BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Only three matches remain in the 2024 USL Championship regular season and Birmingham Legion FC are certainly up against as the postseason draws tantalizingly close with only so many open spots still up for grabs.
Coming off of a disappointing 3-2 loss last week against North Carolina FC, The Three Sparks pretty much can’t settle for anything less than nine points over this final stretch. It starts by rolling the dice on Sunday against Las Vegas Lights FC in the final match of the season at Protective Stadium,
“It’s just about a playoff mentality now,” said midfielder Enzo Martinez. “We’re in a spot that’s very dangerous, we’re right there but everything is super tight, so we just have to win. There’s no tomorrow, there’s no other chance, we have to win, especially at home.”
MATCH INFO
- Birmingham Legion FC (12W-13L-6D; 42PTS) vs Las Vegas Lights FC (12W-8L-11D; 47PTS)
- USL Championship | Matchday 32
- Sunday, October 13 | 5:00 p.m. CT
- Protective Stadium | Birmingham, AL
- Watch: WABM My68 (Birmingham)
- Stream: ESPN+
In the immediate aftermath of its latest loss, Legion FC didn’t control its own postseason destiny for the first time all year, only to get back in the driver’s seat following a Loudoun United FC loss to Indy Eleven last Tuesday. As things stand heading into the weekend, Birmingham is grasping onto the final playoff spot, sitting in eighth place on 42 points in the Eastern Conference – a mere point ahead of Loudoun in ninth, three points ahead of 10th place Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC and five points clear of 11th Hartford Athletic, who has a game in hand.
Unfortunately, all three of those teams hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over Birmingham, which means any slip up from here on out could drop the squad below the cutline.
“We know what we’re up against,” coach Tom Soehn explained. “So it’s about consistency and making sure we come out and battle, that’s everything.
“It’s been hard and I want to make sure that we’re ready for it and I thought (in training this week) we had really good signs.”
Legion FC hoping those good signs lead to one more home win in 2024. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster at Protective Stadium this season with the club sitting on a 6W-8L-2D record. Prior to the recent defeat to NCFC, the performances seemed to be looking up with wins over the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Miami FC – the first and only time this season that Birmingham notched consecutive victories at home.
Looking to recapture that Magic City magic, Martinez is urging himself and the rest of the squad to show out in front of the supporters.
“We owe them a lot,” the veteran said of the home fans. “This being the last game, we want them to be happy because they have supported us throughout the year through tough stretches and good stretches, so for us it’s about being able to give them something to cheer about.”
One thing that has had Legion FC cheering is the play of midfielder Rida Zouhir, who is on a run of two straight USL-C Team of the Week selections.
Not only did he notch his first goal of 2024 with a deafening rocket from long range against North Carolina FC, but in that stretch the C.F. Montreal-loanee has led Legion FC with five total chances created and is also doing the dirty work on the defensive end with six tackles and a pair of clearances.
“Before I got here, it was like six months of not having consistent play,” explained Zouhir, who joined Birmingham on August 7. “I’m now getting into my groove and feeling my sensations that I used to have and when I am at that top level, I feel very confident on the ball.”
Zouhir now looks to continue that confidence against a Las Vegas side that is brimming with its own confidence at the moment.
Having already locked up a playoff berth and currently in third place on 47 points in the Western Conference table, the Lights come to Protective Stadium in the midst of a seven-match unbeaten streak and are averaging 1.7 goals per match over the course of it. Whether it has been at home or on the road this season, the style of play hasn’t changed much for a club who leads the USL-C with an 85% passing accuracy and with 15,268 total passes.
So not only does Las Vegas control the ball for larges spells of its matches, but also controls it with a purpose, thanks in large part to having one of the better frontmen in the league in Khori Bennett who has scored seven of his team-high 13 goals in the last nine matches.
“I enjoy playing against good teams and when you play against Vegas, who we don’t see all year, so it’s kind of a new team,” Soehn said. “They knock it around well and are organized, so I feel like a lot of times those teams bring out the best in yourself and hopefully we see that on the weekend.”
Follow Along
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