Brilla FC got on the board first in the fifth minute and carried that lead into halftime. Jones got Kings Hammer on the board in the 46^th minute, but that would be the end of the scoring for Kings Hammer FC.  Brilla’s Jalen James (58’) and Remi Emeriau (90’)  added second-half goals in for Mississippi Brilla FC, putting an end to KHFC’s season.

Offensive Struggles Continued

While defense wins championships, you can’t win if you can’t score. Kings Hammer needs more offense going into next season if it is going to improve. The lack of finishing cost it in a number of games this season, including the match against Brilla FC. There were a number of occasions in Friday’s match where they had opportunities to shoot where they would take another touch or two and lose possession looking for a “better” shot.

Homecoming for Garvey

Kings Hammer defender Ethan Garvey entered the match in the 84^th minute. Jackson, Mississippi, is about 2 1/2 hours away from New Orleans. Jackson is by far the closest place to home that Garvey got to play this summer with Kings Hammer. Garvey dealt with a hip injury this season and had to battle his way back from injury to get back into the 18. While KHFC didn’t get the result and Garvey didn’t get much time, his family was at the match, and hopefully we see a healthy Ethan Garvey in a KHFC kit next season.

This was not the result you’re looking for

Knowing Kings Hammer coach Paul Nicholson, he’s disappointed right now with the result tonight. The club has been great all season with access, but a disappointing last 40 minutes or so against a good Mississippi Brilla FC squad has put an end to the season.

Player Development

Kings Hammer’s mission statement: Our mission is to positively impact the development of youth in our community by providing soccer and educational opportunities to young players of all ages and playing abilities and to create a lifelong passion for the sport of soccer.

As a club, it has the youth sides abd now have USL Academy, the Ohio Valley Premier League and USL Two teams, but there wasn’t much crossover in those rosters this summer. They did have some “cross training,” but there were very few players that moved from roster to roster this summer.

A few USL Two players played USL academy this season looking to get time, but the OVPL rosters and USL Two squad didn’t see much crossover at all. For the most part it appeared that the OVPL squad this summer operated independent of the USL Squads.

For player development to continue to be a focus, there need to be more players working through that system and getting opportunities to play from the U-19 (USL-A) to U-23 (OVPL) to the first team (USL Two). Getting players more touches on the ball and more experience at the lower levels rather than being results driven (wins and loses) will actually help the first team (USL Two) when it comes to getting those results in the future. Players getting that training will continue to grow the game in the Greater Cincinnati Area.

Successful First USL Two Season

At the beginning of the season, expectations were high for this team. When looking at the lineup, it was stacked top to bottom compared to Cincinnati USL Two teams of the past. While that was the case, the Great Lakes Division is very good. Even the matches against Dayton, a team with a  0-13-1 record, were tough matches.

Kalamazoo and Flint City are both very good, and both moved on to the next round of the playoffs. The division is going to continue to get better as well. Grand Rapids, South Bend and Oakland County are not happy about not being in the playoffs this year. The only team to beat Kings Hammer FC in the regular season was Kalamazoo, who won the division.

For Kings Hammer, finishing the season 8-3-4 is a great first season. The staff built a very solid defensive team. The defense kept it in a lot of matches when it couldn’t generate offense. In a number of matches the offense did just enough to get a result or sometimes steal a point at the death even. Nicholson and the staff should be happy with the season that the team had and look to continue to get even better.

What’s Next?

Kings Hammer will continue to look at ways to get better. From the player development side to the match day experience, this club is committed to putting a quality product on the field and being a visible part of the community.

It is actively working on improvements on match day at Xavier University. In speaking with the Xavier Match Day staff, they love having KHFC on-site during the summer and are looking forward to a future relationship with the club.

KHFC is looking at improved technology for match day streams, ways to get more clubs in the community to come out and support Cincinnati USL Two soccer. This truly is “Cincinnati’s USL Two team.” Oh, and don’t forget, FRISBEE DOGS!!!

