Lest We FOURget - Four Games From Last Week

Matchday photo from Hudson Valley Hammers Facebook Page

Redlands FC 2 - 0 Ventura County Fusion

The early shock that reverberated around the league, defending national titleist Ventura simply did not have an answer for a Redlands FC side playing their third league match in existence. The Fighting Citrus (not their official nickname) withered the visiting side with a high acidity attacking play that resulted in goals for Noah Lopez and Luis Mueller.

New Mexico United U23 2 - 0 Boulder County United

The u23 side for NMUtd emphasizes both the ‘New Mexico’ and the ‘United’ in the club’s brand, playing a unique home schedule in towns all over the state to include all residents and all fans rather than basing in Albuquerque alone. This matchup in Taos pitted two high altitude acclimated sides, but the home state team seemed to have taken all the available oxygen as NMUtd’s star man Kengo Ohira tallied a brace to kick off a campaign that may be the one to watch in the Mountain division.

Texas United 5 - 1 Mississippi Brilla

USLShow’s Kaylor Hodges marked this matchup as a can’t miss in the Mid-South in Protagonist’s league season preview, as results of Texas United and MS Brilla matchups could have major implications in the division, and the conference.

Those early implications, after each side’s opening match, would be that Brilla is in a rebuilding year with their new staff at the helm, while Texas United will again be a formidable opponent in the Southern Conference. In a match that was never close (TexU were already up four goals before Brilla found the netting), playmaker Luis Sahmkow recorded a hattrick and the home side’s depth proved too much for the Mississippi side to match.

Hudson Valley Hammers 3 - 1 FC Motown

The biggest upset outside of Redlands, the HV Hammer’s sophomore season got off to a dream start with a convincing win over serial postseason contender Motown. The year is certainly young for both sides, and fortunes can change quickly. But this week, thanks to Israel Neto’s brace, the Hammers of the Hudson Valley sit near the top of the Metropolitan division, in the company of Long Island and Manhattan, while Motown finds itself curiously lower on the table.

Looking FOURward - Four Games This Week

Matchday photo from Texas United Facebook Page

Salt City SC vs Park City Redwolves SC

Saturday, 1:00 PM MST
It’s a Beehive Ballyhoo ( NOT an official name of this contest) as these two sides kick off their seasons at America First Field on Saturday. The visiting Redwolves will look to pick up 2023 where they left off in 2022 as Mountain division champs, while the Salt Blocks (NOT an official nickname of the club) will want to get an early jump on 2023 improvements on their second-to-last finish in last year’s campaign.

Louisiana Krewe FC vs Texas United

Saturday, 7:00 PM CST
The Krewe faltered at home versus Little Rock last weekend on an opportunity to seize the early Mid-South division lead. They get another go at cementing top-end of the division status at home tonight though, hosting Texas United. The going won’t be any easier than last week, as the visitors have shredded Brilla to kick off their season and are now chasing the leaders with games in hand. Krewe’s top man Quesi Weston will need a big game, while the Louisiana defense will need to provide an answer for TexU’s Luis Sahmkow if they’re to pull what feels like an early upset at home.

Flint City Bucks vs Midwest United FC

Saturday, 7:30 PM CST
It’s the inevitable vs the incredible in Flint this weekend, with long tenured contending side Flint City hosting surprise rookie side Midwest United of Grand Rapids. The hosts swatted now-free-falling Kalamazoo in their season opening visit last week, while their visitors have navigated, unscathed, through three matches already. They’ll find the Bucks a very different foe than Oakland, South Bend and Lansing though, and may be chasing this match from the early few minutes.

Hudson Valley Hammers vs Long Island Rough Riders

Saturday, 7:00 PM EST
The young Hammers find themselves sitting in second place in the Metropolitan division after their first week of action. They’ll get their chance at still higher perches when they host the division leaders tonight. Never an easy task to begin with, the work is much harder when the visiting side is defending national finalist Long Island Rough Riders. LIRR, behind Ryan Carmichael and a suffocating defense, have recorded twin clean sheets in the two matches on their schedule to date, but the side has also accrued a red card and TEN yellow cards in those same games. If a similarly undisciplined team arrives at Kaplan Field tonight, the Hammers may be celebrating their second straight upset.

Written by Ryan Stallings
Edited by Joshua Duder