Week Ahead Preview
Sat Mar 29 thru Fri April 4
Birmingham Legion FC
Birmingham Legion at Pittsburgh Riverhounds Sat Mar 29 at 6:00
After Memphis folded, this is arguably Legion's fiercest rivalry (although Detroit City is threatening to take that title). The Hounds are already playing Lilley-ball this season; they have four points in the table, despite only scoring two goals so far, and only allowing three. This makes for some simple math.
Legion will be facing a very tough defensive team, who appear to be settling into their identity for the season. Meanwhile, Bham is still working on getting dialed in. Draws against Louisville and Detroit City are solid results, but they gave up three goals against Loudon and lost in the Open Cup to a USL2 team. Will the real Birmingham Legion please stand up? I expect this to be a close, low-scoring game. Legion is looking for their first win, and getting that on the road in Pittsburgh would be a big boost.
Injuries will continue to be a factor. Tyler Pasher has been practicing and could be available for limited action, although they may be hesitant to risk it since Tregarthen made such a strong showing in limited minutes against Detroit. Kavita will still be out. Trejo is still an unknown due to concussion protocols. All things considered, Legion has the firepower to leave Pittsburgh with a win, and then two weeks to recuperate before their next match.
Huntsville City FC
No game this week for Huntsville
Image credit: FC Birmingham
FC Birmingham
FC Birmingham takes on Kalonji Pro-Profile Sunday March 30 at 5:00. FCB is a club that has bounced around a bit with home venues, and they've taken a very ambitious step for this week's match. They have arranged to play the game at Legion Field, an historic venue best known as the site for the annual Auburn vs Alabama college football game - the Iron Bowl- from 1948 thru 1988, as well as being the home field venue for most of Alabama's home games during that period. The stadium has hosted soccer events in the past, including as a venue for the 1996 Olympics, where the opening match drew 83,000 fans. All of that to say, it's a huge place to be hosting a UPSL game.
FCB is looking to make an event out of the game against Kalonji, the top team in the conference. After just three games for the Spring. KPP is sitting on a +17 GD, scoring 19 and allowing only 2 goals. FCB has been able to score goals, and has also given up quite a few. I don't see any way that this won't be a high-scoring affair, and Birmingham will be trying to find a way to get a result.
FCB2 will be on the road to face Middle Georgia FC Sat Mar 29 at 5:00. It's a four hour drive over to Macon for this match, which is a bit unusual for UPSL Div 1. Both of these teams should be pretty evenly matched, and each are looking for their first result of the season.
The Adjacency
Fountain City will make the short trip over to Seale, AL* to take on UMA FC Sunday Mar 30 at 3:00. UMA has had a strong start to the season, and will be another tough test for Fountain. But this is a game they should be able to keep close and possibly pull a mild upset.
* it only recently came to my attention that UMA (headquartered in LaGrange, GA) is playing their games in Seale, Alabama. Early next week I'll have a post with some more details about the club, and then they'll be added into regular coverage.
FC Columbus Elite travels to face North Georgia United on Sun Mar 30 at 4:00. Elite will be looking to make some progress against a second place NGA squad that has been firing on all cylinders. Look for Columbus to keep this one a little bit tighter, as they've improved each week after being promoted. A win or a draw would be a big upset.
Columbus Knight Eagles are away against UMA FC 2 Sun March 30 at 5:00. This is the second game of a double-header, starting immediately after the Fountain/UMA match. The Eagles will be looking for another strong performance after blowing out Limeno 3 in the first match. UMA 2 is looking for their first win after a loss to Augusta in week one.