The busy week in USL continues with a slate of games featuring teams struggling to find their form this year.
While the slate of games from Monday and Tuesday gave us plenty to talk about, including Real Monarchs SLC continuing to cement their status as leaders in the west, the midweek games offer a light shakeup to the middle of the table.
Here’s a look at Wednesday and Thursday’s games:
Wednesday
Swope Park Rangers vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC, 8:30 P.M.
The Swope Park Rangers will be hoping to make up some ground in the Western Conference when the Colorado Springs Switchbacks come to town. Sitting just three points back of Colorado, this could be the perfect six-point swing for the home side. Swope Park fell victim to the USL’s newest star, Didier Drogba, and settled for a draw at home last week. Colorado is starting to gain some steam after two straight wins and remaining undefeated in their last three games. Switchbacks goalkeeper, Moise Pouaty, leads the USL with 39 saves.
Sacramento Republic FC vs. Rio Grande Valley FC, 11 P.M.
Even with only a single loss in their last five games, the Sacramento Republic are still fighting to get their record over .500. A clear goalscoring threat appears to be at the root of their troubles. Samuel Ochoa leads the team with five goals, while no other Republic player has scored more than twice. Rio Grande Valley FC might be a good salve for Sacramento, having won just once in their last five games. RGV won four of their first seven games this year, but have struggled as the season has progressed. They currently sit in the eighth seed for playoff position, but tied on points with the Swope Park Rangers and the OKC Energy.
Thursday
Pittsburgh Riverhounds vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies, 7 P.M.
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds stretched their winless streak to five straight, and a visit from the Tampa Bay Rowdies could be a bit nervy for the struggling side. While each team is winless in the same five game stretch, the Rowdies are picking up points with four draws over that period. The Riverhounds have only picked up two of a possible fifteen points, and that is largely on the back of their misfiring offense. Corey Hertzog and Romeo Parkes are not getting the job done for the Riverhounds, and it may be back to the drawing board for the lot of them. Tampa Bay gets the slight edge in this game by table position, but they have to get back to their winning ways to buck the trend.