Every team in the USL Championship is in action on Saturday night as the hunt for the postseason continues to rise, highlighted by an interconference clash that features multiple connections across the two clubs, a rematch from last year’s playoffs which could also serve as a preview for November, and the league’s hottest club looking to add to its undefeated run.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s where you can find where everyone stands in the Race to the 2024 USL Championship Playoffs. Here are three more storylines to know going in, three players to keep an eye on, and what else you need to know before tuning in on CBS Sports Golazo Network and ESPN+.

1. TULSA, LOUCITY MAKE THE CONNECTION

Look closely enough and you’re likely to find connections between opponents every weekend in the USL Championship.

Those that mark the only regular season meeting this season between FC Tulsa and Louisville City FC, however, are a bit more pronounced.

• MEN AT THE HELM: We should start on Tulsa’s side, where Head Coach Mario Sanchez and assistant Luke Spencer both played key roles in LouCity becoming a USL Championship power.

• BUILDING THE SQUAD: Sanchez led LouCity’s Academy from its inception, helping players like Elijah and Joshua Wynder and Ray Serrano Jr. become contributors to the First Team. Spencer, meanwhile, was a stalwart on the field who scored the game-winner in the 2018 Championship Final and was also part of The Triumvirate of players who assumed coaching duties in 2019 before John Hackworth’s arrival.

• LET’S MAKE A DEAL: There are on-field connections as well, of course, most notably current LouCity forward Phillip Goodrum, who was acquired from Tulsa in August as Louisville triggered his release clause and set an intra-USL Championship transfer fee record. On the other side, Owen Damm and Santiago Sanchez have both joined Tulsa on loan from LouCity this season, with Damm approaching 1,500 minutes this season, primarily at left back.

The biggest storyline to follow is almost certainly Goodrum’s return to ONEOK Field. Since joining Louisville, he’s made four appearances as a substitute as the back-up to Wilson Harris at the center forward spot.

Goodrum, of course, made a big first impression for Tulsa when he arrived last season, scoring in his debut in a shock win for the visitors at – you guessed it – Louisville City. It wouldn’t be a surprise if he gets the chance to do something similar against his former club here.

2. REPUBLIC FC, RISING RENEW RIVALRY

The series between Sacramento Republic FC and Phoenix Rising FC is one of the lengthiest in the USL Championship, with both teams having joined the league in 2014.

This Saturday night they’ll square off for the 26th time across the regular season and playoffs with Republic FC aiming to rebound on home turf at Heart Health Park and Rising looking to maintain momentum after earning consecutive wins for the first time this season.

• BACK AND FORTH: The series has been closely fought. Phoenix has taken nine wins, Sacramento has seven, and there have been nine draws, including a 1-1 result when they met in Arizona earlier this season.

• HISTORY BOOK: That matchup, of course, was the first since Rising’s dramatic comeback at Heart Health Park in last year’s Western Conference Final that saw Emil Cuello score the winner and send Phoenix through to a Championship Final it would win in Charleston via a penalty shootout.

• PLAYOFF PREVIEW: As things stand, this would be a Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup with Sacramento sitting as the No. 2 seed and Phoenix as the No. 7 seed. But Republic FC is under big pressure with only two points separating second and sixth place going into the weekend. Add in the side’s up-and-down home form this season, and this is a game where Head Coach Mark Briggs’ side needs a response.

The last time these teams met in Sacramento in the regular season, of course, Republic FC stormed to a 4-0 victory that saw the side bag all four goals in the first half. Ironically, that was a game former Phoenix Head Coach Juan Guerra pointed to as a crucial moment for his side before its second-half surge.

The shoe feels like it’s on the other foot here, with Republic FC having taken six points from its last five games. If Sacramento can get the result it needs, it could help the side build momentum over the remainder of the regular season and set up a postseason run.

3. HOUNDS AIM TO RETAIN UPPER HAND

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC has come a very long way during its 10-game undefeated streak. The Hounds are above the playoff line and the projections have them as part of the eight-team Eastern Conference field for the postseason.

But with only six games remaining, they’re not yet in control of their destiny, which means on Saturday they must keep moving forward when they visit the Tampa Bay Rowdies, a side that of late they’ve regained the upper hand on.

