A disappointing result at home in midweek leaves the Three Sparks with ten days for some reflection and to lick their wounds before taking on Louisville City away next weekend. That means you have a wide-open slate of games to choose from. All games are on Saturday except Hartford Athletic v. North Carolina FC tonight (6:30pm, ESPN+). That in turn means you can head to Protective Stadium for the Birmingham Stallions-Michigan Panthers conference title game without missing any USL Championship action. That game is at 2:00pm on Sunday and if you are inclined to attend all TicketMaster fees are being waived until 10:00am Sunday.
All 24 Championship teams have games this week for once. There are a few goodies among them too. Here are our recommendations:
Loudoun United v. Charleston Battery (5:00pm, ESPN+)
The game of the week, no question. Loudoun is coming off a 2-1 win over Lou City in the Jägermeister Cup but lost last week 1-2 to The™ Miami FC. The Battery remains easily the league’s best team but got a shock 0-1 loss to Greenville Triumph in the Cup (they also lost to FC Naples). This one will be fire.
Louisville City v. Tampa Bay Rowdies (7:00pm, ESPN+)
Pretty much the opposite of the game above. Yes, Louisville is the Legion’s next opponent so some scouting can be done, although they are hardly an unknown quantity. The Rowdies? Well, the less said the better.
Oakland Roots v. El Paso Locomotive (9:00pm, ESPN+)
Has newly-installed Roots coach (and USMNT legend) Benny Feilhaber had enough time to right the ship? Probably not, but he may have fixed a few leaks. The #2 team in the West is a rough first test for him though.
Sacramento Republic v. FC Tulsa (10:00pm, ESPN+)
A true nightcap game for us in the East. We know all about Tulsa now, but SacRep is coming up June 18th here in the Magic City (just 4 days after the Louisville road trip, no less). Mark Briggs’ old team is 8th in the West at the moment and is leading its Jäger Cup group in a somewhat mixed season to date.
