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USL United Soccer League Championship

USL Week 22: Oklahoma Clubs Make West Run

August 17, 2015 - United Soccer League Championship (USL) News Release


TAMPA, Fla. - The Western Conference saw some sweeping changes across the board in Week 22, with OKC Energy FC rising to first place following its 1-0 victory against Real Monarchs SLC on Saturday at Taft Stadium. Also in the West, OKC's in-state rival Tulsa Roughnecks FC extended its unbeaten streak to six games, posting a 5-1 win against the Monarchs on Thursday and a 2-2 draw against the Eastern Conference's Louisville City FC. After both games at ONEOK Field, Tulsa moved up to fourth in the West.

FEATURED GAMES

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 3, Sacramento Republic FC 3

In one of the more exciting draws in the USL this season, Colorado Springs held a two-goal advantage against the defending champion, only to see Sacramento score back-to-back goals to earn a road point at Sand Creek Stadium on Friday. Ivan Mirkovic tallied a stoppage-time winner to earn the draw against a Switchbacks team that held the West lead at the time. Luke Vercollone had a strong match for Colorado Springs with two goals. With OKC Energy FC winning its match, Colorado Springs drops to second in the conference at 12-7-3 and 39 points. Republic FC is 10-8-4 (34 points) and in seventh place, just under the postseason cutoff.

Rochester Rhinos 2, Wilmington Hammerheads FC 1

The Rhinos needed a late Grant Van de Casteele goal to earn a victory against the Hammerheads at Sahlen's Stadium on Saturday. Kenardo Forbes scored the Rhinos' first goal in the 26th minute and last-place Wilmington fought back with Just Moose's 59th-minute score. The East leaders maintained their unbeaten home mark (8-0-2), and the victory was an important one as everyone below Rochester could not gain much in points. Second-place Louisville City FC and the third-place Charleston Battery only earned a point apiece in their respective games. Heading into Week 23, the Rhinos are now 13-1-8 overall (47 points) and five points clear of Louisville with six regular-season games remaining. Rochester leads the USL with 13 wins, and its defense is allowing a league-low 0.55 goals per game.

OKC Energy FC 1, Real Monarchs SLC 0

OKC extended its unbeaten streak to eight games (4-0-4) and moved to the top of the Western Conference with Saturday's win at Taft Stadium. Kyle Greig scored the lone goal in the 74th minute off a Michael Thomas cross. It was Greig's seventh tally of the season to help Energy FC move to 11-5-7 (40 points), one point ahead of Colorado Springs and the LA Galaxy II. Evan Newton made two saves for his eighth clean sheet of the season, which is second in the USL behind the Rochester Rhinos' Brandon Miller (10 shutouts). With Saturday's loss, the Monarchs are the first side to be mathematically eliminated from postseason contention. They are now 2-13-7 (13 points) with six regular-season games remaining.

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 2, Louisville City FC 2

The Roughnecks have fought their way up the crowded West, thanks to a five-game unbeaten stretch, and have reached their highest standing this year following their draw against a strong East opponent. Tulsa is fourth in the Western Conference thanks to the draw and last Thursday's 5-1 win against Real Monarchs SLC. Saturday's draw was a missed opportunity for Tulsa, however, as Cristian Mata's second-half goal gave the hosts a 2-1 lead, only to have Louisville's Niall McCabe tally an equalizer four minutes later. The match also incorporated one of the best goal highlights of the season when Louisville's Aodhan Quinn carved a left-footed free kick into the upper right corner of the frame for a 1-0 lead. Quinn's tally garnered national attention with a No. 5 ranking on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10.

QUOTABLE

"I couldn't believe it. I never would imagine making it on SportsCenter, let alone in the Top 10. I think it's great publicity for the club and the league." - Louisville City FC's Aodhan Quinn on his free kick goal against Tulsa Roughnecks FC on Saturday, which earned play on ESPN

"There's no bad team in this league. Salt Lake City was a good team tonight. They showed it. We know we're a good team as well, but every game is a battle. At the end of the day, we got three points and right now we're sitting at the top of the league so we've got to be happy about that." - OKC Energy FC's Michael Thomas following a 1-0 victory against Real Monarchs SLC

"We knew we'd have trouble with every set piece. I figured that was the only way they were going to score. Our second half was not strong." - Pittsburgh Riverhounds Coach Mark Steffens on the shorthanded Charlotte Independence, who fought back for a 1-1 draw

"I think we kept the ball and we were patient with it. We were more focused on some of the individual duels in terms of what we needed to do. I liked several of the combinations when we went to goal including the goals." - Portland Timbers 2 Coach Jay Vidovich after T2's 3-1 win against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on Sunday

BY THE NUMBERS

100 - Louisville City FC's Juan Guzman and Arizona United SC's Dennis Chin earned their respective 100th career USL regular-season caps. Guzman was a second-half sub during City's 2-2 draw against Tulsa Roughnecks FC and Chin started and played the full 90 during United's 3-0 loss to Orange County Blues FC.