Thanks for a great season

On a personal note, I’d like to thank Cincinnati Soccer Talk for giving me a platform to cover Kings Hammer FC this season. I also want to thank the Kings Hammer organization for giving me access to the club. 

Getting to know the players this season, attend training sessions, go on a road trip with the team (on the team bus) and having access to players and staff has made covering the club so much fun. Having an opportunity to do play-by-play for streams has also been an amazing experience. 

A very special thank you to Brandon Ponchak for being willing to chat with me almost daily during the season. Thanks to Nicholson as well for being willing to do some pre and post-match content as well.  It is my hope that we will get to work together more in the future.

For more information on what’s next for Kings Hammer FC be sure to follow them on social media @KingsHammerFC . Follow me on Twitter: @Touchedartist, and follow @CincySoccerTalk as well.

The post Kings Hammer FC’s first USL Two season closes with 3-1 loss to Brilla FC appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Kings Hammer, like most clubs, didn’t have a perfect regular season. However, they were able to clinch a playoff spot prior to the last match of the season.  That allowed them to rest a few players prior to the regular-season finale against South Bend Lions. A record of 8-2-4 was just enough to get them into the playoffs.  The 28 points put them two points ahead of Grand Rapids FC for the final playoff spot in the Great Lakes Division.

What did the season look like?

About KHFC’s opponent: Mississippi Brilla FC

Mississippi Brilla FC had an 8-2-3 record dropping their final match of the season. That result was a 2-0 loss to Round Rock SC.   Brilla FC clinched the Mid-South Division early, and that final match had less to play for.

Brilla FC has three solid offensive threats on its roster. Ciro Damine has seven goals on the year. Jalen James and James Ndubueze both have five goals on the season.  Alejandro Chavarria will more than likely be the starting keeper for Brilla. In 900 minutes he has allowed a total of six goals according to the USL League Two website. Brilla has been around for fifteen years and played in the Semifinals in 2017.  They have also qualified for the U.S. Open Cup on four separate occasions.

Brilla FC will host Kings Hammer FC.  The match is being played at 8:30 p.m. eastern time.  Here is the link to the live stream.

What do the Kings of the Queen City need to do to advance?
It would be easy to say, score more than Brilla.  Sure, that’s the easy answer but, how do they get there.  Kings Hammer has four matches this season where they didn’t score a goal. Only once did they scored four goals.

Despite Kings Hammer having a very solid backline, Brilla is going to be hard to keep off of the scoreboard. If KHFC goes with their success 4 in the back, expected starters would be Quinn Thompson, Melker Anshelm, Karson Kendal, and Roberto Burlew.

KHFC needs to generate scoring chances early against Brilla FC.  Getting ahead early will give them an opportunity to hold possession with Lalas Ayerty and Kenney Walker in the midfield.  If they can draw some fouls in the offensive third, they will create even more chances to win the match. It is hard to find a better duo of set-piece specialists than Danny Barlow and Kenney Walker in USL League 2.

Road Warriors

Kings Hammer has been a much better road team than they have been a home team this year.  Being in a hostile environment isn’t as big of a concern as it would be for most teams.  With it being an 8:30 p.m. Eastern start, the biggest concern would probably be the boys overdoing it during the day leading up to a late start.

A win against Mississippi Brilla FC would put them against the winner of Kalamazoo FC vs Corpus Christi FC. The opponent would be known just prior to the match. While Kings Hammer FC isn’t looking ahead to the next game, they’ve lost to K-Zoo both times they’ve faced them this season.  On one hand, they would love to knock them out of the playoffs but on the other hand, it would be a tough task.

