Around the Leagues: USL and the MLS is Back

The boys in Old Glory Red are finding their form at a pivotal part of the 2020 USL Championship regular season and over the last eight days Mark Brigg’s men have gathered nine points from three massive matches against fellow Group A opponents.

Over the weekend, Republic FC notched its most recent victory – a 3-1 win over Tacoma Defiance in Sacramento where Dariusz Formella bagged a second straight brace against the Pacific Northwest club while Cameron Iwasa scored his 50thcareer goal during league play. It also just so happened to be the Sacramento native’s 100th career time listed in the starting eleven for his hometown club.

The Indomitable Club is currently tied at the top of the group on 15 points with Reno, however, 1868 FC currently has a superior goal difference of +8 compared to SRFC’s +4. Reno routed Portland Timbers 2 on Saturday 5-2 and next up for 1868 FC is a trip to expansion-side San Diego Loyal SC this weekend.

Phoenix Rising FC is firmly in first place in a competitive Group B with 16 points and a league-best +15 goal differential ahead of Orange County SC and expansion-side San Diego Loyal SC in second and third place respectively with 11 points each. Fourth Place LA Galaxy II is still very much in the mix as Los Dos has nine points from just four matches in 2020. Three days after OCSC downed Loyal SC 2-0 in SD last Wednesday, both sides returned to the pitch this past weekend as Orange County beat Las Vegas Lights FC 1-0 and Loyal SC fell to the group leaders Rising FC 2-0 on Saturday.

New Mexico United and El Paso Locomotive FC are starting to separate themselves in Group C as United continued to solidify its spot at the top of the table with a 1-0 win on Saturday over Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. Second place Locomotive FC currently sits on 11 points, just two behind New Mexico, after a 1-0 win over the 2019 title-winners Real Monarchs on Saturday. If Monarchs has any intention of repeating as champions, it’ll need to get a positive result on Wednesday night at home against United.

Group D leaders San Antonio FC has collected two straight draws but still retained the top spot after a dramatic 1-1 draw over the weekend against in-state rival Austin Bold. Jose Gallegos netted a late equalizer deep into injury time to maintain SAFC’s unbeaten run on the 2020 campaign. FC Tulsa and Austin trail San Antonio and through five games the Western Conference clubs have nine and seven points respectively.

In the east, Group E sees Indy Eleven still at the summit of the group with 19 points from nine fixtures while Saint Louis FC – 13 points from eight games – and Louisville City FC – 10 points from seven matches – but the race for second place should be a riveting one. All three sides earned victories over the weekend.

Two straight wins saw Hartford Athletic create some distance from second place Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC in Group F after the Steel City club fell 1-0 to Indy over the weekend while Hartford held off NY Red Bulls II 2-1 on Saturday. Group G’s Birmingham Legion FC is unbeaten in four straight and continues to soar at the top of the table and the same goes for Tampa Rowdies in Group H that now have a seven-point separation between second place Charleston Battery.

MLS is Back Champion

The Major League Soccer competition came to a close on August 11 as Portland Timbers defeated Orlando City SC 2-1 in the tournament’s final fixture. It’s safe to say the MLS followed the lead of the NWSL regarding the safest way to return to play inside a bubble and both leagues were able to complete their competitions and crown a champion.

Portland’s Larrys Mabiala put his side in front in the 27thminute before Orlando City’s Mauricio Pereyra bagged an equalizer just eight minutes later. But Timbers were hungry to add another piece of silverware to its trophy case and in the 66thminute, Dario Zuparic netted the game-winner to secure the inaugural MLS is Back trophy.

MLS is back… for Nashville and Dallas

The two MLS clubs that did not participate in the MLS is Back Tournament – Nashville SC and FC Dallas – officially restarted the regular season in the first phase as both clubs competed against one another the very next night after the completion of the MLS is Back Tournament.

A limited number of fans were allowed at the match that saw Nashville nab a 1-0 win over Dallas as David Accam scored the game’s lone goal in the 86thminute. Four days later, both clubs clashed again in Dallas as Sunday’s match ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Tonight, Toronto FC will host Vancouver Whitecaps at 5:00 p.m. PT while three matches are lined up for Wednesday.