Matchweek 15 is in the books in the NISA league. We were initially supposed to have four matches but ended up with just two matches played due to forfeits. The Maryland Bobcats FC extended their winning streak to 10 matches unbeaten, going on the road to defeat Georgia FC, while Irvine Zeta FC won at home against Capo FC. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s recap all the NISA action.
Georgia FC 0 Maryland Bobcats FC 2 (Wednesday July 24)
The Maryland Bobcats FC extended their unbeaten run to 10 matches after their 2-0 win on the road against Georgia FC at Dalton Stadium last Wednesday. Elijah Amo connects with Darwin Espinal to score the opener in the 37th minute to give the Bobcats a 1-0 lead just before halftime. Espinal extends his lead in the NISA Golden Boot Race with ten goals this season. In the second half, Espinal connects with Caleb Prichett and slots this into the back of the net in the 79th minute to seal the win for Maryland. The Bobcats stay atop and extend their lead in the Eastern Conference with 33 points, while Georgia FC remains at the bottom with 10 points. The Bobcat’s next match is the East Regional final in the NISA Independent Cup against Golden Ball Soccer Academy this weekend. Georgia FC will have to wait a while as their next match will be on August 21 on the road against Club de Lyon FC.
Irvine Zeta FC 3 Capo FC 1 (Wednesday July 24)
Irvine Zeta FC also extended their unbeaten streak to eight matches with a 3-1 victory over Capo FC last Wednesday at Championship Stadium. Capo FC would give up a penalty kick to Irvine Zeta FC in the first half. George Almeida buries his penalty kick from the spot in the 39th minute to put Zeta FC in front 1-0. A few minutes later, Capo FC gives up another penalty kick to Irvine. Shinya Kadono slots this goal to extend Zeta FC’s lead by two just before halftime. In the second half, Almeida would get another one as he gets a foot to it on the cross from Kadono, and Zeta FC takes a 3-0 lead. That would also be Almeida’s second goal of the night and his seventh of the season. Parker Scalzo would get one goal for Capo FC, but it was not enough, as Irvine Zeta FC took this one 3-1 and remains unbeaten against Capo FC this season. Irvine Zeta FC’s next match is to make up its postponed round 2 NISA Independent Cup match against NISA Nation side Silicon Valley Rush. Capo FC’s next match will be at home on August 14 against the LA Force.
As I mentioned in the intro, we had two clubs, the Savannah Clovers FC and Arizona Monsoon FC, who forfeited their respective matches due to league operations manual violations last week, and NISA awarded 3-0 victories to the Michigan Stars and the LA Force. The next NISA league match on the schedule is August 7, when the LA Force hosts Arizona Monsoon FC at LBCC Soccer Field. I’ll have another podcast episode, and a recap of the two regional championship matches over the weekend later this week. Stay tuned!
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