Lower90

Lower90 Newsletter July 20, 2026

FootballNews365 / July 20, 2026

WorldCup 26 is over but great soccer can still be found across the US!

July 20, 2026

This Week in US Soccer

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It was a week that delivered in every corner of the American soccer pyramid — hat tricks, improbable comebacks, and late-game drama that made the highlights reels almost impossible to edit down. The USL Championship produced several standout results with genuine standings implications, particularly in the Eastern Conference, while USL League One served up some genuine chaos including a 100th-minute winner and a five-yellow-card meltdown. If you needed any reminder that the lower divisions are where the game’s heartbeat is loudest right now, this was the week to pay attention.

Match of the Week: USL Championship — Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC vs Louisville City FC

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Editor’s pick: Trevor Amann put the ball in the net three times in four extraordinary minutes after halftime — 47’, 48’, 50’ — turning a goalless first half into a 3-0 avalanche before Louisville could blink. That kind of hat trick, from three different providers no less, simply doesn’t happen very often at any level of the game.

Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC blitzed Louisville City FC with three goals in four minutes early in the second half, riding a Trevor Amann hat trick to a convincing 3–1 victory in USL Championship action on Saturday night.

The first half produced no goals but plenty of edge. Louisville’s Kyle Adams was booked in the 13th minute, and Pittsburgh’s Joao Victor Souza followed into the referee’s notebook in the 29th. Neither side managed to break the deadlock before the interval.

That changed immediately after the restart. Amann opened the scoring in the 47th minute, finishing from a Jackson Walti feed to give the Riverhounds the lead. Barely 60 seconds later, he struck again, this time converting off a Perrin Barnes delivery to double the advantage. Pittsburgh’s attack was relentless — Amann completed his hat trick in the 50th minute, with Robbie Mertz providing the assist, and suddenly it was 3–0. Three goals in three minutes from three different providers, all finished by the same man.

Louisville’s Sean Totsch picked up a yellow card in the 55th minute as frustrations mounted for the visitors. To their credit, Louisville City did pull one back through Jansen Wilson in the 68th minute, but the deficit was too steep to overcome. Manny Perez’s booking in the 73rd minute summed up a difficult evening for a Louisville side that collected three yellow cards on the night.

Amann’s rapid-fire treble was the difference, and the three points bolster Pittsburgh’s push up the USL Championship table as the season heads deeper into summer.

This Week’s Highlights

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USL Championship — Sporting JAX vs Brooklyn FC

Brooklyn FC were 2-0 down inside nine minutes and looked absolutely cooked — Emil Jääskeläinen had opened the scoring in the 3rd minute and Ahmad Al Qaq doubled the lead just six minutes later to send the JAX faithful into early celebrations. But Brooklyn refused to fold, and Juan Carlos Obregón Jr pulled one back in the 57th before Tommy McNamara — a veteran who knows a big moment when he sees one — leveled it at 2-2 in the 75th to complete one of the more gutsy comebacks of the Championship season so far. Sporting JAX will feel like they dropped two rather than gained one.

USL Championship — Phoenix Rising FC vs Monterey Bay FC

Phoenix Rising looked like they might be heading for a painful home defeat when they trailed Monterey Bay with the clock winding down, but they had other ideas entirely. Kelvin Arase got things moving in the 78th minute to pull it back to 2-2, and then Ryuga Nakamura delivered the knockout blow in the 84th — a winner that capped an extraordinary three-goal comeback and sent the Rising faithful home very happy indeed. Dominique Badji had given Phoenix an early foothold in the 30th minute before Anisse Saidi and John Scearce swung the match Monterey Bay’s way, but Phoenix’s relentless late pressure ultimately proved decisive.

USL League One — Athletic Club Boise vs Portland Hearts of Pine

This one had everything. Dylan Sing put Portland ahead in the 78th minute, Blake Bodily equalized for Boise in the 83rd, and then — in the 100th minute of a match that had no business still being this tense — Thomas Amang, who had literally just been cautioned, stepped up and buried the winner to send the Boise faithful absolutely wild. It’s the kind of goal that gets replayed on bar screens for weeks, and it keeps Boise very much in the picture in the League One standings.

USL Championship — Lexington SC vs New Mexico United

Greg Hurst was simply unplayable on Wednesday evening. The New Mexico United striker struck in the 43rd minute to put his side ahead on the stroke of halftime, added a second in the 62nd to put the game to bed, and completed a dominant hat trick — Valentin Noël had also chipped in with a 45+1’ goal — before Joseph Quiah (68’) and Phillip Goodrum (70’) piled on to make it an emphatic 4-1 demolition. Lexington will want to forget this one quickly; New Mexico will be talking about Hurst’s performance for some time.

