USL Power Rankings: A big outgoing transfer, chaos out West & more from Week 26

Nick Markanich is officially off to Spain at the end of the 2024 USL season, and he’s drawing ever closer to a record goalscoring mark. 

That Markanich would become a star was no guarantee in 2022, when he mostly sat on the FC Cincinnati bench or played below his level in MLS Next Pro. Two years of development under Ben Pirmann in Charleston have allowed Markanich to blossom. His story and his move to Europe are the platonic ideal of the USL’s developmental model.

Of course, Markanich is treading a trail that Milan Iloski blazed just a year ago. Iloski, a right-footed wide scorer to match the left-footed Markanich, lit up the Championship in Orange County before moving to Nordsjaelland. Two years doesn’t make it a trend, but it’s notable that USL Golden Boot winners are consistently in demand for six-digit transfer fees.

Time will tell who arises as the next star in that same mold, but Week 26 was still full of stories in its own right. Which clubs stood out? Let’s dig in.

1. Louisville (No change)

Result: 6-4 win at North Carolina

You can imagine Louisville shuffling into the locker room at halftime this weekend, collectively in thousand-yard stare mode. After all, the half ended with two own goals in their favor and another at their expense to see the game knotted up at 3-3.

What separates LouCity is their ability to keep the focus, execute the game plan, and earn points. Danny Cruz’s side wasn’t necessarily bad early on, but they gave up far too much space in transition. Better communication in defensive recovery and more confident interventions at the back turned the tide. Throw in the fact that this team can score goals for fun, and the result wasn’t really in doubt, even as things got hairy.

Jansen Wilson was the big star on the night, excelling as a presser on the right wing and scoring a brace that involved Louisville’s first and sixth goals. Wilson has been a bonafide star since moving from wing back to the attacking line, but he left a minor hole in doing so. Enter Manny Perez. 

Perez made 71 appearances for LouCity, mostly as a right back, before decamping to Europe to end 2023. That the former US U-20 international is now back in Kentucky is a testament to Louisville’s ridiculous depth. Between Perez, Wilson, and Aiden McFadden, this club has three right-siders that would feasibly start on…like…20 of 24 teams in the Championship? It’s a wealth of riches for a team that can win in any bizarre scenario you throw at them.

2. Charleston (No change)

Result: 1-1 draw at San Antonio

Saturday was set up to be a perfect night for Charleston. Fresh off the announcement that Nick Markanich would remain with the club for the rest of 2024 before a transfer to the Spanish second tier - one that'll earn the Battery six figures and a sell-on fee - they traveled to San Antonio with a real chance for Markanich to match the USL's single-season goals record. Instead, that match turned into a slog.

Not that it was out of character for a team on the road in central Texas. San Antonio isn’t very good on the whole, but they’re excellent at grinding the tempo to a halt and sitting deep. This was a test of Charleston’s ability to tow away that parked bus in the final third, and they relied on an extremely fluid midfield to get the job done.

Juan David Torres, rather than Markanich, was the talisman for the effort.

The Colombian winger took a whopping 77 touches spread all across the pitch. His tendency to roam all over the attacking band was matched by smart replacements from Arturo Rodriguez; the No. 10 was always willing to slide left to accommodate Torres or become the right winger with Markanich sneaking into the box. Charleston kept 70% of possession, and they always offered a threat because of their movement while in control.

That said, the fun was most limited to the edge of the box. Charleston only put up 11 shots, less than half of which came from inside the 18-yard area. Torres’ eventual equalizer was a jaw-dropping free kick rather than an example of penetrative inspiration. The Battery still have room to grow in games that aren’t played at their pace.