Down the stretch: The final weeks of NASL Spring 2013

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With just three weeks remaining, the race for the spring title and the right to host the NASL Soccer Bowl later this fall is a wide open race with five of the seven clubs still in the hunt with only six points separating the league-leading Atlanta Silverbacks and San Antonio Scorpions, who are tied for fifth.

The top three clubs in the table currently all have a full slate of games remaining whilst the fourth-place Tampa Rowdies, the defending league champion, have a tall task ahead of them, trailing by five points with only two games left on top of a stretch that has seen them go winless (0-3-1) in their last four since US Open Cup play began.

Lower Division Five Stars – Round 8

A weekly list of the top five players or performances of each round in NASL, USL Pro and MLS Reserves in all competitions - this week featuring the Second Round of US Open Cup along with league play…

Gonzaga showdowns loom in US Open Cup Third Round as MLS enters mix

Ching may face current Zag | HoustonDynamo.com

Five current and former Gonzaga University men’s soccer players are headed toward a pair of head-to-head meetings in the Third Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup on Wednesday, May 29. The matches in the 100th edition of the tournament will see the Seattle Sounders of MLS visiting the second-tier Tampa Bay Rowdies of the NASL and the MLS Houston Dynamo playing host to amateur FC Tucson of the PDL.

Lower Division Five Stars - Round Three

A weekly list of the top five players or performances of each round in NASL, USL Pro and MLS Reserves…

ROUND THREE (April 15-21)

Christhian Hernandez – Harrisburg City Islanders

On loan from affiliate Philadelphia Union, the striker was key in the club earning the first win by a USL Pro side against an MLS Reserve League team. Hernandez stunned the host Rapids Reserve just two minute in with the opening goal and set up Greg Jordan for the game-winner in the 64^th minute as they held on for the 2-1 victory. 

Lower Divisions Preview – Part III: North American Soccer League

Part I - USL Pro     ||     Part II - MLS Reserves     ||     Part III - NASL 

The last professional league to kick off the 2013 campaign will do so Saturday night amidst a lot of excitement… though most of it is for the future.

The third season of the league was supposed to be a big deal with the return of the Cosmos, who won’t debut until the fall, and the new split season, but that has been tempered by the spiraling Puerto Rico Islanders and the limelight stealing deal between United Soccer Leagues and Major League Soccer, which has thus far not led to much player erosion from the NASL. The good news is, however, that the league was able to sell Minnesota to new local ownership, though Traffic Sports still owns its club Fort Lauderdale as well as Carolina and a share of Atlanta - a factor that is significantly affecting player budgets according to RailHawks coach Colin Clarke in a report from Neil Morris of Indy Week.

LD Update: Rowdies survive for NASL crown; Toronto teams win CSL titles

Tampa Bay Rowdies celebrate NASL championship | Photo: NASL

In dramatic fashion, the second-seeded Tampa Bay Rowdies rallied and survived adversity in the NASL Championship series to down the defending champion Minnesota Stars in penalty kicks after a 3-3 draw through two legs and an extra 30 minutes of series overtime.

LD Update: NASL Championship Preview; NASL MVP; MISL signings

The defending NASL champion Minnesota Stars are on the cusp of repeating, duplicating last year's surprise run from the position as the sixth and final seed to winners of the Soccer Bowl. Standing in the way are the Tampa Bay Rowdies, who have will be looking to avenge last year's surprising postseason defeat after an unbeaten season series against the Stars.

The Rowdies come into the two-game series with a  4-1-3 advantage in the regular season, but in the lone postseason meeting the Stars were victorious, 1-0, in the opening round contest a year ago courtesy of a deflected free kick from Luke Mulholland in the 27th minute.

Time has a way of changing things though.