Photo Gallery: Union Dubuque vs Chicago Athletic
Union Dubuque FC hosted Chicago Athletic FC in Midwest Premier League play this past weekend at the Dubuque Soccer Complex in Dubuque, IA. After scoreless first 45 minutes Union was able to break open the match when Chicago ended up scoring an own goal. DBQ would add one more goal to the match when Lorran De Almeida scored on a penalty kick
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Midwest Premier League: July Preview
This weekend the Midwest Premier League enters the final month of play in their inaugural season with the last matches of 2021 being played on August 1st. Those are one East Division match between BiH Grand Rapids (3rd Place as of 7/2/21) and Michigan Stars U23 (2nd Place as of 7/2/21). One West Division match will be played along side that as DeKalb County United (11th as of 7/2/21) hosts Rockford FC (9th as of 7/2/21).
East Division
Heading into the final four weeks of league play the East Division has been entirely dominated by Detroit City U23, the developmental side of NISA's Detroit City FC. Le Rouge sit atop the East at a perfect 9-0-0 with 27 points. Detroit City U23 can clinch the MWPL East Division title inside the next month if all circumstances go right for them. Right below them but not quite as successful are the aforementioned Michigan Stars U23, another NISA development side. The Stars are 4-2-2 with 15 points and with 6 matches left in their final month. With how much of a lead Detroit has there isn't a huge chance the Stars can take the title but the possibility is still there.
Sitting in third is BiH Grand Rapids, a former UPSL club they have done surprisingly well in this extremely tough division of the MWPL. BiH has the second highest amount of goals scored in the East at 16 entering the month and is tied for the fewest goals against on the year. With 8 matches to play in their final month BiH will have to balance a late gasp at the title with keeping players healthy. The league website lists BiH as having a back to back double header against Inter Detroit on July 10th followed by another game against Detroit City on the 11th to start July. However the team site lists the second match as being played on July 25th.
Rounding out the top four is expansion side Lansing Common. The Robins are a double replacement and a true Phoenix Club for soccer in Lansing, MI. Initially Lansing United (who still has a women's UWS side) was the men's team in the city. LUFC dissolved their men's side following the 2018 season due to the impending arrival of Lansing Ignite in USL League One. Ignite however would only last one season, folding immediately following the 2019 USL League One Final, that gave way to Lansing Common FC to begin play. The Robins are 4-1-1 on the season and similar to BiH have 8 matches left to play this month before the season comes to a close.
Currently LK St. Clair sits bottom, Livonia City at second bottom, Inter Detroit at third bottom, and West Michigan Bearings at fourth bottom. The full East Division standings can be seen below.
West Division
As we head across Lake Michigan we take a look at the physically larger but short schedule West Division. Unlike the East which plays a 14 match double round robin, the West only plays an 11 match single round robin. This actually has a direct impact on the title race for the West Division as only two teams have a chance at winning it. Those are the first place RWB Adria and third place Bavarian Soccer Club. Adria has a single match left to play, that being on July 31st against Bavarians, currently Adria sit at 9-1-0 with 28 points. Bavarians are in third place with a 5-1-0 record with 16 points and five matches left to play. However, in order to win the MWPL West, Bavarians will need to win out the entire rest of the season as , if they drop more than 3 points before playing Adria, then RWB Adria will win the inaugural MWPL West Division Championship.
Bisecting the two title contenders are the second place Steel City FC who are 5-2-2 with 17 points. SCFC will finish their season with some very winnable matches against DeKalb County United (July 7th, Home) and Chicago Athletic (July 31st, Home). Rounding out the top four of the West are Berber City FC, the men's affiliate of WPSL side Chicago City SC. Berber City is 4-1-3 with 13 points through eight played matches and with three left to play in the month of July. Those matches will have Berber City take to the road against Chicago Mustangs (July 1st), Bloomington, IL's FC Diablos (July 11th), and end the season against Cedar Rapids Inferno (July 17th).
At the bottom of the West Division table is Chicago Athletic (0-0-7, 0 points), DeKalb County United (1-1-4, 4 points) are at second bottom, DKCU's arch rival Union Dubuque (1-2-4, 5 points) are third bottom, and Rockford FC (2-0-7, 6 points) are at fourth bottom after starting the season with seven straight losses. The full West Division standings can be seen below.
Midwest Premier League, Week 8: Preview
Saturday:
West Michigan Bearings vs Inter Detroit: 1 PM - South Christian High School, Byron Center, MI - No Stream Announced
West Michigan is just three points back from East Division leaders the Michigan Stars, a win tonight will put the Bearings even with the Stars U23 side in the Division. And for a league without playoffs this is big. Inter Detroit however is fighting to get out of the mid-table and up to the top. After a 1-1 draw last weekend with the Stars U23 a win is not out of the question.
