John Howard-Fusco

Chattanooga FC vs Stumptown Athletic

I know, I know…it’s only an exhibition. But after having watched the first match between these two teams last week, there just might be something brewing here. Last Saturday at the CSA OrthoCarolina Sportsplex (rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it), the visitors from Chattanooga took a 2-0 lead thanks a brace from Felipe Oliveira. But in a span of a couple of minutes in the second half, Stumptown tied things up and the final third of the game was a spirited back and forth affair. A hard tackle from behind by a Chattanooga player in stoppage time, and things got even a little – dare I say – chippy.

The best rivalries are the ones created on the field of play, not force fed by a marketing strategy. Could we be seeing the making of a legit rivalry when these two clubs begin playing each other in games that will count in NISA’s Spring 2020 season? Let’s see how the second leg plays out at Finley. Watch it live this Saturday starting at 6PM Eastern on MyCujoo or at the Watch Live section of NISA’s website.

Paul Kowalczyk

ADASL Division 2: Georgia Revolution U23s vs Buckhead SC

This Sunday, October 20th, division leaders Georgia Revolution U23 will be hosting 5th place Buckhead SC at Village Park in Ellenwood, Georgia. Atlanta District Amateur Soccer League’s Game of the Week will be streamed live on MyCujoo with kick off at 1:00 PM. The Georgia Revolution Reserves’ Division I match this weekend is postponed because of their U.S. Open Cup game against Soda City FC, but the U23s are still in action. The U23s are a youth squad of the NPSL’s Georgia Revolution. With Ashville City SC being the latest team to leave the NPSL Southeast along with Atlanta SC and Chattanooga FC, it will be interesting to see if the Revolution decides to stay with NPSL. But for now, the organization is focused on their Open Cup game and the ADASL season.

The U23s are undefeated through four games, scoring a staggering 34 goals and only conceding 5. Players to watch on the Revs side will be Juan Daniel Cervantes who has scored 6 goals and 2 assists as well as Ismael Serratos who has 4 goals and 4 assists so far this season. Buckhead SC has a record of 2-1-1 scoring 11 goals and conceding 7 in the four games. Their scoring leader, according to ADASL’s website, is Jordan Davis who has 4 goals. I think this will be another high-scoring game for the U23s who should win this comfortably against Buckhead SC.

Shawn Laird

Oakland Roots vs LA Force

Admittedly, I haven’t paid enough attention to NISA since the showcase started, but that changes this weekend. I am looking forward to match up this weekend because 1) it’ll be the first NISA match I actually watch and 2) it’s looking like this could be a good match.

Even though they sit at the bottom of the table currently, Oakland has shown improvement over the last two games, gaining two points over that span after earning none in their first two games. There has also been more of an offensive output from the Roots recently, with them scoring five goals over their last three matches. Another bright spot in Oakland’s season would be their 2-0 victory over Zacatepac in an international friendly less than a week ago. Hopefully, they’re able to carry that momentum in to this match with the Force.

The Force, on the other hand, have had a good start to their season. They’ve sandwiched a loss between two victories, with their latest one coming over the Roots two weeks ago by a score of 1-0. LA will look to even up their away record with a victory in Oakland this weekend after getting manhandled by California United FC 3-0 in their only away match thus far.

Oakland will be coming in to this match looking for revenge, but based off of the current table and results, I can see LA taking this one. My final score prediction? 3-2 LA in a fiery contest.