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USL United Soccer League Championship

USL Weekend Preview - Week 16

July 8, 2016 - United Soccer League Championship (USL) News Release


Louisville, Charleston square off, while San Antonio welcomes OKC for key contest

TAMPA, Fla. - The USL regular season moved into its second half this week, and this weekend will bring 13 games that will see the playoff picture coming in even sharper focus. At the top of the Eastern Conference, Louisville City FC and the Charleston Battery will meet in a top-four contest, while in the West games between San Antonio FC and OKC Energy FC on Saturday and Orange County Blues FC and Sacramento Republic FC could have a big impact on which teams will be part of the postseason.

Every game of the 2016 USL season will be available on the league's Match Center, with updates from across the league also available via Twitter, Facebook, Vine and Instagram.

GAMES TO WATCH

Saturday, June 9

Louisville City FC vs. Charleston Battery

7:30 p.m. ET, Slugger Field

Eastern Conference leader Louisville City FC will host an in-form Charleston Battery side when the two teams meet in a top-four Eastern Conference contest, the first meeting between the two teams in Louisville since last season's conference playoff semifinals (Match Center).

Louisville (11-1-5, 38pts) is currently on a league-best 15-game undefeated streak, which continued this past Monday as the side took a 2-0 victory against FC Montreal. The win allowed City to expand its lead at the top of the conference standings to six points, after both the New York Red Bulls II and FC Cincinnati dropped points in their most recent outings.

Charleston (9-4-3, 30pts) has won its past three games in the league, and six of its past eight, to create a five-point gap between itself and the teams in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff positions. The Battery will also be out for revenge in Louisville, after City broke the club's 29-game home undefeated streak with a 1-0 win on May 28.

Saint Louis FC vs. FC Cincinnati

8:30 p.m. ET, World Wide Technology Soccer Park

Saint Louis and Cincinnati meet for the first time in an inter-conference clash at World Wide Technology Soccer Park with both coming off action on Wednesday night (Match Center). Both comfortably in the playoff positions in their respective conferences, Saturday's game should bring an attacking contest, with both teams in the top six in the USL in goals scored.

Saint Louis (6-6-5, 24 pts) picked up a point on Wednesday night as it equalized late for a 1-1 draw against Seattle Sounders FC 2 in the USL Game of the Week on ESPN3. STLFC's back line provided the goal, as James Musa's long throw-in found A.J. Cochran for a near-post flick, and fellow center back Sam Fink put home a close-range header to even the score.

Cincinnati (9-3-4, 31pts) saw its 11-game undefeated streak come to an end as the Rochester Rhinos scored a 2-1 win at Rhinos Stadium on Wednesday. Sean Okoli's eighth goal of the season provided only a consolation as Cincinnati fell for the second time on the road in seven games this season, and a big bounce-back performance will be needed as the side looks to either close the gap on Louisville, or remain ahead of Charleston.

San Antonio FC vs. OKC Energy FC

8:30 p.m. ET, Toyota Field

San Antonio FC and OKC Energy FC are separated by only one point as they enter Saturday night's game at Toyota Field, with the hosts carrying the positive momentum of a three-game winning streak into the game as they look to jump past last season's Western Conference finalist (Match Center).

San Antonio (5-5-5, 20pts) made it three wins in a row on Sunday night as it took a 2-1 victory on the road against Tulsa Roughnecks FC at ONEOK Field. Both Michael Reed and Franck Tayou have scored in each of the team's past two games, while the three-game winning streak has seen San Antonio move into 11th place in the West, just a point back of eighth-placed Orange County in what is becoming a very tight race indeed.

Energy FC (5-2-6, 21pts) is level on points with the Blues, and has three games in hand on them, and two on the chasing Swope Park Rangers and San Antonio. The side is coming off back-to-back draws, however, with last season's leading scorer Danni König guilty of missing a pair of penalty kicks in a 0-0 draw with Rio Grande Valley FC. After slipping out of the top eight, however, getting back into the win column and developing positive momentum could be essential to meeting the team's preseason goals.

Sunday, July 10

Orange County Blues FC vs. Sacramento Republic FC

7 p.m. ET, Anteater Stadium

Two teams looking to rebound from defeat last time out will meet on Sunday night with Orange County aiming to maintain its place in the top eight of the Western Conference, and Republic FC aiming to restart its assault on the top of the standings (Match Center).

Orange County (6-7-3, 21pts) fell 2-1 to its I-405 Derby rivals the LA Galaxy II last Saturday night to cap a three-game road trip, and now returns to Anteater Stadium, where it has gone 4-1-1 in its past six games. The Blues are precariously placed for now, but with a win on Sunday could give themselves not only breathing room, but make a jump up the standings in a tightly-packed table.