Results Roundup

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USL League One — Charlotte Independence vs Chattanooga Red Wolves SC — Charlotte Independence 2-4 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. Aaron Lombardi sparked an extraordinary Red Wolves fightback with goals in the 51st and 62nd minutes, and Chattanooga’s late surge turned what looked like a home win into a stunning 4-2 road victory.

USL Championship — San Antonio FC vs Las Vegas Lights FC — San Antonio FC 1-2 Las Vegas Lights FC. Las Vegas came from behind on the road and Abraham Okyere’s 79th-minute strike completed a gritty second-half comeback that will sting San Antonio given their home advantage.

USL League One — One Knoxville SC vs AV ALTA FC — One Knoxville SC 2-3 AV ALTA FC. AV ALTA looked to have the points safely secured before Nicola Rosamilia’s 89th-minute goal made the final moments genuinely uncomfortable, though the visitors held on for a five-goal road win.

USL Championship — Detroit City FC vs Indy Eleven — Detroit City FC 2-0 Indy Eleven. Detroit burst out of the halftime break with two goals in five devastating minutes, and an increasingly desperate Indy Eleven picked up four yellow cards late on as the match slipped completely away from them.

USL League One — Union Omaha vs Westchester SC — Union Omaha 2-2 Westchester SC. Sergio Ors kept Omaha in it with an 80th-minute equalizer in a fiery draw that saw Westchester collect a remarkable five yellow cards across the 90 minutes.

USL League One — One Knoxville SC vs Fort Wayne FC — One Knoxville SC 2-1 Fort Wayne FC. Eight yellows flew in an ill-tempered contest and Abel Caputo’s 81st-minute winner for Knoxville proved the difference after Fort Wayne had equalized barely ten minutes earlier.

USL Championship — Loudoun United FC vs Tampa Bay Rowdies — Loudoun United FC 1-1 Tampa Bay Rowdies. Thorleifur Úlfarsson rescued a point for Loudoun with an 82nd-minute equalizer in a scrappy affair that the Rowdies will feel they should have sewn up long before the final stretch.

USL Championship — Charleston Battery vs Sacramento Republic FC — Charleston Battery 1-1 Sacramento Republic FC. Emilio Ycaza’s 73rd-minute equalizer brought the crowd to life — and immediately triggered a flashpoint as both goalscorers were booked in quick succession, adding extra spice to a feisty 1-1 draw.

NPSL — El Farolito vs Duluth FC — El Farolito 3-0 Duluth FC. Duluth FC’s evening was a genuine nightmare — H. Soto gifted the hosts two own goals and D. Benson added a third in the 80th minute, producing one of the strangest and most painful 3-0 defeats you’re likely to encounter.

USL League Two — Laredo Heat SC vs GFI — Laredo Heat SC 6-1 GFI. Laredo put on a pure attacking showcase, hammering GFI by five goals in one of the most lopsided performances of the entire USL League Two season.

USL Championship — FC Tulsa vs El Paso Locomotive FC — FC Tulsa 1-0 El Paso Locomotive FC. Lamar Batista, already on a yellow card, had the nerve to step up in the first minute of stoppage time and score the only goal of the match — exactly the kind of clutch moment that defines a promotion push.

USL League Two — Vermont Green FC vs Ironbound SC — Vermont Green FC 4-0 Ironbound SC. Vermont Green were dominant from start to finish, putting four past Ironbound in a commanding performance that serves notice to the rest of the division.

USL League Two — Lionsbridge FC vs Asheville City SC — Lionsbridge FC 2-3 Asheville City SC. Asheville rode into hostile territory and survived a five-goal shootout to claim a fine 3-2 road win that keeps their League Two campaign firmly on track.

USL League One — Fort Wayne FC vs Greenville Triumph SC — Fort Wayne FC 3-0 Greenville Triumph SC. Three different scorers, zero response from Greenville — Fort Wayne were disciplined and clinical in a dominant home performance that will boost their confidence heading into the busy midseason stretch.

USL Championship — Sporting JAX vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC — Sporting JAX 2-1 Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. A competitive home win for JAX that kept the Riverhounds honest across 90 minutes, though Pittsburgh will take consolation from their emphatic midweek result against Louisville City.

Until next week — keep watching the beautiful game

Originally published by Lower90 on Substack.