Lower90

Lower90 Newsletter week of July 27

FootballNews365 / July 27, 2026

Great soccer continues across the US as some lower leagues wind-up and top USL leagues continue their seasons.

This Week in US Soccer

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It was a week that rewarded anyone who stayed until the final whistle — across the USL Championship, League One, League Two, and NPSL, stoppage-time goals, stunning comebacks, and scorelines that looked like typos kept fans on edge from coast to coast. The USL Championship saw Colorado Springs Switchbacks enjoy a strong week with back-to-back wins, while Vermont Green FC served notice in League Two with a combined 11-1 scoreline across two matches. If the overall flavour of the week had a name, it was chaos — and we mean that as the highest possible compliment.

Match of the Week: NPSL — El Farolito vs Ambassadors FC Ohio

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Editor’s pick: Down 3-0 with 30 minutes left and looking dead and buried, El Farolito pulled off one of the most improbable comebacks the NPSL — or any league, frankly — has seen in years, with N. Werthmuller writing his name into club folklore by scoring twice in the final five minutes to steal a 3-2 win. To do it a semi-final made it even more special!

El Farolito came from behind to defeat Ambassadors FC Ohio 3–2 in NPSL action on Saturday, with N. Werthmuller scoring the winner in the 90th minute to complete a dramatic home comeback and set their place in the final.

The visitors made the perfect start when H. Soto put Ambassadors ahead inside two minutes. El Farolito could not find a response before the break, and D. Benson extended the Ohio side’s lead to 2–0 in the 33rd minute, leaving the hosts with a significant deficit to overturn.

El Farolito came out with renewed purpose in the second half, but it was Ambassadors who threatened to put the game out of reach. J. Yabur made it 3–0 in the 59th minute, and at that point, the result appeared beyond doubt.

What followed was a remarkable turnaround. D. Pinto pulled one back in the 86th minute, and with time running out, Werthmuller — who had been booked in the 79th minute — stepped up to score twice in quick succession, completing the comeback with his second goal in the 90th minute to seal an unlikely 3–2 victory.

The closing stages were feisty. Four yellow cards were handed out between the 76th and 87th minutes as tension mounted, with both sides picking up bookings in a frantic finish.

The win is a significant one for El Farolito, keeping them in contention to repeat as league champions.

This Week’s Highlights

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USL Championship — Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs Charleston Battery

Jonas Fjeldberg broke Charleston Battery hearts in the fifth minute of stoppage time, converting what proved to be a stunning 90+5’ winner to hand Colorado Springs a 2-1 victory after Wilmer Cabrera had equalised in the 81st minute and seemingly earned the Battery a point. Adrien Pérez had opened the scoring for the Switchbacks in the 56th minute, and when Cabrera levelled it looked like Colorado Springs would be left frustrated — but Fjeldberg had other ideas. It’s Colorado Springs’ second dramatic late victory of the week, and a result that will do serious things to their Championship standing.

USL Championship — Miami FC vs Tampa Bay Rowdies

Five goals, lead changes, and Marco Micaletto delivering the dagger — the Florida derby delivered everything you could want from a rivalry match. Tampa Bay struck twice in the opening 12 minutes through Russell Cicerone (10’) and Matt Myers (12’), before Arney Rocha pulled one back right on the stroke of half-time to keep Miami in it. Jürgen Locadia equalised in the 76th minute and for a brief, glorious four minutes Miami dared to dream — then Micaletto restored Tampa Bay’s advantage in the 80th minute, and the Rowdies held on for a 3-2 win that tightens the screws in the Championship’s Southern standings.

USL League Two — Laredo Heat SC vs Vermont Green FC

Sometimes a scoreline just speaks for itself: Vermont Green FC went to Laredo and won 7-1, in what stands as one of the most emphatic away performances of the 2026 season across any USL division. Just as impressive as the seven goals was the complete absence of cards — not a single caution in a match Vermont controlled from first whistle to last. After a 4-0 win over Asheville City SC earlier in the week, Green have now outscored opponents 11-1 in their last two League Two fixtures. Consider the title credentials duly announced.

USL Championship — Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC vs Miami FC

Before Friday’s stoppage-time drama against Charleston, Colorado Springs had already done their late-goal business earlier in the week against Miami FC. Khori Bennett was the ice-cold executioner, breaking a tense scoreless stalemate with a composed finish in the 79th minute before doubling his tally in the 90th to seal a 2-0 shutout victory. Bennett’s brace gave the Switchbacks maximum points from a game that could easily have ended level, and it’s the kind of clinical finishing that separates contenders from pretenders at this stage of the Championship season.

