FINALLY all teams have played at least two league matches, and we’ll totally call out Chattanooga for this. Pitch issues caused two home matches at CHI Memorial Stadium to be postponed, affecting the schedules of Union Omaha and Charlotte Independence. While Charlotte had other matches scheduled, Omaha’s early season schedule was already spread out.
In any case, both Chattanooga and Omaha now have two matches, so we’re more comfortable providing power rankings. As always, early season power rankings are reflective of how the teams have played to this point, not an indication of where we believe they will finish in the table.
1) Union Omaha
Previous ranking: 7
Union Omaha’s former GM Peter Marlette was involve in a final recruiting push on his way out, and appears to have put on a master class. Losing the likes of Joe Brito, Noe Meza and JP Scearce to well-earned Championship promotions hasn’t phased Omaha. Two matches in, Steevan dos Santos continues to lead the way in the front, with a goal and an assist on the other two team goals. They’ve conceded just one goal, and move into another busy US Open Cup week at nearly full strength.
It’s still early, but Union Omaha appears to be the same juggernaut that went 14 matches without a loss before falling to Charlotte in penalties in the 2023 playoff semifinal. Speaking of Charlotte, Omaha will have a shot at revenge this coming weekend.
This week: vs. El Paso Locomotive FC, 4/17; vs. Charlotte Independence, 4/20
2) Greenville Triumph
Previous raking: 9
After one win, Greenville defender Jamie Smith called out those of us who were in the “wait and see” camp on the side during the pre-season. They’d go on to add two more wins and a draw to drive home the point that we underestimated them. A 1-0 loss to Charlotte followed this weekend, but we’re still believers in what coach Rick Wright built in the off-season, taking over the job from John Harkes.
Lyam MacKinnon leads the way with three goals (plus more in US Open Cup), an assist and seven chances created. Offensive contributions have been coming down roster as well, with five different players providing assists, and ten providing more than one chance.
This week: at Louisville, 4/16; at Tormenta, 4/21
3) One Knoxville
Previous ranking: 5
One Knox started the season on a tear, winning three straight before falling to Omaha on Friday. The defense is as solid as as its ever been, with clean sheets against Lexington and Tormenta, and just one goal conceded in each of the two other matches. The offense appears to be operating on another level, a remarkable improvement from last season. Angelo Kelly leads the way with two goals, two assists and 11 chances created. The midfielder missed the match against Charlotte due to injury, and his absence was noticeable. The newcomers are also injecting new life into the squad, with Stuart Ritchie shining on the left side, providing strong two-way play. The 22-year-old has a goal and has provided 10 more chances, just behind Kelly.
This week: off
4) Charlotte Independence
Previous ranking: 3
The Jacks recovered nicely after an opening match loss to Knoxville, taking down Spokane and Greenville at home. Despite having multiple key players out with injury, including Omar Ciss, Miguel Ibarra and Gabriel Obertan, they find a way to win matches. It doesn’t hurt that they’re backed one of by the best goalkeepers in the league, Austin Pack. The side brought in Juan Carlos Obregón to fill in a need at striker, with the former Pittsburgh Riverhound providing a the match winner this weekend against Greenville.
Underestimate Charlotte at your own peril. As they continue to reorient, they should be a menace to to most any opponent in the league. They’ll see a big test this week, hosting Rhode Island and then traveling to Omaha.
This week: vs. Rhode Island FC, 4/16; at Omaha, 4/20
5) Forward Madison
Previous ranking: 2
The Mingos remain undefeated after four matches, but with three coming as draws. The goals finally started flowing in the last two matches, with three in a win over Fuego and 2 in a draw with Richmond. The pieces appear to be there, so we’ll be watching closely over the next few weeks to see if they can keep up the goal scoring. It’s a promising sign that Derek Gebhard and Devin Boyce lead with two a piece, filling in while Christian Chaney and Juan Galindrez have been in and out with injuries and are still finding their footing. If they start scoring, we’ll see the Madison we expected. Chaney is expected back by next match, an April 28th date at Lexington.
This week: off
6) South Georgia Tormenta
Previous ranking: 10
A rebuilt Tormenta side has been a surprise since a disappointing 1-0 opening match loss to Fuego. A decisive victory at Richmond and at home against Lexington combined for six goals, helping place Tormenta at second in the league in goals scored with eight total. Newcomers Niall Watson and Gabriel Rodriguez lead with two a piece, with contributions also coming from Conor Doyle, Mason Tunbridge, Pedro Fonseca and Sebastián Vivas. All but Fonseca joined the squad in the off season. Assists and chances are also coming from all over the roster, indicating a strong team effort heading into mid-season.
