Lower90

Lower90 Newsletter week of August 10

FootballNews365 / August 10, 2026

A trip through the US Minor Leagues - Great Soccer is Everywhere!

We have to start with congrats to Vermont Green FC! In the world of professional soccer, regardless of level, repeating as a league champion is very hard to do. But Vermont Green FC managed to pull it off with a great victory, winning away from home to defeat Flint City. Read more at https://www.uslleaguetwo.com/news_article/show/1364469 and congrats to Vermont City FC!

This Week in US Soccer

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It was a week that delivered drama in bunches across all three divisions, headlined by some stunning late collapses, last-gasp winners, and a few dominant road performances that reshuffled the standings conversation. USL League One served up back-to-back gut-punch finishes in Knoxville and Naples, while the Championship saw New Mexico United pull off one of the wildest second-half explosions of the season. Tampa Bay and Detroit City continued to make noise on the road, and the playoff picture across both leagues got a little clearer — and a lot messier — all at once.

Match of the Week: USL Championship — Monterey Bay FC vs New Mexico United

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Editor’s pick: Four goals in 17 minutes on the road, turning a one-goal deficit into a 5-2 demolition — New Mexico United didn’t just win this match, they broke Monterey Bay completely, and Valentin Noël’s brace was the engine driving one of the Championship’s most jaw-dropping finishes of the season.

New Mexico United demolished Monterey Bay FC 5–2 on the road Saturday night, scoring four unanswered goals in the final 20 minutes to turn a competitive match into a rout. Valentin Noël led the charge with a brace, while Greg Hurst, Dayonn Harris, and Niall Reid-Stephen also found the net for the visitors. Ryuga Nakamura and Sebastian Lletget scored for Monterey Bay.

New Mexico wasted no time taking control. Noël opened the scoring in the sixth minute, finishing off a Christopher Gloster delivery to give United an early lead. Monterey Bay responded well, though, and Nakamura equalized in the 31st minute after combining with Jacob Montes.

The hosts then carried that momentum into the second half. Lletget completed a turnaround in the 55th minute, converting from an Omari Glasgow feed to put Monterey Bay ahead 2–1.

That lead lasted less than 20 minutes. Hurst pulled New Mexico level in the 74th minute, getting on the end of a Noël assist. Three minutes later, Noël grabbed his second of the night courtesy of an Ousman Jabang pass, restoring New Mexico’s advantage at 3–2. From there, Monterey Bay collapsed. Harris extended the lead in the 86th minute after a ball from Niko Hämäläinen, and Reid-Stephen capped the demolition in first-half stoppage time off a Harris assist to make it 5–2.

The result continues New Mexico United’s push in the USL Championship standings while leaving Monterey Bay with serious questions about their second-half resilience after conceding four goals in a 17-minute stretch.

This Week’s Highlights

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USL League One — One Knoxville SC vs Sarasota Paradise

Sarasota thought they’d earned themselves a point when Reid Valentine equalized in the 84th minute, cancelling out Eli Conway’s 52nd-minute opener and looking for all the world like they were about to escape with a draw. Then came Babacar Diene. The Knoxville forward had absolutely no interest in splitting the spoils, burying a winner in the 90+5th minute to rip the comeback right back out of Sarasota’s hands. Three points that felt like six.

USL League One — FC Naples vs AV ALTA FC

Naples led through Raul Miglietti’s first-half stoppage time goal before Jerry Desdunes drew AV ALTA level in the 73rd minute and threatened to deny the hosts. But Andrés Ferrín had other ideas, finishing in the 90th minute to send Naples home with all three points in a match that swung twice and ended only when the final whistle confirmed what Ferrín had already decided. The kind of result that builds belief in a locker room.

USL Championship — Orange County SC vs Tampa Bay Rowdies

This one was never really close. Matt Myers set the tone with a composed 24th-minute opener, and Tampa Bay never looked like relinquishing control from that point forward. Marco Micaletto made it 2-0 in the 60th minute to effectively kill the contest, and Karsen Henderlong’s 89th-minute finish was the exclamation point on a thoroughly dominant road performance. Orange County were outclassed in every phase and will need to find some answers quickly.

