This weekend in the USL Championship brings us one of the league’s biggest rivalries, but one that has taken on a different tone this week due to events off the field, a crucial game in the postseason race that has one side looking to end a lengthy winless streak against a conference rival, and several key games in the race for the postseason across both conferences.

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. ROWDIES VISIT LOUCITY WITH POIGNANT BACKDROP

In ordinary circumstances, Saturday night’s meeting between Louisville City FC and the Tampa Bay Rowdies would be the resumption of one of the strongest rivalries in the USL Championship. Prior meetings between the sides – including Tampa Bay’s dramatic 3-2 win earlier this season at Al Lang Stadium – have made it one of the league’s must-see series each season.

But following the past three weeks of devastation that have occurred in the Tampa Bay area and the rest of Florida’s Gulf Coast due to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, this contest’s build-up has a very different feel to prior iterations.

• HEADED SOUTH: The Rowdies, their staff and families relocated to Fort Lauderdale on Florida’s southeast coast to avoid Hurricane Milton’s arrival this past week. They were welcomed by Inter Miami CF, who provided the use of their training facility before the Rowdies head to Kentucky.

• HELPING HAND: LouCity, meanwhile, announced on Thursday a fundraiser for the Rowdies that the club would match up to $10,000, encouraging fans to make contributions online through this Sunday. Messages of support have also been sent from numerous other clubs around the league as the Tampa Bay region attempts to recover.

• HE SAID IT: “As the Rowdies recover from Hurricane Milton, we encourage the community to join us in making a contribution to their organization. Every little bit helps, and we continue to keep the Tampa Bay community and surrounding areas in our thoughts and prayers.” – Louisville City President James O’Connor

Looking at the game in a narrow view, it’s become a crucial one for the Rowdies as they try to regain their footing after losses in four of their past five outings. It’s a cliché to think this weekend they’re going to be playing for something bigger than themselves, when simply producing a standard performance after the devastation and challenges the past week has seen would be remarkable.

Whatever happens on the field at Lynn Family Stadium, however, the generosity and kindness that has been on display off the field offers hope and exemplifies the best of the USL community.

2. SWITCHBACKS NEED TO END SAN ANTONIO HEX

As impressive as Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC has become since moving into Weidner Field in 2021 – since the start of that campaign, the side ranks seventh in the Championship in regular season wins and has made its deepest postseason run – it has yet to solve San Antonio FC.

Across 11 meetings in the regular season and playoffs, San Antonio is undefeated. The Switchbacks are the only team in the Championship to have faced an opponent at least 10 times in that span and come away winless. The overall streak of 12 games, meanwhile, dates to the last win Colorado Springs had against its Texas rival, a 1-0 victory on March 23, 2019 when César Romero – no, not that one – was the goalscorer.

If that changes this weekend, and there’s reason to believe it could, it will have a major impact at either end of the Western Conference standings.

• HOME COOKING: The Switchbacks have been among the best teams in the Championship this season, sporting a 10-3-3 record that puts it alongside Louisville City FC, the Charleston Battery and New Mexico United as teams with double-digit home wins this season.

• ROAD CHALLENGES: San Antonio, meanwhile, has struggled away from home. As it closes out its road slate in Colorado Springs, it has a record of 3-10-3 and has scored only 12 times while conceding 24 goals.

• SLIP-SLIDING AWAY: SAFC’s consistent problem this season has been holding onto leads. That reared its head again in Wednesday night’s 2-2 draw at El Paso Locomotive FC. The two late concessions – which could have been three if not for late heroics by goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega – moved the 2022 title-winners to 22 points dropped from winning positions this season, tied for most in the league.

Sitting in fourth place in the West, a win for the Switchbacks would boost their chances of a top-four finish for the second time in three seasons and the advantages playing at Weidner Field offers.

For San Antonio, currently four points out of the playoff positions in the West, anything other than victory could be a crusher in terms of their postseason prospects after four consecutive trips.

Because of those factors, we’re going to find out just how strong San Antonio’s hold over this series is, and whether the Switchbacks can finally break their hex.

3. NEW MEXICO AIMS TO STRAIGHTEN UP

Whatever else you want to say about New Mexico United Head Coach Eric Quill – and there should be a large amount of praise for the way he’s led the side to the top of the Western Conference this season – he certainly doesn’t sugarcoat things in his press conferences.

