It’s been a long season in the NPSL, finally back on the path after COVID wiped out 2020. The regular season featured some dominant runs, so it was going to be interesting to see how those clubs fared once into the playoffs. Now several matches in, we have some answers.

West Region

Lone Star Conference

Denton Diablos battled all season to hold onto the top spot in the Texas-based conference and came into the playoffs performing at a high level. In its opening match of post season play, Denton tore Katy 1895 apart, 7-0. Sam Coad was the prime suspect in the scoring, who netted a hat trick in the rout. In the second match of the playoffs, Denton took on the Laredo Heat, who had pushed them all season. It was no surprise that Laredo was in the Lone Star final. That match, which took place this weekend, ended 3-1. Trevor Amann, who had scored a brace against Katy, would have another couple against Laredo, earning Denton the Lone Star Conference Championship.

Southwest Conference

The Southwest Conference had very limited participation this season, with many of clubs still dealing with the lingering effects of the pandemic shutdown. FC Golden State, who only lost once in the regular season, knocked off FC Arizona in its opening match, 2-0. It was a big win for FCGS, who had drawn with the Arizona club twice in the regular season. Carlos Anguiano and Cristian Gordillo would score in back to back minutes early in the match (13’ and 14’) and the club rolled to the win and advanced to face the 1 seed, Las Vegas. Legends earned that top seeding with a single point difference over Golden State, so these were two evenly matched clubs facing off for the conference championship. That wasn’t reflected in the scoreline, however, as the California club won 3-0, with a brace from Eduardo Faria and another playoff goal for Cristian Gordillo.

West Regional Semifinals

Denton will host FC Golden State this Saturday in a battle of conference champions. Without a doubt, the Lone Star Conference was stacked, particularly in comparison to the Southwest. So Denton should come into this match, ready to battle. That, of course, is a double edged sword, as fatigue could also play a role in this matchup. On the other side, FC Golden State advanced by beating the number one seed in its conference and will put up a fight.

South Region

Gulf Coast Conference

This conference playoff has taken a pretty crazy turn as both lower seeds advanced in the first round. 4th seeded New Orleans knocked off Jacksonville 3-1 on the road. Sheldon Green and Mason Walsh both scored early and with the help of an own goal from Jacksonville, advanced to the conference championship. Their opponent will be NPSL-newcomer Southern States, who defeated Pensacola 2-1 in their first round matchup.

On Wednesday, the 3rd and 4th seeds will face off in Oak Grove, Mississippi to determine which club will claim the Gulf Coast Conference and advance to the semifinals of the South Region.

Heartland Conference

With the exit of one of the conference’s heavy hitters, Little Rock, this conference was dominated by three clubs all season: Demize, Tulsa, and 1889 OKC. Demize emerged as the one seed, not losing a single match all season. It faced the Arkansas Wolves in the first round and won 2-1. Quentin Hornung and Rian Marques scored for the home side. On the other side of the contest, Tulsa and 1889 faced off in a thriller. After going up in the first half, Tulsa would give up the lead on two goals early in the second half. Trailing into extra time, Jamie Gilbert would bring the teams even and head to penalties. Tulsa won on pens 5-4.

In the Heartland Final, Demize would host Tulsa in Missouri. In an upset, Athletic won 2-1. Juan Arias Alvarez and Dante Brigida would score two for the away team, while Marques managed another goal in a losing effort. With the win, Tulsa wins the Heartland Conference and advances into the Regional semifinals.

Sunshine Conference

In the final conference of the region, Miami United came into the playoffs as the number 1 seed and faced fourth seeded Boca Raton. After trailing early, Miami would roar back with 4 goals to win 4-2. Nicolas Micoli grabbed a brace for the homeside, earning advancement to the conference championship. The 2 - 3 matchup would pit Miami Dutch Lions FC against Naples United FC. In an upset win, Naples United won 4-1. Three players scored for Naples, with Jonathan Gonzalez putting in two in the win.

Miami United hosted Naples United on Saturday, playing for the conference championship. After Darryl Wayne Gordon scored the opener for the home side, Naples United would score four goals and advance past the number one seed. Juan Cano, Jonathan Gonzalez, and Agustin Marsico (2) would score for Naples. Gonzalez now has three goals in two matches for Naples.

