USL League One - OLUTC Weekly Review

USL League One is now headed into the home stretch of the regular season - some teams have 11 games left to punch their ticket to the playoffs and a few only have 8. Here are our podcast notes from the most recent episode of One League Under the Sea.

One Knox have moved up to 7th with 3 wins from their last 4, including a slender defeat of fellow freshman side, Lexington SC. However, that came after not having won in the 7 affairs prior. That leaves Lexington in 10th and while its not likely they’ll get into the playoffs, it just doesn’t feel as dire as it does for the teams around them in the bottom half of the table.

Kickers don’t look well. They’ve not won since they defeated the Red Wolves on July 1st and they haven’t beat a team in the top half since the second game of the season when they won away to Greenville. Terzaghi can’t carry this weight alone and they have 8 games left to figure it out.

So far, Tormenta have beat who they’re supposed to beat; wins over Fuego, Red Wolves, and Lexington since July 2nd but can’t get past the teams at the top with losses to NCFC, Union Omaha, and Charlotte. Oh, what about Forward Madison you ask… yeah THEM they can beat. And at 5th, the Mingos are still hanging around, partially because the teams below them can’t take advantage of their slump. They’ve only managed to win 2 of their last 7 matches and have been outscored by Tormenta 8-3 in two games during that stretch - what happened to that defense?

Chattanooga are not bottom any more. A couple interesting wins in the last few weeks - beating One Knox 3-2 on the road and Kickers 3-2 at home but losing 3 of their last 5 and being shut out 10 times this season isn’t great. On the other hand, Central Valley Fuego are bottom, have lost 4 of their last 5 and have 1 point from a draw in all that mess. Lastly, Charlotte were third and are third and could very well finish third while everyone else takes turns heading up and down the standings around them. They’ve won 4 of the last 6 and have beaten Fuego on the road but lost to them at home in that time.

Results from August 18th & 19th

  • One Knoxville SC 1 - 0 Lexington SC

  • Richmond Kickers 1 - 3 North Carolina FC

  • SG Tormenta FC 4 - 2 Forward Madison FC

  • Union Omaha 2 - 1 Chattanooga Red Wolves

  • Northern Colorado Hailstorm 0 - 0 Greenville Triumph SC

  • Central Valley Fuego 1 -2 Charlotte Independence

THIS WEEK’S FIXTURES

Greenville Triumph vs Union Omaha
Two teams who always seem to find themselves at or near the top of the heap in USL League One - and some consider this a bit of a rivalry. Los Buhos have just climbed up to the top half of the table, they have now won 5 in a row and actually, 9 of their last 11 - that’s an 18 point swing from when we were wondering if Dominic Casciato was gonna figure this out. Meanwhile, A draw on the road to NoCo after losing to NCFC would seem mid - except for its all a part of their second-half of the season grind. Both sides have positioned themselves well for a run to the playoffs and this game may prove to be a playoff preview if neither side gets too undone by the result.

North Carolina FC vs Northern Colorado Hailstorm
These have been two of, if not the two best teams in the league this season. NCFC have gone on a ten game unbeaten streak, including crucial wins over Kickers, Triumph, Tormenta, Independence, and even this very Hailstorm team in that time - all sides in and around the top of the league and jockeying for playoff positions. On the other hand, the Hailstorm seemed invincible for over half the season then just… hit the skids. They haven’t won in a month, losing 4 of their last 5 and the Trevor Amann well has dried up, having only scored a brace since July 22nd. This battle will be critical for both sides, who look to take the league and will be a statement win for either.

Wednesday, August 23rd

  • Greenville Triumph SC vs Chattanooga Red Wolves - 4:30pm (PST) / 7:30pm (ET)

  • SG Tormenta FC vs Northern Colorado Hailstorm - 4:30pm (PST) / 7:30pm (ET)

Saturday, August 26th

  • North Carolina FC vs Northern Colorado Hailstorm - 4pm (PST) / 7pm (ET)

  • Greenville Triumph SC vs Union Omaha - 4:00pm (PST) / 7:00pm (ET)

  • Lexington SC vs Richmond Kickers - 4:00pm (PST) / 7:00pm (ET)

  • One Knoxville SC vs Charlotte Independence - 4:30pm (PST) / 7:30pm (ET)

  • Chattanooga Red Wolves SC vs SG Tormenta FC - 4:30pm (PST) / 7:30pm (ET)

  • Central Valley Fuego FC vs Forward Madison FC - 7:30pm (PST) / 10:30pm (ET)

by Joshua Duder