Lower90

Lower90 Newsletter - week of Nov 3, 2026

FootballNews365 / November 3, 2026

Playoffs? You talking about Playoffs? Yes we are as the USL Championship and USL League 1 kicked into their playoff mode. Read on!!

This Week in US Soccer

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Playoff soccer delivered in full force this week across all three USL divisions, with late drama, penalty shootouts, and one of the wildest draws the Super League has ever seen. The USL Championship postseason was ruthless — four of the week’s fixtures went to penalties, with Charleston, Miami, Colorado Springs, and Chattanooga all advancing through the spot-kick lottery — while the Super League served up goals in bunches and results that will shake up the table heading into the final stretch. If you needed a reminder of why lower-league soccer hits differently, this was the week that made the case.

Match of the Week: USL Super League — Sporting JAX vs Brooklyn FC

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Editor’s pick: Eight goals, a two-goal deficit erased in the final quarter-hour, and Ashlyn Puerta’s 80th-minute equalizer completing one of the most remarkable comebacks of the season — nothing else this week came close to matching the sheer chaos of this 4-4 draw.

Sporting JAX and Brooklyn FC played out a wild 4–4 draw in the USL Super League on Saturday, with eight goals spread across 66 minutes of action. Baylee DeSmit, Paige Kenton, and Ashlyn Puerta (twice) scored for the hosts, while Catherine Zimmerman, Ashlyn Miller, and Jackie Richards (twice) found the net for Brooklyn. Jillian Shimkin provided three assists for the visitors.

Brooklyn struck first. Zimmerman opened the scoring in the 14th minute, converting from a Shimkin delivery. Eleven minutes later, Shimkin was the provider again as Miller doubled the lead and seemingly put the visitors in control.

Sporting JAX answered quickly. DeSmit pulled one back in the 27th minute, finishing from a Grace Phillpotts pass, and Kenton leveled things at 2–2 just six minutes later. The momentum had swung entirely.

It swung back after halftime. Richards scored twice in the space of a minute — the first in the 56th minute from a Lauren Gogal assist, the second just 60 seconds later with Shimkin again involved — to restore Brooklyn’s two-goal cushion at 4–2.

Most teams would have folded. Sporting JAX did not. Puerta dragged the hosts back into the contest in the 68th minute, then completed the comeback with an equalizer in the 80th to make it 4–4. Neither side could find a winner in the closing stages.

The draw means both teams split the points in a match that saw the lead change hands multiple times, a result that could prove costly for either side’s positioning as the USL Super League season progresses.

This Week’s Highlights

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USL Super League — Tampa Bay Sun FC vs DC Power FC

DC Power FC came to Tampa Bay and left with all three points thanks to a breathless three-minute finale. The hosts looked to have salvaged a point when Tori Waldeck equalized in the 83rd minute, only for Alyssa Walker to break Tampa Bay hearts with a composed 87th-minute finish that had the traveling support in raptures. Four minutes between hope and heartbreak — that’s playoff-adjacent soccer at its most savage, and DC Power’s resilience on the road makes them a dangerous side to be watching right now.

USL Championship — Louisville City FC vs Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC

Pittsburgh’s defensive effort for 90 minutes was nothing short of heroic — and it still wasn’t enough. The Riverhounds kept Louisville City off the scoresheet through regulation, grinding out a goalless stalemate that seemed destined for a penalty shootout, but Tola Showunmi had other ideas. His 105th-minute strike in extra time was the gut-punch that ended Pittsburgh’s run, the cruelest kind of exit for a backline that gave everything it had and then some.

USL Championship — Sacramento Republic FC vs FC Tulsa

Tulsa rode out 87 minutes of Sacramento pressure, defended resolutely, and looked for all the world like they were forcing extra time — and then Blake Willey happened. His 88th-minute strike is the kind of goal that changes the entire emotional narrative of a match in an instant, flipping Tulsa’s near-heroic defensive stand into a story about the one that got away. Sacramento advance, but they’ll know they made it far harder than it needed to be.

USL Super League — Dallas Trinity FC vs Fort Lauderdale United FC

Fort Lauderdale’s Taylor Smith picked up her second yellow card in the 58th minute and handed Dallas Trinity an advantage they were not going to waste. The hosts were patient — perhaps frustratingly so — but once the goals came, they arrived in a torrent: Seven Castain in the 71st, Juliet Moore in the 75th, and Kalea Eichenberger wrapping things up in the 86th. Three goals in 15 minutes against ten-person opposition is a statement, but the real credit goes to Dallas for keeping their composure long enough to make the extra player count.

Results Roundup

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USL Championship — Charleston Battery vs Rhode Island FC — Charleston Battery 1-1 Rhode Island FC (Charleston won 5-4 on penalties). Miguel Berry’s stoppage-time equalizer forced the shootout, but Charleston converted all five spot kicks with ice-cold composure to advance.

USL Championship — Tampa Bay Rowdies vs Miami FC — Tampa Bay Rowdies 1-1 Miami FC (Miami FC won 5-4 on penalties). This Florida derby went the distance before Riyon Tori buried the decisive fifth penalty to send Miami FC through in a tense shootout.

USL Championship — Lexington SC vs Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC — Lexington SC 1-1 Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (Colorado Springs won 5-4 on penalties). Khori Bennett equalized in the 78th minute and then stepped up to convert the winning penalty — one man, one extraordinary night.

USL League One — Charlotte Independence vs FC Naples — Charlotte Independence 5-1 FC Naples. Christopher Jaime was involved in four goals and Stéfano Pinho finished with a late brace as Charlotte put on a dominant attacking clinic.

USL League One — Union Omaha vs Chattanooga Red Wolves SC — Union Omaha 1-1 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (Chattanooga won 5-4 on penalties). Pedro Hernandez struck in the first minute for Omaha, Chattanooga clawed back to level, then converted all five penalties to advance in a wild shootout.

USL League One — Forward Madison FC vs Spokane Velocity FC — Forward Madison FC 2-1 Spokane Velocity FC. Three goals arrived inside the opening 12 minutes before 78 nail-biting minutes of tension followed — a breathless opener that Forward Madison ultimately held on to claim.

USL Championship — Detroit City FC vs Hartford Athletic — Detroit City FC 1-2 Hartford Athletic. Sadat Anaku’s brace in the 75th minute gave Hartford a stunning away victory at Detroit, one of the genuine upsets of the playoff round.

USL Championship — El Paso Locomotive FC vs San Antonio FC — El Paso Locomotive FC 2-1 San Antonio FC. Diogo Pacheco pulled one back for San Antonio in the 84th minute and 11 yellow cards told the story of a heated Southwest rivalry, but El Paso’s defense held firm to advance.

USL Super League — Carolina Ascent FC vs Lexington SC — Carolina Ascent FC 1-0 Lexington SC. Emily Moxley’s 32nd-minute strike proved to be all Carolina Ascent needed as they locked Lexington down with a disciplined, no-nonsense clean sheet.

USL Championship — New Mexico United vs Phoenix Rising FC — New Mexico United 2-0 Phoenix Rising FC. Phoenix’s Gunnar Studenthofft somehow survived a second yellow in the 75th minute, but it was academic — New Mexico controlled the match throughout and advanced comfortably.

USL League One — Athletic Club Boise vs One Knoxville SC — Athletic Club Boise 2-0 One Knoxville SC. Nick Moon orchestrated the win with two assists and Jesús Barea put it to bed in the 92nd minute, ensuring Knoxville had no path back into the tie.

Until next week — keep watching the beautiful game

Originally published by Lower90 on Substack.