West Chester United 3 - 1 FC Motown

West Chester United continues to hold onto its precarious lead in the Keystone Conference with this 3-1 win over FC Motown. Motown is currently third in the conference, it was no pushover of a match for WCU. Three players split the goals in this match for United: Yusuf Cueceoglu, Isaac McGinnis, and Kyle Tucker. This match was the final one for both West Chester United and FC Motown and both clubs have had great seasons, splitting only 3 losses between them.

The win clinched West Chester United’s Keystone Conference regular season title, a title that was a battle with multiple worthy opponents at the top of the table. As far as I can tell from the NPSL website, both of these clubs will head into a playoff structure, now that the regular season is done.

FC Baltimore Christos 5 - 1 FC Frederick

FC Baltimore has been dominant all season, so why wouldn’t it continue to roll? Certainly, FC Frederick wished it hadn’t been in the path of this juggernaut. FCF has had a rough go of it this season, struggling to just 2 wins, long ago eliminated from playoff contention. Baltimore Christos has been on an opposite trajectory this entire season and this match was more of the same. Ben Bender had a brace for the home side and three more players put in one of their own.

This match is the final for FC Frederick’s 2021 NPSL schedule, while FC Baltimore Christos has the playoffs ahead of them after a regular season finale against Philly Lone Star, currently third in the conference. Speaking of conferences, FC Baltimore Christos has locked up the Mid-Atlantic regular season title and looks to be one of the league favorites headed into the playoffs.

Carpathia 4 - 0 Torrent

FC Milwaukee Torrent has rolled through this season with Carpathia nipping at their heels and this matchup made it close just for a moment. Owen Smith scored a brace in the effort for Carpathia against the conference leading Torrent. I write all this with some level of deflation because Torrent have won the match they were playing the night I wrote this report and are now the Great Lakes Conference regular season champions. The title was very deserving, given the level of Torrent’s play all season and they should be challengers for both the playoffs and the Independence Cup, which kicks off this weekend. Carpathia will head into the playoffs with the confidence of this win, so it might get interesting!

OKC 1889 in action this weekend. Photo credit: Jay Kim

Midland-Odessa Sockers 5 - 0 Fort Worth Vaqueros

The Lone Star Conference has been a three-way battle since day one, between Midland-Odessa, Denton, and Laredo. MOS currently sit in third place in the conference, behind first place Denton and second place Laredo. And while the Sockers are technically eliminated from winning the conference, they are in the spoiler seat headed into their final match of the season - with Denton. More on that later. This match saw the Sockers dominate Vaqueros, who have had a poor run of form all season. Halil Ibrahim Yilmaz scored first for the homeside and would net another before the match was over, giving him a brace in the crushing of the visiting FWV side. Fort Worth now heads into their final match with Irving hoping to end its winless streak.

Back to the spoiler roll for Midland-Odessa. IF Laredo Heat win their final match on Friday against Coyotes FC (who they beat 3-0 in the season opener), they will be a single point ahead of Denton headed into Saturday. Denton will head to Midland-Odessa, without the bearded one, with everything to play for. Win, and they win the regular season title. Lose and they lose the title in the last match. Draw and…I’m not sure. Denton has scored more goals, but the teams are currently even on GD. Loredo won the head to head. I need to ask someone at the NPSL. But this all comes down to the Sockers beating the first place Diablos this weekend. We shall see.

Las Vegas in action against ASC San Diego. Photo credit: Michelle and Keith Dereld

Las Vegas Legends 4 - 3 ASC San Diego

The West has been weird, with so many teams out of commission due to pandemic restrictions across that part of the country. It’s like another world. A world that’s currently being run by Legends, who held on to the top spot with this 4-3 win over ASC San Diego. A pair of braces from Julio Borjas and Brandon Vargas would give Las Vegas the win, with Vargas’ last goal cementing the win over the home side.

Heading into the final weekend of matches, Las Vegas will face Temecula at home and it’s an important match! Currently LVL has the tiniest of leads over second place FC Golden State. With a win, Legends can hold onto the regular season conference title and head into the playoffs with that in their back pocket.

The Match to Watch this Weekend

Denton Diablos vs. Midland-Odessa Sockers

I explained all this earlier. It’s important.

- Dan Vaughn