The international break is over… for now. US Open Cup Qualifiers are done and dusted… for now. This week we have NISA, USL Championship and USL League One playoffs in full effect. The Western Indoor Soccer League returns to action. UPSL, EPSL, and the Metroplex Premier League continue to march on. Our contributors and guests tell us the games they’ll be paying the most attention to this week.

Harry Austin Picks…
- Sacramento Republic vs San Antonio FC - USL Championship Playoffs
  - Fri, 10/27 - 7:30p PT / 10:30p ET
    at Heart Health Park in Sacramento, CA on ESPN+
  - Sacramento Republic the best defensive team in USL Championship vs San Antonio FC the highest scoring team in USL Championship. Two teams that just dislike each other and it shows on the pitch. Head to Head results SacRep leads with 5 Wins 3 draws and SAFC 4 wins. Sacramento is led by Russell Cicerone and Jack Gurr while San Antonio FC is led by Tani Oluwaseyi and Jorge Hernandez. As a SAFC fan.. I may be biased, but this is the match to watch for the USL Playoffs.

Harry Austin Picks…
- FORO Soccer Club vs Dallas Dynamo FC - UPSL, Texas North
  - Fri, 10/27 - 5:00p PT / 8:00p ET
    at Prince of Peace
  - Foro SC and FC Dallas Dynamo face a huge match as we get closer to the UPSL playoffs (Dec 16-17). Foro are undefeated in 5 games, while FC Dallas Dynamo sit at 4-1-1. With two other clubs (FC Dallas Academy 6-0-1, and TenfifteenFC 5-1) at the top of the table at this time, is why this game is so important.

Ben Brannigan Picks…
- Coppell FC II vs Midcities FC - UPSL, Texas North
  - Sat, 10/28 - 5:00p PT / 8:00p ET
    on YouTube via Maximo Films
  - This game is also going be on YouTube via Maximo films . Two fine teams , no one talks about much but got tidy squads and nice young players that play good ball , I’ll be tuning in for sure.

Ben Brannigan Picks…
- Dallas Fire FC vs FC Euless Revolution II - Metroplex Premier League - DFW
  - Sat, 10/28 -
    at Allen Training Center, Allen TX
  - Great talent will be on show here , both going very well so far , but like to go attack from start of games , this will be fun game .

Dennis Pope Picks…
- Real Sociedad O.C. vs Steaua FC - SoCal Premier, Division One
  - Sat, 10/28 - 6:15p PT / 9:15p ET
    at Orange County Great Park
  - Separated by just one point, this matchup could result in a swing at the top at the top of the table. Real Sociedad O.C. (3-1-1 overall) is unbeaten over its last three matches while Steaua FC (3-0-2) works through some issues after a fast start saw the club win three of its first four matches. Both clubs are within striking distance of Worldwide Problems FC (4-0-1), which currently sits in the lead on 12 points.

Josh Duder Picks…
- Tacoma Stars Reserves vs Oly Town FC - Western Indoor Soccer League
  - Sat, 10/28 - 7:00p PT / 10:00p ET
    at The Tacoma Soccer Center in Tacoma, WA
  - The Tacoma Stars Reserves come into this season as back-to-back champions and fully loaded with talent. They’re the reserve team for the Major Arena Soccer League Stars team and never come with the weak sauce. Last year they scored 93 goals and 23 of those came from Isidro Prado-Huerta; now, I don’t know if he’s coming back or moved up to the first team, but the Oly Town Artesians plan to give em hell in the season opener at the Tacoma Soccer Center and if they brought Jason Fairhurst back this year, who had 19 goals of his own last year, they team from Olympia very well may make life hard for the Stars Reserves.

Josh Duder Picks…
- Sete Setembro USA vs Fall River Marksmen - EPSL
  - Sat, 10/28 - 3:15p PT / 6:15p EST
    at Brush Field in Burlington, MA
  - Currently Sete Setembro USA sit atop the Northeast Conference with 4 wins from 4 and a fantastic +21 GD - They need to win to keep pace with NoVa in the Mid-Atlantic (the only other team with a perfect record so far). Fall River Marksmen, on the other hand, need a result to avoid being completely swept away here - they have lost 5 straight and given up 35 goals while only putting 5 of their own in the net!

