USl Championship & USL League One round-up, March 23-24

There wasn't a single away win in the eleven USL Championship matches this weekend, although several sides did manage creditable draws on the road. The weekend's action started in Connecticut where Hartford Athletic welcomed Birmingham Legion to Trinity Health Stadium. Almost 3,000 fans were in attendance to see the reshaped Athletic side dominate the game in terms of sheer chances, their eleven shots on target dwarfing Legion's three. That meant Matt van Oekel had to be in good form in the away goal, but even his acrobatics couldn't prevent Michee Ngalina scoring the game's only goal to make it two wins from two games for Brendan Burke's side. Athletic are joined at the top of the Eastern Conference by two other sides with 100% records, both of them winning their home openers on Saturday. Detroit City faced the youngsters from Loudoun United at Keyworth Stadium and went behind after just fourteen minutes when Wesley Leggett finished a smart move for the visitors. That's how it stayed until eleven minutes into the second half, when Abdoulaye Diop levelled for Le Rouge, and Maxi Rodriguez's strike fifteen minutes later gave the home side their second straight win.

Louisville City won away in El Paso last week and followed that with another win, this time over Pittsburgh Riverhounds in front of over 9,300 at the Lynn Family Stadium. There were plenty of chances in the first half but it took until the fifth minute of time added on for Wilson Harris to open the scoring for City, sending them into the break 1-0 up. Heavy Pittsburgh pressure paid off just before the hour when Edward Kizza found an equaliser but parity lasted just five minutes before Illal Osumanu fouled Ray Serrano in the box, allowing Sean Totsch to put the home side back in front with a converted penalty. Riverhounds pressed for an equaliser but wound up conceding a third from Serrano to go away 3-1 losers and with no points from three games this season. Indy Eleven also played their home opener on Saturday, welcoming the powerhouses of Sacramento Republic to the Michael A Carroll Stadium, for whom Trevor Amman has been in stunning form so far. They managed to keep Amman fairly quiet but went behind to a Callum Chapman-Page own goal just after the half-hour, meaning Augustine Williams's strike three minutes later was an equaliser, the game finishing 1-1.

North Carolina FC have acquitted themselves well after stepping up from USL League One over the winter and they faced a lively Tampa Bay Rowdies at Wake Med Soccer Park in Cary on Saturday. Chances were at a premium and it took an own goal from Mikey Maldonado to give the Rowdies the lead in the 63rd minute. Rafa Mentzingen, who played for the club in USL-1 last season, fired into the top corner twelve minutes later to draw the Wings level, and that's how it stayed through to full-time. Across the border in South Carolina, Charleston Battery looked to recover from a shaky start so far this season against a New Mexico United side who have looked like title contenders. Of course, the script was flipped and Battery scored four without reply, begun by Nick Markanich in the 17th minute, with Arturo Rodriguez, Aaron Molloy, and Jackson Conway also on the scoresheet.

Las Vegas Lights were taken over by former MLB star Jose Bautista in the winter and have begun a rebuilding process after a terrible 2023. Despite two losses to start the season, they've looked good value under new head coach Dennis Sanchez, and their efforts were finally rewarded on Saturday when a Javier Garcia own goal gave them a 1-0 win over El Paso Locomotive at Cashman Field. 2022 champions San Antonio FC welcomed Colorado Springs Switchbacks to Toyota Field and had the best of the game even before Lucas Silva opened the scoring in the 75th minute. Hugo Mbongue, on loan from MLS side Toronto FC, added a second in stoppage time to complete the job and send the Texans joint top of the Western Conference.

Five thousand fans came to Championship Soccer Stadium to cheer Orange County SC on against The Miami FC on Saturday but were given an early disappointment after twelve minutes when Allen Gavilanes opened the scoring for the visitors, another side who have overhauled their squad in the off-season. Ashton Miles equalised just past the half-hour mark but Gavilanes found the net again in first-half stoppage time to give Miami a 2-1 lead at the break. OC poured on the pressure in the second half and were rewarded when substitute Thomas Amang scored their second leveller in the 70th minute, with Miami happy to hear the final whistle after more OC pressure, 2-2 the final result. Saturday's final game came from Arizona where reigning champions Phoenix Rising were looking for their first points of the season against Oakland Roots. Rising dominated things from the off, forcing Paul Blanchette in the Roots goal into multiple saves, and the away side didn't manage a single shot on target. In the end, Panos Armenakas's 49th minute strike was all that separated the teams.

There was just a single game on Sunday, with expansion side Rhode Island FC playing their first road game, travelling to California to play Frank Yallop's Monterey Bay. Last season's USL-C MVP Albert Dikwa opened the scoring for the Seals in the 41st minute and looked to have given them a first-half lead, but the home side hit back right on half-time through Carlos Guzman to send the sides into the break at 1-1. Dikwa struck again eighteen minutes into the second-half with a close-range goal to give the visitors the lead but Monterey equalised once more, this time through Tristan Trager, setting the stage for a heady finish with twenty minutes to go. Prince Saydee missed a good chance to give Rhode Island all three points eleven minutes into stoppage time but the game ended all-square, a fair result after a good contest.

There were just four games in the third-tier USL League One on Saturday, starting in Virgina where Richmond Kickers hosted 2022 champions South Georgia Tormenta at City Stadium. Both sides were looking for their first wins of the season and Tormenta struck first, going ahead in the fourth minute through former Derby County and DC United man Conor Doyle. The 4,500 crowd got behind the Kickers going into the second half but it was Niall Watson - signed from Southport in the off-season - who doubled the away side's lead in a fast break goal ten minutes after the restart. Richmond pressed to get back into the game and finally got a reward when they forced Preston Kilwien to put through his own net in stoppage time, but the search for an equaliser left them vulnerable to a Tormenta third, scored by Mason Tunbridge with the final kick of the game. One Knoxville began their second season in USL-1 with a win away in Charlotte last week and followed that with a 2-0 home win over Lexington SC at the Regal Soccer Stadium. The game was goalless until the 70th minute when Rodolfo Castro Jr finished a smart move for the home side, with Stuart Ritchie - signed from Columbus Crew 2 over the winter - adding a second with two minutes to spare.

Greenville Triumph are still playing on the gridiron marked pitch at Paladin Stadium, where 1,600 saw their scoreless draw with Forward Madison, during which Leandro Castro had a dubious penalty saved by visiting 'keeper Bernd Schipmann on the stroke of half-time. In the final game of the weekend, Spokane Velocity staged their second home game in eight days after last week's sell-out win over Richmond. Northern Colorado Hailstorm were the visitors this week and another good crowd of 3,376 came out to see Velocity win again, courtesy of a 35th minute penalty by Luis Gil, conceded through a foul by David Garcia on Gil. Hailstorm managed just one shot on target and will have better days, while the Velocity train pulls into Charlotte in midweek for a clash with the Independence.