Between the Tampa Bay Rowdies’ Cal Jennings and Louisville City FC’s Wilson Harris, we’re currently in one of the best eras when it comes to landmark goalscoring achievements in the USL Championship history.

In this week’s edition of the Championship’s News & Notes, we’ll look at Jennings’ record after his latest landmark in the league’s regular season this past weekend, and where he ranks among the best finishers in the league all-time.

We’ll also look ahead to a potential landmark night for New Mexico United’s Alex Tambakis as the club looks to continue its pursuit of league history at home this Saturday, and laud Birmingham Legion FC’s Phanuel Kavita’s consistency as he becomes part of one of the league’s exclusive clubs.

We’ve also got our regular look at upcoming individual landmarks around the league, and the Week 20 Discipline Report.

Let’s begin.  

NEWS & NOTES

CAL JENNINGS CONTINUES BLISTERING SCORING PACE

The Tampa Bay Rowdies’ Cal Jennings surpassed 60 regular season goals in the USL Championship on Saturday night as his pair of goals moved the 27-year-old to 61 goals in his career. Jennings reached the mark in the fewest appearances in the Championship’s history, taking only 108 games.

Among players with at least 60 goals in the Championship’s regular season, Jennings currently sits with the second-best strike rate at a goal every 128.7 minutes per goal. He trails only former Louisville City FC star Cameron Lancaster, whose 80 regular season goals in 166 appearances came at a strike rate of a goal every 113.9 minutes.

Best Strike Rate Among Players with 60 Regular Season Goals in the USL Championship
1. Cameron Lancaster – 80 goals, 113.9 mins/goal
2. Cal Jennings – 61 goals, 128.7 mins/goal*
3. Dane Kelly – 106 goals, 150.3 mins/goal
4. Wilson Harris – 60 goals, 153 mins/goal*
5. Chandler Hoffman – 66 goals, 156.2 mins/goal

* - Active Player

Jennings’ two-goal performance was also the 11th of his career so far in the Championship, moving him into a tie for fifth all-time in the league’s regular season. The current leader is Dane Kelly, who recorded 15 braces in the Championship during his career.

Most Two-Goal Games in the USL Championship’s Regular Season
1. Dane Kelly – 15
2. Corey Hertzog – 13
T-3. Chandler Hoffman – 12
T-3. Cameron Lancaster – 12
T-5. Cal Jennings – 11*
T-5. Neco Brett – 11*
T-5. Augustine Williams – 11*

NEW MEXICO UNITED’S TAMBAKIS TAKES AIM AT HALF-CENTURY

New Mexico United goalkeeper Alex Tambakis will get his first chance to reach 50 regular season shutouts in the USL Championship this Saturday when New Mexico plays host to Birmingham Legion FC at Isotopes Park. Having recently become the league’s all-time leader in regular season saves, Tambakis would become only the second player to reach a half-century of clean sheets in league history after Evan Newton, who recorded 58 in his career.

Tambakis’ pursuit will coincide with New Mexico aiming to continue its current 10-game winning streak on home turf in the Championship’s regular season, and seven-game winning streak to open the 2024 campaign. United is pursuing the league record of 13 consecutive victories at home set by Orlando City SC in the 2014 season, and the league record of nine consecutive home victories to start a season set by Real Monarchs SLC in 2017.

LEGION’S PHANUEL KAVITA REACHES 20,000 MINUTES

Birmingham Legion FC defender Phanuel Kavita became the seventh player in the USL Championship’s history to record 20,000 regular season minutes this past Saturday in the side’s 2-1 victory against Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. Kavita reached the mark in his 231st appearance in the league, and currently stands as the lone player to have reached the landmark who sits outside the Top 15 in regular season appearances in the league.

As such, Kavita has recorded the highest percentage of available minutes in his appearances among the seven players to have logged 20,000 minutes in the Championship.

