Coming out of the USL’s midseason mental health break the Championship celebrated Independence Day with plenty of fireworks. None of the top four teams in the league notched a win in Week 18, and upsets abounded. I’ve been a broken record discussing the level of parity in 2026, but this weekend’s results took it to a new level.
Who’s on the rise after a jam-packed packed, and which clubs are losing ground? I’m going from #1 to #25 to find out.
1. Charleston Battery
Trending: +1
Result: 4-1 win v. Loudoun, 2-0 loss at Indy
On either side of the midseason break, Charleston had the chance to show their mettle against two diametrically opposed foes. Against Loudoun, the Battery needed to take advantage of an open game state and control a high-tempo matchup. In Indy, the challenge was to break down a low block. The breadth of tools in the Battery toolkit was undeniably clear, even if the results didn’t match the ideas across Weeks 17 and 18.
