Hello, everyone! I’m sorry for being out of pocket the last couple of weeks. I’ve been very busy working my many jobs lately, but I finally have some time to catch you up on some NISA action. There is plenty to cover today, so let’s recap all the drama from Matchweek 12.
Maryland Bobcats FC 5 Savannah Clovers FC 1 (Wednesday June 19)
It was a dominating performance from the start for the Maryland Bobcats FC as they rolled through the Savannah Clovers FC 5-1 at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Wednesday. In the first half, Tyler Gabarra connected with Elijah Amo, and he scored as the Bobcats struck first in the 11th minute. Three minutes later, Gabarra would strike again as he slotted his shot past Clovers keeper Jack Crichton to give Maryland a 2-0 advantage in the 14th minute. Darwin Espinal got the assist on that one, and this is the second consecutive match in which Gabarra scored a goal. The Bobcats would take that lead into halftime. In the second half, the Bobcats wasted no time as Abdou Thiam added another goal to give Maryland a 3-0 lead in the 49th minute. Later in the match, Wilfred Tinay added a fourth for Maryland in the 71st minute to extend their lead. It looked like Jacob Boyle would get a clean sheet, but the Clovers ruined those plans as they finally broke through to get on the board via a penalty kick goal by Zack Hargreaves and trailed 4-1. However, Gavin Shiels adds another goal in stoppage time to extend the Bobcats lead by four. Maryland dominates this one, takes a 5-1 victory against the Savannah Clovers, and gets their sixth straight win. For the Clovers, they saw their two-match winning streak come to an end.
Savannah Clovers FC 1 Michigan Stars FC 1 (Saturday June 22)
In a very entertaining match down in Georgia, the Savannah Clovers FC and the Michigan Stars FC battled to get a 1-1 draw as both sides split the points. The Stars played many backups in this match as their usual starters, such as Leon Maric, Niels Lellouch, Robert and Steven Juncaj, and starting goalkeeper Tatenda Mkruva weren’t in action for Michigan. The best chance came in the 40th minute for the Clovers to get an opener in the first half as Zack Hargreaves sets up Corey Lundeen, and he rips a shot, but Stars goalkeeper Lucas Morefield makes a huge save to keep the match scoreless. However, a few minutes later, Praise Maduekwe sneaks in the box and scores to put Michigan ahead 1-0 just before halftime. In the second half, the Clovers go on the counterattack as Roddy Green buries his shot past Morefield for the equalizer to tie this match at one in the 59th minute. Lester Hayes almost doubled the Clovers lead in the 63rd minute but slotted his shot wide of goal. Roddy Green, Max Wilkins, and Vlad Jokic had some great scoring chances down the stretch but couldn’t get a second goal for Savannah as the match ended 1-1. This was the Stars first match since June 7, while for the Clovers, this was their fourth match in two weeks. The Clovers next match will be round 1 of the NISA Independent Cup against Kalonji Pro Profile on July 6, while the Stars return home to host Club de Lyon FC on Friday.
Maryland Bobcats FC 2 Georgia FC 1 (Saturday June 22)
The Maryland Bobcats FC edged past Georgia FC with a 2-1 victory at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Saturday night. Darwin Espinal returned to his scoring ways, scoring the opening goal in the 33rd minute to put the Bobcats in front 1-0 over Georgia FC in the first half. With that goal, Espinal is now tied with Georgia FC’s Patrick Okonkwo atop the NISA Golden Boot Race with six goals. Maryland held onto their 1-0 lead throughout the first half of the match. In the second half, Georgia FC gets a penalty kick opportunity early, but Bobcats goalkeeper Jacob Boyle saves Okonkwo’s shot to keep Maryland in the lead. Elijah Amo almost extended Maryland’s lead by two in the 59th minute, but Nicholas Nelson stepped up with a massive save for GAFC. Later, in the 65th minute, the Bobcats attack on the other end as Espinal connects with Amo, who goes for the header but hits the post. The ball finds its way to Tyler Gabarra, and he taps it into the back of the net as it just crosses the line to extend the Bobcats lead by two. That’s the third consecutive match Gabarra has put one into the back of the net. However, the Bobcats would give up another penalty kick to Georgia FC, and this time, Lamin Jawneh smashed it to pull GAFC within one. Abdou Thiam almost added another one in stoppage time for Maryland, but his shot went wide of the goal. The Maryland Bobcats get another 2-1 win over Georgia FC and extend their winning streak to seven matches, while Georgia FC have now lost three straight matches.
LA Force 2 Capo FC 0 (Saturday June 22)
The LA Force have won back-to-back matches after their 2-0 win over Capo FC in the Coast Highway Derby over the weekend. Capo FC frustrated the LA Force throughout the first 40 minutes of the match, and three players on LA received yellow cards. However, in the 42nd minute, LA finally finds a breakthrough on the Capo defense as Bryan Ortega finds Michael Salazar open, and he buries it to give the Force a 1-0 lead just before halftime. Capo FC had just a few chances in the second half, but their shots were from outside the box and kept sailing over the crossbar. In the 81st minute, Dante Brigida had a great chance to extend LA’s lead by two as Salazar set him up, but his shot drifted wide of the net and went off target. The Force did go down to 10 men as defender Ivan Hernandez received his second yellow in the 86th minute. In the 90th minute, Alex Juarez gets the insurance goal to put this match away as the LA Force defeated Capo FC 2-0. This is their first road loss of the season for Capo FC, and they are on a two-match winless streak. The LA Force is going in the opposite direction, winning two in a row. Arizona Monsoon FC forfeited their match on Sunday, and the league awarded a 3-0 win to Irvine Zeta FC as those sides prepare for the NISA Independent Cup. Irvine Zeta FC stays in first with 21 points, while LA Force is behind in second with 19 points in the Western Conference.
That concludes my NISA Matchweek 12 recap. I’ll share my thoughts on the 2024 NISA Independent Cup, a NISA Matchweek 13 preview, and a new podcast episode later this week.
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