USL Jägermeister Cup, NISA & MLS Next Pro round-ups, May 23-26

It's USL Jägermeister Cup time again on Saturday, with five ties - Union Omaha versus Central Valley Fuego is on Wednesday - taking place between midnight and 4am (all times BST). First up is the visit of One Knoxville to Forward Madison, third visiting fourth in the regular USL League One table but a clash of two Central Group rivals - each with one win and one defeat - in the Jägermeister Cup. Madison are yet to lose in the league but were beaten 1-0 at Lexington in the first round of Jägermeister Cup matches, while Knoxville lost 5-1 at home to Northern Colorado in the Cup last time out. The first of two 0.30am kick-offs sees Chattanooga Red Wolves welcome northern near-neighbours Lexington SC to CHI Memorial Stadium, with both sides in the bottom four of the league so far. However, the visitors top the Central Group with a win and a shootout win from their two games so far, in stark contrast to Red Wolves, who have a loss and a shootout loss to their name. The other 0.30am start is an East Group affair from Statesboro, where South Georgia Tormenta host Richmond Kickers. Kickers have a storied history but just haven't been at the races in the past few years and don't look like putting that right this season. They have a shootout win and a loss for their Jägermeister Cup efforts so far, while Tormenta have a shootout loss and a win, so it could go either way on Saturday. The 2022 champions do have home advantage, though, and two more wins on the regular season.

Moving West, there are 2am kick-offs from both Northern Colorado and Eastern Washington. At the 4Rivers Equipment Stadium in Windsor, Northern Colorado Hailstorm take on Charlotte Independence, one of USL-1's form sides this season having not had the best of starts themselves. Yet to win a game from four attempts in the league, Hailstorm have had better luck in the Jägermeister Cup, winning 5-1 at Knoxville two weeks ago and taking Union Omaha to a shootout in the first round. Independence have a loss and a shootout win in the cup so far and won away in the league last week; they may be too formidable for Hailstorm, even in a game with less stakes on it than a regular encounter. Expansion side Spokane Velocity are having a fairly decent first season, attracting good crowds to One Spokane Stadium while winning as many as they lose in the league. In the Jägermeister Cup, they beat Omaha last time out after a shootout loss in their first game and sit joint top of the West Group with Hailstorm. Greenville Triumph, their opponents on Saturday, are top of USL League One as it stands, having reinforced their position with a 1-0 win in Richmond last week. They also sit top of the East Group in the Jägermeister Cup and so Spokane will have quite a battle on their hands...

In the NISA league, Maryland Bobcats and Georgia FC met last night at the Maryland Soccerplex in Boyds, with the Bobcats running out 2-1 winners. The visitors were on course for a notable away win after going ahead nine minutes into the second-half through Jeffrey Otoo, but stoppage time goals from Darwin Espinal (a penalty) and Abdou Thiam gave the hosts all three points, taking them top of the Eastern Conference on goal difference from Michigan. Georgia are back in action this weekend, taking on Michigan Stars again at Silverbacks Park in Atlanta on Saturday, just two weeks after beating them 4-1. That was Stars' first defeat of the season and they'll no doubt be out for revenge, especially as Bobcats stole their pole position with that Wednesday night win. Saturday's other game also comes from the Peach State, where Savannah Clovers host the veterans of Club de Lyon. Clovers have had an up and down season so far, with slightly more downs than ups, but still sit above their visitors from Florida in the table. The weekend's final game is yet another Los Angeles derby, this time from the Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, where Irvine Zeta play fellow new boys Capo FC. The sides met in San Luis Capistrano last weekend, with Zeta coming out 2-0 winners, but previously drew 1-1 in Irvine in week two. The hosts really need to kick on if they're to catch Los Angeles Force at the top of the Western Conference but Capo can be tricky to beat on their day.

Carolina Core, one of two independent clubs in MLS Next Pro this season, travel to Toronto FC II tonight for their first trip across the border. Core have looked much better in their last two games, winning away at Atlanta United and earning a shootout win in Fort Lauderdale, but it's hard to get excited about anything in this league, stacked as it is with reserve teams. Still, the other independent club - Chattanooga FC - are making a decent fist of things, topping the table until last week's win for Philadelphia Union II dropped them down to second. They host Atlanta United 2 on Saturday night, knowing that - with the Union stiffs not playing until Sunday - they can regain top spot with at least a draw. Elsewhere, Union II's trip to New York Red Bulls II is a clash of first versus fourth in the East, while St Louis CITY II versus The Town FC is the pick of the action in the West.