Forward Madison vs. Charlotte Independence
Saturday, April 29, 5:00 pm CST
Breese Stevens Field, Madison, WI
The Mingos will play host to The Jacks in a battle between two of the three remaining undefeated clubs in the league. Charlotte Independence has played double the matches, making their streak even more impressive, and sit at the top of the table with 12 points.
Both sides are led by offensive firepower. Charlotte’s forward attack includes premier league veteran Gabriel Obertan, who leads the league in chances created, along with USL Championship all-time leading goal scorer Dane Kelly. The Jacks shore up this duo with Khori Bennett and Tresor Mbuyu, both of whom led the team in goals last season with 11 a piece. However, this season has seen six goals from six different players, from all three lines. Shutting down one or two of the players isn’t enough, as this club has proven capable of scoring from anywhere, from forwards, midfielders and defenders.
Obertan’s status is questionable, as the midfielder/forward exited the last league match with an apparent injury and did not make the trip to Charleston for a mid-week US Open Cup match.
Forward Madison is led by off-season acquisition Christian Chaney who already has two league goals in three matches. In its last match against Greenville Triumph, a 4-1 victory, Chaney scored the league goal-of-the-week on an assist by Jayden Onen, only seconds after goalkeeper Bernd Schipmann saved a penalty kick. Unfortunately, Onen, who leads the club in assists, received a red card minutes later and will be ineligible for the Charlotte match.
Speaking of goalkeepers, Charlotte’s Austin Pack is putting up goalkeeper-of-the-year-worthy numbers so far, with a league-leading 19 saves and three clean sheets. He has shown himself a tough wall to crack, giving Charlotte more freedom on the offensive attack.
Forward Madison Absent / Questionable: Nazeem Bartman (injury), Jayden Onen (red card suspension)
Charlotte Independence Absent / Questionable: Bachir Ndiaye (injury), Gabriel Obertan (injury/probable), Carson Tallboys (injury)
Greenville Triumph vs. North Carolina FC
Saturday, April 29, 7:00 pm EST
Paladin Stadium, Greenville, SC
Two clubs with active two-match win streaks face off in Greenville. The hosts are coming off of victories over Fuego FC and Lexington SC in which they scored five goals and gave up none. The visitors count Union Omaha and Chattanooga Red Wolves as their victims, also scoring five goals while conceding one.
Greenville is eager to prove itself against one of the league’s top clubs after a dismal start followed by victories over two clubs near the bottom of the table. While plagued by injuries and slow starts from those expected to score goals, midfielder Noah Pilato has stepped up with three, which matches the number of goals he scored in three seasons in the league prior to this season. Lucas Coutinho has added two more, with Leo Castro adding a goal and two assists.
North Carolina FC is led by off-season acquisition Rafa Mentzingen, who currently leads the league in goals at four. Not to be outdone, Oalex Anderson has added two and an assist, and the other marquee off-season signing Louis Perez has one goal. Mikey Maldonado, yet another big off-season addition, has been running the midfield offensively and defensively, and has provided a pair of assists. In between the value added by the newcomers and the returning veterans having a fire lit by all this new talent, this team is on a four match unbeaten streak.
Greenville Triumph Absent / Questionable: Ben Hale, Brandon Fricke, Jamie Smith, Nate Schultz, Noah Franke, Daniel Wu, Hassan Gabo, Tevin Shaw
North Carolina FC Absent / Questionable: Luke Croll, Max Flick, Cole Frame, Marvin Mariche, Daniel Navarro (probable), Tor Saunders
Chattanooga Red Wolves SC vs. Lexington SC
Saturday, April 29, 7:30 pm EST
CHI Memorial Stadium, Chattanooga, TN
Chattanooga is struggling in its rebuild, while Lexington SC is still trying to take flight in its expansion year. The two clubs will match up in East Ridge, each trying to separate from the bottom of the table. Red Wolves SC currently sit in 11th place, with Lexington just above in 10th.
Red Wolves SC are so far led by midfielders Andrew Paoli and Walter Valera, who have a goal a piece in regular season play. They’re a far cry from their 2022 goal numbers, but may get some help as Ropapa Mensah comes up to speed with the system. The forward was delayed in starting the season due to visa issues and came in for the last ten minutes in a lopsided loss to NCFC last weekend. He brings 107 matches worth of experience in the USL Championship, where he scored 25 goals and 15 assists over five seasons. He spent 2022 recovering from injury in Egypt, and returns ready for a path back regular minutes in the USL.
Of note, assistant coach Jimmy Weekly returns to the club this week. Weekly took over when former coach Jimmy Obleda was outsted mid-season in 2022, and led the Red Wolves to the playoff finals.
Lexington’s lone win was over defending champions Tormenta FC, but they dropped a home match against Greenville Triumph last weekend. Their four goals have come from four different players, indicating a broad attack, but they’ve been struggling to turn possession into goals over five matches.
