UPSL Division One Playoffs

Dan Vaughn

Foro Soccer Club vs Houston FC

So I refused to pick a winner in Houston FC’s matchup last week with Almeyda, said it was too close to call. Houston disagreed with me and won 2-1. The other match I previewed was Foro vs Alamo City SC. In that one, I predicted that Alamo City would prevail due to their ability to win on the road. I was wrong, Foro advanced 2-1. So where do we stand today, with these two clubs taking on each other for the Central Conference Final?

Where we stand is two confident clubs, battle-tested and ready for this Texas-sized matchup. Houston was as good away as they were at home, hauling in 5 wins and losing once away from home. I cannot imagine being on the road will affect Houston. Foro was perfect at home this season, with an impressive +35 GD. What I’m saying is that both of these clubs are great and this is going to be a war. At this point of the season, this should be expected.

I’m predicting a Houston FC win on the road, 2-1.

Santa Ana Winds FC vs Contra Costa FC

Last week Contra Costa took on Pajaro Valley United. The Wild West Championship match ended at 2-2 after regular time, so the clubs went to PKs. That ended with a CCFC win 6-5. Wild West is right! Contra Costa’s regular season record, which ended with the club atop the Wild West - Blue Division, wasn’t as gaudy as some of the other playoff clubs (5-3-2), but their gritty play has earned them the chance to knock off one of the premier clubs of the UPSL, Santa Ana Winds.

Santa Ana advanced from the highly competitive and deep (11 clubs) SoCal North Division. Winds ended their regular season without a loss and earned 3 points from every match, except one. While their goal production was impressive, their real excellence lies in their stingy defense that ended the season only surrendering 8 goals in 12 matches. In their playoff matchup earlier this month with SoCal South Division Champions San Diego White Tigers FC, they surrendered 2 goals, something Winds only did twice all season. Granted White Tigers had a regular season goal differential of +37, but Winds still managed to overcome the high scoring club by putting up 4 of their own.

So now CCFC must take another long road trip (7+ hours worth of driving) to face a formidable same-state foe. I’ll predict the home team in this match, Santa Ana wins 3-0.

Florida Soccer Soldiers vs. Red Force FC

Red Force FC played Miami Sun FC last week and though a high scoring affair was expected, the two clubs only managed 3 goals, with Red Force pulling ahead 2-1 to advance. Their opponent will be Florida Soccer Soldiers, who defeated fellow conference foe PSL United 2-1 to advance to this match. FSS and RFFC have played each other twice this season with a win for FSS and a draw.

Predicting this one is easy, though easy predictions are often wrong. I’ll take Soccer Soldiers 3-1 over Red Force FC.

Shawn Laird

OFC Barca vs Sporting Orlando

After dominating in last week’s 3-0 win, OFC Barca looks to continue their winning ways by defeating Sporting Orlando, who won their own match 3-0 last weekend. In my eyes, that was a surprising and very unexpected victory by a team that placed sixth during the regular season. However, it should be noted that form doesn’t necessarily carry over from one round to the next.

Am I hoping for a great game? That’s a resounding hell yes. Sporting has run the gamut in terms of results this season and their luck turned a corner over the last couple of weeks. But, with how merciless OFC Barca has been to this point, I expect Sporting’s form to fail them and their luck to run out. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing but love for Sporting. I just don’t see them knocking off Barca.

I fully expect Barca to keep a clean sheet on Sunday, so I’m taking them with a 4-0 win and moving on to the Florida Championship match.

UPSL Division Two Promotion Match

Ryan Stallings

Tyler FC Kings vs Football Factory Premier

In the Central Conference, Red River Division 2, the Tulsa Athletic U23 side have all but wrapped up the division title, but another promotion spot to division one in the spring 2020 season remains. It would seem only appropriate that the remaining rival claimants for that promotion, Football Factory Premier & Tyler FC, will meet in their season’s grudge match with that Division 1 place on the line.

Both Football Factory Premier and Tyler FC enter this weekend’s match with 20 points on the table. However, Tyler FC has a game in hand, a nearly assured victory over Dallas City the following week, so FF Premier will need nothing less than a victory to give themselves a shot at promotion from the 2nd division. Tyler FC, holding the home field advantage in this tilt, will need at least a draw this weekend to continue to control their own fate into their final weekend of play.

In their previous meetings this season, each club secured their home turf. Tyler FC won an offensive battle, 6-4, on October 5th, while FF Premier administered a 5-0 beat down back home in Richardson, Texas, the following week. With bragging rights, and much more, on the line this weekend, expect a competitive score line more like the first meeting and less like the second. Both teams enter the match with victories over the Arkansas Wolves in their most recent action, but that last match for Tyler FC was two weeks ago. Whether that parlays into rest or rust on the pitch for the home side will be the deciding factor in this game.

Prediction: FF Premier leads by a goal or two early, but Tyler FC storms back to eventually claim promotion to Central Conference Division 1 with a 4-3 victory.