The UPSL Playoffs started with 32 teams and have now whittled themselves down to the top four squads in the league. This weekend we’ll see teams from four totally different regions come together in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to find a champion - Inland Empire FC from Southern California; Dodge City Toros from Kansas; Soda City FC from Columbia, South Carolina; and Rochester NY FC from Upstate New York (or Western if you like - Wikipedia says either is fine)

So let’s get stuck in, take a look at the numbers, and see how they got here!

Rochester NY FC vs Soda City FC

Fri, 08/09 - 3:00pm PST / 6:00pm EST at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA

How they got here: The news of Rochester NY FC’s death were greatly exaggerated - this iteration of the club is very much alive. So what if Jamie Vardy abandoned the project, Rochester NY FC won the UPSL’s Western NY Division and knocked out Inter Columbus in a wild 8-7 added on extra time penalty duel; blew Detroit United away 4-1; and got past a very good NY Renegades 2-1 to advance to the league’s National Finals Weekend. During the regular season they played 10, won 9 and had a draw - Glodie Mata had 11 of their 28 goals and Matt Torrell scored 6 of those as well. Rochester’s defense only allowed 6 goals in the regular season and will be a tough proposition to score against in the finals.

However, if there were a collection of players who could string together enough goals to upturn the applecart, it’s Soda City FC - the outfit from South Carolina were one of the highest scoring sides in the UPSL this Summer with 44 goals from 13 games played. While they did allow 16, their +28 Goal Differential is the best in the final four. Soda City had 10 wins, 2 draws, and a loss in the regular season, then knocked out a highly regarded Kalonji Pro Profile 4-1; advanced past Tennessee Tempo 3-2 in added on extra time penalty kicks; and fought past a tough Inter City FC, 3-2. Rauf Salifu leads the squad with 15 goals and Jose Flores added 9 goals of his own, according to the league website.

Winner Plays the winner of Inland Empire FC vs Dodge City Toros

Inland Empire FC vs Dodge City Toros

Fri, 08/09 - 3:00pm PST / 6:00pm EST at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA

How they got here: Will Inland Empire FC be going back to Cali, to Cali, to Cali with the UPSL title or without - that’s going to be up to them. To get to the National Finals they blanked Estudiantes 3-0 in the first round of the playoffs; fought past a resilient El Paso Rush 3-2; then earned their second shutout of the playoffs, beating Valley 559 FC, 2-0. During the regular season, Inland Empire FC finished 3rd in their SoCal South, having played 11 with 7 wins and 4 losses - they are even with Soda City as the lowest seed still in the finals. While Misael Gonzalez Lopez finished 6th in the Golden Boot race with 17 goals, as a club, they scored 33 and gave up 21 - they head into this weekend with the poorest Goal Differential, at just +12.

Their opponents, Dodge City Toros, finished 2nd in their Midwest-South Division with just 6 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses from 10 played. However, they had one of the highest goal totals for the regular season in the league, at 44 and Golden Boot winner (according to the statistics available on the website) Aron Martinez poured in an impressive 21 of those - Michael Lopez contributed 10 of his own too. Their goal-scoring boots were red hot during the playoffs too, outscoring their opponents 16-3; they beat 18x26 Academy 4-2; blew away one of the best teams all year, Indios Denver, 6-1; then shutout Bartlesville Buffaloes 6-0. This Dodge City Toros team might be coming into the Finals Weekend in the best form of the bunch and will be flat out fun to watch!

Winner Plays the winner of Rochester NY FC vs Soda City FC

by Josh Duder