With the loss of forward Jaime Chávez to a red card and the late scratch of Don Smart, it appeared Saturday night’s challenge against Jacksonville Armada FC for the NPSL Sunshine Conference championship would be an uphill battle. But virtually from the moment of kickoff, The Miami FC 2 were in the driver’s seat and their play took them all the way to the title, thoroughly defeating the Armada 3-1.
It’s the NPSL Sunshine Conference preview episode, live from Bobcat Field at St. Thomas University. Matt, Omar and Drew break down the matchup between The Miami FC 2 and Jacksonville Armada. We’re joined by commentator Kartik Krishnaiyer who offers his insights. Join us, won’t you?
Thanks to our sponsor, Groundhopper, for helping to make this Magic City Soccer episode happen!
To subscribe to Magic City Soccer on iTunes, click here. To subscribe to Magic City Soccer on SoundCloud, click here.
To subscribe on Google Play, 
Miami-Dade County was well represented in the NPSL Conference XI on Friday, as three players from The Miami FC 2 and two players from Miami United FC were recognized by the league for their performance in the Sunshine Conference. In addition, Miami FC coach Paul Dalglish was named the coach of the year in the conference.
Jacksonville Armada and Miami United have played two winner-take-all matches this year. Last May, Miami United traveled to Duval County and emerged with a win to advance in the 2018 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Wednesday night, they would not be so fortunate, as a second-half blitz guaranteed that Jacksonville Armada would face fellow NASL exile The Miami FC 2 for the National Premier Soccer League’s Sunshine Conference title.
The first half was a relatively even match. Jacksonville Armada struck first in the eighth minute, with a goal from JC Banks.
The goal seemed to wake up Miami United, and it responded with a headed goal from Nicolas Micoli in the 26th minute.
That goal seemed to reinvigorate Armada, and they had the better of the rest of the first half. The second half, however, was a different story altogether.
Second-half shock
Two goals in two minutes proved to be the major difference. Banks earned a brace in the 47th minute thanks to a deflection, and was followed two minutes later by Ciarán Kilduff to give Jacksonville Armada a 3-1 lead it would never relinquish.
Kilduff got his brace in the 74th minute to close the scoring, and close the story on Miami United’s season.
Miami will be remembered for a tremendous Open Cup run, which concluded with a match at home against Orlando City SC. It will also be remembered, however, for a post-Cup swoon which took Miami United from the top of the Sunshine Conference table to a third-place finish which saw them traveling to Jacksonville.
The Armada will now travel to Miami-Dade county to face off against Miami FC 2. The winner will win the Sunshine Conference advance to the NPSL’s regional playoffs. The match kicks off at Bobcat Field at St. Thomas University on Saturday at 7 p.m. Tickets are available on MiamiFC.com.
It’s a late-night record for Omar and Matt on the Magic City Soccer Podcast, and they both practice their ASMR skills by discussing the proposed “Miami Freedom Park” by Fútbol Miami MLS as well as The Miami FC 2’s NPSL Sunshine Conference regular-season crown. The 2018 FIFA World Cup is also discussed, naturally. Join us, won’t you?
Thanks to our sponsor, Groundhopper, for helping to make this Magic City Soccer episode happen!
To subscribe to Magic City Soccer on iTunes, click here. To subscribe to Magic City Soccer on SoundCloud, click here.
To subscribe on Google Play,
The Miami FC 2 signed off a very successful inaugural NPSL regular season with a comfortable win against a lackluster Boca Raton FC side. With the home fans finally given a chance to enjoy a Saturday night game, there was a real end-of-term feel to proceedings and a quiet confidence that the job in hand could be completed and that 1st place in the Sunshine Conference would be sewn up.
It’s crunch time in the NPSL Sunshine Conference as the seven teams in the division head into some vital games that will help shape the final season standings.
How do the playoffs work? What’s at stake? Well the top three get in. On July 11th the semi final will take place between 2nd and 3rd in the table at the ground of the higher placed team. The winner of that game goes on to the final game against 1st at their place on Saturday, July 14.
Win that game, you’re Sunshine Conference champ and move on to the South Region playoffs. This takes the form of a semi final and final as well. The Sunshine Conference champion goes up against the winner of the Southeast Conference playoff on July 17th. Which is a Tuesday. Winner of that game advances to the South Region playoff final versus whoever won the game between the Lone Star and Heartland Conference champs on July 21. Confused? Yeah. I was too. It’s all broken down here. http://www.npsl.com/playoffs
But let’s concentrate on the Sunshine Conference. It looks like this right now.
THE MIAMI FC 2
Miami FC 2 went three points clear at the top, with 21 points in total, after a narrow win in Naples in their last game. Incredibly, they are not even guaranteed a playoff spot as 4th place Naples United can finish on 22 points if they win their three remaining games. Miami FC 2 have a bye this weekend but will be guaranteed a playoff spot without kicking a ball if Miami United lose their last game away at Palm Beach United and Jacksonville Armada win on the road in Naples.
