With the Eastern and Western Conference leaders on a bye, the past weekend in the USL Championship was a chance for clubs to make up ground or to reinforce their positions in the race for the postseason on Friday and Saturday nights. Some did, some didn’t, and others continued to falter.

Here are the three big storylines we took away from Week 19’s action, our picks for who’s up and who’s down coming out of the weekend, and thoughts on everything else we saw around the league.

TOP THREE STORYLINES

1. HOUNDS DELIVER POTENTIAL TURNING POINT

Apparently, all Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC needed was to see one ball hit the back of the net to get some things figured out.

The Hounds broke their scoreless streak at 585 minutes thanks to Junior Etou in the 12th minute and then posted their first five-goal performance since the 2021 season in a 5-0 victory against Oakland Roots SC that pulled the side out of the doldrums at Highmark Stadium.

• BRACE YOURSELF: Etou’s opener was bookended by the final goal of the night of the night for the Hounds with just over 20 minutes to go, giving him the first two-goal game of his career.

• HELP YOURSELF: Another first came for Bradley Sample, who notched the first two assists of his professional career in teeing up goals for Etou and Sean Suber.

• ON THE NOD: There was also a collector’s item from Kenardo Forbes, who scored just the third headed goal out of 27 in his career in the Championship early in the second half.

The result ended the Hounds’ 10-game winless streak, moving the side within four points of the playoff places. In classic Bob Lilley fashion, the Hounds’ Head Coach said, “I’d rather take five 1-0 results and 15 points in the standings,” but it is a starting point for a potential turnaround.

“I do believe in turning points, but it is what we make it next week,” added Lilley. “I’m happy for the guys. They were able to follow through the whole game, and I hope it’s a turning point for the season.”

• ONE LAST THING: Don’t let this blip deter you from believing in Oakland. We’ve seen results like this before – see the Charleston Battery losing 7-0 to San Antonio FC last season – and we’re going to need to see more to believe the Roots are going to derail.

2. MEMPHIS PINCHES ALL THREE

In all honesty, Memphis 901 FC’s visit to Detroit City FC wasn’t the greatest spectacle. There were officially 27 fouls committed between the two sides in the first half – the most in a first half so far this season – which meant there was little flow to the action.

For a game between two of the higher-scoring clubs in the league this campaign, that was disappointing. But, as they’ve been prone to this season, Memphis found a way to pull out a result that could prove crucial to its pursuit of a fourth consecutive trip to the postseason.

• WHERE WE TALK ABOUT BRUNO: 901 FC had only notched one shot on target before the final five minutes, when Bruno Lapa’s volley into the turf at Keyworth Stadium bounded into the top-left corner to give the visitors a 1-0 result.

• LATE GAME DRAMA: The goal was Memphis’ eighth this season in the final 15 minutes or stoppage time of games. That’s tied for fifth in the league and stands as the 15-minute segment in which 901 FC has recorded more goals than any other.

• LAPPING IT UP: Lapa is no stranger to these sorts of heroics. He notched the stoppage-time winner against El Paso Locomotive FC on May 17, and is now tied for the team lead with seven goals this season.

The middle of the Western Conference is still a mess. After this weekend, there are nine points separating second and 10 place, and who knows where everyone will end up with three months to go.

That makes a result like Memphis’ all the more important to its playoff bid when only one other side in the West that was in action took all three points this weekend.

3. LIGHTS KEEP MOVING UP

The other Western Conference team to earn victory over the weekend? That was Las Vegas Lights FC, which continued El Paso Locomotive FC’s home struggles with a 2-0 victory on Friday night that moved the club’s undefeated streak to eight games as it won for a third outing in a row.

• POSITIVE MOMENTUM: As we noted on Friday morning, the Lights are looking like the real deal. As they have been this season, attacking midfielder Valentin Noël, defender Shawn Smart and forward Coleman Gannon showed up here, all contributing to the victory.

• FOOT TO THE PEDAL: Las Vegas found another gear in the second half after Locomotive had a positive first 45 minutes, and that proved the difference in the game. It also continued the Lights’ current trend of coming out on top in the Expected Goals battle, where the side now has a +6.18 Expected Goals Differential over its eight-game undefeated run.

• MAKING THE STOPS: Raiko Arozarena, meanwhile, continued to deliver key saves at timely moments. The Cuban international had a five-save shutout against El Paso and is now at a -3.91 Goals Prevented mark this season.

Alongside Oakland Roots SC and Monterey Bay F.C., Las Vegas has played 20 games this campaign, the most in the Western Conference. While there’s pressure to push on, having the points in hand while sitting in fifth place is also putting pressure on the teams below them to keep up.   

Three Up

• Cal Jennings – The Tampa Bay Rowdies forward bagged the 11th brace in the Championship’s regular season as he passed 60 regular season goals in just his 108th appearance in the league to lead the Rowdies to a 2-0 victory against Orange County SC.

• Johan Peñaranda – Making only his fourth appearance in the Championship, the 24-year-old goalkeeper produced a five-save shutout and saved a penalty kick to earn FC Tulsa a 0-0 draw on the road at Monterey Bay F.C.

• New Mexico United – With a weekend off, New Mexico saw all of its closest rivals falter. It’s now got a five-point lead at the top of the Western Conference and multiple games in hand to strengthen its position.

Three Down

• Renan Ribeiro – The Brazilian goalkeeper has been a bright spot for Hartford Athletic, but talking your way into a red card when your side is up by two goals is dumb as heck. It ended up costing the Athletic points in their 2-2 draw with the Charleston Battery.

• Sacramento Republic FC’s Attack – Republic FC has scored once in its last four games across all competitions after Saturday’s scoreless draw against North Carolina FC. Its underlying numbers aren’t bad, but they need to start converting.

• Paul Blanchette’s Equipment – The Oakland Roots SC goalkeeper was straight up not having a good time on Saturday night, to the point where his boots and gloves went flying after Pittsburgh’s fifth goal went in at Highmark.

THE REST OF THE ACTION

#HFDvCHS: Hartford Athletic did everything right in the first half against the Charleston Battery, and then Renan Ribeiro’s ridiculous red card turned the game. Nick Markanich’s 16th goal of the season for the Battery keeps him on target for one of the league’s all-time seasons.

#INDvLDN: With the chances it created Loudoun United FC will be disappointed it didn’t come away with all three points, but Hunter Sulte continued to shine in Indy Eleven’s net and Elliot Collier’s equalizer was a banger to earn a share of the points.

#MIAvRI: Rhode Island FC had to hold on in the end, but Albert Dikwa’s got three goals and one assist in the last three games and is now just one goal away from his half-century. Frank Lopez keeps pushing for Miami FC.

#BHMvCOS: Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC hadn’t lost since last August when it scored first in a contest until Saturday night in Birmingham. Big result for Legion after their consecutive setbacks to consolidate its spot in the playoff positions.

#TBRvOC: A neat and tidy 2-0 victory for the Tampa Bay Rowdies against Orange County SC with Cal Jennings and Manuel Arteaga remaining in-sync. Both players now have double-digit goals, only two other players have reached that mark so far this season.

#MBvTUL: Monterey Bay F.C. probably didn’t deserve all three points last week in Pittsburgh. This week against FC Tulsa, MBFC probably did but ended up having to settle for a draw.

#SACvNC: North Carolina FC didn’t win against Sacramento Republic FC, but it produced a really solid performance on the road. The hosts still couldn’t find consistent attacking chemistry.