PROJECTED STARTERS AGAINST BRILLA FC:

The post Kings Hammer in Jackson Mississippi for Playoff Opener appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

1. Des Moines Menace (11-1-0)  — The Heartland Division champions have lost one match in division play since 2018.  That loss was to Chicago United this season in a 2-0 contest on June 30. Des Moines has three players that have five goals this season. Nill Ayats, Sebastian Andreassen,and Kingsford Adjei are all tied for the lead in team goals with five apiece.  Another impressive stat is that Des Moines has only given up seven goals in 12 matches.  The Heartland Division isn’t as strong as the Great Lakes Division, but there are a couple solid teams in the division.
2. Kalamazoo FC (10-1-3) — Kalamazoo had a near-flawless campaign in its first USL League Two season. Coach Shane Lyons did a fantastic job throughout the season of managing players’ minutes to carry them through the season. Kalamazoo also had the benefit of defender Adrian Lara being on its back line and Cyrus Harmon scoring seven goals in only 524 minutes played. Kalamazoo has a long road trip to Mississippi to play Corpus Christi in the first round.
   
3. Mississippi Brilla FC (8-2-3) — Brilla FC clinched the Mid South Division and will host Kings Hammer FC in the first round of the tournament. Brilla has three offensive threats on its roster. Ciro Damine has seven goals on the year. Jalen James and James Ndubueze both have five goals on the season.  Alejandro Chavarria will more than likely be the starting keeper for Brilla. In 900 minutes he has allowed a total of six goals according to the USL League Two website. Brilla has been around for 15 years and played in the Semifinals in 2017.  They have also qualified for the U.S. Open Cup on four separate occasions.
4. Chicago FC United (9-1-2) — United is a former champion of the Great Lakes Division (2019) but returned to the Heartland Division this season. Diego Gutierrez is its biggest offensive threat. Gutierrez has seven goals and five assists. Chicago used a goalkeeper-by-committee system this year, but Paul Kruse played the majority of the matches with 10 games played. Kruse gave up five goals and made 31 saves. Chicago could be a dark horse that could come out of its side of the bracket.
5. Flint City Bucks (9-3-2) — The Bucks are the defending USL League Two Champions.  Traditionally, as long as they get themselves into the playoffs, the Bucks are a contender. Some version of the Bucks have been around since 1996. They have four league championships, 14 division championships and 15 U.S. Open Cup trips. The Bucks ended the regular season with a 4-0 win over Oakland County. Amadou Cisse led the Bucks in scoring this season with six goals in seven matches. The real strength of the Bucks is the defense. They only gave up a total of 10 goals this season. They had six of 14 matches where they had clean sheets.
6. Kings Hammer FC (8-2-4) — The Kings of the Queen City put together a solid campaign in one of the best divisions in USL Two. A third-place finish in the Great Lakes Division got them the sixth seed in the Central Conference. Offensive players to keep an eye on during this playoff run are Danny Barlow, Timmy Ennin and Luca Erhardt. It’s safe to assume that Jared Brown will be the starter in goal for the playoffs as long as he stays healthy.
7. Corpus Christi FC (7-4-2) — The Sharks have a number of players with three goals this season.  Corpus Christi has 11 players with at least one goal and nine players with an assist. The offensive output is spread out throughout this roster. This is Corpus Christi’s first trip to the playoffs. The word on the street is that Corpus Christi already has a number of players that have left the club for their college teams.
8. Texas United (6-5-3) — Pol Monells is the standout player on the Texas United roster.  The University of South Carolina Upstate Spartan has eight goals and five assists in the regular season.  With the No. 8 seed, United has a tall order when it comes to trying to score against Des Moines stingy defense. It’s unclear as to who will be in goal for Texas United as it heads into the playoffs.  Gonzalo Martinez started the last game of the season for United in a 1-0 victory over Houston FC. 

Kings Hammer plays Mississippi Brilla FC at 8:30 p.m. Eastern on Friday. Should Kings Hammer advance, it will play the winner of Kalamazoo and Corpus Christi FC, which starts at 6 p.m Eastern on Friday. We will take a deeper dive into Kings Hammer’s matchup on Friday.

The winners of the two first round matches will meet at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday. 

To stay up to date on what’s going on with Kings Hammer FC be sure to follow @cincysoccertalk on Twitter.  