Harry Austin Picks…
- North Carolina FC vs Northern Colorado Hailstorm - USL League One Playoffs
  - Sat, 10/28 - 4:30p PT / 7:30p ET
    at WakeMed Soccer Park in Carey, NC on ESPN+
  - For North Carolina FC, they face a tough Northern Colorado Hailstorm for the 4th time in 2023. The magic number is 2 goals, in all three games the winning team has scored 2 goals. The offense will be the star of this game. Two great goal scorers NCFC Oalex Anderson (17 goals) and Hailstorm and USL League One Golden Boot winner Trevor Amann (23 goals) Could the difference between the two teams be the Hailstorm GK Edward Delgado who lead the league with 13 clean sheets.

Josh Duder Picks…
- Union Omaha vs Charlotte Independence - USL League One Playoffs
  - Sat, 10/28 - 2:30p PT / 5:30p ET
    at Werner Park in Omaha, NE on EPSN+
  - Los Buhos lost 3-0 on the road back on July 22 and at the time we weren’t certain if they were even going to be a playoff team - since then they have gone 14 games unbeaten, including just 1 draw, and have outscored opponents during this run 36 to 16. This includes a 4-1 thumping of Charlotte Independence just a few weeks ago at home. It does not include, however, Independent’s 3-0 tonking of them in Charlotte back in June or the 0-0 draw in Charlotte back in April - if ever there is a team who might be able to stymie Union Omaha…

Kaylor Hodges Picks…
- Charleston Battery vs Birmingham Legion - USL Championship Playoffs
  - Sat, 10/28 - 4:00p PT / 7:00p ET
    at Patriots Point in South Carolina on ESPN+
  - Birmingham Legion FC and the Charleston Battery have faced off twice this year, Charleston taking all 6 points in the season series, including a comeback in Birmingham that saw 2 goals in 8’ to see the Battery win 2-1. These teams have gone through changes in system throughout the year, and even looking back to their match up two weeks ago, these seem like completely different teams. Legion will be without wonderkid Corcoran as he is away for USMNT U17 World Cup. Meanwhile, Charleston will likely have their own wonderkid Barajas out on the wings, as Mexico has not called for their players. It should be a close match, as it has been all year long.

Dan Vaughn Picks…
- Louisville City FC vs Detroit City FC - USL Championship Playoffs
  - Sat, 10/28 - 4:30pm PT / 7:30pm ET
    at Lynn Family Stadium on ESPN+
  - When DCFC made the jump from NISA to USLC, every lower league fan secretly wanted to see them succeed (well, maybe not EVERY, but most). After last week’s upset, knocking out 1st seed Pittsburgh, that success feels tantalizingly real. Now Detroit will face Louisville City on the road and try to repeat their upsetting ways. The two clubs split their matches this season, with the home team winning in each contest.

Harry Austin Picks…
- Orange County SC vs Phoenix Rising FC - USL Championship Playoffs
  - Sat, 10/28 - 7:00p PT / 10:00p ET
    at Championship Soccer Stadium on ESPN+
  - In what may shock most OCSC and PHX Rising have been low scoring matches in 2023, a total of 3 goals scored between the two clubs. PHX won 1-0 in OCSC in May, but this is a much different Orange County club from that time. A better indicator will be the September 30th match which was a 1-1 draw in Phoenix. For Orange County, they get Kevin Partida (MF) and Mac McNulty (FWD) back from suspensions, so they will be back to a full lineup. With OCSC, they have the great Milan Iloski who is very dangerous especially on free kicks as we saw last week versus El Paso. And a solid defensive setup. Phoenix Rising with the trio of Trejo Formella and Armenakas are a force that will be very tough to stop. The question is how much does Rising have left in the tank, after a very emotional match vs San Diego Loyal on Sunday.

MaryBeth Zmuda Picks…
- Albion San Diego vs Maryland Bobcats - NISA Playoffs
  - Sat, 10/28 - 6:30p PT / 9:30p ET
    at The Stadium at Canyon Crest Academy
  - ALBION San Diego is having a big déjà vu moment coming into the NISA 2023 playoffs - in 4th place on the table, getting ready to faceoff against the Maryland Bobcats on their home pitch at Canyon Crest Stadium - the EXACT scenario from last season *kind of fitting for the spooky season. 2022 saw them play through to the semi finals, defeating the Bobcats 2-0. Can ALBION continue the replay of last season? The way both sides have been playing, all signs point to a yes.

Dan Vaughn Picks…
- Los Angeles Force vs Flower City Union - NISA Playoffs
  - Sunday, 10/29 - 6:00p PST / 9:00p EST
    at Rio Hondo College Soccer Field
  - LA started the season in infuriating fashion, being entirely unpredictable and dropping points left and right. Then they figured it out and finished third. Flower City Union is still just as unpredictable as ever. All the talent in the world, but who knows if it will show up. We’ll find out Sunday!

by the Protagonist Staff