USL 2023 Quarterfinals Recap

If you were looking for goals, dominating performances, and fun upsets, the quarterfinals certainly did not disappoint. Let’s look in at our Golz predictions before we jump into the full action recap.

Sacramento Republic 3 – 1 San Antonio FC

After a disappointing open to their playoff campaign, the West’s number 1 seed put on a show for the 10,000+ in attendance. If not for a late 91’ goal by Tani Oluwaseyi, the Republic would have had a dominant shutout. Goals by Cicerone, Ross, and Viader kept the pressure on an overwhelmed San Antonio FC defense forcing GK Nick Marsman to attempt to play hero. Despite six saves, three did get past him, and Sacramento Republic are headed to the Western Conference Finals.

While their midfield performance lacked clarity at times, Sacramento Republic should feel confident about their matchup with the indomitable Phoenix Rising.

Phoenix Rising FC 2 – 1 Orange County SC

They did it again! The mad lads from the desert have won two straight-away games in Southern California with a DRAMATIC 116’ victory by a late substation. The game started well for the Rising who struck first off an amazing deep pass and masterclass of concentration by Trejo but was equalized in the 24’ by Amang.

The heroics came in Extra Time from Emil Cuello who won an incredible duel and buried the ball in the top of the net. Can Phoenix complete their tour of California with a win up North? Time will tell, but they certainly believe in what they built this year.

Charleston Battery 2 – 1 Birmingham Legion FC

Battery fans continue to marvel at the wonderful job that Ben Pirmann has done with the USL Championship’s continuously operating professional soccer club. A brilliant header from Emilia Ycaza and a fortunate deflection credited to Derek Dodson gave the Battery a massive win at home.

The Birmingham Legion were heavy underdogs in our poll but played well with a Prosper Kassim 41’ goal making halftime a tense affair. The Battery will look to build on this performance when they host a red-hot Louisville team this weekend.

Louisville City FC 4 – 0 Detroit City FC

We’ve seen quite a few teams get dismantled this postseason, but Detroit City’s inspired upset over Pittsburgh convinced a few fans that a miracle run was possible. Unfortunately, Detroit manufactures cars not magic and there were few bright spots for Detroit.

Louisville forward Cameron Lancaster had a brace and wingers Ownby and Gonzalez filled in the rest of the goals as it was the veteran presence up front that provided all the firepower the home team needed.

The Battery defense must study this game as they will look to avoid the mistakes that Detroit made that let this game go so quickly out of hand.

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