The post Kings Hammer FC playoff snapshot: USL Two Central Division appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Kings Hammer is awaiting word on where its match will be. There are two possibilities for where they end up in the first round, Iowa or Mississippi.  Either way, it’s a long road trip for the boys.  The playoff format puts 26 teams into the tournament, and today is the last day matches can be played. The playoffs are to start on Friday.

A Different 18

Knowing that they were already in the playoffs, Kings Hammer rested a few players that had played significant minutes over the summer. Noticeably absent from the selection were Danny Barlow, Karson Kendall and Marcello Jones. Jared Brown also wasn’t in the starting 11, and Northern Kentucky’s Daniel Bermingham saw his first start of the season.

With those pieces resting, you take a draw, right? There are a number of factors that went into the decision to rest some of the guys that have a lot of minutes. Kendall’s minutes with KHFC are off a bit in that bunch, but he played in World Cup Qualifiers for the U.S. Virgin Islands during his time with Kings Hammer as well.

Game Summary

In the 25th minute, Kings Hammer scored off a Kenney Walker corner. Roberto Burlew buried it off of a header that snuck past South Bend keeper Keagan McGlaughlin. South Bend equalized in first-half stoppage time when Nana Tuffour collected his sixth goal of the season. That sent the teams into the locker rooms knotted up at the half. There was obvious frustration on the faces of Kings Hammer coaches and players as they conceded yet again right before the half.

The second half saw both teams with various chances, but South Bend did a great job at applying pressure. Amass Amakona scored on an Olympico in the 78th minute, scoring directly off of a corner kick as a Kings Hammer defender appeared to duck out of the way of the ball. It seemed as there was a miscommunication between the defender and goalkeeper Danial Bermingham. That being said, Bermingham made a number of solid saves that kept KHFC in the match.

In the 89th minute there was a no-call on a play that appeared to be an obvious penalty. Even the South Bend bench seemed to wonder what was going on with the play. A corner kick was awarded, and on that corner kick, a penalty was given to Kings Hammer after some light contact in the box.  What appeared to be a makeup call lead to Alex Krakowiak-Castro burying the penalty kick and bringing the kings of the Queen City even right before time expired.

Playoffs

As soon as we have more information about the playoffs, we will have a USL Two playoff preview for you here at cincinnatisoccertalk.com

The post Kings Hammer FC and South Bend end regular season with draw appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

With at least a third-place finish locked up, there’s a good chance that KHFC rests a few names we are used to seeing in the lineup. While the Great Lakes division is the best division in USL League Two top to bottom, the competition in the playoffs will be fierce and will be on the road for KHFC as well. The playoff format doesn’t offer home matches to higher seeds, so no matter where KHFC place in the top three of the division, it will be heading on the road.

First place is still up for grabs though. Kings Hammer could win the division with a win and a Ft. Wayne victory over Kalamazoo later today. Coach Paul Nicholson has a very interesting situation to handle. A win puts his team in a spot to possibly win the division championship. Resting his players now may help him win the league Championship.

About today’s opponent: South Bend Lions

South Bend is in its first season of USL League Two play. Its record coming into today’s match is 5-5-3, in the middle of the division table. South Bend is a very solid defensive team and will look to keep Kings Hammer from putting goals in off of its dangerous set-pieces.

South Bend gives up a lot of its goals in the second half — 11 of the 15 allowed. Only three teams in the division gave up fewer goals this season than South Bend. All three of those teams are playoff-bound — Flint City, Kalamazoo and Kings Hammer.

Nana Tuffour leads South Bend with five goals on the season. The midfielder hails from Ghana. Tuffour played at Avon Old Farms Prep School in Connecticut. New England Soccer Journal has featured the Prep School multiple times. He will definitely be a player to watch, as he is expected to travel with the team today.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

There’s rain in the forecast yet again for today’s match, but that shouldn’t keep you from wanting to come out and celebrate with Cincinnati’s USL Two Squad. Kings Hammer FC has done something this season that most teams don’t do, and that is make the playoffs in its first season in existence. Some forecasts show that the sky is going to clear around the 4 p.m. kickoff at Xavier’s Corcoran Field. 

