The 2024 NISA season is already halfway over, as we now enter the second half of the season with the NISA playoffs just a few months away. We haven’t had too many surprises through the halfway point, as the Maryland Bobcats FC and the Michigan Stars FC are atop the Eastern Conference. Maryland is also on an eight-match winning streak. Out in the Western Conference, it’s a tight race at the top spot as Irvine Zeta FC is in first with 21 points, while the LA Force is right behind them in second with 19 points. The real question is, can anybody catch them to make up ground in the playoff race? We still have two and a half months left in the regular season, and things can still change in that time. Let me share my thoughts on the first half of the season. First, let’s take a look at the current NISA table.
My First Half Season Review
Going into the first half of the season, the Michigan Stars retooled their roster to gear up for another run to the NISA Championship final. The LA Force signed many top NISA players this past offseason and were the heavy favorites out west. Despite all the head coaching drama in the offseason for Irvine Zeta FC, we knew they would have a good team, and Capo FC and Arizona Monsoon FC could make things interesting. The Maryland Bobcats FC went with a returning core of players, adding some young talent from the DMV and adding veterans like Tyler Gabarra and Jacob Campbell. The Savannah Clovers FC were many people’s dark horse candidates but got off to a rough start early in the season. Georgia FC and Club de Lyon FC had tough starts with new players, young talent, and some NISA veterans to build that chemistry early in the season. The Stars won their first four matches before losing to Georgia FC on May 11 but got back on track a bit before their current form of losing two out of their last three matches. As I mentioned earlier, the Bobcats have been on a roll, and their only loss this season came to the Michigan Stars on May 4. The Bobcats avenged that loss with a 2-1 win on June 7. Club de Lyon had high expectations to improve but got off to a slow start and only have three wins this season. However, their last win was huge, finally defeating the Michigan Stars, and could spark a run for them in the second half with their head coach, Juan Martinez, leading the club with five goals. The Clovers had a slow start, only had two wins out of their first seven matches, but have been in good form, getting 7 points out of 12 in their last four matches. Even though they sit in 3rd outside the playoff spots with 14 points, if they can pick up key wins down the stretch, they could get themselves back into the hunt. Georgia FC is at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and is on a four-match losing streak. Patrick Okonkwo has cooled off a bit, as he hasn’t scored since June 7.
On the West Coast, we all thought the LA Force would run away in the Western Conference, but its first-year expansion side, Irvine Zeta FC, leading the West with 21 points. George Almeida is the club’s top goalscorer with 4, Shinya Kadono setting up the team, and goalkeeper Mitch North leading the Golden Glove Race with the most clean sheets. Zeta FC is also on an unbeaten streak of six matches. The LA Force is in second with 19 points and is led by Michael Salazar, who scored five goals, and goalkeeper Seth Torman played well in the goal. You also have to watch key role players like Chila, Joel Quist, and Alex Juarez. LA also has a game in hand on Irvine and has three more matches left against them that could determine who will be the top team out west and host a playoff match. Capo FC is third with 12 points and recently snapped its two-match losing streak with a win over Arizona. Capo beat LA once but has yet to beat Irvine Zeta this season. Like Savannah, if they want to get back in the playoff hunt, they will need to start picking up wins against the top teams in their conference. Arizona Monsoon FC is the only club without a win this season and is on a nine-match winless streak. This club has yet to catch a break with injuries, a depleted roster, postponed matches and had to forfeit a match. Let’s see if the second half can go a little better for Monsoon FC and see if they can get some wins. I’m not anticipating the top two teams in each conference to change much, but you never know. Just look at last year. At one point, it looked like Flower City Union wasn’t going to make the playoffs, but they got hot late in the second half of the season and made it, and well, we all know how that story ended for the 2023 NISA Champions.
Golden Glove and Golden Boot Race
With no Markus Naglestad in the league crushing the competition as the top goalscorer the last two seasons. In the Golden Boot Race this season its wide open. We got a three-way tie at the top as the Maryland Bobcats FC’s Darwin Espinal is in front, followed by Michigan Stars FC’s Leon Maric and Georgia FC’s Patrick Okonkwo with six goals a piece. Club de Lyon’s Juan Martinez is in fourth, and Michael Salazar of the LA Force is in fifth as both have five goals. Capo FC’s Brandon Zambrano, Irvine Zeta FC’s George Almeida, and Michigan Stars FC’s Niels Lellouch are tied in 6th with four goals.
Irvine Zeta FC’s Mitch North leads the Golden Glove Race with five clean sheets. Just behind him are three goalkeepers: LA Force Seth Torman, Maryland Bobcats FC’s Jacob Boyle, and Michigan Stars FC’s Tatenda Mkuruva, tied for second with three clean sheets. Capo FC’s Elijah King, Jordan Martinez, and Savannah Clovers Jack Crichton are all tied in third with one clean sheet a piece.
NISA Coaching Carousel
At the midway point of the season, only one NISA club has made a coaching change so far.
| Team | Head Coach at start of season | New Head Coach |
| Arizona Monsoon FC | Carlos Padilla | N/A |
| Capo FC | Peter Carey | N/A |
| *Club de Lyon FC | Hector Almandoz | Juan Martinez |
| Georgia FC | Joao Garcia | N/A |
| Irvine Zeta FC | Tyler Silva | N/A |
| LA Force | Dekel Keinan | N/A |
| Maryland Bobcats FC | Alex Kao | N/A |
| Michigan Stars FC | Enis Djokovic | N/A |
| Savannah Clovers FC | David Proctor | N/A |
Club de Lyon FC’s original plan was to bring Hector Almandoz from Chile to be their head coach at the start of the season, but that never came to fruition as he decided to stay in Chile to coach a first-division club. Club President and owner Fabian Pourrain and Assistant Coach Francisco Nunez coached the first few matches at the start of the season before Juan Martinez was appointed on May 10 as a player/Head Coach. Since he has taken over the coaching duties, Martinez is 2-1-4 with CDL and is also the club’s leading goal scorer with five goals.
NISA Expansion
If you have followed NISA long enough, we start hearing some expansion club announcements for next season when summer rolls around, so stay tuned. Sometimes, the league announces more new clubs in the fall. We know at least one expansion team has been confirmed for 2025, as NISA Nation side Las Vegas Legends FC will be moving up to the pro ranks next season, as the league made that announcement earlier this year. ALBION San Diego and the rebranded Detroit club (formerly known as Gold Star FC Detroit) are expected to return from their hiatus next season. I will share my thoughts on this topic in more detail when the league announces its expansion clubs joining NISA for the 2025 season.
What to Watch for in Second Half
I’m sure we will see some new player signings as clubs beef up their rosters for the second half of the season. We also have a tight race in the Golden Boot and Golden Glove Race, so those will be entertaining. Will Darwin Espinal, Leon Maric, or Patrick Okonkwo be the winner, or will the others make a surprise run in the NISA Golden Boot race? I would like to see if Darwin Espinal can stay atop the Golden Boot after he was in the mix for that title last year, and let’s see if his club, Maryland Bobcats, can keep their winning streak going. Also, don’t forget about Michigan’s Leon Maric, who was only one goal short of winning the NISA Golden Boot last year. Also, remember the Stars face the Bobcats three more times down the stretch. Will the LA Force, Irvine Zeta FC, Maryland Bobcats FC, and the Michigan Stars FC be able to stay atop their respective conferences to advance to the NISA playoffs, or will another NISA club get hot down the stretch like Flower City Union did last year to win it all? Let’s see what the second half of the season has in store for us.
That concludes my NISA midseason report. Later this week, I’ll post my recap on round 1 of the NISA Independent Cup matches.
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