Kingston Stockade FC in the 2017 NPSL Playoffs: Everything You Need to Know

KINGSTON, N.Y. — It's a grand occasion for the second-year Hudson Valley soccer club, made even bigger by the fact that the home fans will get to share in the historic moment as well.

Kingston Stockade FC will make its first-ever appearance in the NPSL Playoffs on Saturday, July 15. The match will be at home at Dietz Stadium, with kickoff scheduled for 6 p.m.

- For the full 2017 NPSL Playoff bracket, CLICK HERE

By virtue of finishing with the best regular-season record (7-1-4, wins-draws-losses; click here for the complete NPSL standings) in the Atlantic White Division of the Northeast Conference, Stockade FC gets a bye in the first round and will host the winner of the 2nd vs. 3rd place match between Boston City FC and Hartford City FC (Boston hosts the one-off match on Wednesday, July 12).

Stockade FC has found some degree of success against both of their potential playoff opponents this season, as they beat Boston City at home, 2-1, on June 10, but lost to Boston City on the road, 2-0, on July 8. As for Hartford City, Stockade FC lost to the Connecticut club at home, 3-1, in the first match of the season on May 6, but then drew with them on the road, 2-2, on May 27.

Should Stockade FC win the home match on July 16 and advance to the next round, they will face the winner of the Atlantic Blue Division playoffs. Elm City Express is the top seed in the Atlantic Blue, with Brooklyn Italians in second place and TSF FC in third place. Stockade FC fell at the last gasp at Brooklyn, 1-0, on June 17, and also lost a late one to TSF FC, 4-3, at Dietz Stadium on July 3. Kingston has not played Elm City yet.

Dietz Stadium will host its first-ever NPSL playoff match on Saturday, July 15.

Here are a few more key facts about the 2017 NPSL Playoffs:

- The Northeast Regional semifinals would take place on Saturday, July 22. The semifinals would consist of the winners of the Atlantic Blue, Atlantic White, Keystone and Mid-Atlantic Divisions. The highest seed of the four (based on points per game; in order to see NPSL points-per-game standings, click on this link, then click on the "Power Rankings" tab) would host the lowest seed, with the second-highest seed hosting the third-highest seed. (The full 2017 NPSL Playoffs bracket can be seen here.)

- The Northeast Regional finals would take place on Saturday, July 29. The finals would be hosted by the highest remaining seed of the four above divisions.

- The winner of the Northeast Region advances to the NPSL National Semifinals on Saturday, August 5, with the highest remaining seed hosting the fourth-highest remaining seed, and the second-highest seed hosting the third-highest seed.

- The 2017 NPSL National Final would take place on Saturday, August 12. AFC Cleveland won the 2016 NPSL National Final.

- The winners of the four regions are guaranteed spots in the 2018 U.S. Open Cup, a national U.S. tournament that involves teams from MLS, NASL, USL, PDL, NPSL and amateur clubs as well. Beyond that, the number of NPSL clubs to qualify for the 2018 U.S. Open Cup is still to be determined (last year, 18 NPSL teams qualified for the US Open Cup). The 2017 U.S. Open Cup is still being contested. MLS side FC Dallas won the 2016 U.S. Open Cup.

- The winner of the U.S. Open Cup earns a spot in the CONCACAF Champions League against teams from Mexico, Canada and various Central American leagues. C.F. Pachuca of Mexico won the 2016-17 CONCACAF Champions League in April of 2017.

- The winner of the CONCACAF Champions League earns a spot in the FIFA Club World Cup, a seven-team tournament involving winners of the Asian Champions League, African Champions League, CONCACAF Champions League, Copa Libertadores Champions (South America), Oceania Champions League and UEFA Champions League. The current FIFA Club World Cup champions are Real Madrid from Spain.

By Randy Kim, Kingston Stockade FC General Manager

Stockade Falls on Road in Final Match, But Finishes Top of the Division

Stockade's Starting XI at Boston City FC. (Photo: Dan Hoffay)

MALDEN, Mass. — In soccer, and sports in general, you never hope for the end result to be a loss when you take the pitch. But if you do fall, you at least hope to have gained something from the experience. That can certainly be seen as the case for Kingston Stockade FC from their travels over the weekend.

Stockade FC fell to Boston City FC, 2-0, on Saturday, just outside of Boston. The loss was the final match of the regular season for Stockade, who finished the 2017 campaign with a 7-1-4 record (wins, draws, losses), a good enough record for first place in the Atlantic White Division of the Northeast Conference.

While the result was ultimately a disappointment, Stockade FC was able to use all seven subs for the match and give plenty of players some valuable minutes — as well as the starters some valuable rest — just one week before Stockade's first-ever playoff match.

