UPSL Action January 18-19

UPSL Division One Playoffs

Dan Vaughn

Foro Soccer Club vs Houston FC

So I refused to pick a winner in Houston FC’s matchup last week with Almeyda, said it was too close to call. Houston disagreed with me and won 2-1. The other match I previewed was Foro vs Alamo City SC. In that one, I predicted that Alamo City would prevail due to their ability to win on the road. I was wrong, Foro advanced 2-1. So where do we stand today, with these two clubs taking on each other for the Central Conference Final?

Where we stand is two confident clubs, battle-tested and ready for this Texas-sized matchup. Houston was as good away as they were at home, hauling in 5 wins and losing once away from home. I cannot imagine being on the road will affect Houston. Foro was perfect at home this season, with an impressive +35 GD. What I’m saying is that both of these clubs are great and this is going to be a war. At this point of the season, this should be expected.

I’m predicting a Houston FC win on the road, 2-1.

Santa Ana Winds FC vs Contra Costa FC

Last week Contra Costa took on Pajaro Valley United. The Wild West Championship match ended at 2-2 after regular time, so the clubs went to PKs. That ended with a CCFC win 6-5. Wild West is right! Contra Costa’s regular season record, which ended with the club atop the Wild West - Blue Division, wasn’t as gaudy as some of the other playoff clubs (5-3-2), but their gritty play has earned them the chance to knock off one of the premier clubs of the UPSL, Santa Ana Winds.

Santa Ana advanced from the highly competitive and deep (11 clubs) SoCal North Division. Winds ended their regular season without a loss and earned 3 points from every match, except one. While their goal production was impressive, their real excellence lies in their stingy defense that ended the season only surrendering 8 goals in 12 matches. In their playoff matchup earlier this month with SoCal South Division Champions San Diego White Tigers FC, they surrendered 2 goals, something Winds only did twice all season. Granted White Tigers had a regular season goal differential of +37, but Winds still managed to overcome the high scoring club by putting up 4 of their own.

So now CCFC must take another long road trip (7+ hours worth of driving) to face a formidable same-state foe. I’ll predict the home team in this match, Santa Ana wins 3-0.

Florida Soccer Soldiers vs. Red Force FC

Red Force FC played Miami Sun FC last week and though a high scoring affair was expected, the two clubs only managed 3 goals, with Red Force pulling ahead 2-1 to advance. Their opponent will be Florida Soccer Soldiers, who defeated fellow conference foe PSL United 2-1 to advance to this match. FSS and RFFC have played each other twice this season with a win for FSS and a draw.

Predicting this one is easy, though easy predictions are often wrong. I’ll take Soccer Soldiers 3-1 over Red Force FC.

Shawn Laird

OFC Barca vs Sporting Orlando

After dominating in last week’s 3-0 win, OFC Barca looks to continue their winning ways by defeating Sporting Orlando, who won their own match 3-0 last weekend. In my eyes, that was a surprising and very unexpected victory by a team that placed sixth during the regular season. However, it should be noted that form doesn’t necessarily carry over from one round to the next.

Am I hoping for a great game? That’s a resounding hell yes. Sporting has run the gamut in terms of results this season and their luck turned a corner over the last couple of weeks. But, with how merciless OFC Barca has been to this point, I expect Sporting’s form to fail them and their luck to run out. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing but love for Sporting. I just don’t see them knocking off Barca.

I fully expect Barca to keep a clean sheet on Sunday, so I’m taking them with a 4-0 win and moving on to the Florida Championship match.

UPSL Division Two Promotion Match

Ryan Stallings

Tyler FC Kings vs Football Factory Premier

In the Central Conference, Red River Division 2, the Tulsa Athletic U23 side have all but wrapped up the division title, but another promotion spot to division one in the spring 2020 season remains. It would seem only appropriate that the remaining rival claimants for that promotion, Football Factory Premier & Tyler FC, will meet in their season’s grudge match with that Division 1 place on the line.

Both Football Factory Premier and Tyler FC enter this weekend’s match with 20 points on the table. However, Tyler FC has a game in hand, a nearly assured victory over Dallas City the following week, so FF Premier will need nothing less than a victory to give themselves a shot at promotion from the 2nd division. Tyler FC, holding the home field advantage in this tilt, will need at least a draw this weekend to continue to control their own fate into their final weekend of play.

In their previous meetings this season, each club secured their home turf. Tyler FC won an offensive battle, 6-4, on October 5th, while FF Premier administered a 5-0 beat down back home in Richardson, Texas, the following week. With bragging rights, and much more, on the line this weekend, expect a competitive score line more like the first meeting and less like the second. Both teams enter the match with victories over the Arkansas Wolves in their most recent action, but that last match for Tyler FC was two weeks ago. Whether that parlays into rest or rust on the pitch for the home side will be the deciding factor in this game.

Prediction: FF Premier leads by a goal or two early, but Tyler FC storms back to eventually claim promotion to Central Conference Division 1 with a 4-3 victory.

