skip navigation

Expert Predictions - USL League One Final

By USLLeagueOne.com Staff, 10/18/19, 8:49AM EDT

Share

See who our experts think will claim the inaugural League One Final


North Texas SC and Greenville Triumph SC meet on Saturday night in the inaugural League One Final at Toyota Stadium. | Photo courtesy North Texas SC

The inaugural USL League One season has reached its finale as North Texas SC and Greenville Triumph SC meet in the 2019 League One Final on Saturday night. Our experts have their opinions on how the matchup at Toyota Stadium is going to play out. Agree or disagree with their picks? Let us know on Twitter (@USLLeagueOne).

North Texas SC
1st
October 19
7:00 PM EST
Greenville Triumph SC
3rd
Nicholas Murray
USL
North Texas SC 2, Greenville Triumph SC 0
“You know that old saying about attack winning games, but defense winning championships? Not so fast, my friend.

North Texas SC will claim the inaugural League One title on home turf as Ronaldo Damus picks up where Ricardo Pepi – absent for Saturday due to FIFA U-17 World Cup duty – left off last weekend and bags a brace to lead his side to victory.

NTSC has historical USL precedent on its side in the Championship, where the host has lifted the trophy in every season since its formal launch in 2011. The game gets to the halftime break scoreless, but then just past the hour-mark North Texas goes in front on its 31st second-half goal of the season – a number that leads the league.

With Greenville forced to venture more players forward in search of an equalizer, North Texas takes advantage of Damus’ speed on the counterattack and he adds another inside the final 10 minutes to wrap up the game’s MVP honors and bring home the trophy for Head Coach Eric Quill’s side.”
Jason Weintraub
Beautiful Game Network
North Texas SC 2, Greenville Triumph SC 0
“When predicting this game, it’s pointless to look back at the previous match-ups between these two clubs. Greenville may have been the only team to beat North Texas in Frisco, but the win came after playing up a man for 70 minutes and with a now-injured Jake Keegan supplying most of the offense. Greenville has also never played a match against Golden Boot Winner Ronaldo Damus, who brings a completely different dynamic than strikers Cristian Colmán and Ricardo Pepi. So, do the Triumph have a chance?

Greenville’s biggest advantage is their discipline and coaching against a young team with the majority of players featuring in the biggest game in their careers thus far. Nobody questions the Triumph’s defense, which includes Tyler Polak who has the most interceptions in the league and Evan Lee and Kevin Politz who committed the second fewest fouls of any other center back duo in the league this season. However, the question is, can Greenville score?

This is where I have my doubts. If the Triumph can keep North Texas off the board in the first 60 mins, they have their best chance at winning. Players like Carlos Gomez and Omar Mohammed can certainly bring an offensive spark like they did in the Semifinal match against Lansing, but Greenville as a team has only scored two goals in their past three games. I think Greenville will only have three shots on goal in the whole match, which won’t be enough and will be matched by a North Texas player individually. A goal from Damus will start the chase for Greenville, who let one in late to Oscar Romero, allowing the home fans to see their team lift a trophy.”
John Arlia
USL
North Texas SC 1, Greenville Triumph SC 2 - AET
“The three regular-season meetings between these two teams should tell you one thing, Greenville Triumph SC won’t be intimidated heading into Toyota Stadium on Saturday night. The visitors kept the league-leading North Texas SC attack off the scoreboard in each of their previous two trips to Dallas, although they certainly were aided by Edwin Cerrillo’s 20th-minute red card in their most recent meeting on July 26.

What was more impressive, though, was that Greenville goalkeeper Dallas Jaye only faced eight shots on target over those three contests. That tells you plenty about the fortitude of Triumph SC’s league-best defense, which conceded just 22 goals in 28 regular-season games and kept its 14th clean sheet of the campaign in its 1-0 Semifinal victory at Lansing Ignite FC last weekend.

North Texas, which led the league with 53 goals in the regular season, will certainly pose a threat to that Greenville back line but it will have to find a way through without Semifinal hero Ricardo Pepi, who has linked up with the United States Men’s National Team to prepare for the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil after netting both goals in last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Forward Madison FC. Pepi’s absence may not change Head Coach Eric Quill’s plan of attack all that much, with League One Golden Boot Ronaldo Damus (16 goals) likely slotting in up top, but it gives Greenville one less threat to deal with.

I was impressed with Triumph SC’s ability to bounce back last weekend on the road after back-to-back defeats to end the regular season and think Head Coach John Harkes’ side is set up well to frustrate the hosts. With Greenville’s own struggles in front of goal I expect scoring to be at a premium, but that sets the stage for a dramatic Final that serves as a worthy climax to the league’s inaugural season.

After playing to a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes, the two sides head to extra time where Chris Bermudez grabs the game-winner late on to help Greenville claim the trophy. ”

Follow USL League One

Most Recent USL League One News

Most Read USL League One News

USL League One News