The Breakdown: : The Defiance and Union II have both looked rock solid at either end of the field so far, and that could make for a brilliant matchup as they look to advance here. Philadelphia’s Evan Slabicki enters with the bigger numbers in both goals and points but facing a player with the defensive acumen and patience of Tacoma’s Josh Atencio will provide a different challenge than he’s maybe faced so far. Atencio hasn’t been explosive in his victories, but unlike Slabicki he’s yet to drop a game so far.

The Breakdown: This matchup sees the two highest scorers from the group stage square off against each other in a contest that might be worthy of a Final, and there’s no question of the caliber of play we’ve seen from both. But there could be concern from Saint Louis’ camp that Keith Mayfield’s Round of 16 display took time to catch fire in a four-set win against Loudoun United FC. With a player as explosive as FC Tucson’s Trent Wieland at the other end of the arena, getting the first game could be key for STLFC as playing from behind so far hasn’t ended well for anyone in Tucson’s path.

The Breakdown: In terms of tournament statistics, you couldn’t ask for a more even matchup at this stage than the records the Charleston Battery’s Mauro Cichero and San Antonio FC’s Josh Richards bring into this one. Separated by only two goals and less than 200 points, it’s the biggest coin-flip of the round. Cichero notched Player of the Week honors for Week 3 after posting more than 7,500 points in his Round of 16 victory, while Richards was in the Power Pack not far behind. Count on action – and plenty of it – from these two high-flyers.

The Breakdown: Union Omaha has been flying at a higher level since Wesley Mims took the sticks ahead of Game 2 in the group stage, but in Birmingham Legion FC’s Kaylor Hodges he’s going to get easily his biggest test of the tournament so far. Hodges has been patient and played it smart regularly, paying close attention to faceoffs to lay the foundation for his successes. If Legion FC comes out of the gate fast, it will be interesting to see how Omaha responds to the challenge.