How do you cure an Open Cup hangover? With a lower league soccer Bloody Mary of course! Get sober this week with matches from United Women’s Soccer and the WPSL; USL W League and the Metroplex Premier League. Or is sobriety overrated? Take a shot of USL League One in the Jägermeister Cup or get blasted with a couple of games from USL Championship. Our barback says “let’s get stuck in!”

Del Shaffer Picks…
- El Paso Locomotive FC vs Charleston Battery - USL Championship
  - Fri, 05/24 - 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET
    at Patriots Point in Mt Pleasant, SC
  - Undefeated Charleston Battery welcome El Paso Locomotive FC and new head coach Wilmer Cabrera to Patriots Point for Military Appreciation Night. The Battery get to stay at home and look to bounce back after a tough penalty kick loss to MLS’s Atlanta United on Tuesday. The loss after 120 minutes in the US Open Cup may be to blame if there are any heavy legs for the home side. Locomotive on the other hand will be ready after not playing since last Friday.
    El Paso are also coming off a tough loss after being beaten by Memphis 901 at home. Memphis beat them with a stoppage time goal in the 94th minute by Bruno Lapa. The loss and being 12th in the Western Conference means El Paso needs to start gaining some upward momentum. Charleston will look to remain one of two unbeaten teams and Wilmer Cabrera hopes to make an immediate impact with El Paso.

Josh Duder Picks…
- New England Mutiny vs Sporting CT - United Womens Soccer
  - Fri, 05/24 - 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET Lusitano Stadium in Ludlow, MA
  - Sporting CT, who finished 2nd in the East Division last year and advanced all the way to the National Semifinals, started off 2024 with absolute pomp, blasting off Worcester Fuel 9-0. This week they head off to division foes Mutiny, who also won in their opener last week 3-1 over Maine Footy. New England will be looking for a better finish than last year’s 6th, so they’ll need to contain Sporting’s high-flying offense.

Chris Walker Picks…
- San Antonio FC vs New Mexico United - USL Championship
  - Sat, 05/25 - 6:00pm PT / 7:00pm MT at The Lab (Isotopes Park) in Albuquerque, NM
  - New Mexico United have a four-game win streak through two competitions, USL Championship and Open Cup, and are 4-0-1 through their last five league matches. United relies on the next man up mentality and any player can and will score in a match. It may be a defender who has a big performance if San Antonio’s plays in a 5-3-2. Mitchell Taintor, Kevon Lambert, and Lucho Solignac would be the perfect trifecta to cause disruption to United’s latest run of the table. This is the twelfth match between these two sides with the series even at 5-1-5. Expect a physical match and plenty of goals in this match. Greg Hurst, Zico Bailey, and Talen Maples will play a major role for United.

Jon Hunt Picks…
- Forward Madison vs FC One Knoxville SC - USL League One, Jager Cup
  - Sat, 05/25 - 4:00am PT / 7:00am ET
    at Breese Stevens Field in Madison, WI
  - Knoxville travels up to Madison to take on the mighty Mingos, who are unbeaten at home so far this season. One Knox and Madison both have a loss in Jager Cup play, and will be looking to close the gap on Lexington who sits top of the table. Knox will also be looking to avenge their 1-5 loss to Hailstorm in their last cup match, while Madison will be looking for their first positive result against a central group opponent.

Josh Duder Picks…
- Miami AC vs Florida Elite SA - USL W
  - Sat, 05/25 - 1:00pm PT / 4:00pm ET
    at Christopher Columbus HS in Miami, FL
  - Last year, Tampa Bay United were perfect during the regular season and just last week Miami AC went there and earned a solid point. Brianna Blethen got the loan goal in the 1-1 effort. This week Miami AC are set to host the current Southeast Division leaders, Florida Elite SA, and could leapfrog their way to 2nd in the table if everything goes their way.

Jon Hunt Picks…
- Southern Indiana Guardians vs Flower City Union - NPSL
  - Sat, 05/25 - 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET
    at at Floyd Central High School
  - The 2023 NISA champions have had a rough start to 2024, having dropped their first 2 matches allowing a combined 8 goals, but have yet to find the back of the net. They will be looking to get into the win column against SIGFC side that also stumbled to open their season.

Jon Hunt Picks…
- Kings Hammer FC vs Lexington SC - USL W League
  - Sat 05/25 - 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET
    at Scudamore Stadium - NKU
  - Lexington will look to continue their hot start on top of the Valley division against a Kings Hammer side that has a lot of questions surrounding them. Kings Hammer snatched a draw against the defending champ Indy 11 in their home open, but then got rolled by Racing Louisville on Wednesday night. They’ll need to find that magic they had against Indy 11 if they want to stop LSC’s 2 headed monster in Fishnick and Utley if they want to walk away with points by the time the final whistle blows.

Josh Duder Picks…
- FC Frederick vs Annapolis Blues - NPSL
  - Sun, 05/26 - 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET
    at St John’s Catholic Prep in Danvers, MA
  - Annapolis Blues have been one of the biggest stories in NPSL, boasting great attendances last year, and starting off this season with two away wins outsourcing their opponents 13-0. This week they take the show on the road one more time and face FC Frederick, who started off their own season with a solid 2-1 win over DMV Elite. The big question is if FC Frederick can contain Annapolis like Alexandria Reds did last week and limit them to just one goal OR if they get blown away like Rough Diamonds did the week before, 12-0; either way, this will be a good match to keep track of.s.

Ben Brannigan Picks…
- Dallas Fire FC vs La Liga Academy - Metroplex Prem
  - Sun, 05/26 - 7:00pm PT / 8:00pm Central
    at Allen Training Center
  - Should be fun exciting game on Sunday. Get along to see if ya can. Two nice ball teams, lots of excellent talent on show.

MaryBeth Zmuda Picks…
- San Diego Strikers vs Albion San Diego - WPSL
  - Sun, 05/26 - 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET
    at San Diego Community College
  - It all kicks off this weekend in the WPSL’s So Cal Conference - Plymouth Division, when Albion San Diego visit the San Diego Strikers to get the season started. Last year, the Strikers finished 2nd in the Division and above Albion by one spot on the table but both had -6 goal differentials and suffered at the feet of the Surf, who blew everyone away. They’ll know every point matters if you want a crack at the playoffs and expect both teams to fight from day one.

by the Protagonist Staff