Phil Baki

Reading United AC vs. Flint City Bucks

As the focus of the amateur game is largely fixed on what promises to be a titanic clash between New York Cosmos and Miami FC, the USL2 Final will feature Reading United AC and the Flint City Bucks. The match will be played in Flint, Michigan, the home of the newly moved and rebranded Bucks. They have a long history of success under their former state-wide moniker but the squad will certainly be eager to bring home a USL2 Trophy in their first season since the move to Flint. Their attack this postseason has been led by Yuri Farkas Guglielmi, who has three goals and an assist in three postseason games for the Bucks. His influence was firmly felt in the semifinal as he scored the lone goal to propel Bucks into the Final past a solid FC Golden State Force team. On the other side, Reading United reached the Final via a much more dramatic route. Trailing South Georgia Tormenta 2 with just 20 minutes to play, substitute Yaya Fane scored to give Reading a glimmer of hope. With time winding down, Bakary Bagayoko grabbed the equalizer on 84 minutes. Sending the match to extra time, Reading used every second of it, with Felipe Hideki grabbing the winner as the match looked destined for penalties. Hideki looks like a potential difference maker in the Final, with his seven regular season goals in just eight games played makes him a constant threat. The marquee matchup in NPSL will grab a lot of attention, but don’t sleep on what could be a classic Final in USL2.

Dan Creel

Cedar Stars Academy vs. FC Motown

This end-of-season best-of the USASA Region I tournament nears the end of the group stage as Cosmopolitan League runners-sup, Cedar Stars Academy, hosts FC Motown from the Garden State Soccer League. The semifinals start next weekend and Cedar Stars will grab the #1 seed if they win the match.

The game will be at 8pm on Sunday at Capelli Sports Complex in Tinton Falls.

Dan Vaughn

Miami FC vs. New York Cosmos

I’m writing about this match because it’s the last match of the season in the NPSL, but there is little reason for the amateur soccer fan to enjoy this match. Both clubs are cast offs from the NASL and both have been incredibly successful in the NPSL, but why wouldn’t they? They both pay their players in a league where most clubs are not. It’s not a competitive format and it’s something that NPSL needs to fix. So yeah, this is a big match and I wish both clubs well, but didn’t we see this coming 3 months ago?