Red Wolves SC absent / questionable: Christian Enriquez (injury), Jonny Guadarrama, Yahir Paez (injury), Richard Renteria (visa)
Lexington SC absent / questionable: Will Baynham (injury/probable), Erick Ceja Gonzalez (injury), Pierre Mané (visa), Cesar Murillo (red card suspension)
Tormenta FC vs. Richmond Kickers
Saturday, April 29, 7:30 pm EST
Tormenta Stadium, Statesboro, GA
A battle between the defending playoff champions and the defending regular season table champions is a pivotal one for both squads. Tormenta FC has seen ups and downs this season, with three wins and three losses. When they win, they’re good, and when they lose, they’ve been really bad. Richmond, meanwhile, has struggled to find the back of the net, with only two goals in four matches. None have come from three time Golden Boot winner Emiliano Terzaghi.
Tormenta FC has been without star striker Kazaiah Sterling, who suffered an apparent head injury in pre-season. The 24 year old Englishman has only seen one appearance off the bench so far, and beyond that has not even appeared on the roster. Nevertheless, they’ve been able to find plenty of goals, with Jackson Khoury and Mukwelle Akale leading the way with three and two respectively. Matheus Cassini and Pedro Fonseca have also chipped in a goal a piece. But it all depends on which Torementa side shows up to any given match this season, as they’ve suffered embarrassing lopsided defeats to Charlotte Independence and Northern Colorado Hailstorm, and another 2-1 loss to expansion side Lexington SC.
The good news for Tormenta FC is the return of Jake Dengler. The defenseman exited a few weeks ago with injury, but returned for US Open Cup action this week.
Richmond plays a grinding style that tends to slow down and stifle offenses, but have struggled offensively themselves. Only Kharlton Belmar and Owayne Gordon have found the back of the net in regular season play. Nil Vinyals has been a standout in the midfield, winning player of the month honors for the first month of the season. Still, they’ll need to figure out how to open up more scoring. By this point in 2022, Terzaghi already had three goals.
Tormenta FC absent / questionable: Arthur Bosua (injury), Kazaiah Sterling (injury)
Richmond Kickers absent / questionable: David Olsen (injury), Ethan Vanacore-Decker (injury)
Union Omaha vs. Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC
Saturday April 29, 7:00pm CST
Werner Park, Papillion, NE
The Owls play host to road warriors Hailstorm FC as they return to their normal home of Werner Park after spending some time hosting at the University of Nebraska Omaha.
Hailstorm FC brings a three match undefeated and clean sheet streak, all coming on the road.
Union Omaha’s lone loss came at the hands of a red-hot North Carolina FC side, and they are coming off a clean-sheet draw against top-of-the-table Charlotte Independence.
Omaha has four goals in four matches, all of which came from a different player. So far, newcomers Joe Gallardo and Steevan Dos Santos have delivered, and returning forward Noe Meza and midfielder JP Scearce have shown flashes of brilliance. The club shows signs of breaking out of the middle of the table, but it’s going to be a tough match against Hailstorm FC.
The Northern Colorado side is on the back half of a six match road trip, which hasn’t phased them so far. Backed by goalkeeper Edward Delgado, they have yet to concede a goal, and have sent a relentless offensive attack after their first three opponents. The attack took down an off-night Tormenta FC side, but found strong goalkeeping against Chattanooga and a defense against Richmond, resulting in 0-0 draws. It should be much the same as they visit Omaha, with Rashid Nuhu between the pipes.
Union Omaha absent / questionable: Eddie Gordon, Stefan Mueller (injury)
Hailstorm FC absent / questionable: Irvin Parra
Fuego FC vs. One Knoxville SC
One Knox SC makes its first trip to Fresno to take on Fuego FC, two weeks after drawing the side at home. Both sides are coming off losses in the meantime, and are desperate to separate from the bottom of the table.
Fuego FC’s offense has struggled to find chances over the last two matches, especially until later in the match. a 1-0 loss at Charlotte saw only one shot on target, and only five overall, all of which came late in the second half. They’re led by Othoniel Arce Jaramillo, who has one goal on six shots. The Mexican national was billed as a scoring machine in various Liga MX levels, and will need to find the back of the net to help his side get out of the basement.
One Knox SC started strong with a win over fellow expansion side Lexington SC, but hasn’t found much luck since. Jake Keegan leads the way with two goals, but they’ve struggled to contain offensive breakaways, something that seems to have gotten worse with the injury of right back James Thomas. It won’t get much easier without some major, successful adjustments since last week, as Angelo Kelly-Rosales will be serving a red card suspension. There were high hopes in the preseason, but expansion blues may have set in.
Fuego FC absent / questionable: Ofek Antman (injury), Abdul Cromwell (injury), Jose Carrera-Garcia (visa), Sam Strong (injury), Adrian Vera (red card suspension)
One Knoxville SC absent / questionable: Gabriel Claudio, Angelo Kelly-Rosales (red card suspension), James Thomas (injury)