While his initial blazing-hot form to start the season cooled for a few games, the Charleston Battery’s Nick Markanich rebounded in the past two outings to start the second half of the regular season by reaching a notable landmark last Friday night.

In this edition of the USL Championship’s News & Notes we look at the company Markanich currently keeps among the best goalscoring seasons in the league’s history. We also salute New Mexico United’s ongoing home winning streak, tell you when the last time a club had a scoreless streak longer than Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC’s current run, and have the number that shows why Birmingham Legion FC’s Phanuel Kavita has been the Championship’s Mr. Consistent during his career.

We’ve also got our regular look at upcoming individual landmarks for players across the USL Championship and the Week 19 Discipline Report.

Let’s begin.

NEWS & NOTES

BATTERY’S NICK MARKANICH REACHES 15 GOALS, MAINTAINS HIGH PACE
The Charleston Battery’s Nick Markanich recorded his 14th and 15th goals of the season last Friday night against Birmingham Legion FC in the home side’s 2-0 victory at Patriots Point. In doing so, Markanich became the fifth-fastest to reach 15 goals in a season, achieving the mark in his 18th appearance of the regular season.

Additionally, Markanich’s current strike rate of 99.8 minutes per goal currently ranks fifth all-time in the Championship’s regular season among players to have recorded at least 15 goals in a full regular season.

Fewest Appearances to Record 15 Goals in a USL Championship Season
1. Dom Dwyer, Orlando City FC (2013) – 13 games, 65.73 mins/goal
2. Hadji Barry, Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC – 16 games, 90 mins/goal
T-3. Jack McBean, LA Galaxy II (2016) – 17 games, 88.8 mins/goal
T-3 Romario Williams, Charleston Battery (2017) – 17 games, 86.9 mins/goal
5. Nick Markanich, Charleston Battery (2024) – 18 games, 99.8 mins/goal

NEW MEXICO UNITED HOME WINNING STREAK REACHES DOUBLE-DIGITS

New Mexico United became only the fifth team to record a home winning streak of at least 10 games in the USL Championship’s regular season following its 2-0 victory against Orange County SC last Wednesday night in front of a season-high crowd in the USL Championship of 12,147 fans at Isotopes Park.

New Mexico began its streak on September 15, 2023 with a 3-2 victory against Indy Eleven, and has now won its first seven games of the current season to match the run by Louisville City FC at the start of the current campaign. United continues to pursue the record set by Orlando City SC of 13 consecutive home wins set in the Lions’ 2014 campaign.

Most Consecutive Home Wins in the USL Championship Regular Season
1. Orlando City SC (2014) – 13
2. Phoenix Rising FC (2019) – 12
T-3. Indy Eleven (2019-20) – 11
T-3. Real Monarchs SLC (2018) – 11
5. New Mexico United (2023-24) – 10*

Most Consecutive Home Wins to Start a USL Championship Regular Season
1. Real Monarchs SLC, 2017 – 9
T-2. New Mexico United, 2024 – 7*
T-2. Louisville City FC, 2024 – 7
T-2. Orlando City SC, 2013 – 7
T-5. Rochester Rhinos, 2015 – 6
T-5. Phoenix Rising FC, 2020 – 6

* - active streak

PITTSBURGH RIVERHOUNDS SC SCORELESS STREAK CONTINUES

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC was held scoreless for a sixth consecutive contest on Saturday night in a 1-0 defeat to Monterey Bay F.C. at Highmark Stadium. The club’s current scoreless streak sits at 573 minutes, with its most recent goal having been scored by Danny Griffin in the 57th minute of a 2-1 defeat by Indy Eleven on June 1.

During this span, Pittsburgh has recorded 63 shots, 22 shots on target, had one penalty kick saved, and recorded an Expected Goals mark of 5.57xG. The side currently sits with a -12.59 differential between its Expected Goals mark for the season (23.59x) and its current goal mark (11) per Opta’s model.

The Hounds’ scoreless streak is currently the longest in the Championship’s regular season since the Harrisburg City Islanders went 616 minutes without finding the net in the 2017 season. The City Islanders were held scoreless in six consecutive contests between goals in the 45th minute against July 18 against the Charlotte Independence and the 31st minute against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on September 6.

LEGION’S PHANUEL KAVITA SET FOR 20,000 MINUTES LANDMARK

Birmingham Legion FC captain Phanuel Kavita is set to become the seventh player in the USL Championship’s history to surpass 20,000 regular season minutes in the league’s regular season when Legion hosts Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC this Saturday night.

Kavita has made 230 appearances in the Championship’s regular season in his career, with almost half of those having come for Legion FC (113) as he sits just outside the Top 15 in the league’s history. He has been one of the most consistent presences on the field in his three stops at Real Monarchs SLC, Saint Louis FC and Legion, averaging 86.9 minutes per appearance for his career, a higher mark than any of the six players to have currently recorded at least 20,000 minutes of action.

Mins/Appearance among USL Championship players with 20,000 regular season minutes
1. Taylor Mueller – 83.3 minutes/appearance
2. Aodhan Quinn – 82.3 minutes/appearance
3. Hugh Roberts – 81.1 minutes/appearance
4. Josh Suggs – 80 minutes/appearance
5. Sean Totsch – 79.9 minutes/appearance
6. Kenardo Forbes – 78.1 minutes/appearance

Quick Hits

- With his game-winning goal against Louisville City FC on Saturday night, Oakland Roots SC’s Jonathan Rodriguez has recorded goals in three consecutive games for the first time in the USL Championship.

