Steven Ramirez

FC Golden State vs. FC Arizona (NPSL)

Quite possibly the biggest match all weekend. The two NPSL Southwest giants facing off at Rio Hondo College in Whittier, CA. Currently FC Golden State occupy first place with 22 points, only beating out FC Arizona by goal differential.

FC Arizona remain the only undefeated side in the Southwest and have one, if not, the best defense in the division. Currently the club has only allowed 9 goals all season. The club is led by goal scoring duo Cesar Mexia and Omar Nuno who have both tallied five goals a piece. Mexia is a FC Arizona veteran who has been with the club since its inaugural year where they won the SW championship, while Omar Nuno is a recent transfer and 2018 NPSL golden boot winner.

When it comes to goal scoring prowess, no other team topples FC Golden State who have averaged over three goals a game. This club has had strong goal performances, including an 8-2 win over Riverside Coras FC, but recently lost its first match of the season against Orange County FC. FCGS is one of the most dominant brands in grassroot soccer and have a strong player pool that has proven to develop talent that has gone on to play in MLS and internationally.

This will be the final time that these clubs will play each other during the regular season. The last meetup, on March 20th, ended in a 1-1 draw. Regardless of the opposition, both teams have gone on to put in strong performances which has led them being tied at 22 points. This matchup is a battle between and organized and mostly mistake free defense, against a high flying offense who has scored in every match that the club has played in. The winner of this match will separate themselves from the pack and put themselves in the best position to win the division.

Dan Vaughn

Sporting AZ FC vs. FC Grande (UPSL)

The UPSL is beginning to fire up all over the country, bit by bit. For those of us that live in the southwest part of the United States, we’ve been waiting for our local conference to go live. This weekend brings a full slate of matches for the conference and its hard to not be excited about seeing your club in action.

Last year, this matchup was the big one in the Southwest Conference. The clubs finished 1-2 in the conference and every match they played was a good one. For those that don’t know, Sporting AZ won every match up between these clubs, including the conference championship. Will that dominance continue or will there be a power shift in the Southwest?

The Conference is strong and it will be interesting to see if these two clubs can maintain their stranglehold on the rest of the clubs. Southwest FC also plays in this conference, and after their strong showing in the USOC qualifiers, it seems clear their level of play is improved over last season. But this weekend will be all about the big boys of last season kicking off conference play in Arizona. Should be a good one!