Coach of the Year?

There has to be some discussion about Nicholson for USL Two Coach of the Year, right? If not, let’s start it here. If you know Nicholson, you know the gaffer isn’t interested in talking about his own accomplishments. Nothing that happened on the field is a result of his preparation of the team as much as it is its ability to make plays. Yet when the team isn’t playing well, he’s the first one to take the blame. That’s just one of the many things that makes him a candidate for coach of the year.

Looking at the roster at the beginning of the season, there were a few players that were highlighted as key roster pieces to Kings Hammer FC’s success, and those players didn’t even all play this season. Reece Hands isn’t with the team, and Kenney Walker didn’t play nearly as many matches as we would have expected going into the season. While Walker played a solid match against Dayton, he’s been out with a nagging injury. Despite this, Kings Hammer still qualified for the playoffs.

Is there a team MVP?

Danny Barlow: If you took a look at the stats, you could make an argument that Danny Barlow is by far the MVP of this squad this season. Barlow has four goals and five assists. That isn’t what makes him the MVP though. He’s one of the most vocal and versatile players on the field. The 5-foot-8 Barlow is at times the “biggest” man on the field, even with 6-4 teammates standing next to him. He wants the ball, and he’s not afraid to go get it from the opponent. His physical play and determination make him a leading candidate for MVP this season. He’s also played over 1,000 minutes this summer.

Lalas Ayertey: Three words can be used to describe Ayertey: cool, calm and collected. Lalas does a great job as a holding midfielder for this squad, and in 774 minutes his job doesn’t often show on the stat sheet. He has one goal on the season but often times would have the “hockey assist” (the pass that leads to the assist). Quietly doing his job for the squad and making plays has to put Ayertey in this conversation.

Jared Brown: When the season started, there was some expectation that the squad could be seeing more of a goalkeeper-by-committee in 2021. Jared Brown has stepped up and taken charge of the 18-yard box for Kings Hammer FC this season. With 900 minutes in 10 matches, Brown has completed every match that he has started in. While he has given up 13 goals, he’s made 45 saves. The thing that doesn’t show on the stat sheet though is the saves in critical situations. There have been a number of games where Brown has been called upon to make big stops. He had two clean sheets on the season (Toledo and South Bend) and was an extra-time penalty kick away from a third at Flint City.

Twelfth Man

Kings Hammer FC needs you to come out and be the “12th man” this afternoon. Grab your poncho, grab a drum if you have one and come to Xavier’s Corcoran field for the 4 p.m. match and make some noise. Tickets are still available to watch your Cincinnati Kings Hammer FC take on the Lions from South Bend.

TICKETS

Use the code CSTKHFC to save 10%

The post Playoff-bound Kings Hammer FC hosts South Bend in regular-season finale appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

What do we know about Ft. Wayne?

Ft. Wayne lost its last match to South Bend on Saturday, 4-1. It only has one win on the year. It has five draws though, which tells you it isn’t just rolling over for teams. 

Its leading scorer is Noe Garcia. He has five goals on the season. Garcia, a Puerto de la Cruz, Canary Islands, native, plays his college soccer for Indiana Tech. The small NAIA school plays in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference.  

Does Kings Hammer go back to its original formation?

Kings Hammer found itself down to rival Dayton before the match was postponed due to storms on June 30. KHFC was running a newer formation for it at the time, a 3-5-2. While the formation seemed to look strong against Toledo at the end of the previous match, scoring four goals, against Dayton in the 37 minutes and change that were played the team looked to be sitting back too far defensively.  

This is the first and only match against Ft. Wayne. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Kings Hammer return to the 4-3-3 as Ft Wayne has given up a good number of goals this season.  