FC have two games remaining, both at home, against Naples United on July 3rd and Boca Raton on July 7th. One win guarantees a top two finish but they need to win both and hope the Armada drop points somewhere to end up in top spot. The team’s form looks good, they’ve won six of their last seven games with the only loss coming on the road to the Armada back on June 6th. FC should finish first or second, but must keep getting points on the board to keep the pressure on Jacksonville.
FORM: WLWWW
REMAINING GAMES: vs Naples United (July 3, 7pm), vs Boca Raton (July 7, 7pm)
JACKSONVILLE ARMADA
Up the I-95 in the Bold City the Jacksonville Armada have been getting the job done too. They are three points behind FC with a game in hand but the ace up their sleeves is that if they finish level on points with Miami they are guaranteed to finish 1st as they hold the upper hand on the head-to-head between the two teams (One win, one draw). That’s the first tiebreaker. It can’t come down to goal difference.
The pressure’s on the Armada this weekend. They travel to Naples United on Saturday and the game is a must win if they want to keep their destiny in their own hands. Since beating Miami the Fleet’s form has been up and down. After that game they lost 4-2 in Palm Beach, tied themselves up in Hialeah 1-1 against United, blitzed Boca 7-0 and drew 0-0 with United at home. In their last game they got their noses by Palm Beach 3-2 at home.
Their other two games are away at Storm FC on July 4th and at home to Naples on Saturday 7th. All these games are winnable for Jacksonville, but they must stay perfect to give themselves the best possible chance of finishing first.
FORM: LDWDW
REMAINING GAMES: @ Naples United (June 30, 5:00pm), @ Storm FC (July 4, 2:30PM), vs Naples United (July 7, 7:30pm)
MIAMI UNITED
Miami United have suffered a severe case of cup hangover and their league campaign has gone totally off the rails. They’ve simply drawn too many games and are out of real contention for 1st place. This weekend is their final game and it’s a good job they are cup specialists because this game is a cup final. They are up against Palm Beach United on the road. PBU have taken the most points off the top three and got a 2-1 win when they played United in Hialeah. There is no chance of Palm Beach rolling over for them as PBU must win this game to keep their own playoff hopes alive.
Since trashing Storm FC 9-0 on May 12 the goals have dried up for United. Indeed if you remove Storm from the equation they haven’t managed more than one goal a game since May 5th. Palm Beach however are good going forward. They’ve scored more goals than the Armada in the same number of games. It’s a must win match up for both teams and should be a cracker. You’d bet on United coming 3rd in the table, but a loss on Saturday would change that thinking.
FORM: WDDWD
REMAINING GAMES: @ Palm Beach United (June 30, 7pm)
THE REST
Although they are 4th and 5th, both Naples United and Palm Beach United will have an eye on beating Miami United to 3rd spot. Both teams have motivation to rip up scripts on Saturday. Naples United need to beat Jacksonville to give themselves a slim hope at 3rd. If they lose, they’re done.
They have a big hand in how the top of the table plays out as their last three games are all against Jacksonville and Miami. Even if three wins is a pretty impossible task they’ll certainly be down to grinding out a point or two to try to finish above PBU if Palm Beach falter.
Palm Beach United cannot be discounted and have a much better shot at 3rd than Naples. If they manage a win against Miami United their last two games are winnable road trips, Boca and then Storm FC. Three wins in their last three games would put them on 21 points and get them in the playoffs, unless Naples somehow also manage three wins. They do have half a chance.
NAPLES UNITED FORM: WDWWL
REMAINING GAMES: vs Jax Armada (June 30, 5pm), @ Miami FC 2 (July 3, 7PM), @ Jax Armada (July 7, 7:30PM)
PALM BEACH UNITED FORM: LLWWL
REMAINING GAMES: vs Miami United (June 30, 7pm), @ Boca Raton (July 3, 7PM), @ Storm FC (July 7, 6pm)
If The Miami FC 2 have learned anything from this season’s NPSL Sunshine Conference escapade it is that you cannot underestimate teams and take games for granted. After the hugely important scoreless draw between Jacksonville Armada and Miami United on Saturday, Miami knew a win in Naples would put them firmly in command in the NPSL Sunshine Conference. But this would be no straightforward evening’s work. Naples United are NPSL stalwarts and they always serve as competitive opponents. After an hour’s rain delay while the usual pre-match thunderstorm moved off into Alligator Alley, the stage was set for an important and intriguing encounter. The first between these two clubs.
It’s amazing to think that we are over two months into the soccer season and yet just weeks away from its end here in the Magic City. Without a pro division club in South Florida, all of Miami’s prominent teams will wrap up their season in the month of July (except APSL/college). Thankfully we have a playoff race to discuss to keep our minds off the long off-season ahead with regards to the professional game in town.
The Miami FC 2 got back on track Wednesday night, defeating Palm Beach United 4-1 at Bobcat Field at St. Thomas University.
Palm Beach United isn’t generally considered in the top echelon of the National Premier Soccer League’s Sunshine Conference. However, they’ve managed two wins against teams who are in that top tier (Miami United and Jacksonville Armada). For the second time this season, through, Miami FC 2 was able to handle the matchup with ease.