Weekend Results
Big wins for Union 10 and Legion
Image credit: The League for Clubs/Union 10
The League for Clubs
Union 10 was on the road to face Pensacola FC for the championship of the Gulf Coast Conference. The game was everything that you would expect, and was finally decided by PK's. In a defensive struggle, Pensacola got the first goal from long range in the 70th minute. It looked like that would be enough, but Union found an equalizer late into stoppage time. There was some solid back and forth in overtime, but both teams were running out of gas, and the score stayed tied. They headed to penalty kicks. Pensacola's first kick was saved, and Union kept making their shots. Then the fourth Pensacola try was fired too high, going over the bar. Union made their kick to seal the deal and win the trophy. Next up, Union 10 will host the FC Dallas U23 team for the chance to win the South Region Championship. The winner of that game will be in the national semi-finals.
Birmingham Legion FC
Birmingham was on the road against North Carolina FC, looking for a breakthrough win. It was never going to be an easy task, as NC has one of the stingiest defenses in the league. Tyler Pasher has been excellent this season, and on Friday night he was wearing the captain's armband. He played an excellent match, and drove the ball down the center of the field on a counterattack, delivering the ball to Trejo for the go-ahead goal early in the second half. It wasn't always pretty, but Legion got a big 3-2 win. Damus had a goal, and Trejo had a brace.
Huntsville City FC
Huntsville traveled to face Cincinnati FC 2, who came in riding a six game unbeaten streak. Despite having 67% possession, HCFC didn't outshoot Cincy (each team managed just three shots on target). Cincinnati made it count, scoring the game's only goal in the 86th minute. Huntsville loses 0-1.
USL2
There was just one official league game for Lower Alabama teams this weekend, as the regular season has come to an end. Montgomery United finished with a 2-0 win on the road against East Atlanta. Final standings for Lower Alabama teams:
Dothan United (30 Points, 2nd place): 10W-2L-0D, +27 GD
Birmingham Legion 2 (17 Points, 4th place): 5W-5L-2D, -6 GD*
Columbus United (17 Points, 5th place): 5W-5L-2D, +3 GD*
Montgomery United (9 Points, 7th place): 2W-7L-3D, -12 GD
* Birmingham ranks higher in the official table due to head-to-head results against Columbus.
The USL2 South Central was loaded with good teams, and there were a ton of great games. Dothan United is still alive in the playoffs to carry the torch for Lower Alabama. Best of luck to the Dragons!
Other news and tidbits
Image credit: Matthew Corcoran Instagram
19 year-old former Birmingham Legion (currently Nashville SC) player Matthew Corcoran got into the match for about 15 minutes at the end, and has now officially faced Lionel Messi on the pitch. It's great to see him living the dream.
Legion's Lucca Dourado is on loan to Forward Madison. On Saturday, he got a goal and an assist, and drew a foul headed into the box that saw a Greenville player sent off. Forward won 3-1.