The 2019 GCPL regular season came to an end on Wednesday night after the rained out matches from last week’s hurricane were finally played out. With the regular season coming to an end, this meant that the playoffs are here and the battle to hoist the GCPL Cup is on.
This year, the highly anticipated postseason is set to begin and with five new clubs making their GCPL playoff debuts. The path to lifting the 3rd annual GCPL Cup will kick off this Saturday, July 20th with two quality quarterfinal matches on deck.
#3 BOCA Knights FC v. #6 AFC Mobile (7pm at Bossier High School)
The Western conference champions will host the Eastern conference outfit from Mobile in a highly anticipated match up. Both clubs have displayed over the season a knack for scoring goals with quality attacking threats up top. AFC Mobile will look to midfielder and team scoring leader, Arad Lev-Ari, to display some magic for the Azaleas, while the Knights expect Brazilian forward, Rafa Muniz, to lead the attacking front in hopes to advance to the semis. Both BOCA and Mobile will be without their two star players, Quesi Weston and Chisom Ogbonna, due to suspensions.
#4 Louisiana Krewe v. #5 Tallahassee Soccer Club (7pm at UL-Lafayette Soccer Stadium)
The two best defensive units in the GCPL will meet in Lafayette for a quarterfinal battle. Leading the defensive front for the Battle Lions is keeper and Eastern conference June Player of the Month, Hugo Peruzzi, averaging an impressive .77 GAA, the best in the league. Looking to test Hugo and his stout defensive front will be Krewe’s leading scorer and front runner for the GCPL golden boot , Adrian Olivares Rodrigeuz. The Lafayette unit has also impressed on the defensive front with a .80 GAA, thanks in part to defender and Western conference June Player of the Month, Cristian Cubedo. Tallahassee will rely on forward and former Shreveport Rafter, Boneco Bazil, to test the Krewe’s top defender.
The semifinals are set to be played on Wednesday, July 24th.
#1 Northshore United v. Lowest Seed (7pm at Northlake Christian High School)
The second year club claimed the number one seed and enjoyed being crowned regular season champs. Climbing out on top in a grueling 3-way playoff race in the Central conference, Northshore have impressed thanks to stellar season from a corp unit. But the attacking prowess of Zachary Breaux and Mason Morise have contributed heavily to the Covington club. The Ramblers will await the lowest seed that advances from the quarters.
# 2 FC New Orleans v. Highest Seed (7pm at Pan American Stadium)
The kings of New Orleans shined in their first year in the league with some top performances by former Pioneros de Cancún man, Roger Llergo, and CD Vida bound, Jesus Benitez. The Gators led the league in goals scored and displayed a potent style of attack, scoring a total of 42 goals in 10 games. FC New Orleans will have to fill in the void of the players who have returned to their pro clubs, but the NOLA crew has plenty of depth to be up for the task.
The GCPL Cup will be played at a location to be determined by highest seed (pending league approval for hosting). Entry will be $10 for adults and $5 for kids and can be purchased here: https://www.gcplsoccer.com/gcpl-store/.