USL League One — Charlotte Independence vs Greenville Triumph SC

Nine yellow cards and a red card — that tells you everything you need to know about the temperature of this Carolinas derby. Souaibou Marou’s 62nd-minute goal gave Charlotte the lead and proved to be the difference, but the match kept boiling over, culminating in Azaad Liadi’s second yellow in the 77th minute that left Greenville chasing the game a man down. Charlotte held firm, and the three points in a fixture this heated carry real weight.

Results Roundup

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USL League One — AV ALTA FC vs Fort Wayne FC — AV ALTA FC 3-0 Fort Wayne FC. A commanding shutout victory for AV ALTA, with Joaquin Acuna’s 90th-minute goal a final twist of the knife on a rough night for Fort Wayne.

USL League One — Chattanooga Red Wolves SC vs Union Omaha — Chattanooga Red Wolves SC 1-3 Union Omaha. Union Omaha were ruthless on the road, with Aaron Gómez’s 83rd-minute strike sealing a 3-1 win in a match that featured eight yellow cards and plenty of bad blood.

USL Championship — Louisville City FC vs San Antonio FC — Louisville City FC 1-1 San Antonio FC. Cristian Parano’s 78th-minute equalizer denied Louisville a home win and earned San Antonio a hard-fought point in a match that swung dramatically in the final quarter.

USL Championship — Indy Eleven vs Hartford Athletic — Indy Eleven 1-1 Hartford Athletic. Jordan Scarlett coolly equalized for Hartford in the 74th minute despite carrying a yellow card, a calculated gamble that paid off and denied Indy all three points at home.

USL Championship — El Paso Locomotive FC vs Monterey Bay FC — El Paso Locomotive FC 1-0 Monterey Bay FC. Alex Méndez’s 30th-minute strike was enough as El Paso ground out a gritty home win — a rough week all around for Monterey Bay.

USL Championship — FC Tulsa vs Detroit City FC — FC Tulsa 0-1 Detroit City FC. Darren Smith’s 51st-minute goal held up through a frantic second half as Detroit City earned a gutsy road win and kept their season momentum rolling.

USL Championship — El Paso Locomotive FC vs Oakland Roots SC — El Paso Locomotive FC 1-0 Oakland Roots SC. Rubio Rubín struck in the ninth minute and El Paso spent the next 81 defending like their lives depended on it — a disciplined, statement-making win in the Western Conference.

USL Championship — FC Tulsa vs Sacramento Republic FC — FC Tulsa 1-0 Sacramento Republic FC. Jamie Webber’s clinical 66th-minute finish was all Tulsa needed, as they held firm under sustained second-half pressure to claim vital home points.

USL Championship — Miami FC vs Las Vegas Lights FC — Miami FC 0-1 Las Vegas Lights FC. Las Vegas ground out a gritty road upset, weathering three second-half yellow cards and everything Miami could throw at them to hold on for all three points.

USL League One — Richmond Kickers vs New York Cosmos — Richmond Kickers 2-0 New York Cosmos. Darwin Espinal was unplayable, scoring in the 33rd and 53rd minutes to singlehandedly dismantle the Cosmos and deliver Richmond a dominant home performance.

USL Championship — Lexington SC vs Phoenix Rising FC — Lexington SC 1-0 Phoenix Rising FC. Braudílio Rodrigues’ 63rd-minute goal was enough to send Phoenix home frustrated and empty-handed in a genuine statement result for Lexington.

USL Championship — Loudoun United FC vs Charleston Battery — Loudoun United FC 0-1 Charleston Battery. Langston Blackstock punished a Loudoun defensive lapse in the 64th minute to secure a clean, clinical road win for the Battery.

USL League One — Portland Hearts of Pine vs Corpus Christi FC — Portland Hearts of Pine 0-2 Corpus Christi FC. Corpus Christi made the long journey worthwhile with a polished road performance, Jack Keaney’s 84th-minute goal putting the result beyond any doubt.

USL League One — Athletic Club Boise vs Forward Madison FC — Athletic Club Boise 2-1 Forward Madison FC. Boise held their nerve down the stretch to edge out a hard-fought 2-1 League One win over Forward Madison, keeping their form ticking along nicely.

USL Championship — Las Vegas Lights FC vs Oakland Roots SC — Las Vegas Lights FC 0-0 Oakland Roots SC. Oakland survived persistent Las Vegas pressure and the accumulation of four yellow cards to hang on for a precious road point in a tense, physical stalemate.

Until next week — keep watching the beautiful game

Originally published by Lower90 on Substack.