Livonia City FC vs BiH Grand Rapids: 4 PM - Total Sports Wixom, Wixom, MI - No Stream Announced
After a win 10 days ago against the Bearings, BiH will play their third match of 2021 and look for their second win to get on a winning streak. The only other team they played? It was this Livonia City side who they drew 0-0 with back in May. LCFC on the other hand defeated LK St. Clair last week after coming off a 5-0 loss to the Detroit City U23 side, and look for Livonia City to do everything possible to get on a win streak.
Chicago Athletic vs RWB Adria: 5 PM - Redmond Park, Bensenville, IL - Eleven Sports
A regular battle of Chicagoland sides takes place, though this one for the first time and a bit different. Chicago Athletic sits with 0 points at the bottom of the table right next to Rockford FC and has to face RWB Adria, who are at this time, running away with the West Division title. Adria should be able to heavily dominate tonight and jump to 7-0-0 with 21 points.
Chicago Mustangs vs Rockford FC: 7 PM - The MAC Sports Center, Crystal Lake, IL - No Stream Announced
The other team sitting with 0 points on the season heads to the Chicagoland area to face the Mustangs outdoor senior squad. However Rockford has had some tight contests with some of the best sides in the Midwest Premier League. This is a sleeper pick for a match to watch but Rockford just might be able to sneak out their first win of 2021.
Bavarian Soccer Club vs Steel City FC: 8 PM - Heartland Value Fund Stadium, Glendale, WI - Eleven Sports
While the BSC Women are away in Suburban Chicago over in the WPSL, the Men are at home against a side from Suburban Chicago. The visiting Steel City FC have drawn their last two matches, a tough look in the West Division that only plays 11 matches. On the other hand the Bavarians are going to come in off a MWPL bye week but will be taking all their anger from last weeks National Amateur Cup loss to FC Minneapolis on the visitors from Joliet.
Edgewater Castle vs Union Dubuque: 8:15 PM* - CIBC FirePitch, Chicago, IL - Twitch
Union Dubuque comes off a bye week which was preceded by their first win of 2021. That win was their first in the MWPL and first league win for manager Mike Paye. Edgewater has drawn their last two matches with their last win coming in Mid-May against Berber City FC. And while that is the case Union Dubuque will need to shape after looking gassed two weeks ago in the second half in order to defeat Edgewater in the Castle Derby.
*As note while the kickoff time on the MWPL Website is 8:15, Edgewater Castle are advertising it as 8:15 gates and 8:45 kickoff
*Note – All Times CDT-
NISA Independent Cup Schedule Announced
This morning the National Independent Soccer Association announced the schedule for most games for the 2021 NISA Independent Cup. A few weeks ago NISA announced the field for the Independent Cup as well as it's format. The tournament has a round robin format and each side will play three matches, with most either playing two at home and one on the road or two on the road and one at home. There will be no matches past the round robin and the top team in the region will be declared the regional champion.
An interesting aspect of the tournament will be how the two Midwest Premier League sides fare against the National Premier Soccer League clubs and how all clubs fair against their specific NISA opponents. In last year's Independent Cup a 2021 NISA team won all three regions that league clubs participated in.
9 of the 15 clubs who played in last year's tournament return with the league will be represented in 7/9 regions with six of the seven having one NISA side. The Southwest will have two clubs from NISA, California United Strikers and San Diego 1904, represent the league. The Pacific and South Central regions are not represented by the host league, rather made up entirely of local clubs.
