UMA playoff match is set

First thoughts on Legion's roster moves

UMA FC II

Image credit: UMA FC

UMA will be hosting Potros U23 for a first round playoff match on Sunday, December 7 at 5:30 CT. The winner will go on to face the winner of the Atletico Buford II vs LSA Norcross 2 match that will be played on December 6. The UPSL playoff format is honestly a mystery to me, as the match-ups don't follow any reasoning, seeding, or thought to geography that I can determine. But UMA will surely be happy to be playing at home.

UMA has had a very strong Fall season, and have posted the highest total for goals scored across both conferences, at 47. That's well above the next best teams, which scored 35 (Buford II, and Lawrenceville). Meanwhile, Potros scored just 26 goals during the Fall, while also allowing 25. They had a slower start to the season, but closed out with a run of five wins in a row. I would favor UMA here, but this will probably be a closer game than might be indicated at first glance.

Birmingham Legion

Image credit: Birmingham Legion

Birmingham has announced initial roster moves, and the press release focused on who wouldn't be returning, with very little information for who will be returning. Compared to information given by other teams, the Legion info is a little bit thin.

First, the departures. Moses Mensah, Ethan Kos, Lucca Dourado, Preston Tabort-Etaka, Kameron Lacey, Erik Centeno, Edwin Laszo, Maliek Howell, and Stephen Turnbull were listed as players that aren't going to be returning. Tiago Suarez and Jackson Travis are returning to their parent clubs after being here on loan. And Trevor Spangenberg's retirement was referenced in the announcement. One of the great things that Birmingham does is the fan interaction after the games, and it's a great opportunity to get to know these guys. The downside is that it hurts to see them go, and on a personal level several of the guys in that batch are going to be especially missed.

Also notable are the players that weren't mentioned:

Understood to be under contract: Phanuel Kavita, Tyler Pasher, Enzo Martinez. Could a buyout be in the cards for anyone here? Maybe, but I really hope not.

Contract status uncertain:

Matt van Oekel, Fernando Delgado, and Trevor McMullen. That's all three keepers, but MVO and McMullen just operated a GK camp this week (fwiw). Notably, Delgado wasn't in the squad for the final two games of the season, nor was he part of the keeper camp.

Three loanees were not referenced as returning to their parent clubs. Ronaldo Damus, Samuel Shashoua, and Amir Daley all performed extremely well for Legion and are targets to be signed permanently. Landing all three would be huge for 2026.

That still leaves a sizeable group unaccounted for: Sebastian Tregarthen, Sebastian Saucedo, Sam McIllhatton, Jake Rufe, Dawson McCartney, AJ Patterson, Ramiz Hamouda, Peter-Lee Vassell, and Temi Ereku.

Ereku is kind of a strange case. He was brought in as an attempted conversion to a defensive midfielder, then went to Forward Madison on loan, where he appeared in his more natural role as a center back. He was better in that role, but played sparingly after Madison brought on another CB (Ramos) that had been getting a test drive. Ereku's young, and likely pretty inexpensive, and might be a surprise choice to hang on as a project.

Tregarthen, McIllhatton, and Vassell feel like players that earned another season. Tregarthen should be at the top of the list as a priority.

McCartney and Rufe are two players that should be no-brainers (if there is such a thing) to keep, but we'll have to see how it plays out. They're both extremely versatile, play hard, and make good decisions in-game. I would really hate for either of them to go.

Hamouda's stay shouldn't be in much doubt, unless he moves up to MLS with a sell-on clause. He'll turn 18 in May, and is a prime candidate for a hefty transfer overseas after that birthday.

Saucedo came into the squad after being out of the game, and showed flashes of prior glory while working back towards fitness. Ideally, he would stay and work towards a decent transfer.

Lastly is AJ Patterson. He began 2025 recovering from off-season surgery and came back into play in June. He seems to be a good fit for Briggs’ system, but it's hard to say where he's going to land. I would love to see him stay.

Those are my thoughts/observations/speculations, and history says that the picture will become clearer within the next three weeks.