The final official weekend of the preseason brought with it some high-profile finales, and some interesting results to go with them. With the auditions over, and the countdown to the opening weekend of the 2018 USL regular season begun, the question now becomes who’s ready for primetime?

1. FINDING THE RHYTHM: One of the hallmarks to Sacramento Republic FC’s success since its inception in 2014 has been its ability to maintain possession and control the tempo of a game. In Republic FC’s 2-1 victory against FC Cincinnati on Saturday, the visitors were able to do just that at Nippert Stadium as goals by Cameron Iwasa and Villyan Bijev proved enough to return to the west coast with a morale-boosting win. Sacramento’s continued willingness to work the ball to create chances sets up for a fascinating opening game of the regular season, when San Antonio FC comes to Papa Murphy’s Park on Saturday night.

2. PICKING BACK UP: San Antonio, for its part, appears to be ready to pick up right where it left off last season after a 5-1 victory against Tulsa Roughnecks FC on Saturday that saw the side notch four goals in the second half. The victory put a cap on what’s been an impressive preseason for SAFC, which will now look to build on its second-place finish in the Western Conference a season ago with a squad that appears to be full of confidence. “We've progressed from week to week and today was no different,” said Head Coach Darren Powell. “We wanted to get out on the front foot and Tulsa made it difficult for us, but we managed to get a couple of goals in quick succession and that made the score-line look more comfortable than it actually was.”

3. HOT AND COLD: One of the interesting aspects of Tulsa Roughnecks FC’s first trip to the USL Cup Playoffs a season ago was the manner by which it was accomplished, with the Roughnecks recording the fewest draws of any side that reached the postseason in 2017. If Saturday’s result is any indication, there could be another season of ups and downs in store at ONEOK Field, with the Roughnecks having put in some stellar performances this preseason in addition to Saturday’s tough defeat. Head Coach David Vaudreuil will certainly have his hands full this season, but a positive display in the Black Gold Derby this Saturday against OKC Energy FC would be an excellent way to get things started for the side.

4. BUMP IN THE ROAD: FC Cincinnati Head Coach Alan Koch didn’t mince words after his side’s defeat to Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday; “That wasn't even close to where we need to be at this stage of our preseason,” Koch said as his side ended its preparations with a defeat. Following a draw against Nashville SC the previous weekend, Cincinnati doesn’t quite appear to be clicking the way it would hope entering its opening game of the season. That matchup shouldn’t fill FCC with confidence, either, with a visit to the Charleston Battery giving Cincinnati an opening-night opponent that it hasn’t earned victory against in any of its previous meetings over the past two seasons.