2021 NISA Independent Cup Schedule
Great Lakes Region
July 15th, 2021 - Livonia City FC (MWPL) vs Cleveland SC (NPSL): 6 PM - Legacy Sports Center Complex, Brighton, MI
July 17th, 2021 - Cleveland SC (NPSL) vs Detroit City FC (NISA): 6 PM - George Finnie Stadium, Berea, OH
July 28th, 2021 - Detroit City FC (NISA) vs Livonia City FC (MWPL): 7 PM - Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
TBD - FC Buffalo (NPSL) vs Cleveland SC (NPSL): TBD
TBD - FC Buffalo (NPSL) vs Livonia City FC (MWPL): 2 PM - All-High Stadium, Buffalo, NY
TBD - Detroit City FC (NISA) vs FC Buffalo (NPSL): 6 PM - Keyworth Stadium, Hamtramck, MI
Midwest Region
July 9th, 2021 - FC Milwaukee Torrent (NPSL) vs Chicago House AC (NISA): 7 PM - Hart Park, Wauwatosa, WI
July 11th, 2021 - Med City FC (NPSL) vs Union Dubuque (MWPL): 1:45 PM - Rochester Regional Stadium at RCTC, Rochester, MN
July 14th, 2021 - Union Dubuque (MWPL) vs FC Milwaukee Torrent (NPSL): 6 PM - Dubuque Soccer Complex, Dubuque, IA
July 24th, 2021 - Med City FC (NPSL) vs Chicago House AC (NISA): 6:45 PM - Rochester Regional Stadium at RCTC, Rochester, MN
July 27th, 2021 - FC Milwaukee Torrent (NPSL) vs Med City FC (NPSL): 7 PM - Hart Park, Wauwatosa, WI
July 31st, 2021 - Union Dubuque (MWPL) vs Chicago House AC (NISA): 5 PM - Dubuque Soccer Complex, Dubuque, IA
*Note – All Times CDT
MWPL Week 7, Where to Watch
Wednesday:
Michigan Stars U23 vs Livonia City: 6 PM - Michigan Stars Sports Center, Washington, MI - MyCujoo
RWB Adria vs Steel City FC: 8 PM - Hales Franciscan High School, Chicago, IL - Facebook
Friday:
Inter Detroit vs Lansing Common: 4 PM - Evolution Sportsplex, Auburn Hills, MI - MyCujoo
Saturday:
Union Dubuque vs Rockford FC: 3:30 PM - Dubuque Soccer Complex, Dubuque, IA - MyCujoo
Livonia City vs Detroit City U23: 6 PM - St. Joe's Sports Complex, Livonia, MI - MyCujoo
Berber City vs Steel City FC: 7 PM - Lions for Hope Sports Complex, Chicago, IL - MyCujoo
Sunday:
Edgewater Castle vs Chicago Mustangs: 3 PM - CIBC FirePitch, Chicago, IL - Twitch
*Note – All Times CDT
NISA Independent Cup and field announced
Yesterday morning the National Independent Soccer Association announced the 2021 edition of the Independent Cup.This year with a much larger field than in 2020, which albeit was hampered by most clubs not playing due to COVID-19.
The 2020 tournament saw a total of 15 clubs split out across four regions. Those four regions played a single round robin tournament with the exception of the Central Plains region. Which consisted of clubs from the GCPL and UPSL in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It did not play a round robin format rather a knockout tournament format with a two game aggregate semi-final and single match final.
The Gulf Coast Premier League's Gaffa FC were champions Central Plains Region, NISA's Detroit City FC won the Great Lakes Region, the NPSL's Maryland Bobcats FC took the Mid-Atlantic Region, and lastly NISA's Chattanooga FC scored the Southeast Region title.
In 2021 a total of 36 clubs will be split among 9 regions, those being; the Great Lakes, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, Pacific, South Central, Southeast, Southwest, and West Coast. Those regions will play a three match single round robin amongst themselves. There will be no follow up after the end of the round robin with only the regional champions being declared.
"The Independent Cup champions the independent spirit of open competition,” says NISA Executive Vice President Josh Prutch. “Over the last year, we have seen competition after competition get shut down. The Independent Cup gives these clubs more opportunities to compete, develop and succeed – and that is why we expanded the field for 2021.”
A total of eight clubs from the Dakotas to Ohio region we cover will take place in the 2021 Independent Cup. In the Midwest, NISA expansion side and new SeatGeek Stadium tenant Chicago House AC will be joined by the newly renamed FC Milwaukee Torrent from the NPSL's Great Lakes conference, Rochester, MN's Med City FC from the NPSL's North Conference, and lastly the Midwest Premier League's Union Dubuque FC.
The Great Lakes Region will see a similar lineup with a NISA club joined by two National Premier Soccer League clubs and a MWPL side. Those being Detroit City FC (NISA), FC Buffalo (NPSL Rust Belt), Cleveland SC (NPSL Rust Belt), and Livonia City (MWPL East).
A schedule has not been announced for the tournament, however it will take place over July and August after most amateur leagues end their season.
Midwest Premier League Scores - Weekend of May 15th, 2021
This past weekend the Midwest Premier League played a total of 7 matches between it's East and West Divisions. The two Eastern matches in Michigan saw LK St. Clair host Inter Detroit in one match while Livonia City played host to the Michigan Stars U23 side. Out West between Illinois and Iowa there were a total of five matches played with Rockford FC hosting RWB Adria, Chicago Athletic battling Edgewater Castle in an all Chicago matchup, Bavarians headed from Milwaukee to Normal to face FC Diablos, and Berber City FC hosted DeKalb County United all on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Steel City FC traveled from Joliet, IL to Dubuque, IA to face Union Dubuque FC.