- San Antonio FC forward Juan Agudelo’s two-goal performance against Phoenix Rising FC this past Saturday marked his second consecutive multi-goal game in the USL Championship. The two performances also stand as the former United States’ international’s only multi-goal performances in 78 regular season appearances in the league.

- Loudoun United FC’s club-record undefeated streak reached seven games (5-0-2) with its 3-0 victory against Hartford Athletic last Wednesday night.

- Las Vegas Lights FC earned its first victory away at Sacramento Republic FC in club history last Wednesday night at Heart Health Park. The Lights’ current seven-game undefeated streak is its longest since a run of eight games between 28th September, 2022 to 16th April, 2023.

- Memphis 901 FC’s Tyler Deric became the 22nd goalkeeper in the Championship’s history to record 250 saves in the regular season with his three saves against Orange County SC last Saturday night.

Upcoming Player Milestones

Appearances
Approaching 200 regular-season appearances
Oscar Jimenez (MEM) – 199
James Musa (IND) – 196
Sebastian Guenzatti (IND) – 196
Russell Cicerone (SAC) – 196

Approaching 150 regular-season appearances
Cam Lindley (IND) – 149
Alex Crognale (BHM) – 149

Approaching 100 regular-season appearances
Paul Blanchette (OAK) – 99
Aaron Molloy (CHS) – 99
Maalique Foster (COS) – 99
Zach Herivaux (RI) – 98
Lamar Batista (NC) – 98
Chris Allan (CHS) – 98
Nick Moon (TBR) – 98
Dayonn Harris (NM) – 97
Elliot Collier (IND) – 97

Minutes
Approaching 20,000 regular season minutes
Phanuel Kavita (BHM) – 19,981
Alex Dixon (MB) – 19,700

Approaching 15,000 regular season minutes
Matt Mahoney (COS) – 14,797
Augustine Williams (IND) – 14,766
Charlie Adams (LV) – 14,617

Approaching 10,000 regular season minutes
Shane Wiedt (SAC) – 9,995
Aedan Stanley (IND) – 9,995
Eric Calvillo (ELP) – 9,918
Lindo Mfeka (OAK) – 9,848
Fabien Garcia (LV) – 9,831
Tyler Deric (MEM) – 9,820
Nick Ross (SAC) – 9,753

Goals
Approaching 60 regular season goals
Cal Jennings (TBR) – 59
Romario Williams (IND) – 58
Russell Cicerone (SAC) – 58

Approaching 50 regular season goals
Rodrigo Da Costa (NC) – 49
Albert Dikwa (RI) – 47

Approaching 40 regular season goals
Amando Moreno (ELP) – 39
Brian Ownby (LOU) – 39
Leo Fernandes (TBR) – 38
Rodrigo Lopez (SAC) – 38
JJ Williams (RI) – 37
Michee Ngalina (HFD) – 37
Justin Portillo (SAC) – 37

Assists
Approaching 50 regular season assists
Enzo Martinez (BHM) – 48
Rodrigo Lopez (SAC) – 46
Brian Ownby (LOU) – 46

Approaching 40 regular season assists
Christiano Francois (LDN) – 39

Approaching 30 regular season assists
Niall McCabe (LOU) – 29
Cam Lindley (IND) – 28
Jorge Hernandez (SA) – 28

Saves
Approaching 250 regular season saves
Christian Herrera (COS) – 246
Rocco Rios Novo (PHX) – 241

Approaching 200 regular season saves
Hugo Fauroux (LDN) – 190

Shutouts
Approaching 50 regular season shutouts
Alex Tambakis (NM) – 49

Approaching 40 regular season shutouts
Jordan Farr (TBR) – 37
 

Discipline Report – Week 19

TAMPA, Fla. – The following is the USL Championship’s discipline report for Week 19 of the 2024 USL Championship season:

Detroit City FC’s Abdoulaye Diop has been suspended for one game following his red card for two cautionable offences against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on July 6. Diop will be unavailable for selection in Detroit’s contest against Memphis 901 FC this Saturday.

FC Tulsa Head Coach Mario Sanchez has been suspended for one game following his red card for Deliberately Leaving Technical Area to Dissent against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC on July 4. Sanchez will serve his suspension in Tulsa’s contest against Monterey Bay F.C. on Saturday night.

Loudoun United FC assistant coach Victor Lonchuk has been suspended for one game following his red card for Deliberately Leaving Technical Area to Dissent against Hartford Athletic on July 3. Lonchuk will serve his suspension during Loudoun’s contest against Indy Eleven on Saturday.

Miami FC’s Nicolas Cardona has been suspended for one game for caution accumulation following his eighth yellow card of the season in his side’s contest against North Carolina FC on July 6. Cardona will be unavailable for selection in Miami’s contest against Rhode Island FC on Saturday night.

The following players enter the upcoming matches one caution away from their eighth yellow card of the season and a one-game suspension for caution accumulation.

Here is the breakdown per club:

• New Mexico United (1): Zico Bailey

• San Antonio FC (1): Mitchell Taintor