Standings

Tickets

Tickets are still available for today’s 7 p.m. match.  The club hopes to make Xavier’s Corcoran Field one of the hardest places to play in USL League Two.

https://app.soccerstub.com/events/khfc-vs-ft-wayne-july-7th

Use the code CSTKHFC to save yourself 10%.

The post Kings Hammer faces another must-win against Ft. Wayne FC appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

No one expected Dayton to be at the bottom of the table when this season started. The first match against Kings Hammer was close. KHFC needed an ESPN Top 10 goal from Karson Kendall to come away with the victory in added time to win the season opener.

At this point, that seems like a lifetime ago. Kings Hammer has only two losses (both to first place Kalamazoo), and Dayton just earned its first point of 2021 this past weekend. Dayton stole that point from Ft. Wayne.

It’s a Rivalry

Today’s matchup isn’t going to be a cakewalk for Kings Hammer. Dayton isn’t going to come into Xavier’s Corcoran Field and just roll over and play dead. Dayton is a hard-working bunch that is going to try to outmuscle Kings Hammer and try to put a damper on the Kings of the Queen City’s run towards the playoffs.

The referee crew is probably going to have its hands full today. There is no love lost between these two cities and these two clubs even with only one meeting between the clubs at this point. The opening season loss sent Dayton on the downward spiral and showed the new Kings Hammer side that they could hang in the best division in USL Two.

Making some changes

Typically, this late into the USL Two season you start to see changes. Coaches start looking at total minutes played by players and start resting guys and making changes. KHFC’s Paul Nicholson is aware of guys that have substantial minutes this season. He knows what this match means to his first-year club though.

Daniel Barlow and Melker Anshelm lead field players with over 800 minutes played. Bradan Allen and Alexander Krakowiak are close behind them with over 700 minutes played each.  We saw some rotation with these players in the Toledo match to try and give them a little more rest and may see something similar tonight.

How bad is Dayton’s Defense?

It isn’t good but it isn’t as bad as the numbers indicate. It has given up three or more goals in six matches. Those numbers along with the -24 goal differential are deceiving.

Seven goals of the -24, were in one match, against Flint City. Dayton also spent a substantial amount of time down a man in that match. It should be noted, however, that its offense only has eight goals. So the goal differential may be more about how bad its offense is more so than how bad its defense is.

KHFC keys for tonight’s match

Get support in the 18: Kings Hammer needs to counterattack quickly and confuse the Dutch Lions defense by overlapping one another and overloading the penalty area.

Do not allow Dayton to “hang around”: The longer the match stays within striking distance for Dayton, the more confidence it will have. If Kings Hammer can score early, it may shut Dayton down.

Do not underestimate Dayton: Kings Hammer needs to take the match personally. It has a target on its back, and there’s nothing Dayton would like more than to come into Cincinnati and steal three points.

Tickets for tonight’s match are still available:

https://app.soccerstub.com/events/khfc-vs-ddl-june-30th

Use code CSTKHFC at checkout to save 10% on your tickets.

For more coverage on Kings Hammer FC during the 2021 season, be sure to continue to follow Cincinnati Soccer Talk on Twitter @cincysoccertalk.

The post Kings Hammer FC looks to keep Dayton Dutch Lions winless appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Was it the best match of the season? 

It’s possible that this will go down as a real turning point for Kings Hammer. A new formation seemed to generate more offense in the second half, but it seemed as though KHFC was just more fit when it comes down to it. It is something, as a coaching staff, to be proud of though. Kings Hammer FC does a great job in setting the expectation that the boys are fit.  

The game opened with a mistake by the Toledo goalkeeper in the fifth minute. Rodrigo Robles took advantage of the keeper’s mistake to put Kings Hammer up by one early. Toledo didn’t shut down though and had a number of chances to equalize and did so in the 32nd minute.  

Toledo looked like the better team from about the 20th minute to the 55th minute. Halftime saw the teams locked at one goal apiece. Kings Hammer made a couple of halftime changes, and it took about 10 minutes for those changes to show their effectiveness. Danny Barlow and Alexander Krakowiak entered the match at halftime, and their leadership showed as the match continued.  