• PITCHING SHUTOUTS: Pittsburgh is undefeated in its last three meetings with Tampa Bay, sweeping the series last year before a scoreless draw at Highmark Stadium earlier this season. Remarkably, they’ve also not conceded a goal to the Rowdies over that span.

• NEW WEEK, NEW HERO: The Hounds, meanwhile, have seen a wide range within their squad provide the goals they’ve needed to maintain their playoff push. Seven different players have been responsible for the eight goals the side has scored in the last four games, with Bertin Jacquesson and Bradley Sample scoring their first goals for the club last weekend against Rhode Island FC.

• DEFENSE ON LOCK: The side’s defensive solidity has been the other key to its current run. Over its 10-game streak, the side has an Expected Goals Against mark of 7.24xGA, the lowest in the league over that span, has conceded only five times, and has posted six shutouts.

After its midweek setback, Tampa Bay is in a space where it is still comfortably in third, but by all reasonable accounts underperforming. The Hounds will try to take advantage of that and maintain the position they’ve built for themselves over the past two months.

• READ MORE: The Tampa Bay Rowdies have become the USL Championship’s biggest enigma

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Zach Ryan, Loudoun United FC – Loudoun has gone scoreless over its last three games to slip below the playoff line. United could do with its captain and leading scorer stepping up to the mark in a crucial six-pointer against Birmingham Legion FC back on home turf at Segra Field.

Nick Markanich, Charleston Battery – The man of the moment could set the Championship’s single-season scoring record at the ground where Hadji Barry delivered numerous magical moments on his way to 25 goals in 2021 when the Battery visit Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC.

Jack Panayotou, Rhode Island FC – The New England Revolution loanee looked bright in his prior loan stint with RIFC but hasn’t quite found his rhythm yet in a pair of outings since his return. The 20-year-old will try to find that spark in an important road game at Orange County SC.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

DETvNM: A playoff berth is there for the taking for New Mexico United, while Detroit City FC is looking to break an eight-game winless streak at Keyworth Stadium. Le Rouge could do with getting out to a faster start on home turf, where they’ve scored only three goals in the opening 15 minutes in 13 games.

#INDvELP: Indy Eleven is winless in its last five games in all competitions and has scored only four goals in that span. El Paso Locomotive FC’s position propping up the Western Conference might look like one the Boys in Blue can take advantage of at home, but El Paso has posted shutouts in three straight and won’t be a pushover.

#LDNvBHM: The playoff six-pointer of the weekend in the Eastern Conference sees Loudoun United looking to regain its scoring touch in the manner Birmingham Legion did in midweek against Tampa Bay. United is still in control of its playoff path for now but needs a result against a Legion team it suffered a 3-1 defeat to earlier this season.

#MIAvHFD: It could be win or bust for Hartford Athletic this weekend as it visits Miami FC. If things go the wrong direction elsewhere, Hartford could be looking at a six-point gap to make up with only six games to play, and that math rarely goes the way of the team that’s chasing.

#COSvCHS: Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is on a three-game winning streak and in contention for a top-two finish out West. The Charleston Battery have the league’s best scoring duo and need to try and keep pace with Louisville City at the top of the East. Both teams will not want to settle for anything less than three points here.

#MEMvNC: The last two times these teams met in the USL Championship in 2020, both contests delivered five-goal thrillers that were decided late. We can only hope for similar fireworks as they square off in this interconference clash at AutoZone Park.

#OAKvSA: Oakland Roots is going to want to wash the memory of last weekend away back in front of its home crowd, and it could against a San Antonio FC side clinging to its playoff hopes. These sides ended all square earlier this season at Toyota Field, but SAFC’s win in Monterey Bay was only its second on the road all season and Roots have been a solid proposition at home.

#OCvRI: Orange County SC made the ideal start the last time they were in action only to let a two-goal lead slip away against Las Vegas. The hosts have got to get back on the horse against a strong Rhode Island FC side and try to escape their current losing streak to jolt their playoff big back to life.

#LVvMB: Las Vegas Lights has consistently found ways to get the results it needed this season, with Wednesday’s draw at FC Tulsa another example. Monterey Bay F.C. has struggled in that area and is scoreless in its last three outings as it heads to Cashman Field where the hosts have a chance to push into the top four with a win.