Checking on the USL Championship: Copa Tejas clinched and a rising tide

From the top to the bottom of both conferences, teams across the USL Championship continued to make their pushes for the best possible spot in the playoffs this past weekend.

San Antonio FC built on its lead atop the Western Conference but, perhaps more importantly, claimed its first trophy in club history as it clinched Copa Tejas. San Diego Loyal SC now sits second in the West, while the two teams in the Los Angeles area put on a goalscoring clinic.

Elsewhere in the league, a few teams took important first steps if they are to build some momentum and make the postseason. As always, there were intriguing and noteworthy results across the league this past week, so here are the ones which stood out and what they mean in the grand scheme of things.

Talkin’ Tejas

SAFC clinched Copa Tejas on Saturday night with a 1-0 win away to El Paso Locomotive FC, the team who won the trophy in 2021 after a 3-3 draw the last time the two sides met in El Paso. Both teams created plenty of chances, but SAFC was the only one able to put all of the pieces together before putting in another solid defensive display to see out its lead.

On the other side of the result, El Paso got kicked while it was down after a bad week on and off the pitch. The Locos have now lost two straight matches after going 10 undefeated, and high-profile players Sebastian Velasquez and Richie Ryan are departing the club. The Locos' playoff position is now more precarious as they sit just three points above the playoff line.

Farther west, Rio Grande Valley FC couldn’t quite contain the league’s highest-scoring team, losing 2-1 away to San Diego. The Toros are now winless in five matches, having lost three of their last four, and they sit six points out of a playoff position despite playing more matches than the two teams sitting just above the playoff line.

Considering Cali

The Toros’ loss was obviously good for San Diego though, as the California club finally moved up to second place in the West, level on points with Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC but leading with a better head-to-head record. SAFC still leads both teams by six points with two matches in hand, but San Diego has a chance to close that gap with both games against SAFC this season still to come.

Farther north, local rivals collided as Orange County SC made the short trip to face LA Galaxy II and thrashed it 5-2 on Saturday, with Los Dos’ goals bookending the handful from the visitors which included a brace from Milan Iloski. OCSC still has work to do if it wants to defend its league championship, though, sitting eight points out of the playoffs as things stand, while Los Dos’ two recent losses saw them drop below the playoff line.

Examining everyone else

Las Vegas Lights FC won 2-0 away to Oakland Roots SC on Saturday, capitalizing twice after Oakland goalkeeper Paul Blanchette was sent off shortly before halftime for denying a goalscoring opportunity. With five wins in six matches, the Lights have climbed above the playoff line in the West and replaced Los Dos as the only MLS-affiliated team currently in the postseason picture.

Despite still sitting at the bottom of the West, Monterey Bay FC got its fourth result in a row with a 2-0 win over New York Red Bulls II on Saturday. As an expansion club, it’s not unlikely that Monterey Bay could continue to improve and make a late-season push for the playoffs (à la Oakland in 2021). They just need to make up a 10-point gap with 15 matches to go.

The improving chemistry for Monterey Bay was on display in Saturday’s first goal, which earns the title of The Striker’s USL Championship Goal of the Week. Simon Dawkins was the one on the scoresheet, but his teammates were the real winners with four straight one-touch passes on the right flank to set the goal up.

Charleston Battery lost the lead twice but scored an equalizer in second-half stoppage time in a frantic 3-3 draw on the road against the Switchbacks on Friday night. Charleston got its second result in a row but remains 18 points out of a playoff spot in the East, while the Switchbacks’ mid-season skid continued as they finally fell to third place in the West.

Indy Eleven snapped its six-match losing streak and 459-minute scoreless streak with a 1-1 draw at home against Memphis 901 FC on Saturday, even though Memphis hit the post twice and had another goal ruled out for an offside call. Indy is only two places but nine points out of a playoff spot, yet a late-season surge looks more likely now that it has lifted the curses which had been plaguing it.

One spot above Indy, FC Tulsa improved its playoff odds with a 2-0 win away to Birmingham Legion FC on Saturday. It was Tulsa’s first away win of the season, something it’ll need more of just to make up the six-point gap between it and a playoff place. Birmingham has now conceded multiple goals in three of its last five matches after not doing so once in its first 15 outings.

Finally, the Tampa Bay Rowdies continued the hottest streak in the league with a 3-1 home win over Atlanta United 2 on Saturday featuring a brace from Steevan Dos Santos. The Rowdies have won five straight matches and gone undefeated in 11, outscoring opponents 30-11 in that stretch as it now trails Louisville City FC by just a point for the top spot in the East.