- 2018 USL expansion club Fresno FC announced on Tuesday the addition of three key front office staff, officially welcoming Assistant General Manager Jeremy Schultz, Vice President of Ticket Sales & Service Fred Matthes and Director of Marketing & Communications Jordan Wiebe to the club in their respective roles.



- Sixteen cities with independent USL clubs have been ranked in the top 40 nationally as one of the best for soccer fans in the United States, according to a ranking by WalletHub.com released on Wednesday. Cincinnati was the highest-ranked city with a USL team in the survey at No. 18, while Sacramento claimed the site's highest USL ranking in addition to being named 21st overall.



- Tulsa Roughnecks FC (12-10-4, 40pts) strengthened its hold on a place in the 2017 USL Cup Playoffs with a 3-1 victory against Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 (5-14-7, 22pts) on Wednesday night at MacLeod Athletic Park. Joey Calistri had a goal and assist in a two-minute span after coming on as a substitute to see the Roughnecks home as the side took seven points from its three-game trip to Cascadia.



- The Tampa Bay Rowdies (11-7-8, 41pts) earned just their second road win of the season with a 3-2 victory against the Harrisburg City Islanders (6-14-6, 24pts) on Wednesday night at FNB Field. Georgi Hristov scored twice to reach 10 goals for the season, and Martin Paterson also found the net as Tampa Bay moved back into fourth place in the Eastern Conference ahead of this weekend’s action.



- The New York Red Bulls II (10-11-5, 35pts) are on a five-game undefeated streak as they visit Toronto FC II (5-15-7, 22 points) at BMO Field on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET | Match Center), which has moved the side into the top eight in the USL Eastern Conference. The Red Bulls II earned a 4-2 victory against the Tampa Bay Rowdies last Saturday to continue their recent run (3-0-2), with Andrew Tinari and Florian Valot both scoring their second goals in as many games in the win. Toronto was held to a 1-0 defeat by the Rochester Rhinos on Saturday night, and remains in last place in the Eastern Conference. The Reds might take inspiration from the chance to play at BMO Field, however, where earlier this season they played to a 2-2 draw with the second-place Charlotte Independence.



- Sacramento Republic FC (10-8-6, 36pts) is looking to break a four-game winless streak when it visits the Rio Grande Valley FC (7-12-7, 28 points) at H-E-B Park on Saturday night (8:30 p.m. ET | Match Center), with the Toros fast slipping out of playoff contention with a five-game winless streak of their own. Sacramento was on course for victory in its last outing until a late equalizer by Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC earned a 2-2 draw at Papa Murphy’s Park. Republic FC is now nine points back of the fourth-place Swope Park Rangers as their hopes of a home playoff game are fading. Rio Grande Valley’s hopes of being part of the postseason at all are in similar shape, with a six-point gap to the playoff positions. After a 1-0 loss to the LA Galaxy II on Sunday the Toros are now in must-win territory with six games to go.



- Saint Louis FC (8-11-7, 31pts) is in major need of a victory as it returns home from a three-game road trip to host the Harrisburg City Islanders at Toyota Stadium – Saint Louis (8:30 p.m. ET | Match Center). Saint Louis took two points from its trip to face Rochester, Toronto and Ottawa, including a 2-2 draw last Sunday against Fury FC that had seen the visitors rally to take a second-half lead at TD Place only to concede late to their hosts. Sitting four points out of a playoff position with six games to play, STLFC will hope to take all three points against a Harrisburg side that fell in midweek to the Tampa Bay Rowdies for its sixth consecutive defeat.



- Real Monarchs SLC (17-4-4, 55pts) will look to rebound from its first home defeat of the season when it visits the Portland Timbers 2 (2-18-5, 11pts) on Saturday night at Providence Park (10 p.m. ET | Match Center). Real clinched a place in the 2017 USL Cup Playoffs despite falling 2-1 against San Antonio FC last Saturday night, with a pair of late goals by the visitors earning victory at Rio Tinto Stadium. The Monarchs still hold a seven-point lead at the top of the Western Conference but will be looking to rebound quickly to keep their cushion intact. T2 has earned back-to-back draws coming into Saturday’s game after holding Tulsa Roughnecks FC to a 1-1 tie last Sunday.



- Seattle Sounders FC 2 (9-15-2, 29pts) is in must-win territory when it faces the challenge of second-place Reno 1868 FC (14-5-6, 48pts) on Saturday night at Starfire Stadium (10:30 p.m. ET | Match Center). 1868 FC took a 2-1 victory against the LA Galaxy II on Wednesday night to extend its winning streak to six games and is now level on points with San Antonio FC in the race for playoff position at the top of the Western Conference. Seattle suffered a 2-0 defeat against Phoenix Rising FC last Saturday to further diminish the club’s playoff hopes as it suffered its second consecutive loss. S2 is now five points out of the playoff positions with six games to go, putting the pressure on if the side is to reach the postseason for a second time in three seasons.



- San Antonio FC (13-2-9, 48pts) will look to build on a big road victory when it visits the LA Galaxy II (7-14-4, 25pts) at the StubHub Center Track and Field Stadium on Saturday night (10:30 p.m. ET | Match Center). San Antonio moved within seven points of Real Monarchs SLC at the top of the Western Conference with a 2-1 win last Saturday against Real and also has a game in hand to try and close the gap further. SAFC’s win against the Monarchs also gave the side its first back-to-back wins in league action since May 20-26, with the side having gone 4-2-7 since that point. Los Dos are coming off a 2-1 defeat against Reno 1868 FC on Wednesday night that put the side close to elimination from playoff contention, sitting nine points out of a playoff spot with seven games to go.



- OKC Energy FC (9-10-6, 33pts) is looking for a bounce-back performance when it hosts Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 on Sunday evening at Taft Stadium (6 p.m. ET | Match Center). Energy FC slipped out of the playoff positions last Saturday as it fell 2-0 to the Swope Park Rangers. OKC is still in fair shape to make the postseason despite the loss but will need to pick up wins in games like this against sides below it in the standings to do so. Fourteenth-place Vancouver is coming off a 3-1 loss on Wednesday night to Energy FC’s Oklahoma rival Tulsa Roughnecks FC, its second defeat in the past three games.