Mins/Appearance among USL Championship players with 20,000 regular season minutes
1. Phanuel Kavita – 86.9 minutes/appearance*
2. Taylor Mueller – 83.3 minutes/appearance
3. Aodhan Quinn – 82.3 minutes/appearance*
4. Hugh Roberts – 81.1 minutes/appearance
5. Josh Suggs – 80 minutes/appearance
6. Sean Totsch – 79.9 minutes/appearance*
7. Kenardo Forbes – 78 minutes/appearance*

* - active player

Quick Hits

- Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC broke its scoreless streak at 585 minutes with Junior Etou’s goal in the 12th minute against Oakland Roots SC. The Hounds’ 5-0 victory marked the first five-goal performance for the club since a 5-0 victory against Loudoun United FC on Sept. 11, 2021.

- Sacramento Republic FC goalkeeper Danny Vitiello moved into sole possession of fifth place in the USL Championship’s regular season shutouts list with the 41st clean sheet of his career this past Saturday against North Carolina FC. Vitiello’s 39.4 percent shutout rate is currently the highest among goalkeepers with at least 100 regular season appearances in the Championship.

- Nick Markanich’s 90th-minute equalizer for the Charleston Battery was the 11th goal the side has scored in the last 15 minutes of a game this season. It’s tied for the league-lead with Louisville City FC, while the Battery now lead the Championship in points gained from losing positions this season with 13.

- Las Vegas Lights FC’s current eight-game undefeated streak has equaled the longest in club history, set between Sept, 27, 2022 and April 15, 2023. It is the longest undefeated streak in a single season in the club’s history.

- Tampa Bay Rowdies forward Cristian Ortiz has been named to the Dominican Republic squad for the 2024 Concacaf Men’s U-20 Championship. At 17 years old, he is the youngest player selected in the DR squad.

Upcoming Player Milestones

Appearances
Approaching 200 regular-season appearances
Sebastian Guenzatti (IND) – 197
James Musa (IND) – 196
Russell Cicerone (SAC) – 196

Approaching 100 regular-season appearances
Zach Herivaux (RI) – 99
Lamar Batista (NC) – 99
Chris Allan (CHS) – 99
Nick Moon (TBR) – 98
Elliot Collier (IND) – 98
Dayonn Harris (NM) – 97

Minutes
Approaching 20,000 regular season minutes
Alex Dixon (MB) – 19,790

Approaching 15,000 regular season minutes
Matt Mahoney (COS) – 14,877
Augustine Williams (IND) – 14,811
Charlie Adams (LV) – 14,617

Approaching 10,000 regular season minutes
Shane Wiedt (SAC) – 9,995
Eric Calvillo (ELP) – 9,918
Tyler Deric (MEM) – 9,910
Lindo Mfeka (OAK) – 9,893
Nick Ross (SAC) – 9,753

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

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

Approaching 40 regular season goals
Amando Moreno (ELP) – 39
Brian Ownby (LOU) – 39
Michee Ngalina (HFD) – 38
Leo Fernandes (TBR) – 38
Rodrigo Lopez (SAC) – 38
JJ Williams (RI) – 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
Rocco Rios Novo (PHX) – 241
Jake McGuire (NC) – 237

Approaching 200 regular season saves
Hugo Fauroux (LDN) – 193

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

Approaching 40 regular season shutouts
Jordan Farr (TBR) – 38

Discipline Report – Week 20

TAMPA, Fla. – The following is the USL Championship’s discipline report for Week 20 of the 2024 USL Championship season:

Hartford Athletic’s Renan Ribeiro has been suspended for one game following his red card for two cautionable offenses against the Charleston Battery on July 12. Ribeiro will be unavailable for selection in Hartford’s contest against Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Saturday night.

Orange County SC’s Ben Norris has been suspended for one game following his red card for two cautionable offenses against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on July 13. Norris will be unavailable for selection in Orange County’s contest against San Antonio 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