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Match Previews - 5.27.2023

By USLLeagueOne.com Staff, 05/27/23, 1:45PM EDT

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Hailstorm home opener, clash of 2022 titans and more set to close out May

Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC vs. Central VAlley Fuego FC

Venue: Future Legends Complex; Windsor, Colo.
Kickoff: 6 p.m. ET
Weather: Partly cloudy, 76°
BroadcastESPN+
Hashtag: #NCOvCV // #IceAndFireCup
Series (First Meeting): 2-1-0, NCO (2022)

Northern Colorado Hailstorm FC (3-1-2, 6th) is set to treat Windsor, Colo. to the first professional soccer match at Future Legends Complex as it hosts Ice and Fire Cup rival and fellow 2022 expansion side Central Valley Fuego FC (2-5-1, 12th). A win for Northern Colorado in its home opener could see the Hailstorm match a best-ever place at third in the table, while a Fuego FC win or draw could see Central Valley rise above last place for the first time since Week 6. 

PLAYERS TO WATCH
 

NCO - Trevor Amann: Notching his second brace in three matches, Amann scored a pair of goals and won a penalty in the Hailstorm’s 2-0 victory in Madison to earn Team of the Week honors for the third time in the past four weeks.

CV - Alexis Cerritos: Cerritos led Fuego FC to a much-needed victory with a goal, penalty won and a league-leading 0.85 goals-added mark, according to American Soccer Analysis.

AVAILABILITY REPORT
 

NCO: F - Irvin Parra (questionable, personal)

CV: GK - Ofek Antman (out, injury), F - Cherif Dieye (out, injury), D - Sam Strong (out, injury)

Charlotte Independence vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves SC

Venue: American Legion Memorial Stadium; Charlotte, N.C.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Weather: Light rain, 56°
BroadcastESPN+
Hashtag: #CLTvCHA
Series (First Meeting): 2-0-1, CHA (2022)

The Charlotte Independence (4-2-4, 2nd) will break out the Red, White and Blue Kits in honor of Memorial Day as they face Chattanooga Red Wolves SC (2-4-2, 10th) for the fourth time in club history. Both Charlotte and Chattanooga have picked up just four points through their last four matches, but the Jacks are positioned eight spots above the Red Wolves in the table thanks to a seven-match unbeaten stretch to start the season. Despite the disparity in table positioning, the Red Wolves have never lost to the Independence and set league and club records with their 7-1 thrashing of the Jacks in the pair's first meeting in Chattanooga a season ago.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
 

CLT - Fabrice Ngah: In his first full League One match, the former Cameroon international won nine duels, earned five recoveries, recorded three recoveries and tallied a pair of chances created in Charlotte's victory over rival NCFC.

CHA - Moe Espinoza: Proving incredibly efficient in just 45 minutes on the pitch across two Week 10 matches, Espinoza tallied two assists to go along with five fouls won, five duels won, three chances created and a league-best six completed crosses.

AVAILABILITY REPORT
 

CLT: M - Bachir Ndiaye (out, injury)

CHA: M - Christian Enriquez (questionable, injury), D - Aarón Lombardi (probable, injury), D - Manuel Madrid (probable, injury), M - Yahir Paez (out, injury), M - Andrew Paoli (out, injury), D - Alex Tejera (probable, injury)

Lexington SC vs. One Knoxville SC

Venue: Toyota Stadium; Georgetown, Ky.
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Weather: Cloudy, 70°
BroadcastESPN+
Hashtag: #LEXvKNX
Series (First Meeting): 1-0-0, KNX (2023)

With a bottle and a barrel on the line, One Knoxville SC (4-3-2, 3rd) will aim to remain perfect against fellow expansion side Lexington SC (2-5-1, 11th) in the pair's first encounter in Kentucky. Starting off their inaugural League One season on different ends of the table, Knoxville has picked up twice as many points as Lexington with one more match played. In the pair's first meeting - also each's opening match of the season - three goals in the span of 23 minutes late in the first half saw Knoxville treat the crowd at Regal Soccer Stadium to a 2-1 victory.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
 

LEX - Amal Knight: After earning back starting goalkeeping duties from Austin Causey, Knight has looked solid, especially with his Player of the Week performance in Lexington's victory against Charlotte on May 13.

KNX - Sean Lewis: Across two Week 10 victories for Knoxville, Lewis kept one clean sheet, allowed just one goal through 180 minutes and secured three saves to be named to the Team of the Week.

AVAILABILITY REPORT
 

LEX: None reported

KNX: D - Dani Fernandez (out, injury), F - Ilija Ilić (out, injury), D - James Thomas (out, injury), D - Derek Waldeck (out, personal)

South Georgia Tormenta FC vs. Richmond Kickers

Venue: Optim Sports Medicine Field at Tormenta Stadium; Statesboro, Ga.
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET
Weather: Showers, 57°
BroadcastESPN+
Hashtag: #TRMvRIC
Series (First Meeting): 4-2-5, RIC (2019)

The 2022 League One champions and 2022 League One Players' Shield winners are set to clash for the second time this season as South Georgia Tormenta FC (4-5-0, 5th) will host the Richmond Kickers (3-2-4, 4th) on Saturday evening. With 2022 being the first season in League One history two different clubs claimed the Players' Shield and the League One title and Richmond defeating South Georgia back in Week 7, Tormenta FC will look to be the first defending league champion to knock off a current Players' Shield holder.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
 

TRM - Jackson Khoury: Khoury exploded with four goal contributions across three consecutive matches in April, but through two May matches he's only managed one assist. Still, South Georgia's promising Australian youngster has the ability to singlehandedly alter the outcome of a match.

RIC - João Gomiero: The São Paulo native and Week 10 Player of the Week bagged a trio of goals across two Week 10 matches for the Kickers. In 156 minutes, Gomiero also maintained a passing accuracy of over 85%, earned 12 recoveries and won six duels.

AVAILABILITY REPORT
 

TRM: F - Kingsford Adjei (questionable, injury), M - Matheus Cassini (out, injury), F - Kazaiah Sterling (questionable, injury)

RIC: D - Dakota Barnathan (questionable, injury), F - Ethan Vanacore-Decker (out, injury), M - Nil Vinyals (questionable, injury)

Union Omaha vs. Forward Madison FC

Venue: Werner Park; Papillion, Neb.
Kickoff: 8 p.m. ET
Weather: Sunny, 78°
BroadcastESPN+
Hashtag: #OMAvMAD
Series (First Meeting): 2-2-6 (2020)

While the all-time series is all even between avian adversaries Union Omaha (2-1-5, 8th) and Forward Madison FC (2-1-4, 9th), Omaha has had the upper hand in recent years with an unbeaten 1-0-3 record in the pair's last four meetings dating back to the beginning of 2022. Union Omaha is currently sporting the longest unbeaten streak in the league with a 1-0-4 record through its last five but will feel it had a shot at an even better record given a pair of blown leads in its last two draws. Madison will be eager to start a new unbeaten streak as the 'Mingos are coming off a May 18th loss to Northern Colorado that snapped a club-record six-match unbeaten start to the season.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
 

OMA - Noe Meza: Now just four goals away from topping Evan Conway as Omaha's all-time top goalscorer, Meza is now tied for second in the Golden Boot race following his second brace of the season on Wednesday.

MAD - Bernd Schipmann: The German goalkeeper and Philippines international has been special early for Madison. The 28-year-old 'keeper is tied for the most clean sheets in the league with four.

AVAILABILITY REPORT
 

OMA: D - Stefan Mueller (questionable, injury)

MAD: D - Timmy Mehl (out, suspension), M - Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu (out, injury)


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