NISA group play wrapped yesterday with surprising results. Two West Conference clubs finished atop the two groups, with Oakland Roots and LA Force both taking top seeding. Two familiar names rounded out the semifinal-bound clubs with Chattanooga FC and Detroit City FC advancing. Tomorrow Oakland will take on CFC in the early match, while LA Force will face host DCFC. Should be some great soccer after the matches we’ve seen in group play.

As an “expert” I’ve been called out for my stupidity of thinking I could pick the winners of the groups. And maybe, after only managing to pick 2 of the 4, I deserve that criticism. I’m an old dog trying to learn new tricks and group play was a tough class. So here’s my postmortem of group play, with the 5 things I learned over the course of last week.

West is Best - Sure, some people picked Oakland to come out of Group A, but most of that was reputation rather than reality (or so it seemed). The East was expected by “experts” to shine in this tournament. The primary logic behind that was scheduling. While the West got a measly two matched of regular season play, the East got four matches AND most played in the Independent Cup, giving every club another two to three matches under their belt. It just seemed obvious that the clubs would be clicking after that many matches, while the West would still be in shambles after a long COVID-fueled shutdown in California. And that logic was bullshit. Oakland topped Group A, while LA Force won Group B. LA has to be the really unexpected one, particularly when they opened the contest with a 2-0 loss to Chattanooga. That loss confirmed everything we thought about the East/West dichotomy, and LA promptly turned all that on it’s head by winning back to back matches and winning the group.
Stars Choked - Stars kicked off this tournament with a shot across the bow. They came into Detroit and knocked off the host team 2-0. Call it a derby or don’t, but it was a resounding loss for DCFC and the confirmation to some (ME!) that Stars were ready to win this group and put their stamp on a great season. And then they drew to the one club no one should have drawn to, New Amsterdam FC. The club that had scored a SINGLE goal across 5 matches put two in against Stars in a match that saw the group leader (at that point, anyway) draw two reds during play and another red AFTER the match. It was an embarrassing display for a club that had looked solid throughout the year and seemed set for group success. Stars lost their cool entirely. The final match saw them lose to the group winner, Oakland Roots 1-0. Say whatever you want about Stars, but they had everything going for them after that opening match win and they CHOKED it all away. Has to be some regrets in Pontiac after the way things went (certainly I regret picking them!).
The Listless Cosmos - Set aside all the shitposting, a competitive, well-run Cosmos side is a good thing for any league they are playing in. They play in one of the biggest markets in the country, have a historic pedigree that is unmatched in American soccer, and an owner with DEEEEP pockets. They may not have to be near the top of the table for NISA to succeed, but it wouldn’t hurt. Instead, Cosmos sleep-walked through this season. New York finished third in the table due to a porous backline that gave up the second-most goals in the league this season. Coming into the playoffs, it seemed they were set for success (playing against two West opponents and an East opponent they were very competitive against in the regular season), but, instead of advancing to the semis, they finished dead last - only scoring a single goal the entire tournament. Even the club’s supporter groups are starting to speak out on social media. Something has to give. I, for the sake of the league and soccer history, hope the Cosmos sort things out and get rolling. They are just too important to American soccer.
NAFC Showed Signs of Life - “Wait, Dan,” you might say, “New Amsterdam finished with ONE point this tournament and headed home when group play ended.” And that’s fair, I won’t disagree too much, but let me pitch this to you. Consider how rough New Amsterdam’s opening regular season was: ZERO points, one goal all season, a NEGATIVE ELEVEN goal differential, the keeper/owner situation, the Wynalda situation, the Cosmos’ stomp. That’s a ton of speed bumps to go over in an already impossibly short regular season. So they came into the playoffs with almost no expectations for success. Most of us saw them as a bye match and instead they got plucky. They drew the Stars (and probably should have won) in their second match and put two in the net against a stingy DCFC backline in a 4-2 loss. This team scored four goals in two matches, after scoring one goal in the five previous. I think that says there’s heart on this team and I’m hopeful they continue to develop. I suspect next season will show a much more competitive NAFC team.
Legacy Wins Out - After complaining about the lack of direction from the NY Cosmos, it has to be said that the other big names in this tournament got out of group play, which was incredibly important due to their large fan bases. Chattanooga started the tournament with a 2-0 win over LA Force before eeking out draws against Cosmos and Cal United Strikers. Injuries have been a big problem and it remains to be seen what the club will bring into their semifinal matchup against Oakland. The defense has been rock solid, only surrendering one goal in three matches. Detroit City FC, on the other hand, started off the tournament with a loss against Stars in their opening match and, while a lesser team may have crumpled after taking that kind of punch, turned it around with a statement win over USL-bound Roots, followed up by a high-scoring victory over New Amsterdam. DCFC’s offense has been an issue all season, but it came alive in these final two matches in group play with 6 goals (leading all teams). What’s most important is that those two teams, built from the ground up and typifying the NISA model, advance to the semifinals.

So there’s the 5 things I learned. Being an “expert” can be a tough job sometimes, I certainly learned that across these matches and their often surprising finishes. I can’t help but look forward to these semifinal matchups that kick off tomorrow, should be fun!

- Dan Vaughn