As the USL heads into yet another Jagermeister Cup break, the lion’s share of the Championship has reached the 10-match mark. Remarkably, no teams across the division have a goal difference worse than minus-nine, and only two – Charleston and Louisville – have hit double digits on the positive end.
I’ve preached the idea of parity all season long, and the numbers bear that theme out. Still, the Eastern and Western Conference races are both beginning to calcify. Week 12 was a showcase for teams atop both tables, but it also featured certain bubble teams breaking out in a bid to truly compete.
Who made the biggest impact this week, and how did it affect the power rankings? Let’s dig in.
1. Charleston Battery
Trending: No change
Result: 3-1 win at Detroit
Clever managers often switch their wingers from side to side during a match, usually at the 30-minute mark or so in a given half. Ben Pirmann is as clever as they come, but his use of Arturo Rodriguez and Juan David Torres isn’t that rote.
Last weekend in a rout against San Antonio, Torres (typically an inverted right winger) shifted to the left within 10 minutes of the opening whistle. This weekend in Detroit, a similar pattern developed, but the Battery made their money by allowing both wingers to stack on one side to overload their hosts.
