We kick off Matchweek 13 with three matches, as this will be the final weekend of regular season action for NISA before the league takes a break for the NISA Independent Cup. We have Friday night soccer action as the Michigan Stars FC host Club de Lyon FC, Georgia FC faces the Maryland Bobcats FC, and Capo FC takes on Arizona Monsoon FC. Here is my preview of Matchweek 13 in the NISA league.
Michigan Stars FC vs Club de Lyon FC FC (Friday June 28)
Romeo Stadium – Washington, MI
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
The Michigan Stars FC (7-1-2, 22 points) look to get back on track tonight as Club de Lyon FC (2-2-6, 8 points) returns to Romeo Stadium. This will be the sixth meeting between these two sides. In their last matchup in Orlando, the Stars overturned a 1-0 deficit to defeat Club de Lyon 2-1 earlier this month, with Niels Lellouch scoring the game-winner. Since then, the Stars formed has dipped a bit with a 2-1 loss to the Maryland Bobcats at home and getting a 1-1 draw against the Savannah Clovers FC on the road last weekend. However, the Stars have yet to lose to CDL, going 5-0, and will need to pick up some wins to keep up with the Bobcats, who lead the Eastern Conference. Club de Lyon only has one win in their previous six matches, which includes their 3-0 forfeit to the Stars last month. CDL’s midweek match against Maryland was postponed, and their last match was on June 12, losing 3-2 to the Savannah Clovers FC. It will be interesting to see which CDL team will see in Michigan, but they want to avoid repeating what happened on their last trip to Romeo Stadium.
Georgia FC vs Maryland Bobcats FC (Saturday June 29)
Silverbacks Park – Atlanta, GA
Kickoff: Noon ET
Georgia FC (3-1-8, 10 points) returns home as they look to snap their three-match winless streak as the Maryland Bobcats FC (8-0-1, 24 points) visit Silverbacks Park. Georgia FC lost to the Bobcats 2-1 a week ago at the Plex and for the second time under that scoreline this season. One intriguing part of this matchup will be the NISA Golden Boot showdown as GAFC’s Patrick Okonkwo takes on Darwin Espinal of Maryland. Espinal scored a goal in their previous two meetings, while Okonkwo could not find the back of the net in this series and also missed a penalty kick in their last matchup. Let’s see how this goes now that we shift to Atlanta, but the Bobcats are on a seven-match-winning streak and will try to grab an eighth to remain atop the table and stay ahead of the Michigan Stars.
Capo FC vs Arizona Monsoon FC (Saturday June 29)
JSerra Stadium – San Juan Capistrano, CA
Kickoff: 10:30 p.m. ET
Two clubs wanting to snap their winless streaks as Capo FC (2-3-4, 9 points) takes on Arizona Monsoon FC (0-1-7, 1 point) at JSerra Stadium on Saturday night. Capo FC has lost two straight matches, 2-0, to the top sides in the Western Conference, LA Force, and Irvine Zeta FC the last couple of weeks. However, Capo’s last win was a 3-2 win over Arizona Monsoon FC in their previous meeting on the road on June 9. Capo FC will need to start picking up wins if they want to get back in the hunt for the 2024 NISA Playoffs now that we have entered the second half of the season. Arizona Monsoon FC forfeited their last match against Irvine Zeta FC last week and is on an eight-match winless streak. Monsoon FC has been dealing with injuries and a depleted roster. Arizona only dressed up 12 players against LA in their last match on June 15. It’s already been a rough first season for Arizona, but you must start wondering when they will finally win a match. Monsoon FC has scored only five goals and conceded 22 goals in the first half of the season. Throughout the league’s recent history, only the 2023 Gold Star FC Detroit team finished with three wins, the 2022 Flower City Union and LA Force finished with only two wins, and the 2021 San Diego 1904 FC also finished the season with only two wins. Two clubs are on the losing end as of late, but let’s see if one of these sides can turn their season around.
Clubs not in action this weekend: Irvine Zeta FC, LA Force, Savannah Clovers FC
It should be another exciting weekend of matches in the NISA league. Don’t forget that you can watch all the matches on NISA+. Enjoy all the matches this weekend before the NISA Independent Cup kicks off next week, and I’ll see you next time.
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