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Lower90 Newsletter for week of August 2
Great soccer is everywhere! Don't miss the action near you and read about some exciting matches below!
Before jumping into a recap of some of last week’s great games, I want to remind everyone that if you’re looking to find professional soccer in your neighborhood, just go to SoccerNearMe.app. You’ll find games, directions, links for tickets for games in the USL, NWSL, MLS, and more. Now, on to the action.
This Week in US Soccer
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It was a week that delivered drama in buckets across the USL pyramid, with nine-goal thrillers, stunning comebacks, and a couple of five-goal demolition jobs that left opponents wondering what hit them. The USL Championship provided the loudest headlines — Tampa Bay and Sacramento in particular — but League One wasn’t short on its own late-game chaos, with stoppage-time equalisers and 93rd-minute rescues keeping fans on the edge of their seats. If the standings weren’t already tight enough heading into August, this week’s results made sure every point is going to feel like pulling teeth for the rest of the season.
Match of the Week: USL Championship — Tampa Bay Rowdies vs Louisville City FC
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Editor’s pick: Nine goals, a 3-0 halftime deficit erased, a lead reclaimed and then ripped away again — and Matt Myers settling it all in the 89th minute. Tampa Bay’s 5-4 win over Louisville City is the kind of match that makes you grateful you follow this league.
Tampa Bay Rowdies completed a remarkable comeback to defeat Louisville City FC 5–4 in a nine-goal USL Championship clash on Saturday. Russell Cicerone and Matt Myers each scored twice for the Rowdies, with Marco Micaletto also on target, as the hosts erased a three-goal first-half deficit and then recovered again after Louisville reclaimed the lead.
Louisville dominated the opening 30 minutes. Jansen Wilson opened the scoring in the 21st minute, and Chris Donovan doubled the advantage four minutes later, finishing from an Evan Davila feed. Jake Morris made it 3–0 in the 29th minute, and the visitors looked in complete control heading into the break.
Whatever was said at halftime worked. Cicerone pulled one back three minutes into the second half, getting on the end of a Louis Pérez pass. Micaletto cut the deficit to one just three minutes later, converting from a Charlie Ostrem delivery. Myers then equalized in the 54th minute — three goals in six minutes to wipe out Louisville’s cushion entirely.
Louisville refused to fold. Morris grabbed his second of the night in the 63rd minute, set up by Taylor Davila, to restore the visitors’ lead at 4–3. It looked like enough.
It wasn’t. Cicerone leveled again in the 86th minute after a Lewis Hilton assist, and Myers completed the turnaround in the 89th minute, once again supplied by Ostrem, to seal a 5–4 victory.
The result gives Tampa Bay three crucial points at home and caps one of the most dramatic comebacks of the USL Championship season.
This Week’s Highlights
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USL Championship — Sacramento Republic FC vs Sporting JAX
Tyler Wolff walked away with the match ball after a stunning hat trick — his goals coming in the 7th, 40th, and 69th minutes — but the story of the night was the five-minute stretch between the 38th and 43rd minutes when Sacramento scored four times to put the game firmly to bed. Memo Rodríguez was the architect behind it all, picking up three assists in a display that had Sporting JAX chasing shadows. A 5-0 final that was arguably even more comfortable than it sounds.
USL Championship — Charleston Battery vs Brooklyn FC
Charleston wasted absolutely no time, with Wilmer Cabrera finding the net inside the first minute to set the tone for what became a thorough 5-0 dismantling of Brooklyn FC. The match was effectively over before the hour mark when Laurent Kissiedou (54’) and Miguel Berry (57’) struck in quick succession to make it four, and Emilio Ycaza added a fifth in stoppage time just to twist the knife. Brooklyn will want to forget this one as quickly as possible.
USL League One — Greenville Triumph SC vs Portland Hearts of Pine
Greenville were 3-1 down at halftime and it looked like Portland’s evening all the way — Muba Nour had them firmly in control with a brace either side of strikes from Aboubacar Camara (28’), Diogo Barbosa (32’), and Konstantinos Georgallidis (40’). But Azaad Liadi had other ideas, erupting in the 93rd minute to snatch a 3-3 draw that sent the home crowd into absolute pandemonium. Two comeback thrillers in one weekend in the same newsletter — not a bad week for late drama.
