With the USL Championship and USL League One well underway, their amateur sibling leagues get kicked off this week and we take a peek at some interesting USL W League and USL League Two matchups. Our favorite writers and guests also tell us all about the UPSL, NPSL, EPSL, SFSFL, and BSSL games to get stuck into - as if that weren’t enough, we also peek at the USASA National Amateur Cup, Round Two.

Ryan Stallings Picks…
- Capital City SC vs San Antonio City SC - UPSL
  - Friday, 05/03 - 7:00pm PT / 10:00pm ET
    at Multipurpose Complex, Round Rock, TX
  - If you’re looking for a top appetizer before feasting on the unofficial opening weekend of lower league soccer in ‘24, set your gaze on Round Rock, TX on Friday night. It’s an I-35 Derby, UPSL style, as San Antonio City SC navigate northward to take on Capital City SC, an early cementing of the Texas Central Table lead on the line. It should be a battle of styles on a heated pitch, with visiting SACSC slow burning through their first three matches in the season, suffocating opponents on way to a plus-nine goal differential. That defensive prowess will come against a flash-fired offensive output from host Capital City SC, as the Caps will look to follow up their nine-goal barrage they laid waste to Central Texas Coyotes with last week. If SACSC can solve CCSC’s midfield maestro Aiden Lopez, they can carry a win back south. If Lopez proves unsolvable for a second straight week, the hosts may run away with this match by halftime.

Josh Duder Picks…
- Academica SC vs The Olympic Club - USL W League
  - Sat, 05/04 - 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET
    at Academica Soccer Fields in Turlock, CA
- Academica SC vs Project 51O - USL League Two
  - Sat, 05/04 - 7:00pm PT / 10:00pm ET
    at Academica Soccer Fields in Turlock, CA
  - You are not truly a USL sicko unless you’ve been waiting for League Two and the W League to kick off. Founded in 1972, Academic SC are a true grassroots soccer club who built their own field in a vacant lot which used to house a chicken coop. (Learn more HERE) Now they are the hosts to the first kick for both amateur leagues in the USL structure and it is going to be a whammy of a double header if you can get to it!
    The women get the night started when they host The Olympic Club, who are visiting from San Francisco and finished 5th in the Western Conference, NorCal division last year. Then the men take on the Oakland Roots’ development program, Project 51O, who finished 3rd in the men’s NorCal division last year as well.

Jon Hunt Picks…
- Forward Madison vs Greenville Triumph SC - League One
  - Sat, 05/04 - 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET at Breese Stevens Field
  - All eyes should be on this matchup across USL1. Madison and Greenville battle to 0-0 draw back on March 23rd, and while Greenville has been cruising along in 4 league matches since going 3-1, Madison has been playing to their opponent, getting their only win on the season over Fuego, and having just dropped their Jager Cup opener to Lexington despite a 2 man advantage. Madison needs a win here to move them right up into the top 3 in the league if they want to maintain the high preseason hopes, and Greenville could use this match to separate themselves with at a minimum a 4 point gap on 2nd in the table come Monday.

Ryan Stallings Picks…
- Hickory FC vs Apotheos FC - NPSL
  - Sat, 05/04 - 1:00pm PT / 4:00pm ET at Moretz Stadium, Hickory, NC
  - Inaugural kickoffs are especially notable in the lower leagues of the USA. Months, even years, of grassroots planning and preparation finally culminates in a first chapter opening whistle. That first of all firsts kickoff signal in Hickory, North Carolina this Saturday, in the high bricked confines of Moretz Stadium, will see newborn Hickory FC host 2023 NPSL National Finalist Apotheos FC. The visiting Coffees will look to spoil the festivity of their hosts as they seek a return to the national finals stage, but the celebration of a new, seeming thoughtfully developed club, is one all lower league sickos can join in regardless of the final scoreline.

Josh Duder Picks…
- Atlantic City FC vs FC Motown - NPSL
  - Sat, 05/04 - 4:00pm PT / 7:00pm ET
    at Absegami High School
  - Week one in the East Keystone division and its a top of the table clash to get the season underway! Last season FC Motown won the division by going unbeaten in 10 games, including a 3-0 thrashing of Atlantic City back in July 2023. Atlantic City finished second and that was their one loss of the regular season… they may not only be out for revenge, but also to get over their biggest hurdle to winning the division in 2024.

Jon Hunt Picks…
- Tennessee Tempo FC vs FC Leopards - UPSL
  - Sat, 05/04 - 5:00pm PT / 8:00pm ET
    at Richard Siegel Stadium, Murfreesboro, TN
  - A battle between 2 of the clear top 3 teams in the KY-TN conference will battle it out in a matchup that will feature the high flying, goal scoring machine of an attack by the Tempo, and nose to the grindstone defensive wonderclass by Leopards, with both sides looking to stay close with SIFC at the top.

