Josh Duder
Western Indoor Soccer League (WISL) Action
Since the league’s founding, in 2014-15, the Western Indoor Soccer League championship has only ever gone to one of two teams, Tacoma Stars Reserves or Bellingham United FC. Predictably, with just three matches left in regular season, these two teams are set on a collision course! Tacoma Stars Reserves tops the table with 19 pts and an impressive +26 goal difference. Meanwhile, Bellingham United, who are just one point in the table below Tacoma, are on an astronomical +57 goal difference!
In their first two matches this season, the Hammers outscored opponents 39 to 7, and barring their only loss this season, Bellingham United have overpowered opposition by multiple goals every match. That one loss, however, came in week three, while away to the Tacoma Stars – losing by just one goal, 3-4, in a tight affair. This week the two WISL power houses go at it again and it’s all on the line – Tacoma Stars Reserves can stretch that lead out to four points in the table over Bellingham. They’d just have OlyTown and OlyPen left, who are combined for -72 in goal difference.
Bellingham could take over the top spot with a win in their last home game of the regular season – they also have an away match to OlyTown and finish on the road against third place Snohomish Skyhawks. The Skyhawks are significantly further down the table, but will have something to play for in their last few matches as well, as they look to hold onto that playoff position and return to the WISL Semifinals. All three of this weekend’s WISL matches are on Saturday, January 25th: OlyPen at the Snohomish Soccer Dome to take on the Skyhawks at 7:00 pm; Tacoma Stars Reserves travel to Bellingham Sportsplex for a 7:35 clash with the Hammers; and OlyTown Artesians travel to the Tacoma Soccer Center for a 7:45 battle with Tacoma Narrows FC, as both teams are chasing that 4th spot in the upcoming playoffs.
Ryan Stallings
Dallas City FC at Tyler FC
With their 4-2 victory over FF Premier last weekend, Tyler FC has secured promotion in the 2020 Spring season to the Central Conference 1st division. The former seasonal punching bag in the NPSL Lonestar Conference have certainly found new life this season, pacing the UPSL’s 2nd division with 44 goals scored, already good for fourth amongst 51 clubs across the country competing in the Fall 2019-’20 competition.
The Kings of Rose City will need to grow that tally in a big way tomorrow if they’re to add to their inaugural UPSL season laurels. Trailing Tulsa Athletic U20 by nine in the division goal differential column, Tyler will need to match that, and hope for a Tulsa stumbling later tomorrow evening vs Arkansas Wolves, to claim a share of the Red River Division title.
If there is any side in the division up to the challenge of giving up that score difference to Tyler, it could very well be the Dallas City FC side limping into Kings Park Saturday afternoon. Losers of eight straight matches and brandishing 3 points, a 1W-0D-9L record, and a goal differential of -26, the season has been steep learning curve for the young Lions side. Having ceded fifteen goals to the Kings already in their two previous meetings, DCFC will be hard put to stymie Tyler’s high-flying scoring attack in the season finale.
Prediction: Tyler FC scores early and often, but Dallas City FC’s Lions play with just enough pride, and the minimum required defense, to prevent the Kings from giving themselves a tiebreaker in case of Tulsa loss.
Tyler FC 8-3 Dallas City FC
Tulsa Athletic U20 at Arkansas Wolves
Don’t be too surprised to see a few players currently plying their efforts for Tulsa Athletic’s U20 side doing more of the same for the A’s first team in NPSL league, and the US Open Cup, play in the coming months. In the meantime, the division-leading youngsters out of T-Town are concentrated on closing their inaugural UPSL campaign Saturday night with a victory and division title to go with their coming promotion to the Central Conference’s 1st division.
They’ll face a perhaps deceptively dangerous home side in Arkansas Wolves, who have played a series of close matches with both Tyler FC and FF Premier in recent weeks that would allude to a more competitive team than their 5 points in divisional season result do.
