year, Oalex Anderson wins squad MVP with his goals plus assists. But does Anderson have these numbers without Rafa? The Brazilian midfielder not only scored 13 goals with 7 assists but also created 48 chances. As we said at the start of the season, Rafa’s success is NCFC’s success, and that rang consistent all year long. Rafa was named to the All-League first team.
Louis Pérez
The French midfielder was not named to the All-League squads, but not for lack of talent. He finished with seven goals, one assist, and 39 chances created, completing the most dangerous offensive group in the league along with Anderson, Mentzingen, and Garrett McLaughlin.
JP Scearce
The dynamic midfielder was again a dominating presence, leading his side in interceptions, tackles, and tackles won, and came in second only to the mighty Steevan Dos Santos in duels won and aerial duels won. He also added six goals on just 37 shots, proving his offensive lethality when given the chance. Scearce was named to the All-League first team.
Joel Johnson
Another dynamic midfielder, Johnson featured in all 32 matches for Charlotte Independence, scoring six goals and providing four assists, plus an additional goal in the playoffs. Johnson also led the squad in chances created, anchoring a dangerous midfield comprised of fellow veterans Miguel Ibarra and Gabriel Obertan, and 2022 Young Player of the Year nominee Omar Ciss. Johnson was named to the All League second team.
Jake Crull
The veteran USL League One defender finished with two goals, an assist and a league-record 1,936 passes with 36 chances created. Crull was named to the All-League second team.
Bruno Rendón
The Cuban defender continued his breakout season through the second half, finishing with five goals and three assists, along with 189 duels won. He was named to the All-League second team.
Arthur Rogers
The defender/midfielder continued to dominate the league in the second half, finishing with a league-high 11 assists and 88 chances created, a new league record. Rogers was also nominated for Defender of the Year and Player of the Year and was named to the All-League first team.
Austin Pack
The Charlotte keeper ended the season with a league-record 116 saves, along with nine clean sheets, while leading his squad into the league finals. He was nominated for Goalkeeper of the Year and named to the All-League first team.
Second Half Boosts
Atês Diouf
On July 5th, the 23-year-old Lexington striker had a whole bunch of shots, but only three goals to his name. But we mentioned during another mid-season review that it was only a matter of time before those shots started landing. He would go on to finish with 15, good enough for third in the league.
Mikey Maldonado
As the anchor of NCFC’s central midfield, Maldonado provided a goal, two assists, 29 chances, and an impressive 110 duels won.
Nil Vinyals
We named the Spanish midfielder an honorable mention during our first-half review. He would go on to contribute six goals, and four assists and finish second in the league with 66 chances created in the regular season.
Jordan Skelton
After an off-season transfer from NCFC to One Knoxville, the center back assumed a leadership role with his new squad and anchored one of the best defenses in the league. Skelton led the league with 170 clearances and contributed a goal and an assist.
Alexis Souahy
Starting at center back, and featuring in every single minute for The Owls, the 28-year-old veteran was a key part of a squad that only gave up 16 goals during a 14-match undefeated streak. He led his club in clearances at 89 and provided one goal.