Massive week 10 for NISA as we continue to march through this season. Unlike many of the previous weeks, this one had five matches, including two mid-week clashes. So let’s get into the matches and what we learned this week!

Club De Lyon 1 - 2 ALBION

Turns out, the key to Club De Lyon’s offense is Ignacio “Kini” Ten Lopez. After a foul in the box, Lopez would convert a PK and put his club up in the first half. That score would hold for almost the entire game, before ALBION would suddenly find its scoring boots and rush back into this match. Heath Martin would score in the 85th minute on a beautifully placed header and then Daniel Bedoya, who had assisted on the first goal, would get the game winner with a wonder goal from just outside the box that beat the keeper and gave all three points to ALBION on the road.

Maryland Bobcats 2 - 1 LA Force

The big question heading into this match was which LA Force would we get? Force had gone into Salt City Union’s (FCU) ballpark and got a 3-1 win last week, so would we get more of that or the draw/close match machine we generally expect when LA comes to town. Turns out, Maryland would be who decided this match and grabbed the 2-1 win at home. Drew Wivell would open the scoring off a beautiful pass from Darwin Espinal into the box. Wivell scooted it past the keeper with a quick one-timer and Bobcats were off to the races. Nicolas Lukilia would double up the lead when he just beat his defender on goalkeeper Alex Sutton’s long kick from his own box. LA would manage a consolation goal in the last minutes of the match, but the home side prevailed.

Club De Lyon 2 - 1 ALBION!

On Knights, we joked that this week’s back-to-back series would be a split between these two clubs and we were dead on. After almost scoring in the first minute of the match, Kini Ten Lopez would strike again early, scoring his fifth goal in three matches off a beautiful volley in the 8th minute. It’s clear he’s a force to be reckoned with in this league. Yuki Shibata would add an insurance goal in the 74th. That goal would prove to be important just ten minutes later when Shinya Kadono would score for ALBION. Daniel Bedoya would provide the assist on the goal for the road team. Bedoya’s night wouldn’t end well, however, when he picked up his second yellow as the match was ending, earning the key ALBION player a red.

Maryland Bobcats 1 - 2 Chattanooga FC

After a big win against LA Force, Maryland had to come into this one with a little bit of confidence. However, CFC is on an epic roll at the moment, undefeated and looking all the part of the frontrunner. While the first half had moments of promise, neither team would find the back of the net and the match remained scoreless going into the break. The second half would bring goals and Maryland’s best threat, Darwin Espinal, would beat Antione with what looked very much like a cross that found the goal. Antione seemed to debate how to play it as it came towards him and that be all the shot/pass would need. Chattanooga would bounce back for its keeper, however. The first CFC goal would come in the 66th minute, when Naglestad found a bit of space in the box in front of Sutton to score. And just three minutes later, Mwape would find the side netting for the game winner. Both Chattanooga goals were lessons in patience as the goalscorers moved in and around the Maryland defense to find their spots and then converting when the opportunity came. It’s been that way all season for CFC, timely scoring and getting points. Maryland can only think about what could have been and prepare for the next match.

Shout out to Markus Naglestad for some very wholesome and enjoyable banter with some Maryland fans after this match. We’re here for this.

Stars 2 - 0 Clovers

Michigan Stars continue to quietly roll in their title defense. Savannah looked very dangerous in the first half, multiple times coming within feet of scoring goals against the Stars. However, it would be Leon Maric who would get the first goal of the match, when he freed up on the left side and caught the Clovers’ keeper well out of the box. Russell Robles had taken over the keeper spot after Jack Pondy’s rough performance in the Clovers last appearance, but the Michigan striker, Maric, lofted the goal over the defense and into the net, cool as you like, 1-0 in the 37th minute. Just moments later, Anthony Bowie would go off the crossbar with a beautiful shot that would have doubled the lead. However, that job would fall to Nebojsa Popovic in the second half, when he would almost single handedly beat the Savannah backline to easily score and put the Stars up 2-0. Stars look good in the win, while the Clovers look like an expansion side still taking its lumps in year one.

This Weekend’s Matchups

Flower City Union - Gold Star Detroit

Flower City Union has to find a way to get its offense rolling. Way too much attacking talent on this team to continue to wallow in last place. Where is Diakhate and why isn’t FCU finding him up front with the ball? Gold Star wins on the road, 2-0.

Maryland Bobcats - Savannah Clovers

Maryland looks like its getting the pieces into place, just struggling against the top of the table. Lucky for the Bobcats, Savannah are not top of the table. Bobcats win 1-0.

Club De Lyon - Michigan Stars

This match is super interesting, given the run Ten Lopez is on for CDL. Can he continue his scoring streak against one of the best defenses in NISA? Can Michigan win on the road against a team finding its footing? The answer is yes to both. 2-1 Stars win on the road.

- Dan Vaughn