Robles scored his second goal of the match in the 68th minute on a beautiful assist by Brayden McNitt.  The Kings of the Queen City poured the pressure on as Cory Pitlik scored his first goal for Kings Hammer FC in the 81st minute. That was the beginning of the end for Toledo. Down by two, Toledo Villa was desperate to push forward to try to make something happen. 

Kings Hammer had a number of scoring chances in the last nine minutes, and stoppage time provided just enough time for Barlow to add a goal to his assist on the night for a solid second-half performance coming off the bench. A 4-1 final with a strong second-half performance by the boys in silver and black put them four points ahead of Flint City, who took a loss at home against Grand Rapids on a weather-delayed Saturday night in Flint.  

Who’s Next?

Dayton (0-1-9)
Dayton picked up its first point of the season on Sunday with a draw against Ft. Wayne. The Dutch Lions come to Xavier to take on Kings Hammer at 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Ft. Wayne (1-5-5)
Ft. Wayne comes to Cincinnati to take on KHFC at 7 p.m. July 7. This match was originally scheduled for July 9 but was moved when the FC Cincinnati-Columbus Crew match was moved to that night.  

South Bend (3-3-4)
The other Lions head to Xavier for the regular-season finale for Kings Hammer FC on July 11 for a 4 p.m. match. South Bend will see Flint, Ft. Wayne and Dayton all before coming to Cincinnati for their first-ever visit.  

The Playoff Picture

The playoff picture is an interesting one in the Great Lakes Division. As of this moment, the only team statistically eliminated from the playoffs is Dayton. Ft. Wayne would need to win out and get a lot of help along the way. The top three teams in the division will get a playoff birth this season.

The post Win at Toledo brings Kings Hammer FC one step closer to playoffs appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

Nine points is a steep hill to climb

Kings Hammer needed to give Kalamazoo its second loss of the season and instead finds itself looking at a good chunk of points to make a push for the division championship.Even with two games in hand, Kalamazoo holds the head-to-head season series advantage over KHFC. The Kings of the Queen City need to win out and hope for a little help along the way.  

While nine points seem like an impossible hill to climb, Kings Hammer has some matches left against the bottom half of the division. There’s not a single team on its schedule going forward with a winning record at this point. Kalamazoo has a solid Oakland County team and a match at Fort Wayne which is going to want to win at home to give its fans something to get excited about to end the season. 

On to Toledo

A familiar 18 will be on the team bus to Toledo. Notable absences from the 18 are Kenney Walker, Jalen Brown and Reece Hands. Hands, who many expected to be an important veteran presence on the backline, has seen no time after an early training injury put him out. He did see time in the closed-door friendly against FC Cincinnati but seems to no longer be in the mix this season. 

Toledo has had a week to recover from the 3-0 drubbing it took from South Bend. Toledo used 16 of its 18 players in that match. Goals by South Bend were scored in the 33rd, 46th, and 90th minute. 

Players to watch for Toledo

Kainan Dos Santos– Dos Santos leads Toledo in goals with four in 611 minutes of play. He leads the team in games played with 10. He has 22 shots on the season, five of which were in the 0-0 draw against Kings Hammer back on June 5. 

Kalen Nichols- A defender who sometimes finds himself with an opportunity to score, Nichols has two goals in only four shots. The Bowling Green native plays collegiate soccer at BGSU. He started all 13 matches for the Falcons in the season. 

Shots, Shots, Shots

If you look at the league website, there wasn’t a single shot recorded by Kings Hammer in the match on Wednesday.  While that isn’t accurate, the club does need to shoot more often. This team has a tendency to try to get in a position for a perfect shot rather than take one when they might have a look.  

