Welcome to the National Semifinal Edition of The NPSL Briefing! Below is our preview of the game.
National Semifinal 1:
Hickory FC vs Ristozi FC
Credit Hickory FC
Saturday, July 26 at 7:00pm EST
Moretz Stadium (Hickory, NC; Capacity 7200)
Hickory FC won the South Region Championship last week, and are squaring off this week against Ristozi FC. Owen Chapman had a great recap of that game:
Hickory FC Takes Down Lubbock Matadors in Front of Nearly 5000 Fans, Advances to NPSL National Semifinals
Hickory, N.C.-- Hickory FC knew this South Regional Final wouldn’t be pretty—and the opening 45 minutes against the Lubbock Matadors proved it. From the opening whistle, the match carried the weight of two teams who understand exactly what’s at stake: a chance to punch their ticket to the NPSL national semifinals.
That huge win moved Hickory into the final four, where they'll have a huge advantage hosting Saturday’s match. Ristozi FC are playing in their first season, and are based in the Baltimore area. They finished second in their division in the regular season behind Virginia Dreams, and have charged into the semi-finals a little bit under the radar. They have been very good at both ends of the pitch, and they are going to be an extremely tough opponent. They're led by American University's Toshi Davis, who previously played for Annapolis Blues.
Hickory is undefeated on the season, and they'll be expecting another big crowd to cheer them on in their quest for the national title. Their first job is to slow down the Ristozi attack, and see if they can find an early goal to apply pressure. The weather has been a huge factor in soccer games around the country, and we've seen tons of lightning delays over the past couple of weeks. The issue in Hickory tomorrow will be the heat. The temp at kickoff is expected to be 90 degrees with a “feels like” temperature of 96. A high intensity match like this is going to see players cramping up, and the depth of the benches will be critical.
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