USL Championship & USL League One round-up, March 29-30

The USL Championship weekend started on Friday night in Cary, where North Carolina FC welcomed unbeaten Hartford Athletic to WakeMed Park. Oalex Anderson has yet to fully emerge since his elevation with the WIngs over the winter but looked lively throughout, earning a penalty when Anderson Asiedu brought him down in the box in the 24th minute. Louis Perez stepped up to convert the spot kick and give the home side the lead, which was doubled by "Goalex" himself on 35 minutes after a smart  through ball by Rodrigo da Costa. Hartford were in the game throughout and got one back eighteen minutes from time through Jay Chapman, but North Carolina held on for their first win since their promotion back into USL-C. Saturday's games started in Kentucky where Louisville City met old enemies Birmingham Legion. City, perennial play-off competitors, had played two and won two so far this season and continued where they left off against Pittsburgh Riverhounds last week, opening the scoring through Jake Morris in the 13th minute. Wilson Harris added a second shortly before the break and Legion looked all at sea. That was something they never recovered from, conceding another Harris goal 11 minutes into the second-half, and then two more from Taylor Davila and Ray Serrano to complete a 5-0 rout.

Like Hartford and Louisville, Detroit City had also won two out of two but faced a short trip to tough opposition when they faced Indy Eleven at the Michael A Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis. Sebastian Guenzatti put the hosts ahead midway through the first-half just after Maxi Rodriguez had a shot saved for the visitors, and it stayed 1-0 through to the 55th minute when Ali Coote levelled for Le Rouge. Rodriguez made amends for his earlier miss by giving Detroit a third win on the trot with just two minutes left on the clock, and Detroit look like they mean business this season. Charleston Battery are also looking dangerous after a shaky start, having demolished New Mexico United 4-0 last week. They travelled to the reshaped The Miami FC, who delighted the 1,100 in attendance with an opener from Allen Gavillanes in the 9th minute. That lead lasted just two minutes before Nick Markanich drew the visitors level and that's how it stayed until the 82nd minute, despite some heavy Battery pressure. Inevitably, though, Matt Myers popped up with the winner for Charleston, a close range effort following Juan Torres's saved shot.

Elsewhere in Florida, Tampa Bay Rowdies were looking for their first win of the season after two draws on the last two weekends and faced a Rhode Island FC team in a similar position. 2023 USL-C MVP Albert Dikwa opened the scoring for the expansion club in the 16th minute and it looked for a while that there might be a slight upset on the cards. However, the second-half found Rowdies in full flight,scoring four unanswered goals through Manuel Arteaga, Cal Jennings, Jordan Doherty, and Damian Rivera, the last coming six minutes into stoppage time and finally ending Rhode Island's increasingly slim hopes of escaping with a point. 2022 champions San Antonio FC were at home to Monterey Bay on Saturday, with 7,500 flocking to Toyota Field for the clash. Carter Manley got the party started early for the hosts with a 7th minute shot from a corner, but Union levelled in first-half stoppage time through Mobi Fehr. The hosts were much the best side but had to wait until four minutes from time before Kevon Lambert fired past Gerald Siaha in the Monterey goal and put San Antonio joint top of the Western Conference with eight points from four games.

It's a position they share with two California rivals, both of which were in action at home on Saturday. Despite the loss of Milan Illinovski in the winter, Orange County SC have looked good value this year and that was the case again when FC Tulsa visited Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, with OC taking all three points thanks to Sofianne Djeffal's 27th minute strike. With 9,488 at Heart Health Park, Sacramento Republic had the weekend's biggest crowd in USL-C but didn't have it all their own way against Memphis 901. The visitors defended with spirit but only managed one shot on target themselves, and it looked like a 0-0 draw was on the cards before Jonathan Ricketts scored a winner for Republic with just three minutes left on the clock. The other Californian side at home on Saturday night didn't have such a good time of things as Las Vegas Lights made it two wins out of two when they left Oakland Roots with all three points. Second-half goals from Coleman Gannon, Gaoussou Samake, and Valentin Noel did the damage in a 3-0 win for Jose Batista's club.

The weekend's final game in USL-C came from the Phoenix Soccer Stadium where reigning champions Phoenix Rising welcomed near-rivals New Mexico United. United were hoping that last week's bad defeat at the hands of Charleston Battery was just a blip and set about the champs, overwhelming them in sheer goal attempts, if not possession. It took 16 minutes for Dayonn Harris to find the Phoenix net with a smart shot and that's how it stayed, with Dariusz Formella's saved shot two minutes after the goal Rising's only attempt on target.

With Charlotte Independence beating Spokane Velocity on Thiursday night, there were just four games in the third-tier USL League One scheduled for the weekend, cut down to three when Chattanooga Red Wolves versus Union Omaha was postponed due to pitch issues in Tennessee. Friday's two games started in Georgetown, Kentucky, where Lexington SC hosted Greenville Triumph in front of 1,672 fans at Toyota Stadium. The home side took the lead in first-half stoppage time when Isaac Cano fired home, a scoreline doubled by Cameron Lancaster's first league goal for the club twelve minutes into the second-half. At that point, odds were firmly on a home victory but Triumph woke up and hit back, scoring three goals without further reply through Ben Zakowski, Lyam MacKinnon, and a 98th minute own goal, holding on for an impressive comeback away win.

Jermaine Jones's rebuilding job at Central Valley Fuego is very much a work in progress and Forward Madison showed them the way to win games with a comprehensive 3-0 win in Fresno on Friday. Derek Gebhard opened the scoring in the 28th minute for the 'Mingos, who added a second through John Murphy on 42 minutes. There was still time, though, for Devin Boyce to score Madison's third, deep into stoppage time, and give the away side a 3-0 lead at half-time, something Fuego just weren't able to come back from, although they did look much better in the second-half. The weekend's final game in USL-1 came from Tennessee, where One Knoxville were looking to make it three wins out of three (plus a cup victory) so far this season. The visitors were a South Georgia Tormenta side looking to be getting their act together after a so-so start and, in the end, it was Angelo Kelly's strike for the home side after 36 minutes that separated the sides at the final whistle, delighting the majority of the 1,813 fans at Regal Soccer Stadium.