This week: at Miami FC, 4/17; vs. Greenville, 4/21
7) Chattanooga Red Wolves
Previous ranking: 4
We promise the pitch issues and postponements had absolutely nothing to do with the drop from four to seven in our rankings. Instead, it’s the fact that we’ve only seen two matches against professional sides, and have seen two critical injuries deal a blow to Chattanooga’s season. The Red Wolves dropped their opening match to Lexington, then struggled to beat two amateur sides in US Open Cup play. Their second league test came at a struggling Fuego side, in which Chattanooga took home a decisive victory on a Ropapa Mensah hat trick.
While they’re without Jonny Filipe and Richard Rentería for the rest of the season, we’ll put them back in wait and see mode. The next league test comes at home (which we assume will be ready) on Saturday, against a Northern Colorado side eager to prove their slow start is nothing to worry about.
This week: at Birmingham, 4/17; vs. Northern Colorado, 4/20
8) Spokane Velocity
Previous ranking: 11
They’re not perfect, but 2024’s expansion side is punching a little above its weight so far. After dropping its first match ever to Greenville 3-1, they went home, regrouped, and took out the visiting Richmond Kickers 2-1. They followed it up with another home win over Northern Colorado, before losing at Charlotte and drawing Lexington. It’s good enough for seven points in the table after five matches.
Center back Ahmed Longmire and midfielder Luis Gil lead the way so far with two goals apiece, with Jack Denton leading in chances created and two assists. While the team needs more production from its forwards, they’re remaining in contention and competitive thanks to the depth scoring.
Like several clubs, they’ll be put to the test this week with road matches at Las Vegas and Richmond. Richmond is on the upswing, and is likely to be a different side than the one that met Spokane in week one.
This week: At Las Vegas 4/17; at Richmond, 4/20
9) Richmond Kickers
Previous ranking: 8
Richmond stumbled into the season with a few critical injuries, including to striker Emiliano Terzaghi, center back Nathan Aune and midfielder João Gomiero. With newcomer center back Gui Franca also on the injury list, duties have fallen to 17 year old academy product Griffin Garnett. While Garnett has punched well above his weight and shown moments of brilliance, it’s not a long term solution. It’s also one that teams tend to exploit, putting a lot of weight on him.
After dropping two in a row to start the season, at Spokane and against Tormenta, Richmond bounced back and sent Fuego home with a 3-2 defeat, then drew a difficult road match at Madison. Adrian Billhardt has led the way with three goals, while Chandler O’Dwyer chipped in two more, both against Fuego. Nil Vinyals is once again leading the way in creating chances. If the injury list clears up, Richmond may end up with a rebound season after a disappointing 2023.
This week: vs. Loudoun United, 4/17; vs. Spokane, 4/20
10) Lexington SC
Previous ranking: 1
Unfortunately Lexington has not lived up to its preseason hype. After a lackluster 0-0 draw against Northern Colorado to start the season and a 1-0 win against Chattanooga, the side dropped three in a row, giving up 8 goals in the process. They somewhat bounced back with a 2-2 draw against Spokane this past weekend, but looked shaky (and injured) in the process.
With just five goals and 16 shots on target in six matches, this is not the offensive production the side sought out when bringing in massive scoring talent in the off season. There’s still plenty of time, but I’m sure they don’t want to get into a spot where they regret dropping those three matches.
They’ll have a badly needed week off to regroup before hosting Forward Madison on Sunday, April 28th
11) Northern Colorado Hailstorm
Previous ranking: 6
They’re only three matches in, but it’s been a slow start for Hailstorm FC. With a draw and two consecutive losses, the side has only managed one goal. They’ll continue the early season road trip this week, first at Tulsa then at Chattanooga, where they’ll hope to regroup. With three matches in hand, they have a bit more time than Lexington to do so, and should be able to figure things out as they are traveling a bit less.
This week: at Tulsa, 4/17; at Chattanooga, 4/20
12) Fuego FC
Previous ranking: 12
Fuego started out so promising, with a decisive road win over Tormenta. Then things seemed to just fall apart, and the side has dropped four in a row. Moe Espinoza showed flashes of brilliance in the first two matches, scoring in the first. Then he left the roster with an injury. Shavon John-Brown and Zahir Vasquez have since picked up the offensive slack, but the losses keep piling up.
Five matches in, it seems like we’re seeing the same old story in Fresno. With injuries starting to clear over the next few weeks, and this weekend off, let’s see if coach Jermaine Jones can hit the reset button moving into an April 27th matchup at Spokane.
This week: off