Ryan Stallings Picks…
- Coachella FC vs Capistrano FC - USL League Two
  - Sat, 05/04 - 7:00pm PT / 10:00pm ET
    at Desert Mirage Athletic Field, Thermal, CA
  - A curiously quiet corner of USL 2 since their founding announcement, Coachella FC has worked their inaugural preseason preparations with little noteworthy fanfare. A poetic dissonance against the backdrop of both the bright neons of their identity, and the festivals of which their region is most known for, these moves made in (relative) silence may be purposeful. The club looks to establish themselves in a talent-stocked Southwest Division with forte. An opener against a Capo FC side entering their second season after division basement-dwelling could signal the new side on the north side of Salton Sea is one to set the beat of the divisional beat to. A loss against this presumably weaker competition may have some wondering if Coachella FC’s home venue isn’t the only mirage.

Josh Duder Picks…
- Providence City FC vs Atletico Boston - BSSL
  - Sat 05/04 - 6:00pm PT / 9:00pm ET
    at Milot Field in Rehoboth, MA
  - Atletico Boston have gotten off to a great start with 7 points from three played and +5 Goal Differential. Depending on how Omens handle MIT, a win for Atletico Boston could see them top the table. Meanwhile, our favorite pirates in Rhode Island are sitting just on top of the relegation zone and while its early doors, as they say, Providence FC really could do with a win to make that climb back up where they belong.

Ryan Allen Picks…
- Charleston Battery vs Hartford Athletic - USL Championship
  - Sat, 05/04 - 3:30pm PT / 6:30pm ET
    at Patriots Point in Mt Pleasant, SC
  - An argument can be made that the Battery are the most exciting club in U.S. soccer right now. Through nine games, they’ve scored multiple goals in six of them. Not to mention, the Battery at home have made Patriots Point a fortress, with 3 wins and 13 goals scored to start the year at home. Hartford, having just conceded six goals against Louisville last week, take on a Charleston team who just scored six goals last week. This could not have come at a worse time for the visitors, but if you want excitement and goals, Charleston will provide that.

John Howard-Fusco Picks…
- Kensington SC vs Philadelphia SC - EPSL
  - Sat, 05/04 - 3:00pm PT / 6:00pm ET
    at Northeast High School, Philadelphia PA
  - Watch it live: https://player.gameinframe.com/
  - Remember last week when I said that PSC had to win against Alloy SC in order to have a shot at winning the league? Well, PSC did just that, winning 4-3 and handing Alloy its first loss of the year. Meanwhile, Philadelphia Heritage had a chance to grab the top spot with Alloy’s loss. BUT - Kensington SC said “Not today!” and pumpled in three goals in the first 16 minutes against Heritage en route to a 4-3 win. Can Kensington SC play spoiler again?

Josh Duder Picks…
- San Francisco City FC vs San Francisco Vikings - SFSFL
  - Sun, 005/05 - 10:45am PT / 1:45pm ET
    at Beach Chalet Field #3 in San Francisco, CA
  - While the SF City FC squad for USL League Two get going later in the week when they visit Monterey Bay Union 2 in Salinas, the SFSFL is well underway and it's all still to play for. SF City and Viking are 5th and 6th respectively - a win for either could see them challenge for 4th in the table and depending on how the matchup between SF Italian and Inter SF goes, we could see some leapfrogging in the table.

Michael Battista Picks…
- United Serbian SC vs Chicago House AC - USASA Region II, National Amateur Cup Round 2
  - Sun, 05/05 - 5:00pm CT / 6:00pm ET
    at United Serbian Soccer Club Fields in Milwaukee, WI
  - The 2024 National Amateur Cup, the top prize of the U.S. Adult Soccer Association, continues in the Midwest with the USASA Region II tournament. Founded in 1964, United Serbian Soccer Club is one of the many history ethnic-based soccer clubs in Milwaukee. The team is currently second behind fellow Amateur Cup participant Bavarian United SC (WI) in the highly competitive Milwaukee Premier League Majors Division. USSC are also coming off a Region II semifinal appearance last year.
    Chicago House AC is taking part in its second-ever Amateur Cup this year. The Midwest Premier League side, which finished third in the Heartland Division last year, is also coming off back-to-back U.S. Open Cup qualifications (2023, 2024). House made its Amateur Cup debut last year, losing its first game to none other than USSC. The winner of this game will play Czarni Jaslo Chicago (IL) in Round 3, with the winner of that traveling to play FC Milwaukee Torrent (WI) in the Quarterfinals.

by the Protagonist Staff