So here we are, getting ready to start yet another shortened season in NISA. The Fall 2020 campaign is a mad dash that will take just over a month to complete before a single-elimination tournament is held to determine the champion. Clubs in the east have a four-game schedule, while the teams out west play only two games. A bad result at the start can really put a team’s chances of making the tournament in jeopardy.

MICHIGAN STARS v CHATTANOOGA FC, Saturday, August 8th @ 7PM ET (Ultimate Soccer Arenas Outdoor Stadium, Pontiac MI)

After playing only two games in the Spring 2020 season on the road before everything got shut down, the Michigan Stars finally get a home game in their new league. The Stars have new unis and a new sponsor, but the same crest. You can’t have everything.

Other than a few signings of young players, the lineup that the Stars used in the spring will most likely be the same. The club focuses on the defensive side and looks to score on the counter. Look for Kyle Nuel to be the lone striker up top if the Stars go with a 1-5-4 look. Despite not seeing him on the team’s website roster, I do hope that midfielder Zanin Mahic is back with the club. We need as many players with tremendous heads of hair as we can in this league.

If the NISA Independent Cup taught us anything, it’s that Chattanooga FC like to get their goal-scoring groove on early and often. Winners of their region, CFC will be looking to keep the party going with an arsenal of scoring threats including Zeca Farraz, Brian Bement and Ian McGrath. If the Stars are looking to slow this group down, they will most likely focus on Zeca and defensive midfielder Juan Hernandez.

If there’s one area to look at as a possible weak spot for CFC, look to see who is starting in goal. The club did start two different goaltenders (Alec Redington and Matt Mozynski) during the Independent Cup. Neither keeper was tested much during the tournament, so it’s hard to gauge if there’s a clear #1. Will the Stars offense fare any better in testing the person in net?

- John Howard-Fusco