Results Roundup

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USL League One — Forward Madison FC vs FC Naples — Forward Madison FC 3-1 FC Naples. Just when FC Naples had clawed back to within one goal in the 80th minute, Ryan Carmichael broke their hearts with a 90+4’ strike to seal the win and end any hope of a comeback.

USL Championship — Oakland Roots SC vs Sacramento Republic FC — Oakland Roots SC 1-3 Sacramento Republic FC. Kyle Edwards delivered a brace — including a stoppage-time clincher in the 90+2’ — as Sacramento ran out dominant 3-1 winners with real NorCal derby bite.

USL League One — Chattanooga Red Wolves SC vs One Knoxville SC — Chattanooga Red Wolves SC 1-0 One Knoxville SC. Joshua Ramos broke the Tennessee derby deadlock in the 74th minute, giving Chattanooga the bragging rights in a tense in-state affair.

USL Championship — Detroit City FC vs Las Vegas Lights FC — Detroit City FC 0-1 Las Vegas Lights FC. Oalex Anderson needed just 60 seconds to stun Le Rouge, scoring the fastest goal you’ll see all season in a feisty, seven-yellow-card battle the Lights never relinquished.

USL Championship — FC Tulsa vs Lexington SC — FC Tulsa 0-0 Lexington SC. No goals but absolutely no shortage of edge — 11 yellow cards flew in a wild 0-0 draw with both sides booked inside the first five minutes.

USL League One — Spokane Velocity FC vs Fort Wayne FC — Spokane Velocity FC 3-1 Fort Wayne FC. Shavon John-Brown turned the game on its head with a stunning second-half brace to flip a 1-0 deficit into a 3-1 Velocity victory, adding an assist for good measure.

NPSL — Bristol Rhythm AFC vs New Haven United FC — Bristol Rhythm AFC 2-0 New Haven United FC. Bristol won on two own goals and then had a man sent off in stoppage time — a fittingly chaotic coda to one of the strangest card-filled matches of the NPSL season.

USL Championship — Monterey Bay FC vs Orange County SC — Monterey Bay FC 1-2 Orange County SC. Nico Gordon scored an own goal to gift OC a 2-0 lead, then partially redeemed himself by setting up Paul Gindiri’s dramatic 88th-minute consolation.

USL League One — New York Cosmos vs Athletic Club Boise — New York Cosmos 1-2 Athletic Club Boise. Athletic Club Boise built a commanding 2-0 road lead before Sebastián Guenzatti’s 90+5’ reply proved too little too late for a gutted home crowd.

USL League One — Portland Hearts of Pine vs Union Omaha — Portland Hearts of Pine 1-2 Union Omaha. Union Omaha stormed back from 1-0 down with two first-half goals, Gabriel de Freitas completing the turnaround in the 32nd minute to steal a gutsy road win.

USL League Two — Vermont Green FC vs Asheville City SC — Vermont Green FC 4-0 Asheville City SC. Not a card shown, not a chance surrendered — Vermont Green put on a complete 4-0 masterclass and announced their title credentials in emphatic fashion.

USL League One — Corpus Christi FC vs Greenville Triumph SC — Corpus Christi FC 1-0 Greenville Triumph SC. Eight yellow cards flew in a fiery contest, with Arthur Medina’s 10th-minute strike the only goal in an ill-tempered battle that never quite settled down.

USL League One — Westchester SC vs New York Cosmos — Westchester SC 3-0 New York Cosmos. A derby beatdown that was effectively over before the hour, with Bobby Pierre setting the tone with a clinical seventh-minute opener — a tough week all round for the Cosmos.

USL League Two — Flint City Bucks vs Peoria City — Flint City Bucks 4-0 Peoria City. Clean sheet, zero cards, total domination — Flint’s ruthless 4-0 dismantling of Peoria City sent a crystal-clear warning to the rest of League Two.

USL League One — AV ALTA FC vs Westchester SC — AV ALTA FC 0-0 Westchester SC. Five yellow cards erupted in a frantic four-minute spell between the 82nd and 85th minutes as both sides chased a winner that never came.

Until next week — keep watching the beautiful game

Originally published by Lower90 on Substack.