“Our decisions lost the game,” he said on Wednesday night after his side fell 2-1 at home to Phoenix Rising FC. “It was poor. We had a poor performance. After we scored the penalty, it turned into a poor performance. … I thought our mentality was poor.”

• RARE MOMENT: Wednesday night was certainly a rarity for United this season. It marked only the second time this season it had lost consecutive games. The outing following its losses to Las Vegas Lights FC and Louisville City FC, it went on the road and beat Indy Eleven to avoid an elongated downturn.

• TUNING UP: That could be bad news for FC Tulsa, which hosts New Mexico on Saturday night in a game that it needs to win to keep a realistic chance of reaching the postseason alive. Tulsa’s 2-0 loss on Wednesday against North Carolina FC dropped the side five points out of the playoff positions with three games to go, a very steep climb.

New Mexico has been one of the best stories in the Championship this season, with Quill’s side being capable of playing some of the most attractive and fluent soccer in the league.

It’s a style others might be catching up to – after the loss to Phoenix, forward Daniel Bruce noted, “We have to expect [other teams to try and break up play]. With the football that we play and the fluidity that we have with our game, teams are going to try and come here and chop that up.”

United only needs a point to seal the No. 1 seed in the West on Saturday night, but it will likely have Quill’s thoughts front of mind as it tries to reassert itself and avoid a further dip in results.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Kieran Phillips, Sacramento Republic FC – The English forward has notched goal contributions in each of his past seven appearances after his assist on Cristian Parano’s goal against Monterey Bay. He will try to extend that streak as Republic FC tries to clinch a top-four position with a victory against Memphis 901 FC.

Jack Panayotou, Rhode Island FC – The attacking midfielder could return to the starting lineup on Sunday against Loudoun United FC with Championship assists leader Noah Fuson set to serve a one-game suspension, with Panayotou having shown his own ability to impact a game previously this campaign.

Ezra Armstrong, North Carolina FC – The wingback has proven a game-changer when NCFC has been at its best this season. He’ll need to deliver more of that in a crucial game against Hartford Athletic on Saturday night that could further tip the balance in North Carolina’s favor in the playoff race.

AROUND THE GROUNDS

#DETvIND: There are major top-four implications as third-place Detroit City FC hosts fourth-place Indy Eleven at Keyworth Stadium, but we’re as interested to see how each team builds off late-game momentum in their most recent outings. DCFC’s six-game undefeated run might give the hosts an extra edge as they look to seal their postseason berth and move closer to their first home playoff game since joining the Championship.

#PITvCHS: The Old Guard Shield rivalry will be decided on Saturday but in the big picture Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is in a fight for its playoff life and the Charleston Battery are locked into the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. The scoreless draw these sides played out at Patriots Point wouldn’t suit the Hounds at all, and the Battery will want to keep ticking over until the playoffs arrive.

#HFDvNC: This is make-or-break for Hartford Athletic, which went big in search of a turnaround last offseason but would be pushed to the brink of elimination with a loss at home. North Carolina will be in action for the third time in seven days, which could be a factor in its lineup, but NCFC’s momentum after Wednesday’s win at home to Tulsa is going in the right direction.

#MEMvSAC: Sacramento Republic FC will be smarting after its late draw against Monterey Bay F.C. on Wednesday night and has been struggling on the road of late with five consecutive defeats. Memphis 901 FC needs to take advantage as it looks to make it a race to the end for a top-four spot in the West.

#OAKvPHX: Remarkably, either Oakland Roots SC or Phoenix Rising FC could clinch a playoff spot with a win here if other results go their way on Saturday night. The inconsistency in form each has shown of late means this game could be a toss-up as to who emerges with a win, however.

#RIvLDN: Mathematically, this isn’t a must-win for Loudoun United FC, but by kickoff on Sunday it could feel like one depending on the results between Hartford Athletic and North Carolina FC and for Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC on Saturday night. Rhode Island is in with a win, though, which would provide a mighty incentive for the hosts and could serve as another serious blow to United’s hopes.

#BHMvLV: There have been more downs than ups for Birmingham Legion recently, with the side having won only twice and taken seven points from its last eight outings. That’s not playoff form, and with that in mind the last team you might want to see is a Las Vegas Lights FC side that’s lost only once in its last 19 games. The pressure is going to be squarely on the hosts with the Lights already in the postseason.