USL Sacramento Republic FC

Around the Leagues: Domestic, International Competition Creates Fireworks

September 28, 2021 - United Soccer League Championship (USL)
Sacramento Republic FC News Release


Fall competition has once again taken the beautiful game by storm. While World Cup Qualifiers are set to resume for the United States Men's National Team, playoff pictures are tightening up across MLS, the NWSL and the USL Championship. Across the pond, action is heating up in the Premier League as Brentford and Arsenal are making noise in England's topflight.

USL Championship

Phoenix Rising FC became the first team to clinch a spot in the 2021 USL Championship postseason with a 2-1 win at Tacoma Defiance on Saturday. Santi Moar provided his third game-winner in the last six games with a 90th-minute winner against the Pacific Northwest side to continue his six-game scoring streak.

Elsewhere in the Pacific Division, Orange County SC eased pressure with a 2-1 win at Oakland Roots SC on Saturday. Chris Wehan made game-winning magic of his own for New Mexico United, giving The Black and Yellow a much-needed 1-0 road win over San Antonio FC. Wehan bagged his second straight game winner over the weekend to give the Mountain Division playoff hopefuls three wins in its last five games as a possible third consecutive postseason appearance approaches.

Golden Boot frontrunner Hadji Barry added to his tally in Switchbacks FC's 3-1 win over Austin Bold FC on Saturday, helping Colorado Springs put a stop to Bold FC's four-game unbeaten run. Barry's score against the Texas side gave him 24 goals on the year, one shy of Cameron Lancaster's record-setting 25 in 2018.

OKC Energy jumped over the playoff line over the weekend with a 2-0 win over Indy Eleven, their first victory since September 1. After the postponement of the two sides' July 10 meeting at Taft Stadium, OKC and Indy will face off again on Wednesday.

CONCACAF World Cup Qualifiers

The United States Men's National Team returns to CONCACAF World Cup Qualifier action with three October matches, including two on U.S. soil. The USMNT's home games will take place at two of Major League Soccer's newest crown jewels in Austin FC's Q2 Stadium and Columbus Crew's Lower.com Field.

September's slate for the USMNT began on frustrating terms with back-to-back draws against El Salvador and Canada before Gregg Berhalter's side broke through for a 4-1 win in Honduras to close out the month. Fans may remember Honduras going ahead 1-0 early, but the more favorable moment of that night victory was Ricardo Pepi's header in the 75th minute - the FC Dallas homegrown's first international score - that broke a 1-1 deadlock and led the United States to pour it on from there.

The Octagonal calendar has now turned to October, where the Stars and Stripes face three new opponents in Jamaica (October 7 in Austin), Panama (October 10 in Panama) and Costa Rica (October 13 in Columbus).

This will be the USMNT's third game against the Reggae Boyz in 2021 after taking the 1-0 win in the Gold Cup quarterfinals on Matthew Hoppe's 83rd-minute goal at AT&T Stadium. After traveling to Panama for the second leg of the Octagon's October slate, the USMNT will return home to face Costa Rica at the home of the Columbus Crew.

Premier League

Brentford's first topflight season in 74 years is shaping up to be must-see entertainment. In an instant classic on Saturday at Brentford Community Stadium, the Bees erased a second one-goal deficit after Yoane Wissa's 82nd-minute equalizer to earn a 3-3 draw with UEFA Champions League contenders Liverpool.

The Bees were not the only London side to turn heads this weekend.

After being on opposite sides of the Premier League table on August 29, a revamped Arsenal took bragging rights in the first North London Derby of the season on Sunday with a 3-1 win at the Emirates Stadium. The statement win from Mikel Arteta's side signified a drastic changing of the guard in north London, as the Gunners surpassed Spurs in the Premier League table.

Manchester City pulled level with Chelsea in the table after to a 1-0 win over the Blues on Saturday, while Aston Villa stunned Manchester United after Bruno Fernandes missed a penalty in stoppage time. Everton bounced back from last week's loss to the Villains with a 2-0 win over Norwich City at Goodison Park on Saturday.

Monday saw the return of the M23 Derby between Crystal Palace and Brighton & Hove Albion with no shortage of dramatics. Wilfried Zaha converted from the spot in first half stoppage time for Palace, but Brighton's Neal Maupay equalized in the 95th minute to steal a point.

Major League Soccer

The Pacific Northwest stole the show in the men's domestic topflight this weekend.

A top-of-the-table clash saw Seattle upstage Sporting Kansas City to take hold of the top spot in the Western Conference table. In the Rose City meanwhile, the Portland Timbers put a hurt on Real Salt Lake with a 6-1 score line. Vancouver Whitecaps picked up a 1-0 win on Saturday, and thanks to a San Jose win over LAFC, all three clubs are now deadlocked at 33 points - three outside the playoff line - with a little over a month remaining in the regular season.

Kacper Przybylko's goal in the 70th minute helped Philadelphia cool off Atlanta United in the Eastern Conference, as the Union and Portland now move into first-round bye positioning with top-four spots.

Minnesota United and D.C. United are the newest members of this year's playoff picture after respective wins over the Houston Dynamo and FC Cincinnati. D.C.'s win over the Queen City side was the final game at the helm for FCC boss Jaap Stam.

Austin FC secured a morale-boosting win over the Los Angeles Galaxy thanks to two milestone goals. Moussa Djitté scored his first MLS goal, while Orrin McKinzie Gaines became the first Austin native to score for the club.

NWSL

Weekend victories from the Houston Dash and Washington Spirit mean the two clubs are still level with 26 points at identical 7-7-5 records for the league's sixth playoff spot. It was both sides' first NWSL wins since August.

Rachel Hill's game winner in the 65th minute pushed Chicago Red Stars' unbeaten streak to five with a 2-1 home win over Portland, while Pacific Northwest rival OL Reign secured a 3-0 win over Orlando Pride to gain ground on the Thorns' first-place spot and the NWSL Shield.

Gotham FC stole three points from the North Carolina Courage for the club's first win since July 25, meaning spots three through eight in the league table are now separated by just four points with five weeks remaining in the regular season.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from September 28, 2021


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