Prediction: An early 1-1 score will keep the home side’s hopes of upset up early, but the A’s speed and unrelenting attacks will wear down the Wolves’ in the second half, giving Tulsa Athletic the uncontested Red River Division title.
Tulsa Athletic 4 – Arkansas Wolves 2
Shawn Laird
OFC Barca vs Red Force FC
This Sunday OFC Barca of Florida’s Central Conference faces off against Red Force FC of Florida’s Southern Conference for the fall season Championship. Whoever wins will continue their march to potential national glory as they’ll move on to play Soda City FC in the next round of the UPSL playoffs.
OFC Barca has been an absolute bulldozer this season, completely obliterating anyone who stood in their undefeated run. They continued their dominance through the playoffs by notching back to back clean sheets and scoring six goals in the process. With that kind of form, it’s easy to see why they could make a run all the way to the national championship match.
On the other side, Red Force FC had a solid regular season, going 6W-5D-1L and a plus 19 goal differential. However, they really hit their stride going into the playoffs, knocking off Boca Raton FC, Miami Suns FC and Florida Soccer Soldiers by a combined score of 11-4. If they want to continue their streak and move on to face Soda City, they will have to play out of this world when they face OFC Barca.
After looking at each team’s form, I have to go with OFC Barca in this match up. It’s easy to see why Red Force deserves to be in this match but Barca has been consistently excellent all season long and it doesn’t look like their stopping any time soon. I fully expect to see a lot of goals in this one. Whether it’s as one sided as I think it will be or not remains to be seen. But I’m taking OFC Barca 4-1.
Florida Soccer Soldiers 2 vs Miami United FC (Division 2 Promotion Championship)
On the same day OFC Barca and Red Force face off, there is also another massive championship battle brewing in South Florida. This one, though, won’t have as much fanfare as it will decide who is promoted to the Florida South Division 1 Conference. Florida Soccer Soldiers 2 will face off with a perennial lower league powerhouse in Miami United FC.
The path to this matchup has been an almost afterthought for Miami United as they won the regular season title, going 9-2-1 with a plus 21 goal differential. In their one playoff match, they knocked off the Florida Brothers 2-1.
Meanwhile, Florida Soccer Soldiers 2 finished third during the regular season with a record of 7W-3D-2L and a plus 16 goal differential, however they were five points off of Miami United. While they finished third, they’ve been flexing their muscle and showing their pedigree during the playoffs, outscoring the FSI Vultures and ISA by a combined score of 7-2.
This match has the makings of being an epic promotion battle. Both squads are more than capable of taking it the distance, but I feel that Miami United will pull off the win and move up to Division 1. They’ve shown their quality at the NPSL level and it has filtered down to this level, so I’m taking them over FSS 3-2.
Dan Vaughn
Foro SC vs San Juan FC
First of all, a confession of sorts. I’ve been predicting Foro SC would go out for two weeks now and I’ve been wrong both times I predicted it. I apologize for not understanding how good the club was. Foro has knocked off the best clubs in Texas and now prepares to host a visitor from the Mountain Conference. That visitor would be San Juan FC, who knocked off Utah Saints 5-0, LAST YEAR. That’s right, it’s been over three weeks since SJFC has seen live action.
During that time, Foro has taken on Alamo City SC (they won 2-1) and Houston FC (they won 5-2). So going into this Sunday’s match, Foro is on point. The Central Conference is highly competitive and their path to this match hasn’t been easy. That they are still standing is a testament to the quality of the club.
The quality of the Mountain Conference, on the other hand, is suspect. San Juan has crushed the conference this season with a 8-0 record and only surrendered 4 goals all season. Last season, Boise Cuththroats eliminated SJFC in the conference final, but, with that club sitting out the Fall, San Juan has rolled. How they will do outside of the comfy confines of their conference remains to be seen.
San Juan has a massive road trip to Dallas for this match. That can’t be a good thing. Foro should be in peak form. I think this time I’ll pick Foro (which, of course, is the kiss of death. Good luck boys!) 3-2.
Winner goes to the semifinals!