Louisville City FC became the 10th team in the USL Championship’s history to earn at least 20 points from losing positions in a regular season with its 2-1 comeback victory against the Tampa Bay Rowdies last Saturday night.

LouCity’s resilience has been a strength in what has the potential to be a record-setting campaign. The side has registered six wins after trailing in a game this season, five of which have come at Lynn Family Stadium, the venue through which the road to the USL Championship Final will go after the side claimed the Players’ Shield earlier this month.

Additionally, LouCity has currently won as many games as it has lost – four – when it has conceded the opening goal this season.

It’s a remarkable record, but it also got us thinking – what’s been the playoff fate of the other teams to reach the 20-point mark in salvaged points in prior postseasons? Here’s what we found.

LOUCITY’S PRIOR HISTORY

Resilience is nothing new for LouCity. Since it joined the USL Championship in 2015, the club has gained 124 points from losing positions, the most of any team in the league – Sacramento Republic FC and Orange County SC are tied for second on 107 points. It’s the only team to reach 20 points gained from losing positions in three separate seasons, including this campaign.

However, the prior two seasons in which the club did so, it didn’t claim the league title. In 2016 it gained 20 points from losing positions before falling to the New York Red Bulls II in the Eastern Conference Final, and in 2019 it gained 23 points from losing positions only to fall in the Championship Final to Real Monarchs SLC.

By contrast, when the side claimed its two league titles it gained only six points from losing positions in 2017, and 14 points in 2018. In the latter, it brought the title bid for a Red Bulls II side that had gained 20 points from a winning position to an end in the Eastern Conference Final.

THE RECORD HOLDERS

The current record for the most points gained from losing positions in a USL Championship regular season is 24 points. The first club to reach that mark was Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC during its transformative 2021 season, the first at current home Weidner Field when Hadji Barry ensured the side was never out of a game with his 25-goal season. Unfortunately for the Switchbacks, their return to the postseason ended after one game, falling 1-0 to eventual title winner Orange County SC.

The following season, the Tampa Bay Rowdies matched the Switchbacks’ mark and went 6-6-3 when conceding the opening goal of the game. Their bid for a trip to the USL Championship Final went further than Colorado Springs but came to an end in the Eastern Conference Final when Louisville City took a 1-0 victory after extra time at Lynn Family Stadium.

THE FLAMEOUTS

Three of the teams to earn at least 20 points from losing positions were able to deliver comeback magic in the regular season, but in the playoffs that magic ran out. In 2019, both Reno 1868 FC (20pts) and the New York Red Bulls II (22pts) fell in their playoff opener against Real Monarchs SLC and Indy Eleven respectively, while last year San Diego Loyal SC was done in by Phoenix Rising FC after extra time in one of the most thrilling games in USL Championship Playoffs history.

The most remarkable story here, however, is that of San Antonio FC’s 2018 side, which led the league with 21 points gained from losing positions. Despite that, SAFC missed out on a playoff berth by three points.

CONCLUSION

There’s no question that resilience is a great asset to have when it comes to the playoffs. You only need look at Phoenix Rising FC’s run to the title last season, when it led for only 62 minutes across four games in winning it all.

If there’s anything history can tell us, though, it’s the teams that have been comeback kings in the regular season haven’t been destined for playoff success. The Championship title winner with the highest points-gained total in a regular season was 2019’s Real Monarchs with 15 points, and the side that has led the league in that category each season has yet to lift the trophy in the Final.

Louisville City FC could certainly be the team to break new ground, although it’s got competition from Las Vegas Lights FC (19pts gained) and the Charleston Battery (18pts gained) in which side finishes top of the pile at the end of the season.

As the playoffs come into view, though, league history says it’s usually better to be a frontrunner than a late finisher.