Josh Duder

WISL Finals

Tacoma, Bellingham, Bellingham, Bellingham, Tacoma… Bellingham. For the sixth straight season the men’s WISL (Western Indoor Soccer League) champion is one or the other and this year Bellingham is the one. They beat the other, Tacoma Stars Reserves, in the championship game just last weekend 6-4 at the Tacoma Soccer Center. This came a week after destroying the Snohomish Skyhawks 13-6 in the Semifinals and heading into the league final as the number two seed behind the hosts Tacoma – who had actually been unbeaten since winning the WISL title last season.

The first half finished with Stars only up by one; betraying a cagey affair, not at all within the free scoring character of either side – seemingly, they were playing not to lose. The third quarter, however, started to show a shift in mentality for the away team and the Hammers from Bellingham to a 3-1 lead heading into the final stanza behind goals from Christian Caro, Uriel Herrera and a good ol fashioned own goal. The Tacoma Stars scratched one back to start the fourth quarter with a goal from Micah Wenzel but it was countered immediately with goals by Hammers’ Connor Moe and a second from Herrera. In an absolute flurry of activity, with under ten minutes left in the match, goals for Stars came in from AdrianCorrea and Logan Jones, but Bellingham matched it with another goal from Caro and held on to win their fourth WISL title in 6 seasons.

Oly-Pen Force’s women, with years of NWPL experience, may be posed to win inaugural WISL title.

2020 will give us something special from the WISL as well, this is the inaugural season of their women’s league – though there are only four participants, this is how great things start. Neither Tacoma Stars, nor Bellingham United will be fielding squads in the women’s league and this gives Oly-Pen Force, Oly Town Artesians, Snohomish Skyhawks, and Tacoma Narrows an opportunity to carve out their own legacy. Saturday, February 29th will give us Oly-Pen force visiting Oly Town and Skyhawks away to Narrows. Each side in the league will play the others home/away, culminating in a championship game on April 11th between the top two finishers from the short season. While there’s no history to work with here, of the four sides Oly-Pen force is the only organization which has an existing outdoor squad and some of that organization and familiarity makes them my pick to win the league – I suppose we’ll just have to watch and see!

John Howard-Fusco

NISA Opening Weekend

LA Force v Detroit City FC

Friday, 2/28 10PM ET

Jesse Owens Stadium, Cal State LA, Los Angeles CA

So here we are – Detroit City FC have gone pro, the next step in the progression towards world dominance. But first, time to start the campaign for winning NISA’s spring season. With Miami FC out of the way, it’s hard to see anyone else but DCFC finishing on top. The club have brought back most of the band (now paid employees) that topped the NPSL Founders Cup last fall including leading goal scorer Yazeed Matthews.

And what of LA Force? Well, we know this much: they didn’t give up a lot of goals (9 goals allowed in seven games during the Fall Showcase), but they also didn’t score a lot either (10 goals in seven games).

I would expect LA Force to try to keep this one a tight affair, but DCFC will be hard to contain. And even out in Cali, expect to hear plenty of noise from the Northern Guard cheering on the boys in rouge. It says here that Detroit City will make a clear and definitive statement to the rest of the league: come and get us!

Stumptown Athletic v 1904 FC

Saturday, 2/29 7PM ET

CSA OrthoCarolina Sportsplex, Pineville NC

The only meeting of two veteran NISA teams this opening weekend, and…oh please, who am I kidding? These two clubs didn’t exactly set the world on fire during the Fall Showcase. All four of Stumptown’s wins came against teams who are not even playing this spring (including two forfeit wins against the Philadelphia Fury). 1904 FC gave up 15 goals in six league matches this fall, so tightening up the defense should be high on the list for the spring.

Both clubs have brought in several new players for the Spring Season. Will the changes make a difference? Hard to say, but it will make for an interesting match to see which club shows improvement.

Oakland Roots v Chattanooga FC

Saturday, 2/29 8:10PM ET

Laney College Football Stadium, Oakland CA

Consider this the glamour match-up of the opening weekend. The Roots have been busy making changes in preparation for the Spring Season. New coach. New GM. And many new players, with several veterans with MLS and USL experience. Notable signings include forwards Tristen Bowen and Matt Fondy. With all this newness, will the product on the field be better? The answer points to yes, but it might take a few games for this group to gel.

Chattanooga FC have also been active in preparation for its NISA debut, bringing on veteran players with professional experience. Like Detroit City FC, Chattanooga FC have graduated from NPSL, having built a successful club on the field as well as strong community engagement off the field.

Will one of these teams emerge as a contender? I’m not telling. You’ll just have to watch and find out for yourself. (So there, nyah.)

Cal United Strikers FC v Michigan Stars FC

Saturday, 2/29 10PM ET

Championship Soccer Stadium, Irvine CA

Even with a short season, Cal United was one team that seemed to show improvement during the Fall Showcase and would end up winning the Western championship on penalties against LA Force. The roster looks very much intact from the fall, with the notable exception of the signing of 15-year old midfielder Shane Kaemerle. The offense will most likely again feature Omar Nuno and Gustavo Villalobos up top, along with Christian Thierjung out of the midfield – a revelation from the fall season with six goals.

As for Michigan Stars FC, it’s hard to get a read on what this team from the NPSL will be. But looking at its past history it hasn’t been pretty. The club have finished near bottom in almost every year except two (a 3rd place finish in 2016, and no finish at all in 2018 as the club was on hiatus).

Cal United may be the one team from the Fall Showcase that could give Detroit City a direct challenge (one man’s opinion, anyway), and an emphatic result here could reinforce that notion.