The most important part
I’ve steered clear of last week’s debacle against Hartford Athletic; the less said about that the better. This weekend the Three Sparks do not have an opportunity to get back on track as this is a bye week for a league-mandated mental health break. Not sure if that means the players or the fans, to be frank. Anyway, that is good in that it gives the team time to regroup and refocus ahead of 2 games next week. But it does mean that they can only sit and watch as other teams potentially gain points on them. It’s very possible that the Legion could be bottom of the East come Sunday.
The double-game week coming up starts on Wednesday with the Jägermeister Cup quarter-final in Rhode Island. Normally a bye week would be an advantage except that Rhode Island is also resting this weekend. Our preview on that next week.
Best of the rest
As for the rest of the league, everyone else is playing, one game tonight and the rest Saturday. Here are our picks:
North Carolina FC v. Detroit City (Friday, 6:30pm, CBS Sports Network)
North Carolina continue to impress and are very deserving of 3rd in the East. Detroit have run into a wall although they edged a win last week against Indy. An NC win here helps a lot of the chasing teams.
Hartford Athletic v. FC Tulsa (Saturday, 6:00pm, ESPN+)
Hartford’s quality should be pretty obvious at this point. Tulsa is another team that has struggled historically but Luke Spencer has them 8 points clear at the top of the West. This should be a very entertaining matchup. Needless to say, a Tulsa win is the best outcome.
Loudoun United v. Indy Eleven (Saturday, 6:00pm, ESPN+)
Loudoun started the season well but have faded fast. They are winless in their last 9 games in all competitions. Indy are very unpredictable and will be looking ahead to their Jäger Cup game against Greenville Triumph. A Loudoun win or a draw here help the Legion.
Tampa Bay Rowdies v. Phoenix Rising (Saturday, 8:00pm, ESPN 2)
A very late kickoff for an East Coast game nationally televised but probably to both teams’ liking. The Rowdies have finally found their feet under new head coach Dominic Casciato and are 2 points behind the Legion on 2 fewer games. The Rising are looking vulnerable, winless in the last 5 games overall. They need to step it up this weekend.
