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USL League One Power Rankings – Week 2

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 03/17/25, 5:00PM EDT

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Capping a pivotal day in club history, Greenville finally broke through against Omaha on the field.

Last Wednesday morning, Greenville Triumph SC broke ground on the club’s permanent home at Bridgeway Station.

Then, with supporting owner Ronaldinho on hand, it put on the sort of display that matched the buoyant mood around the club, defeating defending League One title-holder Union Omaha 3-0 at Paladin Stadium.

“The day was definitely one of the highlights of this club’s history,” said Triumph Head Coach Rick Wright. “You could feel the excitement in the air today, and it translated to a great performance on the field. The players rose to the occasion and we had a great team performance on both ends of the field. We grew up a lot tonight, and now we just need to get healthy and keep momentum going.”

Greenville has been one of League One’s standard-bearers since its inception. From playing in the league’s inaugural game, and its inaugural Final, to winning the title in 2020 and sitting as the lone side to reach the League One Playoffs every year of the league’s history, Triumph has built a tremendous organization.

But Wednesday night’s win against Omaha was a statement of another kind, one that should be important for the side moving forward. Having gone winless against Los Buhos in eight consecutive outings – including last year’s postseason – Greenville was looking for a performance it could hang its hat on.

Thanks to Leo Castro and Ben Zakowski, the side delivered, putting it on top of the League One standings and the early-season Power Rankings this week.

For a club with Triumph’s history, it’s a little strange to think its best days are still to come. The promise of its new permanent venue, though, makes it clear that’s the case.

Here’s where things stand this week.

On The Move

5 GVL, NAP 5 MAD

Rank

 

Team

Change

Summary
1 Greenville Triumph SC
(1-0-1)
Week 3: ---		 5
Last Week: 6		 Breaking an eight-game winless streak against Union Omaha must have felt great for Triumph’s squad, which got game-winning performances from Leo Castro and Ben Zakowski.
2 One Knoxville SC
(0-0-1)
Week 3: @ TXO		 3
Last Week: 5		 Two goals down on the road, the way Knoxville battled back to earn a point in Spokane to start the season was commendable. Very solid start to new Head Coach Ian Fuller’s tenure.
3 Spokane Velocity FC
(0-0-1)
Week 3: vs. NAP		 1
Last Week: 2		 Velocity will be disappointed to not have held on for victory in its opening game, but there honestly wasn’t quite enough in their second half performance to merit it.
4 Westchester SC
(0-0-1)
Week 3: ---
Last Week: 4		 If we’re going to play the game of relative results, Westchester earning a draw in Greenville to start the season and looking relatively solid while doing so is looking even better this week.
5 Union Omaha
(0-1-0)
Week 3: ---		 4
Last Week: 1		 You can make a case that Omaha was at a disadvantage to Greenville – which had already got a game under its belt – but that’s the first season-opening defeat Los Buhos have experienced in their history.
6 FC Naples
(1-0-1)
Week 3: @ SPK		 5
Last Week: 11		 Naples got the jump on its more experienced visitor in Forward Madison thanks to Karsen Henderlong and saw out the game impressively in the second half. Big win for another sellout crowd.
7 Charlotte Independence
(1-0-0)
Week 3: ---		 2
Last Week: 9		 Austin Pack who? Matt Levy stepped into the starter position after two seasons as a back-up and put up a -1.38 Goals Prevented mark to seal an opening-game win for the Independence.
8 Forward Madison FC
(0-1-0)
Week 3: --- 		5
Last Week: 3		 The Flamingos looked great in the new icebreaker kits, but that wasn’t the best performance on the field. All that possession, and not enough final product.
9 Richmond Kickers
(1-0-0)
Week 3: vs. AV		 2
Last Week: 7		 Of all the players to miss from the penalty spot, three-time Golden Boot winner Emiliano Terzaghi is not the player you’d expect to do so. Still, there were good things to take from defeat in Charlotte as well.
10 South Georgia Tormenta FC
(1-1-0)
Week 3: ---
Last Week: 10		 Yaniv Bazini was in preseason with a couple of USL Championship clubs before landing with Tormenta for his first professional season. His first professional brace shows the sort of ceiling he’s got.
11 AV ALTA FC
(0-1-0)
Week 3: @ RIC		 3
Last Week: 8		 Head Coach Brian Kleiban’s side set out its stall as a possession-driven side but paid the price for two early concessions. We think things should progress positively from here.
12 Chattanooga Red Wolves SC
(0-0-1)
Week 3: ---
Last Week: 12		 The Red Wolves head for a big week on the road to New Jersey in the Open Cup and then Charlotte in the league. Winning in the Cup is going to be important for confidence.
13 Portland Hearts of Pine
(0-0-0)
Week 3: ---
Last Week: 13		 Here we go, Hearts of Pine, let’s see if your on-field product matches the immaculate fits you’ve put out.
14 Texoma FC
(0-0-0)
Week 3: vs. KNX
Last Week: 14		 Big night for Texoma FC as it makes its debut in the Open Cup on Tuesday night. They can’t underestimate Foro FC, which upset Austin FC II in the First Round last year.

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Tag(s): Spotlight  Union Omaha  Power Rankings  Chatt Red Wolves SC  Forward Madison FC  Greenville Triumph SC  Richmond Kickers  So. Georgia Tormenta FC  Charlotte Independence  One Knoxville SC  Spokane Velocity FC  Portland Hearts of Pine  AV ALTA FC  FC Naples  Texoma FC  Westchester SC 

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