MASL Nation! At the end of this weekend, most of your favorite teams will have played at least one game in the 2017-2018 season. I’ve decided not to do a ranking until the end of this week, but I’ll say this about Week 1:

  • Tacoma came out with guns a blazing. They will be a force to be reckoned with in the Pacific Division.
  • Milwaukee is as advertised. They are fast, very accurate with their passes, and have a lot of heart. They were down 3-0 AND gave up the game tying goal with four seconds left in the game (by the way, Alex Megson, you sir, have my vote for goal of the year) and still found a way to pull out the victory on the road.
  • Congratulations to the El Paso Coyotes who won their first game in the MASL by defeating the Rio Grande Valley Barracudas 8-4. Christian Gutierrez picked up where he left off last season with four goals, making him, in my opinion, the Week 1 player of the week.
  • Speaking of the RGV Barracudas, I’m sure they will have a better showing this weekend against the Florida Tropics at home.

Last week I went 1-1 with my picks, as I got Milwaukee right, and lost on RGV.  Week 2 is loaded with great games: Who do I have this week?

In tonight’s game, I have San Diego defeating El Paso. If the Coyotes could do me a favor, and wear out the Sockers for their game on Sunday, that would be greatly appreciated.

On Friday, the Silver Knights, will walk into Turlock, and take a victory from the Express. Yes, I’ve heard that Turlock never loses at home, but this is a different year, and the Knights will be up to the task.

There are three games on Saturday, with the game of the night being the Cedar Rapids Rampage visiting the Milwaukee Wave. I like the Wave. I like the glow in the dark jerseys. I like the turf. I like them winning this in a close contest. If Cedar Rapids is to win this game, they’ll need a huge game from new Rampage member Taylor Bond. Kansas City hosts St. Louis in the second contest of the night. Although St. Louis has improved in the offseason with the additions of JJ Gibson and Hewerton Moreira, I see Kansas City winning this one. In the final game of the night, the Florida Tropics take a trip to the valley, to take on the RGV Barracudas. In another close game, Florida edges out RGV.  The key to victory for Florida will be Freddy Moojen at the point. He’s a great goal scorer, and can also dish it, and with Mauricio Salles on the team, I’m sure we’ll see this connection quite a bit this season!

Sunday also has three games on the schedule. The first game has Turlock traveling to face the Ontario Fury. With Nick Perera gone, how will the Ontario Fury bounce back? I think with Tino Nunez and Israel Sesay leading the charge, they will defeat Turlock in a tightly contested battle. After their game in Hidalgo, Florida will next travel to Monterrey to face a Flash team that is ready to return to MASL dominance. When my predictions came out, a few of you were quick to judge my prediction on the Flash. And I’ll be honest, I forgot Monterrey were the last team to beat the Blast in an MASL final.  So, if I’m way off on this prediction, so be it! Back-to-back games on the opposite side of the country doesn’t bode well for the Tropics in this one. At the same time, Syracuse travels to San Diego to face the Sockers. I have a feeling San Diego will be ready to welcome the Silver Knights with open arms…and a few goals to boot (no pun intended). Can the Knights win this one?  Of course they can. Will they? I can’t believe I’m saying this… but, no.  I can say that they will make it close for Kraig Chiles and Company, and will return to Syracuse 1-1.

MASL Nation, what do you think? Am I way off? Let’s hear your predictions!