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

The third round of matches in the inaugural USL Jägermeister Cup took place on Saturday, or at least 5/6 of them, with Union Omaha versus Central Valley Fuego held off until Wednesday. Lexington SC made the relatively short journey to Chattanooga Red Wolves and came away with the points after a seven-goal thriller in front of 2,308 at CHI Memorial Stadium. Mayele Malango had point Red Wolves ahead in the eighth minute, but the visitors drew level in the 35th minute, Ates Diouf scoring his second goal of the competition. That lasted for all of three minutes before Chevone Marsh put Chattanooga back in front, and they held their 2-1 lead through half-time. Ten minutes into the second-half, though, Alexis Cerritos pulled Lexington level again, although it was another short-term arrangement as Malango got his second to restore Red Wolves' lead two minutes later. The game turned in the 75th minute when Omar Hernandez was red carded for a foul on Cameron Lancaster and with the home side down to ten men, the inevitable happened as Nico Brown and then Lancaster himself scored in stoppage time to give the Boys in Green the win.

Forward Madison, still unbeaten in USL League One this season, welcomed One Knoxville to Wisconsin, where a crowd of 4,229 packed into Breese Stevens Field. The home fans were given an early boost when Derek Gebhard put the 'Mingos in front in the nineteenth minute and that was how it stayed, despite Callum Johnson being busy for the visitors in the second-half. A good crowd of 1,721 came out to Tormenta Stadium in Statesboro to see South Georgia Tormenta clash with Richmond Kickers, but the majority of them went home unhappy after Kickers came away with a 2-1 win. Former Tormenta man Adrian Billhardt put Richmond 1-0 up in the 27th minute, but the home side managed to equalise seven minutes later through Juan Sebastian Vivas. Things were well balanced for the next period of play but a stunning second from Billhardt sealed the points for the visitors, despite South Georgia having the lion's share of possession.

Charlotte Independence travelled to Northern Colorado Hailstorm without a win in the Jägermeister Cup, a state of affairs that remained the same on their way home. Bruno Rendón's opener in the fourteenth minute was cancelled out thirteen minutes later by Joel Johnson Alajarin and the sides went into the half level. That lasted for just seven minutes of the second-half before Independence went ahead through Luis Alvarez and it looked like the visitors' wait for a Jägermeister Cup might finally be over, only for Mark Hernández to equalise with a minute left on the clock. The game went to penalties and it was the home side who earned the extra point, Alvarez and Khalrton Belmar missing kicks for Charlotte, while Northern Colorado were spot-on. Saturday's final game came from eastern Washington, where Spokane Velocity and Greenville Triumph played out a goalless draw in front of over 4,500 fans. Velocity 'keeper Carlos Merancio was the busiest of the two custodians but it was a game of few chances, penalties being called upon to decide the extra point at the final whistle. In the shootout, it was the visitors who kept their nerve, despite Tyler Polak missing their opening kick, as Gunther Rankenburg saved from both Azriel Gonzalez and Derek Waldeck to keep Triumph top in the East Group.

Week eight in the NISA league began at Silverbacks Park in Atlanta on Saturday, where Michigan Stars earned their revenge for a 4-1 defeat by Georgia FC two weeks before. Praise Maduweke opened the scoring for the visitors in the nineteenth minute, with Stephen Juncaj finishing job the twelve minutes into the second-half and lifting the Stars back to the top of the Western Conference. Saturday's other game also came from Georgia, where Savannah Clovers drew 1-1 with Club de Lyon. Pedro Echeverria got the Lions on the scoresheet in the 35th minute and it looked like being the winner, even with five minutes of added time signalled by the fourth official at the end of the game. In the end, it was eight minutes into stoppage time when Roddy Green equalised for Clovers, leaving the visitors from Florida less than happy with the officials. The weekend's final game came from the Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, where Irvine Zeta and Capo FC played out an entertaining 2-2 draw. After a goalless first-half, journeyman midfielder Brandon Zambrano gave the visitors the lead just past the hour, only for George Almeida to equalise almost immediately. With one minute left on the clock, it was Zeta who scored what looked like the winner, left-back Greg Stratton on target a minute from time. This time, though, it was Capo's turn to pour water on the fire, Lebanese youngster Omar Sabbagh earning them a draw in the third minute of stoppage time.

The MLS Next Pro weekend started early for one of the two independent clubs in the league as Carolina Core travelled to Toronto FC II on Thursday night. Core fell behind after a quarter of an hour to a goal from former Sheffield United youth player Charlie Staniland and that's how it stayed until six minutes from time when Facundo Canete levelled from the spot. That seemed enough for a draw, but Honduran winger Jesus Batiz popped up a minute into stoppage time to give the junior Reds a 2-1 win. The other independent club, Chattanooga FC, were at home to local(ish) rivals Atlanta United 2 on Saturday and were able to secure two points from a shootout win. Luke Brennan opened the scoring for the visitors in the ninth minute, the first-half's only goal, but the Boys in Blue drew level just two minutes into the second-half, former New Mexico United man Milo Garvanian on target for the second time this season. The home side thought they had it won when Jesus Ibarra put them 2-1 in front with just three minutes of normal time left to play, but a Javier Armas penalty four minutes into stoppage time sent the game to penalties. With the home side kicking first and converting all their kicks, it took just one miss from United's Jacob Williams to give Chattanooga a 5-3 win and keep pressure on Philadelphia Union II at the top of the table.