16 - Louisville City FC's four-goal performance during a 5-1 win against Real Monarchs SLC on Thursday pushed his season total to 16 tallies. That ranks fourth on the USL's all-time list behind Orlando City SC's Kevin Molino (20 in 2014), OKC Energy FC's Danni K nig (19 thus far in 2015) and the Pittsburgh Riverhounds' Rob Vincent (17 thus far in 2015). Fondy's hat trick was the eighth in the USL this season.

8 - Evan Newton recorded his eighth shutout this year during OKC Energy FC's 1-0 win against Real Monarchs SLC. Newton is second in the league in clean sheets behind the Rochester Rhinos' Brandon Miller (10). Newton's next shutout would rank him in the top-10 among USL single-season performances.

5 - Louisville FC's Aodhan Quinn notched a No. 5 ranking on ESPN SportsCenter's Top 10 list over the weekend.

STANDINGS

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Team GP W L T GF GA Pts

Rochester Rhinos 22 13 1 8 28 12 47

Louisville City FC 22 12 4 6 45 25 42

Charleston Battery 22 9 4 9 32 20 36

Richmond Kickers 23 8 6 9 36 31 33

New York Red Bulls II 23 9 8 6 37 38 33

Pittsburgh Riverhounds 22 9 8 5 46 36 32

Harrisburg City Islanders 20 8 8 4 34 42 28

Charlotte Independence 20 6 6 8 25 24 26

FC Montreal 22 7 12 3 28 31 24

Saint Louis FC 22 5 9 8 23 33 23

Toronto FC II 20 5 12 3 17 34 18

Wilmington Hammerheads FC 22 3 13 6 17 34 15

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Team GP W L T GF GA Pts

OKC Energy FC 23 11 5 7 37 29 40

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 22 12 7 3 43 26 39

LA Galaxy II 23 12 8 3 35 26 39

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 25 10 9 6 46 40 36

Seattle Sounders FC 2 22 11 8 3 37 32 36

Orange County Blues FC 22 11 8 3 31 30 36

Sacramento Republic FC 22 10 8 4 34 28 34

Portland Timbers 2 23 9 12 2 34 38 29

Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 24 8 11 5 35 45 29

Arizona United SC 22 8 13 1 25 49 25

Austin Aztex 22 7 12 3 24 30 24

Real Monarchs SLC - x 22 2 13 7 21 37 13

p - Qualified for playoffs

x - Eliminated from postseason contention

RESULTS

Wednesday, August 12

FC Montreal 2, Toronto FC II 1

Louisville City FC 5, Harrisburg City Islanders 1

Charlotte Independence 1, New York Red Bulls II 1

Thursday, August 13

Tulsa Roughnecks FC 5, Real Monarchs SLC 1

Friday, August 14

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 3, Sacramento Republic FC 3

Saturday, August 15

Toronto FC II 2, Richmond Kickers 1

Charlotte Independence 1, Pittsburgh Riverhounds 1

Rochester Rhinos 2, Wilmington Hammerheads FC 1

Charleston Battery 1, Saint Louis FC 1

OKC Energy FC 1, Real Monarchs SLC 0

Louisville City FC 2, Tulsa Roughnecks FC 2

LA Galaxy II 3, Austin Aztex 2

Orange County Blues FC 3, Arizona United SC 0

Sunday, August 16

Portland Timbers 2 3, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 1

SCHEDULE

Wednesday, August 19

Seattle Sounders FC 2 vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, 4 p.m. ET

Toronto FC II vs. Harrisburg City Islanders, 8 p.m. ET

Thursday, August 20

Saint Louis FC vs. Charleston Battery, 8 p.m. ET

Saturday, August 22

Portland Timbers 2 vs. Tulsa Roughnecks FC, 5 p.m. ET

Richmond Kickers vs. Saint Louis FC, 7 p.m. ET

Wilmington Hammerheads FC vs. FC Montreal, 7 p.m. ET

Rochester Rhinos vs. Harrisburg City Islanders, 7:05 p.m. ET

Charlotte Independence vs. Pittsburgh Riverhounds, 7:10 p.m. ET

Louisville City FC vs. Charleston Battery, 7:30 p.m. ET

Toronto FC II vs. New York Red Bulls II, 8 p.m. ET

Austin Aztex vs. Orange County Blues FC, 8:30 p.m. ET

Arizona United SC vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2, 10:30 p.m. ET

Sacramento Republic FC vs. Real Monarchs SLC, 11 p.m. ET

Sunday, August 23

LA Galaxy II vs. Seattle Sounders FC 2, 6 p.m. ET

HOW TO FOLLOW

Every game of the 2015 USL season can be seen live, free and in HD on YouTube (www.Youtube.com/USL), with updates from across the league also available via Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

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United Soccer League Championship Stories from August 17, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.


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