Short answer: Probably Charleston Battery, maybe Rochester Rhinos, possibly (but probably not) Charlotte Independence or Richmond Kickers
Long answer:
Regardless of what happens next weekend (Sep 24), FC Cincinnati is definitely going to be the #3 team coming out of the regular season, which means we play the #6 ranked team in the first round of the playoffs (see: USL Playoffs bracket). Right now, that's Rochester, but ranks 4 through 7 are all really close, so that could change next weekend. #6 Rochester is gonna be playing #12 Toronto, and #5 Charleston is gonna be playing #1 New York. In the likely event that Rochester has a better result than Charleston (i.e. Rochester wins and Charleston doesn't, or Rochester draws and Charleston loses), then Rochester will move up in the standings, and FCC will play Charleston. If Rochester and Charleston have the same result, or Charleston does better, then FCC will play Rochester.
Well, probably. If Rochester and Charleston both win and #4 Charlotte draws or loses against #2 Louisville, then Charlotte will drop to #6 and we'll play them -- possible, but fairly unlikely. Alternatively, if #7 Richmond wins against #9 Wilmington, Rochester loses, and Charleston doesn't lose, then Richmond will end up ranked #6, and we'll play them -- this is extremely unlikely. We'd also play Richmond if Charleston lost but Richmond, Rochester, and Charlotte all won, which could happen -- there are no crazy upsets involved there, at least (thanks Andy Lawton for catching this).
- Hayden Schiff, 2016-09-18