Against Oakland County last week, one goal was scored in traffic after a shot deflected back and led to a pass back to Luca Erhardt. The defense was scrambling. Looking for the highlight reel goal doesn’t always get the job done. A deflected goal that crosses the line counts just the same as a pretty one. 
If Kings Hammer wants to put this match away early, it needs to be willing to take shots when it can see the keeper. It doesn’t have to always be inside the 18.  

Set Piece Specialists

KHFC continues to shine on set pieces. The team will have to try and get itself into some situations where it can utilize the dangerous free-kicks. Against Oakland County, Danny Barlow got another assist off of a free kick service into the area. 

On the Bus

Cincinnati Soccer Talk will be traveling with the team on the road to Toledo. We will be creating some content to show what it’s like on the road in USL League Two.

Today’s match is a 7 p.m. start. While we do not have a link at this time, a link will be available as we get near match time. Kings Hammer FC will be broadcasting on YouTube for the first time. Be sure to give us a follow @cincysoccertalk on Twitter as we continue to cover Kings Hammer FC throughout the season.   

The post Kings Hammer FC looks to rebound at Toledo appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.

A victory for Kings Hammer would even up the series at one game apiece and more importantly, would put the second loss in Kalamazoo’s record. Is it a must-win? Not to put any unneeded pressure on the boys as they head out on the road but yes, they need to even the season series against K-zoo.

Brown putting in the work

Jared Brown has been putting in some solid work in net for Kings Hammer. Brown has 26 saves on the season, including two crucial saves in KHFC’s match against Oakland County this past weekend to secure the three points for Kings Hammer.

His toughest outing on the season was against the same Kalamazoo squad that KHFC is taking on. It’s a chance for Brown to show that the first matchup was an outlier. Kings Hammer also played the majority of that match down a man. The expectation would be to see Brown put on a performance similar to other clean sheets this season. Against South Bend, Brown had seven saves and a clean sheet.

Late Goals

One thing that appears to be haunting Kings Hammer this season is late goals. In the two of the three most recent matches, Oakland County and Flint City, goals were given up after the 89th minute.

The KHFC coaching staff was not happy with giving up the last-minute goal in either of those matches because it needs to start finding a way to add to its goal differential. Kalamazoo currently sits at +11 on the season while KHFC is at +3.

A BIG 3 points

While a tie would keep Kalamazoo close to Kings Hammer, a win by KHFC gets it closer to Kalamazoo. A win puts it in a position with two matches in hand to make a run at the division championship. The last matchup against Kalamazoo got away from Kings Hammer quickly after it had gotten out to a 2-0 lead.

Previous matchup

Roberto Burlew and Timmy Ennin scored the two goals that gave Kings Hammer a two-goal lead in the first matchup. Ennin’s two yellows in the 35th minute, leading to his ejection that began the downhill slide for Kings Hammer.

Two goals by Cyrus Harmon, who came on in the 39th minute, and goals by Lara and Martinez gave Kalamazoo four goals on the day and the victory in their first matchup. The 4-2 victory spoiled the home opener for Kings Hammer FC, who played fairly well despite the scoreline.

Take a look, he’s in the book

Kings Hammer has 23 yellow cards total on the season. The league website is showing 22 at the time of the article, but Timmy Ennin is showing zero when he should be showing one yellow and one red.

Physical play is expected from coach Paul Nicholson.  That doesn’t mean earning yellow cards is a good thing, but a number of the yellows that KHFC has on the season were for physical challenges on the ball.

Get It Done

The expectation should be that Kings Hammer will look to outmuscle Kalamazoo FC early on in this week’s match. While both teams have made some changes since their first matchup, one thing will stay the same for Kings Hammer —  the will to not be outworked or underprepared for this match.

When talking with Brandon Ponchak, USL Soccer Operations for Kings Hammer, I asked, “Is it safe to say the team has been looking forward to this matchup since the whistle blew at the end of the first match against Kalamazoo?”

His reply, “Yes. Anytime you drop points at home and had the lead, it would be great to get those points back.”

The post Kings Hammer FC going to Kalamazoo in search of three more points appeared first on Cincinnati Soccer Talk.