Jägermeister Cup Opening Weekend: Preview Part 2
It's first season with USL Championship sides, and most are facing USL League One. How do the second batch of matches stack up?
After just one season of the USL Jägermeister Cup being an in-season tournament for USL League One only, the tournament expanded to include USL Championship. And in year two, the first-year champs (Northern Colorado Hailstorm) aren’t even around to defend their title.
This is part two of a two part preview of the opening matches of the group stage, where most USL League One clubs are matched up with USL Championship clubs. Who has the advantage in each match? Read on.
South Georgia Tormenta vs. Greenville Triumph
Saturday, April 26th, 7:30 PM
Tormenta Stadium
The only intra-USL League One match this weekend, Tormenta hosts Greenville Triumph. Both sides have struggled with consistency in early season league play, sporting identical 2-3-1 records with -2 goal differentials.
Tormenta did not manage a single win in last year’s edition of the tournament, while Greenville lost its last two matches in the group stage en route to elimination. We’re hesitant to give either side an advantage here, and expecting a high-shot affair that should come down to goaltending. Austin Pack and Gunther Rankenburg better be prepared.
Advantage: even
Texoma FC vs. El Paso Locomotive
Saturday, April 26th, 8:00 PM ET
Sherman Bearcat Stadium
It’s no secret that Texoma FC is not a good team this year. There appears to be a mid to long term plan to build out the franchise, and you have to start somewhere. The result so far in league play is zero wins, four losses and a draw, with only three goals in five matches.
It’s not a formula for success against any higher division side. El Paso currently sits at 5th in the West, running at about the median in almost all stats. However, they aren’t afraid to score goals, with 12 from seven different players in seven league matches. There are very few reasonable scenarios in which Texoma pulls the upset.
Advantage: El Paso
New Mexico United vs. Union Omaha
Saturday, April 26th, 9:00 PM ET
Rio Grande Credit Union Field at Isotopes Park
The hosts are tied for first in the USL Championship Western Conference, on the strength of a stingy defense that has only allowed four goals in six matches. The last four wins in the current five match win streak in league play have been 1-0 affairs.
Omaha is off to a slow start, but the pieces are there and the club is known to surprise in tournaments like this. See the upset win over San Antonio FC only nine days ago in the US Open Cup, a win over El Paso in 2023 and 2024 and over Minnesota United in 2022 in that tournament. We’ll give a slight advantage to New Mexico based on its defense and home pitch advantage, but Omaha will not make things easy.
Advantage: New Mexico
Sacramento Republic vs. AV Alta FC
Saturday, April 26th, 10:00 PM ET
Heart Health Park
Off to a slow and inconsistent start, Sacramento will host USL League One newcomers AV Alta FC, itself a bit inconsistent this season. Sacramento did not have an easy time defeating amateur darlings El Farolito in the Open Cup, and are likely to struggle against AV Alta as well.
And it won’t be the visitors’ first encounter with a Championship side either, having taken down Orange County in the Open Cup only nine days ago. In that match, AV Alta scored two open play goals, and won on penalties. Can they do it again, but on the road? We’re going to give a slight advantage to the lower league side in this one.
Advantage: AV Alta
Westchester SC vs. Rhode Island FC
Sunday, April 27th, 2:00 PM ET
The Stadium at Memorial Field
After a historic inaugural season in which Rhode Island finished fifth in the east and then took down league powerhouse clubs Indy Eleven, Louisville City and Charleston Battery in the playoffs before losing to Colorado Springs in the final, they’re struggling to launch in 2025 so far. And while they did manage to knock out Portland Hearts of Pine in the Open Cup, Westchester will likely present a bigger challenge.
Rhode Island’s biggest weakness right now is a failure to score goals, with only five in as many matches. They’ve been held to zero goals in three of them. Westchester, meanwhile, plays an aggressive, offense-driven system, which exploded for four goals against Richmond this past weekend. The defense leaves a bit to be desired, but a few goals might be enough to hold on.
Advantage: Westchester
Birmingham Legion vs. Chattanooga Red Wolves
Sunday, April 27th, 5:00 PM ET
Protective Stadium
Check out my entry in The Protagonist’s Circle the Date feature for a brief preview of this one.
Advantage: Chattanooga
Spokane Velocity vs. Oakland Roots
Sunday, April 27th, 7:00 PM ET
One Spokane Stadium
While Spokane is one of the hottest teams in USL League One right now, Oakland is also on the upswing after a poor start. In their last two, the Roots have taken down FC Tulsa and Orange County. Spokane, meanwhile, is on a four match unbeaten streak.
Oakland’s leading goal-scorer is Wolfgang Prentice, a name that should be familiar to USL League One fans after spending all of 2024 on loan with Forward Madison and portions of the 2022 and 2023 seasons on loan with Madison and Northern Colorado.
Advantage: even