With soccer coming to life across the country, each weekend, we’ll pick the matches we’re most looking forward to.

Dan Vaughn

Merrimack Valley United FC vs. Providence City FC

Bay State Soccer League

April 3 - 8a Tyngsborough Sports Center (Field 1)

Though originally scheduled to kick off its 2021 BSSL season last weekend, Providence City had to reschedule to play in the state final of the Werner Fricker Cup, beating Safira 2-0. That now pushes the Rouges’ BSSL 2021 debut to this weekend where they will take on Merrimack Valley United. MVUFC has always lingered in the middle of the table in Division 1, but look to make the move this season. It took on FC Bebbanbürg last weekend and demolished them 5-1, scoring the most goals of any club in Division 1 in the opening weekend. This match should be an early season test for the defending champion Rogues and a chance for the players of MVUFC to put their stamp on a new season.

Elisabeth Schendel

Stanford Cardinals vs. Arizona State Sun Devils

April 4th at 2PM PST

Tempe, AZ

Pac-12 Network

With UWS and WPSL still not in season (although 2021 schedules are trickling out currently), most lower league athletes are busy playing with their college teams in a special spring season, and the competition is heating up as the final matchups take place. One such matchup is the upcoming Stanford--defending NCAA champions--vs. Arizona State University game taking place this Sunday, April 4th, at 1PM PST. Fans aren’t allowed in person, but you can certainly catch the action on the Pac-12 Network app or website.

Stanford and ASU both are coming off of busy weekends, where their most recent games went into overtime. Stanford’s game against Oregon remained 0-0, but ASU was able to sneak in a golden goal against conference leaders UCLA. Stanford’s standout midfielder, Maya Doms, recorded 4 shots and 3 on goal, the best performance on her team that night. She is currently 3rd in goals and 2nd in shots/SOG for the Cardinals. Sources tell us Maya will be playing in a WPSL team in her hometown this summer alongside Stanford teammates Paige Rubenstein and Madison Ayson. Stanford currently has a 4-1-0 Pac-12 record.

Further south, Arizona took on current Pac-12 favorites UCLA in Bruins territory and clinched a win in overtime off of a Cori Sullivan goal with two minutes remaining in the first overtime period. Goalkeeper Giulia Cascapera had two clutch saves and midfielder Olivia Nguyen scored a goal before overtime to keep the Sun Devils in the game. Cori Sullivan, who scored her goal in the 99th minute to end the game, had her first start since receiving ACL surgery 9 months ago. Their record is now 3-0-2, remaining undefeated in conference games.

Their matchup this Sunday will surely have title implications, as all NCAA teams competing this spring work towards a championship berth. Both men’s and women’s NCAA championships will be held in various locations in and around Cary, North Carolina, with rounds expected to take place the final week of April.

Dan Creel

NoVa FC vs Steel Pulse FC

Eastern Premier Soccer League

April 3 6:30pm at Evergreen Sportsplex

The Mid-Atlantic Conference of the EPSL hits its stride with a first full weekend of games. There's a lot to chew on with all the clubs who joined from the Maryland Majors now starting play. But, I'm going to have to lift up the first match of the weekend because I really want to see how Steel Pulse and NoVa FC stack up against each other. The former is a two-time MMSL champion and the latter is a long-time legacy club that also competes in USL League 2, UPSL and UWS. It's exactly the type of match up you hope for in a more open system and, because it’s Maryland versus Virginia, there are always bragging rights on the line..

John Howard-Fusco

Philadelphia Lone Star FC v Doxa SC

Eastern Premier Soccer League, Metropolitan Division

April 3rd, 3PM ET at YSC Sports Stadium (Wayne, PA)

In the Metropolitan Division of the EPSL, aka the Cosmo League and Friends, the friend that has more than held its own so far is Philadelphia Lone Star. Currently sitting 6th in the 12-team division, a win on Saturday would keep Lone Star within shouting distance of the top three. And speaking of the top three, Doxa SC finds itself in the third slot and two points behind co-leaders Lansdowne Yonkers and Zum Schneider FC 03. Doxa has an opportunity to leap over both and into the top slot, continuing its surprising run in the division. The game features two of the three top scorers in the division, with Lone Star’s Nyaken Kamara leading all scorers with seven goals on the season, and Doxa’s own River Seybolt right behind the league leader with six goals.

Josh Duder

Snohomish County FC at Grays Harbor Gulls

Western Washington Premier League

April 3, 2:00 pm (PST) at Stewart Field (Aberdeen, WA)

The Western Washington Premier League defending champions will travel three and half hours, from the foothills of the Cascade Mountains to the Pacific Coast, to visit Grays Harbor Gulls this weekend. The last time these two played, July 13, 2019, Snohomish smashed the Gulls 4-1 and went on to win the league. Meanwhile, in Grays Harbor, that loss was the difference between staying in the first division and relegation to division two - in a weird way, the pandemic year was a saving grace for the Gulls and while the league took the season off last year, the Gulls are back in the First Division and likely looking to fight like hell to stay there. There may or may not be a revenge narrative here, but teams are usually so friendly here in the Pacific Northwest that you’d never know - in any event, I expect this matchup to be a tasty fight between the birds and the fish.