No. 2 Pelicans, No. 5 Battle Lions meet Sunday in first leg of 850 Cup challenge
Pensacola and Tallahassee, ranked in the top five nationally, will renew their Florida Panhandle rivalry at Ashton Brosnaham Stadium tomorrow.
The Florida Panhandle 850 Cup is awarded to the region’s best semipro men’s soccer club based on head-to-head competition. CREDIT: Tallahassee SC
History predicts 850 Cup draw
Undefeated Pensacola FC will host undefeated Tallahassee SC in one of the weekend's marquee matchups Sunday, but history suggests there may not be a clear-cut winner; the Pelicans and Lions have tied the last five times they’ve played at Ashton Brosnaham Stadium.
The Florida Panhandle rivals will try to end that trend tomorrow when they meet for the first time as members of The League for Clubs’ Gulf Coast Conference. Pensacola (3-0-0, 9 points, +15 goal differential) and Tallahassee (2-0-0, 6 points, +10) appear to be the strongest of the new conference’s nine teams.
The Pelicans outscored previously undefeated Gaffa FC 4-2 on Wednesday after a 9-0 thrashing of Valdosta FC on the weekend; the win helped it move up to second place in TLfC’s rankings of its 52 member clubs, behind just FC Davis (9-0-0) of the NorCal Conference.
Tallahassee’s Battle Lions, fifth in the TLfC rankings, has convincing wins against Valdosta (7-2) and Sowegans (6-1).
Between them, Pensacola and Tallahassee boast six of the conference’s top 22 scorers. Pelicans Bruno Marques and Sy Fontenot lead the list with 6 and 5 goals, respectively; teammates Rodrigo Bacci and Kenta Yagi have two apiece.
Kasper Wollstein, Connor Parry and Mirai Sato each have scored three times for Tallahassee.
Florida Panhandle 850 Cup
Sunday’s match, which kicks off at 3 p.m. at Ashton Brosnaham Stadium, is significant beyond its playoff implications. In 2019, supporters of the Pelicans, Battle Lions and Florida Roots (Panama City) split the cost of a $75 trophy, the Florida Panhandle 850 Cup, to be presented each season to the team of the three with the best record against the other two. Pensacola, which has held the cup since 2021, and Tallahassee will vie former the cup this year after Roots decided against joining The League for Clubs.
STANDINGS
(As of May 23)
Pensacola FC, 3-0-0, 9 points, +15
Tallahassee SC, 2-0-0, 6 points, +10
Gaffa FC, 2-1-0, 6 points, +8
PFC Academy, 1-1-1, 4 points, even
Union 10 FC, 1-0-0, 3 points, +1
Sowegans SC, 1-2-0, 3 points, -7
AFC Mobile, 0-1-1, 1 point, -6
Gulf Coast United FC, 0-2-0, -5
Valdosta FC, 0-3-0, -16
MATCHES
(Times CDT)
Saturday, May 24
• Sowegans SC vs. Valdosta FC, 6:15 p.m., Lee County Sports Complex, Leesburg, Ga.
• Gulf Coast United FC vs. Gaffa FC, 7 p.m., Herbert Wilson Stadium, Gulfport, Miss.
Sunday, May 25
• Pensacola FC vs. Tallahassee SC, 4 p.m., Ashton Brosnaham Stadium, Pensacola, Fla.
Thursday, May 29
• Gaffa FC vs. Union 10 FC, 7 p.m., Stribling Field, Ridgeland, Miss.
• Gulf Coast United FC vs. PFC Academy, 7 p.m., Herbert Wilson Stadium
Saturday, May 31
• PFC Academy vs. Valdosta FC, 4 p.m., Ashton Brosnaham Stadium, Pensacola, Fla.
• Union 10 FC vs. Gaffa FC, 5 p.m., Al Trione Sports Complex, Daphne, Ala.
• Pensacola FC vs. Sowegans SC, 7:15 p.m., Ashton Brosnaham Stadium, Pensacola, Fla.
Sunday, June 1
• Tallahassee SC vs. AFC Mobile, 3 p.m., Gene Cox Stadium, Tallahassee, Fla.