Week two of the Fall 2020 Maryland Major Soccer League picked up the pace as 11 games were held across all three divisions. Following two Wednesday night games covered on last week’s review, the lone game on Friday, September 18 was held at Catonsville High School. Baltimore’s IFK Maryland, 2nd Division veteran, played the first game of their 2nd Baltimore Metro campaign against Sure Sports FC who was coming off a week one win. Sure Sports took the match 3-1.

Sunday, September 20 was the big day for week two with eight games on the docket. Three 1st Division games topped the schedule with newly-promoted AFC DOBES meeting seven-time MMSL champions Christos FC at Hammond High School in Columbia, Maryland. After a winless Fall 2017 season, DOBES made steady improvements over the following seasons and finally won promotion to the 1st Division by winning the Fall 2019 2nd Division playoffs.

The match was a rude introduction to the top division for DOBES as they were blanked by the eastern soccer powerhouse, 4-0. Christos had chances early but were kept off the scoresheet by the opposition until finally finding the net late in the first half. The 2019 MMSL runners-up found their groove in the second half and pulled away from DOBES for the win. In the 1st Division nightcap at Hammond High School, 2019 MMSL champs, Steel Pulse FC, drew Maryland International FC 0-0.

The morning match at Hammond High was a 2nd Baltimore Metro match between two MMSL newcomers. Arundel County F.C. from Crofton, Maryland defeated Montgomery County, Maryland’s Classic Crew F.C. 2-1.

In other 1st Division action, La Dolce Vita took on Baltimore Kickers at Catonsville High School. Both clubs have storied histories in Baltimore soccer. The Kickers are a German-American club founded in 1953 and are three-time MMSL champs in 1970, 1997, and 2011 along with a handful of Maryland state open and amateur cups. The club was promoted back to the 1st Division via the Fall 2019 playoffs after spending the previous number of years in the 2nd Division.

La Dolce Vita is an Italian-American club founded in 1972 and was a Baltimore soccer dynasty in the late eighties and early nineties. The club won the MMSL in 1987, 1988, and 1989 and racked up 11 Maryland state open and amateur cups between 1986 and 1996. That included a run of eight of nine Maryland state open cups between 1987 and 1995. After an absence, La Dolce Vita returned to MMSL for the Spring 2019 season and joined the 1st Division for the current Fall 2020 season.

La Dolce Vita announced their presence to their 1st Division brethren chalking up a 4-0 win over the Kickers. The winners scored all their goals in the 2nd half including a brace by Nick Mangione.

The 2nd Capital Beltway held another Sunday quadruple header at John R. Lewis High School in Springfield, Virginia. In the morning match, Rockville S.C. defeated fellow Montgomery County club, Colombia F.C., 6-3. Rockville has made runs at 1st Division promotion over the past few years but haven’t been able to get over the hump in the playoffs.

The following match brought together two MMSL newcomers, DMV Rangers, and NPC Futbol. In a battle of Northern Virginia clubs, the Rangers took a close one by a 2-1 score. Yet another new MMSL club, Virginia’s Fredericksburg City United, won in their debut, 2-1, against Dream Team FC. And, finally, in the late afternoon match, Colombia District FC dropped their second 4-0 in a row to Motorik FC.

The league’s schedule for week three (subject to change):