The NPSL Briefing Week 8: It’s Miami vs. Club de Lyon, Charlottetowne vs. Bristol for the Last Playoff Spots
Welcome to Week 8 of The NPSL Briefing! Below are our Games of the Week for the Gulf Coast Sunshine and Southeast Conferences, along with last week’s results and a preview into every game this weekend.
Gulf Coast Sunshine Conference:
Game of the Week: Naples United vs Jacksonville Armada U23
Credit Jacksonville Armada; Mark Hrvojevic pictured
Saturday, June 28 at 7:00pm EST
John N Allen Family Stadium (Naples, FL; Capacity 1,100)
This match-up showcases the top two teams in the conference, and will be the only time they face each other in the regular season. Jacksonville has first place locked up, but this could easily be a preview for what's to come in the playoffs. Both teams have been scoring plenty of goals, and defenses will surely be stretched thin. I'll give the nod here to Naples at home in a high-scoring game.
Last Week’s Results:
Naples United 2-2 Club de Lyon
Global Soccer Pathways 1-1 Miami Dutch Lions
Jacksonville Armada U23 6-0 FC Florida (Mark Hrvojevic scored four goals)
FC Florida 0-2 Miami Dutch Lions
Global Soccer Pathways 0-3 Jacksonville Armada U23
This Week:
Club de Lyon vs Miami Dutch Lions (Saturday, June 28 at 4:00pm EST)
First thing that needs to be noted is that this will be CdL's final “home” game, and will be played at Miami's home field. Clearly there's an underlying issue, as Club de Lyon only played their first match of the season at their intended home. CdL shouldn't have any trouble getting three points here. Whatever is going on off the field is unfortunate, because Club de Lyon continues to field a good team despite the difficulties. A winner here would have a leg up on getting into the playoffs.
Global Soccer Pathways vs FC Florida (Saturday, June 28 at 4:00pm EST)
FC Florida should have the edge here, but a draw last week against Miami would call that into question. The first match between these two sides went 3-1 in favor of FC Florida. At home. GSP might pull off a mild upset and get their first win of the season.
Miami Dutch Lions vs Naples United (Tuesday, July 1 at 7:00 pm EST)
Miami is coming in off of a mild upset win over FC Florida, and Naples will be coming into this one off of a short turnaround. If Naples loses to Jacksonville on Saturday, then this could be an upset in the making. After a rough start to the season, Miami could also pass CdL for a playoff position.
Standings:
Jacksonville Armada: 22 Points (+25 GD, 8 GP)
Naples United: 17 Points (+24 GD, 8 GP)
New Orleans Jesters: 10 Points (+2 GD, 5 GP)
Club de Lyon: 10 Points (+5 GD, 8 GP)
Miami Dutch Lions: 9 Points (-9 GD, 8 GP)
FC Florida: 8 Points (-8 GD, 8 GP)
PSC Florida: 3 points (-8 GD, 4 GP)
Global Soccer Pathways : 2 Points (-31 GD, 9 GP)
Southeast Conference:
Apologies for the missing coverage of the Southeast Conference last week. Below is last week’s scores and a quick recap on how that affects the standings and playoff picture.
Port City FC 2-1 Greenville United
Burlington United 1-3 Bristol Rhythm AFC
Hickory FC 4-1 865 Alliance
Charlottetowne Hops FC 1-5 Appalachian FC
865 Alliance 2-1 Port City FC
With Port City picking up a win and a loss last week, and Appalachian FC grabbing a huge away win against the Hops, both clubs are tied on points for 2nd in the Conference. However, Appalachian hold the head-to-head tiebreaker from their 4-1 opening-season win, so these next two weeks will prove huge in the hunt for a home playoff game (a game that will likely be against each other). Hickory’s win kept their unbeaten season alive, and a record crowd of over 5,000 fans saw them clinch the regular season conference title. Meanwhile, Bristol’s win against lowly Burlington means they are only 3 points behind the Hops for the final playoff spot with 2 games in hand!
Game of the Week: Bristol Rhythm AFC vs. Charlottetowne Hops FC
Wednesday, July 2 at 7:00pm EST
Gene Malcolm Stadium (Bristol, VA; Capacity 4,000)
Battle for the 4th and Final Playoff Spot
Speaking of Bristol and the Hops, they face off on Wednesday in what is sure to be the match that decides their seasons and playoff hopes. This is Bristol’s most winnable game left this season, as their two games in hand will be against Appalachian FC and Hickory FC. While they beat Appalachian earlier in the year and had a close loss to Hickory, it will still be difficult to get results against the Top 2 teams in the conference. They have a nice home advantage against a Hops side that will need the win in their last game for extra security and an above .500 record. Both sides have been inconsistent in front of goal and defending the net, so this matchup will be decided by which players can step up when the lights are brightest.
This Week:
Port City FC vs. Hickory FC (Saturday, June 28 at 6:00pm EST): Hickory may rest players before the playoffs and only play for the pride of being potential invincibles, but their talent will still cause problems for Port City in Wilmington. It was a bad loss for the home team away against 865 Alliance in a match which they should’ve won to go second. Now, they’ll need to see if their struggling defense can stand tall and win by out-scoring the opponent.
Greenville United vs. Burlington United (Saturday, June 28 at 7:00pm EST): Greenville still have an outside chance of the playoffs. With two wins in their final two games, first against Burlington and second against Port City, and if Bristol beat Charlottetowne but lose their two games in hand (there is a situation where one draw and one loss would be fine, as well, but that involves goal differential as they split the H2H series), they’re in as the 4 seed. It’s entirely possible, so they can be expected to take a big 3 points against the winless expansion side.
Appalachian FC vs. Bristol Rhythm AFC (Saturday, June 28 at 7:00pm EST): Bristol’s big match before the Game of the Week sees them travel to Boone, North Carolina, where the rowdy fans of Appalachian FC await them. The club did beat Appalachian earlier in the year, but with goalscoring threats Jaron Oughterson and Luke Frost in good form and the club on a 2-game win streak, it will be hard to stop Appalachian from winning to stay in second place.
Burlington United vs. 865 Alliance (Wednesday, July 2 at 7:00pm EST): A battle for pride between the bottom two teams in the conference is the best opportunity for Burlington to pick up a win in front of their home fans, who have shown up in good numbers throughout the inaugural season. United plays closer games with home advantage, and 865 is yet to even get a single result on the road. Big upset potential here.
Standings:
Hickory FC: 24 Points (+21 GD, 8 GP)
Appalachian FC: 15 Points (+9 GD, 8 GP)
Port City FC: 15 Points (+4 GD, 8 GP)
Charlottetowne Hops FC: 13 Points (+5 GD, 9 GP)
Bristol Rhythm AFC: 10 Points (+1 GD, 7 GP)
Greenville United: 8 Points (-4 GD, 8GP)
865 Alliance: 7 Points (-12 GD, 8 GP)
Burlington United : 1 Point (-21 GD, 8 GP)
Hickory FC are regular season champions!
Burlington United are eliminated from playoff contention. There is a scenario in which 865 Alliance win out and tie on points for the 4th playoff spot, but their goal differential (a tiebreaker) being so poor means they’re practically eliminated, as well.
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