Quick Kicks: UPSL Division One Playoff Matches Jan 11-12

Joshua Duder

Pajaro Valley United FC vs. Contra Costa FC - On Saturday, January 11th, the UPSL playoffs bring us a “Wild West” shoot-out when Red Conference winner Pajaro Valley United FC host Blue Conference winner Contra Costa FC. Pajaro Valley Utd earned their way to the playoffs by winning their division and outscoring their opponents 20 to 15, earning 3 clean-sheets and then capping their season with a first-round playoff win over Oakland Stompers 3-1. The boys from Pajaro Valley went unbeaten at home this season, earning 16 of their 19 points on the pitch at Watsonville High School. 

Contra Costa FC, who shut out JASA RWC 2-0 in last week’s first-round of UPSL playoffs, will have to travel two hours up the 680 to Watsonville for the second-round. Contra Costa finished the season with one less point in their respective table, earning 18 points from 10 matches; however, 8 of those points came on the road where they only lost one away match all Fall. The match is set for a high-noon kickoff and will be available on the “PV United” MyCujoo page. The winner will move on to represent, not only California, but everything west of the Rockies, in the following rounds of the UPSL Fall Season Playoffs.

Dan Vaughn

Almeyda FC vs. Houston FC - This matchup is a tough one to measure. Both clubs play in the same conference and Almeyda won the conference by a single point. Houston’s only loss this season came against Almeyda, in the first month of the Fall season, meaning that result decided the conference regular season title. Goal differential (my favorite measure of success) is a single goal between these two.

Trying to find what separates these two clubs is tough. In the second meeting of these clubs in the regular season, the match ended in a 3-3 draw. But Houston FC had been up 3-1 early in the second half and the second goal from Almeyda was a Houston FC own goal. So what does all that mean? Who the hell knows. This matchup will be a great match, but picking a winner is impossible. Let’s see tomorrow!

Foro Soccer Club vs. Alamo City SC - Foro Soccer Club had one of the best seasons in the UPSL this year, finishing with a single loss in a very top heavy Central Conference - North. That record was achieved with a hefty +35 goal differential. The only loss was to fellow playoff club, Inocentes FC, 2-1 in late December. And that’s where the plot thickens.

The club Foro will be hosting is Alamo City SC, who interestingly enough, had a bigger GD (+43) in a slightly stronger conference (Heart). Granted that GD was padded by a 17 goal whipping of Bell County, but you play the clubs on your schedule. Alamo City SC was perfect on the road, going 5-0-0, so traveling to Foro shouldn’t be an issue. Another caveat, ACSC’s last win (2-1) was against the only club that beat Foro SC this year, Inocentes FC.

So which wins out? I’m putting my money on the club that has no problem winning on the road and who just knocked off Inocentes, Alamo City SC.

Shawn Laird

OFC Barca vs. Atletico Orlando - OFC Barca takes on Atletico Orlando this weekend in the quarterfinals of the UPSL Southeast-Florida Central playoffs in a matchup of the regular season champions and the number 5 team in the conference.  OFC Barca goes into this game undefeated with a perfect record of 14W-0D-0L and a goal difference of +39.  It seems like no one could stop this absolute juggernaut of a squad this season, with them easily averaging 4.2 goals per match.  On the other side, Atletico Orlando has struggled this season but still managed a respectable 5W-2D-6L, though they ended with a -3 goal difference.

On paper, OFC Barca should easily win this due to the superior average goals per game (4.2 to 1.9 goals).  However, crazier things have happened, and it wouldn't surprise me if Atletico pulled off an upset.  Unfortunately, I don't see that happening and predict a Barca win by a score of 5-1.

Inter Orlando vs. Sporting Orlando - In the other Florida Central Division playoff matchup, the academy of Inter Orlando faces off with Sporting Orlando.  Like OFC Barca, Inter Orlando Academy steamrolled through the conference this season.  However, when Inter faced off against Barca, they were handed two losses by a combined score of 4-0.  If you were to take those two losses out, Inter outscored opponents 41-9 and showed why they were a force this season.

Sporting had high hopes for this season when it began, but things went awry for them.  They go into this match against Inter with a 4W-4D-5L record and a -3 goal difference.  It's hard to pinpoint what may have happened during the season, however, for them to still be in the playoffs at this point is a testament to their drive as a team.

Unfortunately, I have to predict who will win and I feel that Inter will easily handle Sporting.  It's anyone's guess how much Inter could win by, but Inter should get a clean sheet out of this.

Jose Davila IV

Miami Sun FC vs. Red Force FC - Two South Florida powerhouses will face off for a spot in the UPSL Fall Division 1 Florida Division semifinals on Saturday night at 6:30pm local time. The home team, Miami Sun FC, finished 2nd in the Florida South Division to Florida Soccer Soldiers during the regular season and will host the match at Doral Meadows Park. Miami Sun ended the regular season in that spot due to a goal differential of 20, one better than that of the third-place team: Red Force FC. The clubs finished seven points behind FSS. Spectators should expect a highly attacking affair as Miami Sun led the league in goals scored with 45 and Red Force finished 2nd with 41. Both teams head into the affair after a long holiday period off. Before the break, Miami Sun crushed Hurricane FC 9-1 in a game played at the Orange Bowl Field and Red Force took care of Boca Raton FC 6-2 at home.