Sacramento (8-4-4, 28pts) was on the verge of moving to within a point of conference leader Vancouver on Wednesday night with a two-goal lead against Real Monarchs SLC in front of another sellout crowd of 11,569 at Bonney Field. An inexplicable collapse to a 3-2 defeat, however, saw the side remain four points back of WFC2 and brought to an end a nine-game undefeated streak. After losing to the Blues in their first meeting this season, Sacramento will be motivated to rebound strongly as it starts a tough five-game road trip.

NUMBER CRUNCHING

- Sacramento Republic FC, Louisville City FC and FC Cincinnati have each recorded at least 200 shots so far this season, with Cincinnati on course to become the first to record 100 shots on goal this Saturday as it sits on 96 entering its game with Saint Louis FC.

- Sacramento Republic FC's Danny Barrera has recorded an assist in each of his side's past four contests.

- Saint Louis FC is undefeated in its past 10 games on home turf, the longest active streak in the USL.

- The New York Red Bulls II have conceded eight goals in 15 games, and recorded 10 shutouts, putting the side in contention to break the Rochester Rhinos' league records of 15 goals conceded and 17 total shutouts in a single season.

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES

- USL 2018 expansion side Nashville FC announced on Thursday it had received more than 1,500 season-ticket deposits since the club's official launch last Friday. "We knew Nashville was ready for professional soccer, and Nashvillians have responded in ways we couldn't have imagined," said Chris Redhage, co-owner of DMD Soccer.

- Sacramento Republic FC announced that standout defender Emrah Klimenta will undergo surgery for a torn ACL, and would miss the remainder of the 2016 season. A recent call-up to the Montenegro National Team, Klimenta had made 68 regular-season appearances for Sacramento since the club's first season in 2014.

- The Harrisburg City Islanders (4-11-2, 14pts) host the Richmond Kickers (5-6-5, 20pts) on Friday night at Clipper Magazine Stadium in Lancaster, Pa., with both teams looking to snap recent downturns in form (7 p.m. ET | Match Center). The City Islanders have taken victory in both of their previous games at the venue this season, while the Kickers are looking to break a three-game scoreless streak against a side they defeated 3-1 in their first game of the season.

- North Carolina rivals the Charlotte Independence (7-4-4, 25pts) and Wilmington Hammerheads FC (5-5-5, 20pts) meet at Ramblewood Stadium on Saturday with both teams looking to bolster their positions in the top eight (7 p.m. ET | Match Center). Wilmington is coming off a 3-0 win against Toronto FC II, but will likely get a bigger test from Charlotte, which has gone 5-2-1 at home this season.

- The Rochester Rhinos (7-4-4, 25pts) will try to build on a big midweek win when they host Orlando City B (6-6-4, 22pts) on Sunday evening at Rhinos Stadium (6:05 p.m. ET | Match Center). The Rhinos took a 2-1 win on Wednesday night against FC Cincinnati, while Orlando enters on a four-game undefeated streak that has moved it into the playoff positions in the Eastern Conference.

- Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (8-4-3, 27pts) completes its trip to the Pacific Northwest on Sunday evening as it visits Seattle Sounders FC 2 (3-9-5, 14pts) at Starfire Stadium (8 p.m. ET | Match Center). The Switchbacks missed out on a chance to jump into third place in the Western Conference on Thursday night as they conceded a late goal to draw 1-1 with the Portland Timbers 2, and will be trying to reverse the result from their past visit to face S2 on April 17 when they fell 1-0.

FOLLOW THE USL

Every game of the 2016 USL season can be seen live, free and in HD through the league's official Match Center ( www.uslsoccer.com/match-center), with updates from across the league also available via Twitter, Facebook, Vine and Instagram.

USL

The United Soccer League, the longest-standing professional affiliate member of U.S. Soccer, is the largest professional soccer league in the United States and Canada, and the world, currently with 29 teams in 19 U.S. states and three Canadian provinces for the 2016 season. The USL has more than doubled in size since 2014 and built a stable, highly competitive professional soccer league on a national footprint with strong ownership groups in major markets positioned for long-term success. The 2016 season has marked the introduction of six teams - Bethlehem Steel FC, FC Cincinnati, Orlando City B, Rio Grande Valley FC, San Antonio FC and Swope Park Rangers. The league has confirmed the addition of Reno 1868 FC in 2017 and Nashville FC in 2018. The USL's teams are divided into two conferences - Eastern and Western - with each team playing 30 regular season games. In addition to league play, USL teams compete in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup as well as various domestic and international exhibitions. The USL is the strongest U.S. men's professional soccer league below Major League Soccer (MLS). Every game of the 2016 USL season will be available on the league's Match Center and can be seen live, free and in HD on YouTube (www.YouTube.com/USL), with updates from across the league also available on Twitter, Facebook, Vine and Instagram.

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