Irvine Zeta FC 3 Michigan Stars FC 0 (Saturday October 12)
In our one NISA Playoff matchup from the weekend, Irvine Zeta FC took care of business, defeating the Michigan Stars FC 3-0 at Championship Stadium and advancing to the NISA championship to face the Los Angeles Force. Irvine Zeta FC got off to a great start as Jonathan Estrada scored the opener in the 8th minute to take a 1-0 lead. The game completely changed in the 35th minute as Stars goalkeeper Tatenda Mkuruva was caught off his line, interfering with a goal-scoring chance from Zeta FC when the foul occurred outside the box. Mkuruva received a straight red card from the referee, and the Stars had to play the rest of the match down to 10-men. Irvine Zeta FC would take a 1-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, Joseph Ciochetto delivered a stellar strike in the 61st minute to extend Zeta FC’s lead by two. George Almeida would add another goal four minutes later to put Irvine Zeta FC up 3-0 and put this match away. The Stars didn’t have many scoring chances in this match, and there were times when Leon Maric was left by himself up top and could not find a way to break the Zeta FC backline. The Stars 2024 season ends on a 9-match winless streak (unless you count their recent 3-0 forfeit wins over Savannah, Georgia FC, and CDL at the end of the regular season), and their overall NISA Playoff record drops to 4-0-2.
As for Irvine Zeta FC, in their inaugural season in NISA, they’ve made it to the NISA championship. Standing in their way is a familiar opponent as the LA Force will host their 405 derby rivals on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium. It will be the seventh meeting between these two sides. Zeta FC is 1-2-3 overall in their previous meetings during the regular season. In their last matchup, the LA Force defeated Irvine Zeta FC 2-0 at Championship Stadium on September 15. Irvine Zeta FC has not beaten the LA Force at Veterans Memorial Stadium all season, going 0-2-1. In both of those draws, Irvine Zeta FC had a 2-0 lead before LA Force fought back to score two late goals and walk out with a point in both matches. However, LA Force’s previous match was a 2-1 win over Capo FC on September 21, so similar to the Michigan Stars, it will be almost a month since they played their last match. Still, there are plenty of players to keep an eye on the Force, such as leading goalscorer Michael Salazar, Mou War, and NISA Golden Glove Winner Seth Torman. The last time the LA Force were in the NISA championship was during the 2020-2021 season when the Force fell 1-0 to Detroit City FC. This will be the first NISA championship final in southern California after the previous NISA championship matches have been played in Michigan for the last four seasons. The NISA championship or Game 7 between these two sides will be a close battle between two rivals with a championship trophy on the line, and it should be a good one on Saturday. You can watch the match on NISA+, and we’ll find out who will lift their first NISA championship trophy.
Stay tuned! I will have not one but two podcast episodes out this week featuring two guests to preview the championship match this weekend.
NISA Today FC Podcast 