South Regional Semifinals

So Naples United FC awaits the winner of the New Orleans and Southern States. Who will host that matchup is still in the air, as the higher seeded team gets the honor. NUFC is a 4 seed, while Southern States and Jesters are 3 and 4 seeds respectively. If Southern States wins, they would host. If New Orleans wins, there will be a league-decided tiebreaker. Tulsa awaits the winner of the matchup, as the highest remaining seed. Athletic earned a bye in the semifinals and will be in the Regional Championship on July 25.

East Region

Keystone Conference

Keystone has been a top-heavy contest all season, with three clubs dominating the rest of the conference. Number one seed West Chester United, who ended the regular season with a single loss, faced off against FC Monmouth in the opening playoff match. After a 2-0 regular season loss against the higher seed, FC Monmouth pulled the playoff upset, beating WCU 3-1. It was an unexpected turn, except for FCM’s Walter Calderon, who punched in a hattrick in the win.

The remaining conference semifinal was between Atlantic City and FC Motown. Given the regular season performances of these two clubs, it’s no surprise this match was a grinder. After trailing early, FC Motown would score three first half goals and then hold on for a 3-2 win.

In the Conference Final, FC Motown would show their quality, winning 2-0 over FC Monmouth. Michael Bello and Ryan Peterson scored for Motown. Peterson has scored twice in as many playoff matches. With the win FC Motown advanced into the Regional Semifinals.

Mid-Atlantic Conference

The Mid-Atlantic has been the FC Baltimore Christos show all season and the playoffs look to be more of the same. Christos earned a first round bye as the top seed, leaving Northern Virginia and Philadelphia Lone Star to battle it out. Led by a brace by Anthony Allison, road team Philly would advance over the higher-ranked Northern Virginia side 3-2. That led to this weekend’s matchup with FCBC. As should have been expected, Christos held serve and won the Conference Championship 3-0. Undefeated Christos would win on goals from Alex Lee, Brady O’Connor, and Benjamin Stitz.

North Atlantic Conference

This conference has been a war all season and all four playoff-qualifying clubs were definitely deserving. The first round matchup of Hartford City and Valeo would be a massive battle with two teams hoping to advance and with the difference being a single goal. That goal was scored by Hartford’s Noah Silverman. The other first round match was just as tight, with Kingston Stockade taking on New York Shockers. In regular time, both clubs managed to score once, leaving penalties to decide who would advance. Kingston won that battle 4-2.

Hartford City hosted Kingston Stockade last weekend to decide the Conference Championship. Cooper Knecht would score the opener and the closing goal in the match with Noah Silverman scoring in between, giving the top-seeded Hartford side the home win over Kingston Stockade, 3-2. Hartford City FC won one of the toughest conferences in the country and advances to the Regional Semifinals as battle-tested as can be.

Southeast Conference

The Southeast hasn’t been as close as some of the other conferences, with Georgia Revolution dominating a lot of newcomers to the NPSL. In their opening playoff match, however, the Revs would struggle against fourth seed LSA Athletico Lanier. After going ahead 2-0, the homeside would surrender to goals in the final ten minutes, leading to penalties where Georgia would advance 6-5. In the other first round matchup, Georgia Storm would face the Squatchiest competition yet, Appalachian FC. Andrew Carleton (yeah, that Andrew Carleton) would score the opener for the Georgia side, as the team would go on to win, 2-1.

In the all-Georgia Conference Championship, Georgia Revolution would surrender a first half goal, but came back in the second half to score two of their own and win the Conference title.

East Regional Semifinals

FC Baltimore will face Hartford City FC in the first round of the regional playoffs this weekend, in one of the most interesting matchups on the calendar. FCBC has been hardly challenged all season, while Hartford was in one of the biggest dogfights all season. It will be a good test of how good Christos is outside of their conference. On the other side, conference-dominator Georgia Revolution will face off against FC Motown, one of the most consistent playoff-performers in the NPSL.

Midwest Region

Unlike the West Region playoffs, the Midwest playoffs are set to kick this week. The opening matches will happen this evening, with #3 seed Cleveland SC taking on #4 seed Pittsburgh Hotspurs, while #5 seed Duluth FC will face #6 seed Carpathia FC. The winners will have tough sledding, given the next matchup that will await them. #1 seed Minneapolis City will face the lowest seeded progressing club of those matchups, while #2 Milwaukee Torrent will face the other winner. Those semifinal matchups will take place on Friday. The regional championship will take place on Sunday.

It’s obviously a massive advantage for the two top-seeded teams to only have to play two matches this weekend, because should one of the lower seeded teams advance to the championship, they would play three matches in less than a week. Even the two day turnaround for Milwaukee or MPLS City will be a challenge. Roster depth will be key in this region.