Joshua Duder

Pajaro Valley United FC vs. Contra Costa FC - On Saturday, January 11th, the UPSL playoffs bring us a “Wild West” shoot-out when Red Conference winner Pajaro Valley United FC host Blue Conference winner Contra Costa FC. Pajaro Valley Utd earned their way to the playoffs by winning their division and outscoring their opponents 20 to 15, earning 3 clean-sheets and then capping their season with a first-round playoff win over Oakland Stompers 3-1. The boys from Pajaro Valley went unbeaten at home this season, earning 16 of their 19 points on the pitch at Watsonville High School.

Contra Costa FC, who shut out JASA RWC 2-0 in last week’s first-round of UPSL playoffs, will have to travel two hours up the 680 to Watsonville for the second-round. Contra Costa finished the season with one less point in their respective table, earning 18 points from 10 matches; however, 8 of those points came on the road where they only lost one away match all Fall. The match is set for a high-noon kickoff and will be available on the “PV United” MyCujoo page. The winner will move on to represent, not only California, but everything west of the Rockies, in the following rounds of the UPSL Fall Season Playoffs.

Dan Vaughn

Almeyda FC vs. Houston FC - This matchup is a tough one to measure. Both clubs play in the same conference and Almeyda won the conference by a single point. Houston’s only loss this season came against Almeyda, in the first month of the Fall season, meaning that result decided the conference regular season title. Goal differential (my favorite measure of success) is a single goal between these two.

Trying to find what separates these two clubs is tough. In the second meeting of these clubs in the regular season, the match ended in a 3-3 draw. But Houston FC had been up 3-1 early in the second half and the second goal from Almeyda was a Houston FC own goal. So what does all that mean? Who the hell knows. This matchup will be a great match, but picking a winner is impossible. Let’s see tomorrow!

Foro Soccer Club vs. Alamo City SC - Foro Soccer Club had one of the best seasons in the UPSL this year, finishing with a single loss in a very top heavy Central Conference - North. That record was achieved with a hefty +35 goal differential. The only loss was to fellow playoff club, Inocentes FC, 2-1 in late December. And that’s where the plot thickens.

The club Foro will be hosting is Alamo City SC, who interestingly enough, had a bigger GD (+43) in a slightly stronger conference (Heart). Granted that GD was padded by a 17 goal whipping of Bell County, but you play the clubs on your schedule. Alamo City SC was perfect on the road, going 5-0-0, so traveling to Foro shouldn’t be an issue. Another caveat, ACSC’s last win (2-1) was against the only club that beat Foro SC this year, Inocentes FC.

So which wins out? I’m putting my money on the club that has no problem winning on the road and who just knocked off Inocentes, Alamo City SC.

Shawn Laird

OFC Barca vs. Atletico Orlando - OFC Barca takes on Atletico Orlando this weekend in the quarterfinals of the UPSL Southeast-Florida Central playoffs in a matchup of the regular season champions and the number 5 team in the conference. OFC Barca goes into this game undefeated with a perfect record of 14W-0D-0L and a goal difference of +39. It seems like no one could stop this absolute juggernaut of a squad this season, with them easily averaging 4.2 goals per match. On the other side, Atletico Orlando has struggled this season but still managed a respectable 5W-2D-6L, though they ended with a -3 goal difference.

On paper, OFC Barca should easily win this due to the superior average goals per game (4.2 to 1.9 goals). However, crazier things have happened, and it wouldn't surprise me if Atletico pulled off an upset. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening and predict a Barca win by a score of 5-1.

Inter Orlando vs. Sporting Orlando - In the other Florida Central Division playoff matchup, the academy of Inter Orlando faces off with Sporting Orlando. Like OFC Barca, Inter Orlando Academy steamrolled through the conference this season. However, when Inter faced off against Barca, they were handed two losses by a combined score of 4-0. If you were to take those two losses out, Inter outscored opponents 41-9 and showed why they were a force this season.

Sporting had high hopes for this season when it began, but things went awry for them. They go into this match against Inter with a 4W-4D-5L record and a -3 goal difference. It's hard to pinpoint what may have happened during the season, however, for them to still be in the playoffs at this point is a testament to their drive as a team.

Unfortunately, I have to predict who will win and I feel that Inter will easily handle Sporting. It's anyone's guess how much Inter could win by, but Inter should get a clean sheet out of this.

Jose Davila IV

Miami Sun FC vs. Red Force FC - Two South Florida powerhouses will face off for a spot in the UPSL Fall Division 1 Florida Division semifinals on Saturday night at 6:30pm local time. The home team, Miami Sun FC, finished 2nd in the Florida South Division to Florida Soccer Soldiers during the regular season and will host the match at Doral Meadows Park. Miami Sun ended the regular season in that spot due to a goal differential of 20, one better than that of the third-place team: Red Force FC. The clubs finished seven points behind FSS. Spectators should expect a highly attacking affair as Miami Sun led the league in goals scored with 45 and Red Force finished 2nd with 41. Both teams head into the affair after a long holiday period off. Before the break, Miami Sun crushed Hurricane FC 9-1 in a game played at the Orange Bowl Field and Red Force took care of Boca Raton FC 6-2 at home.