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The Front Three: What To Watch For In Week 6

By CAMERON KOUBEK - cameron.koubek@uslsoccer.com, 05/13/21, 11:15AM EDT

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Five-game slate spans Saturday, Sunday nights


Forward Madison fans will see their team play in its original home venue for the first time in 18 months on Saturday / Photo courtesy Forward Madison FC

Welcome back to another edition of The Front Three! We’ve now had 11 of League One’s 12 teams kick off their 2021 campaigns, and it’s safe to say the season is now in full swing.

Five more matchups are coming your way this weekend, including what is one of the most significant games in the league’s history when last year's title-winner Greenville Triumph SC hosts 2020 runner-up Union Omaha at Legacy Early College on Sunday (4 p.m. ET | ESPN2).

You can find a preview of that game here, but the weekend’s other four games offer plenty of intrigue of their own. Here’s three things to be on the lookout for.

Back to Breese

The only Saturday night fixture of Week 6 sees Forward Madison FC return to its spiritual (and literal) home ground of Breese Stevens Field for its first League One match there since October 2019. The Flamingos welcome North Carolina FC (8 p.m. ET | ESPN+), with both sides looking for their first victories of the new season in their respective second matches.

Both teams kicked off their campaigns last week. Madison came back to earn a point away at FC Tucson, as new arrival Jake Keegan marked his debut with an equalizing goal - his 15th career tally in League One, moving him up to joint-second on the league’s all-time regular season scoring charts.

NCFC fell 2-1 to Greenville, but gave the defending title-winners all they could handle in doing so. The team has plenty of ability all over the pitch, and will look to give Madison similar problems and spoil their homecoming on Saturday.

Home Field Advantage?

Fort Lauderdale CF and FC Tucson met twice last season, and in both meetings, the away side won 2-1. Tucson will hope to continue that trend when it visits DRV PNK Stadium on Sunday night (7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+).

Fort Lauderdale is 1-2-0 at home so far this season, defeating the Richmond Kickers but losing to the New England Revolution II and Union Omaha. Tucson fell in its lone road match of the season so far to South Georgia Tormenta FC, but earned a point last week at home against Forward Madison.

Tucson’s past record on its travels to Florida bodes well for the weekend: in four all-time League One away matches in the Sunshine State, Tucson is 4-0-0.

Home Field Advantage

New England Revolution II are sure to have a more sturdy home field advantage at Gillette Stadium on Sunday night, when they’ll welcome Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+). Despite losing and failing to score in each of their first two 2021 home games, Revs II are sure to have extra fan support this weekend.

The League One game directly follows the Major League Soccer match between the New England Revolution senior team and Columbus SC, and the club has invited all fans to attend both matches. We’ll see if having some added noise behind them can spur New England to its first home victory of the season.


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