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Five Things that Mattered – League One Week 19

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 08/05/19, 2:33PM EDT

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Madison, Lansing makes their move; North Texas continues to falter

When we reached the midway point of the season, there were two clear favorites for the postseason sitting at the top of the League One standings. Now, after another fascinating weekend of action, how things have changed. Here are five talking points as we enter the final two months of the season.

1. PLAYOFF PAYOFF: If it felt like a playoff game at Breese Stevens Field on Saturday night – and the crowd of 4,350 on hand certainly made it feel that way – you wouldn’t have been too far wrong in the stakes for Forward Madison FC and FC Tucson. It resulted in a pulsating contest where the first goal was going to be crucial, and when it arrived through the Flamingos’ Don Smart just before halftime the chances for the hosts to see postseason action this season rose that much more. Madison got fine performances across its back line with Wyatt Omsberg making a crucial goal line clearance before Smart’s goal arrived as it took a third win in the past eight days. Those results have made the Flamingos the hottest team in the league right now and have buoyed their playoff chances just a shade above the 50 percent mark with nine games remaining.

2. NO LETDOWN HERE: The other team favored to be part of the postseason right now according to the numbers at SportsClubStats.com is Lansing Ignite FC, which emphatically avoided a letdown after its big midweek victory by riding two early goals against Orlando City B to a 3-0 victory at Cooley Law School Stadium. The victory moved Lansing into second place in the standings for the time being, but the way the side is playing has people talking about a second USL title in Michigan this year after the Flint City Bucks’ victory in the League Two Final on Saturday night. “We really feel like we can push for the top of the table,” Ignite FC Head Coach Nate Miller told the Lansing State Journal’s Phil Friend. "This group has that capacity. I don't think many people thought we could, but I know we can. And you can see from the performance tonight how hungry they are.” There’s still going to be pressure on Lansing to produce with the chasing pack not letting up its pressure with games in hand, but after the past week of action Ignite FC and its players know that the postseason is there for the taking.

3. FALLING FLAT: North Texas SC is still on top of the League One standings, but after not only being held scoreless in a 1-0 defeat against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC, but being held without a shot on goal in its trip to David Stanton Field there are going to be questions as to whether the young side can hold onto its position over the final third of the season. NTSC has now been held scoreless in four of its last five games, suffering back-to-back defeats for the first time this season as well. How it responds in what is going to be a crucial game for visiting FC Tucson next Saturday night at Toyota Stadium is going to be very interesting to see given the change in the landscape at the top of the standings overall.

4. KEEP HOLDING ON: The major saving grace for Greenville Triumph SC this season has been an airtight defense that has kept it in games regularly. On Saturday night, it also got the goal that has at times eluded the side previously this year and in the process ensured that its quest for the postseason remained strong in a 1-0 win against South Georgia Tormenta FC that lived up to the low-scoring expectations placed on it pregame. Greenville has now faced a league-fewest 39 shots on goal this season while allowing only 13 goals in 18 games. The question of a playoff place was always going to come down to whether its attack could produce enough at the other end, but after three wins in the last four games there is a pathway for Triumph SC to be part of the top four when it’s all said and done.

5. STORMY WATERS: There shouldn’t be major reason to panic yet for South Georgia Tormenta FC and its fans – the club still sits at 82.3 percent chance to reach the postseason with 10 games to go in the regular season – but the side certainly hasn’t kicked on in the way you would have hoped after its 4-1 win on the road against Orlando City B on July 24. Now in third place in the standings, Tormenta FC has three consecutive home games up next to try and right the ship, including two against Chattanooga Red Wolves SC. With the Red Wolves two points back and South Georgia holding a game in hand, the contests are going to potentially be make-or-break affairs for Chattanooga. If it can’t take victory in next Saturday’s opening game between the two, though, the same could end up being said for Tormenta FC. 


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