NISA Update

Club De Lyon vs Michigan Stars

Lightening did this one in and the Michigan Stars twitter account made sure you knew that was the reason why. Given the nature of the league and how many matches have been cancelled for a variety of “interesting” reasons, lightening is a pretty mundane and acceptable reason to cancel a match. No date for a reschedule as of yet.

Flower City Union 2 - 0 Gold Star Detroit

Who knew that the solution to lack of points for Flower City Union was sitting the most prolific signing of the offseason (shout out to Valiant 33 podcast for the info on this move). With Diakhate on the bench, FCU found its shooting boots and got one before half when Matt Buldoc took a run to the goalkeeper’s left, fired a shot and beat the GK to the far right in the upper corner. Beautiful goal. That was in the 33rd minute. In the 52nd minute, on a free kick just outside the box, we got the goal of the weekend from Luke Ferreira. His curling shot over the wall and just inside the upper corner was unstoppable. That would hold for the final score of 2-0.

For whatever reason in the first half, Gold Star sat back and Flower City Union took advantage of it, moving the ball with ease into the attacking half. In the second half, GSD would press a bit more and almost got an equalizer when Rugova went off the inside of the post, but the ball bounced harmlessly away.

John Howard-Fusco had some facts from this match on our most recent episode of Knights Who Say NISA, so I included them here, because they’re great.

  • This is FCU’s 3rd win in 29 league matches

  • Fist FCU win by more than one goal

  • Last time FCU scored two goals: 8/29/2022, a 2-2 draw against LA Force (8 games)

  • FCU have never scored more than two goals in a league match

  • FCU with only three goals scored in total this year, and none by Diakhate

Maryland Bobcats 4 - 1 Savannah Clovers

This match was close for a bit, with both teams exchanging goals in the first half, but then Maryland decided it was game over and went to work. Drew Wivell would open scoring for the cats in the 6th, with the assist from Darwin Espinal. Alex Ierides would convert a penalty at 17’ after a Forka foul in the box. Alex Sutton, the Bobcat keeper, guessed right, but the ball squirted underneath him into the goal.

And then Maryland put the pedal to the metal. Espinal would score in the 40’ after a deflected Jimmy Filerman pass fell to him in the box. He’d get a brace just two minutes later when a speculative shot from way out bounced pass Jack Pondy and into the net. Just before half, he almost converted for the hat trick, but went over the bar.

In the second half, coach Kao backed off on the aggression and settled into an old-school NISA pass fest approach. That would hold for most of the half, until Manny Gonzalez would score a final goal (77’) making it 4-1. Good outing for the Bobcats, who remain in second place in the standings.

Chattanooga FC Honors Juan Hernandez

It’s a rare thing to see a testimonial in the American lower leagues, but Chattanooga FC held one in a friendly match this weekend. Juan Hernandez, the Spanish midfielder, announced his retirement this year after 127 matches for the Blues. The all-time assist leader for CFC wanted to play in a match against a club with special significance and Pumas FC fit the bill. Hernandez played and coached for the small Paducah, Kentucky club. In a match in front of 3,781 supporters, CFC would win 6-0 and the CFC legend would be rightfully celebrated by the fans who love him. CFC also donated a portion of the gate to support youth soccer.

This Week’s Matches

6/15 (Thursday)

ALBION vs Maryland Bobcats

Can Maryland continue its good form on the road? Or will ALBION’s youth movement shine? I’m picking Maryland on the road.

6/17 (Saturday)

Savannah Clovers v Club de Lyon

I’m counting on Kini Ten Lopez to keep the ball rolling and score in this one. CDL by 2.

LA Force v Maryland Bobcats

Maryland’s second match on the road. This feels like an LA special, 1-1.

6/18 (Sunday)

ALBION v Salt City Union

SCU on the road? I’ll take ALBION to bounce back against the Union, but it will be interesting to see if Diakhate stays on the bench against his old club.

- Dan Vaughn