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USL Weekend Rewind: Nashville clinches in style, Louisville continues win streak, and more

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The playoff bracket is set in the USL as the final weekend saw four teams settle into their places.

In the Eastern Conference, the final two spots were filled by Nashville SC and the Bethlehem Steel. Nashville had clinched their spot before kicking off on Saturday as the Ottawa Fury failed to get a result against the fourth-placed Charleston Battery and despite a 3-1 win over the Charlotte Independence, North Carolina sat two points outside of the playoff positions.

In the West, Saint Louis FC held off the Oklahoma Energy FC to get the point they needed to clinch a spot over San Antonio. Swope Park Rangers scored five times against LA Galaxy II for a 5-1 win to be the last team to gain a playoff spot.

Louisville City 1-0 Indy Eleven

With their 1-0 win over Indy Eleven on the weekend, Louisville City FC enters the postseason on a six-game win streak. English striker, Cameron Lancaster, continued his remarkable season and stretched the USL regular season goal scoring record to 25 goals.

Nashville SC 3-3 FC Cincinnati

Although they did not end up needing the point, Nashville SC stole one from league leaders FC Cincinnati in the dying moments of a 3-3 barn burner. Nashville clinched in style through the left foot of Boluwatife Akinyode who pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the box and sent it into the top right corner.

Full USL Scoreboard

Saturday

Ottawa Fury 0-2 Charleston Battery
Atlanta United 2 3-2 Richmond Kickers
Penn FC 0-0 Toronto FC II
Charlotte Independence 1-3 North Carolina FC
Louisville City 1-0 Indy Eleven
Tulsa Roughnecks 1-4 Seattle Sounders 2
Nashville SC 3-3 FC Cincinnati
Saint Louis FC 0-0 Oklahoma City Energy
San Antonio FC 1-1 Rio Grande Valley
Reno 1868 3-1 Orange County SC
Fresno FC 0-1 Real Monarchs SLC
Phoenix Rising 0-1 Portland Timber 2
Sacramento Republic 1-0 Las Vegas Lights

Sunday

Bethlehem Steel 1-0 Tampa Bay Rowdies
Swope Park Rangers 5-1 LA Galaxy II
New York Red Bulls II 2-1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds

2018 USL Playoff Matchups

Eastern Conference

Saturday, October 20

FC Cincinnati vs. Nashville SC, 4 p.m. ET, Nippert Stadium
Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vs. Bethlehem Steel FC, 7 p.m. ET, Highmark Stadium
Charleston Battery vs. New York Red Bulls II, 7 p.m. ET, MUSC Health Stadium
Louisville City FC vs. No. Indy Eleven, 7:30 p.m. ET, Slugger Field

Western Conference

Friday, October 19

Phoenix Rising FC vs. Portland Timbers 2, 10:30 p.m. ET, Phoenix Rising Soccer Complex

Saturday, October 20

Real Monarchs SLC vs. Reno 1868 FC, 5 p.m. ET, Zions Bank Stadium
Orange County SC vs. Saint Louis FC, 10 p.m. ET, Champions Soccer Stadium
Sacramento Republic FC vs. Swope Park Rangers, 10:30 p.m. ET, Papa Murphy’s Park

Comments

    • More red #s than you’d like, but weekly attendance on average was up every week, except for the penultimate match day (which was previously the final match day before the # of games was increased)

      Reply

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