USL Championship — Lexington SC vs Monterey Bay FC
Sebastian Lletget scored inside two minutes and Fidel Barajas made it 2-0 in the 26th minute — Monterey Bay looked comfortable and Lexington looked cooked. Instead, the hosts produced three unanswered goals through Braudílio Rodrigues (29’), Ryuga Nakamura (42’), and finally Tarik Scott, whose 82nd-minute strike completed the turnaround and sent Lexington home with all three points. Another night, another comeback. August is delivering.
Results Roundup
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USL Championship — Miami FC vs Detroit City FC — 2-2. Derrick Silva broke Miami hearts with a 89th-minute equalizer to cap a bruising nine-yellow-card encounter that had the crowd on edge until the final whistle.
USL League One — Richmond Kickers vs AV ALTA FC — Richmond Kickers 3-2 AV ALTA FC. Richmond thought two goals in four second-half minutes had put it to bed, but Joaquin Acuna’s 87th-minute strike made for a nervy finish before the Kickers held on.
USL League One — Charlotte Independence vs One Knoxville SC — Charlotte Independence 3-1 One Knoxville SC. Souaibou Marou ripped Knoxville apart with a brace in four stunning minutes straddling halftime and Charlotte never looked back in a commanding victory.
USL Championship — Louisville City FC vs Birmingham Legion FC — Louisville City FC 2-1 Birmingham Legion FC. Kevon Lambert struck early and late to bookend Birmingham’s halftime equalizer and deliver Louisville a gritty three points in a physical battle.
NPSL — Bristol Rhythm AFC vs El Farolito — Bristol Rhythm AFC 0-3 El Farolito. El Farolito won 3-0 with Bristol down to ten men after a pre-hour red card, aided enormously by El Farolito’s K. Sacre scoring two goals. Huge work from the substitute - especially considering this was for the NPSL championship!
USL League One — Forward Madison FC vs Westchester SC — Forward Madison FC 2-0 Westchester SC. Westchester were reduced to ten men before the 20th minute and somehow survived over 70 minutes shorthanded before Stephen Annor finally killed the contest in the 86th.
USL Championship — San Antonio FC vs Indy Eleven — San Antonio FC 3-1 Indy Eleven. Cristian Parano was clinical with a second-half brace as San Antonio ran out comfortable winners and reinforced their credibility as genuine contenders.
USL League One — Fort Wayne FC vs Union Omaha — Fort Wayne FC 0-2 Union Omaha. Gavilanes and Ors combined for a slick second-half showing as Union Omaha took all three points on the road and continued to look like one of League One’s most dangerous outfits.
USL Championship — Las Vegas Lights FC vs Phoenix Rising FC — 1-1. Themi Antonoglou’s second-minute screamer lit up the Mojave, but Benjamin Ofeimu’s equalizer just before halftime ensured a frustrating draw in a tense desert rivalry.
USL Championship — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vs FC Tulsa — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC 0-1 FC Tulsa. Logan Dorsey struck early and the visitors defended with grit and discipline to grind out a professional 1-0 road win.
USL Championship — Loudoun United FC vs Hartford Athletic — Loudoun United FC 2-0 Hartford Athletic. Aboukoura’s stoppage-time first-half strike punctured Hartford’s momentum and Loudoun controlled the match from there in a professional shutout.
USL Championship — New Mexico United vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC — New Mexico United 1-0 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC. Maliek Howell, already on a booking, had the nerve to score the only goal of a tense rivalry clash and New Mexico held on to take three crucial points.
USL Championship — Oakland Roots SC vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC — Oakland Roots SC 0-1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. Eliot Goldthorp scored early and the Riverhounds — booking in their pocket early on — defended stubbornly for the full 90 to steal all three points from Oakland.
USL Championship — Orange County SC vs El Paso Locomotive FC — Orange County SC 2-0 El Paso Locomotive FC. Sylla and Tubbs combined for a clean, controlled performance as Orange County shut El Paso out completely and looked every inch a title contender in the process.
USL League One — Athletic Club Boise vs Corpus Christi FC — 0-0. Eight yellow cards and no goals tells you everything you need to know — Corpus Christi came to frustrate and foul their way to a point, and it worked, in a feisty scoreless draw with more edge than the scoreline suggests.
Until next week — keep watching the beautiful game
Originally published by Lower90 on Substack.
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