Play was extremely even for the entirety of the first half, as both sides showed high levels of intensity in what has become a growing rivalry between the two clubs. Boston City broke through just before the half in the 45th minute, though, courtesy of a long set piece, which was ultimately converted by Isaac Addai.

Stockade then made five subs at the half, bringing David Nkansah-Siriboe, Mike Corbi, Joe Bogart, Victor Guirma and T.J. Zehner on for Bruce Jeter, Marco Kloster, Ernie Mitchell, Eric Fortier and Steve Skonieczny.

Tommy Steigerwald then came on in the 56th minute for Juan Gatti, and Mike Lanzetta was subbed for Pedro Espindola in the 67th minute to complete the substitutions on the day.

Stockade kept the pressure on Boston throughout the second half, and was the better bet to score in the final 45. Yet Boston managed to break through on the counter in the 90th minute to make it 2-0, as the Stockade defense was stretched thin due to the visitors pushing so far forward in the hopes of leveling the match.

Stockade's next match will be a playoff tilt at Dietz Stadium against the winner of the Boston City-Hartford City match to be played this week. The club's first-ever playoff match is scheduled for Saturday, July 15 at 6 p.m. in Kingston.

Man of the Match: Brandon Curtis

Stockade Starting XI: Skonieczny; Curtis, Gatti, Mitchell, Zobre; Koziol, Macklin, Kloster; Jeter, Espindola, Fortier

Despite Historic Occasion and Packed Stands, Stockade Falls to TSF

Stockade's Brandon Curtis goes up for a header against TSF FC. (Photo by Leanne Keator, Ride the Tide Photography)

KINGSTON, N.Y. — On a historic day filled with much to celebrate for Kingston Stockade FC, the only thing missing for the home side was a victory on the pitch.

Getting the bad news out of the way first, Stockade fell to TSF FC on Monday, 4-3, in an entertaining, high-scoring affair.

And while the result might not have been exactly what the hosts wanted, it at least provided great entertainment for the 1,129 fans in attendance at Dietz Stadium, which was the largest home crowd in Stockade history, and also the first time the club has ever broken the one-thousand mark.

Stockade was also able to celebrate the fact that the club had wrapped up the top spot in the Atlantic White Conference, as results elsewhere meant that Kingston had the best record in the conference for the 2017 NPSL season with one match to play. This also meant that Stockade had secured its first-ever playoff spot.

As for the match itself, while it was a very exciting game, the end result wasn't exactly what the hosts were hoping for. (Full match highlights below.)

TSF opened up the scoring in the 37th minute to take a 1-0 lead.

Stockade's Eric Fortier missed a golden opportunity in the 39th minute, as he sent a close-range shot directly into the TSF keeper's chest.

Fortier showed himself to have quite the short memory, however, as he quickly redeemed himself in the 45th minute, with a powerful strike to level things at 1-1.

TSF then scored their second goal in the 52nd minute, only for Fortier to level things yet again with a goal in the 58th minute to put it at 2-2. The goals were Fortier's 3rd and 4th of the season.

Play went back and forth for the next 10 minutes before Matt Koziol scored his 5th goal of the season off of a lovely shot from distance to make it 3-2. TSF then scored in the 81st and 86th minutes, however, to complete the scoring on the day and leave the final tally at 4-3.

Stockade's next match is on Saturday, July 8 at Boston City FC.

Stockade then will host its first ever playoff match on Saturday, July 15 at Dietz Stadium (or Sunday, July 16 in case of a rain delay). Kingston will play the winner of the 2nd vs. 3rd place playoff match earlier in the week.

Man of the Match: Eric Fortier

Stockade Starting XI: Skonieczny; Curtis, Lis-Simmons, Gatti, Zobre; Koziol, Lanzetta, Mitchell; Fortier, Espindola, Jeter
 

Marco Kloster, Stockade Storm to Home Win Over Seacoast United

KINGSTON, N.Y. — The saying, "When it rains, it pours" applied in more ways than one on Saturday at Dietz Stadium.

On a day filled with thunderstorms and heavy rain, Kingston Stockade FC rode a downpour of late goals to an impressive 4-2 home win over Seacoast United Mariners.

The first half was a hard-fought, scoreless affair, with both sides trying to assert dominance in the match. Overall, Seacoast proved itself to be a well-organized, hard-pressing team that made life very difficult for Stockade FC in the first stanza.

At halftime, the skies opened up, and the refs had to delay the match by nearly an hour, which saw some, but definitely not all, of the 737 fans in attendance take leave for the day.

But those that stuck around for the full match got quite a show indeed.

Seacoast scored the first goal of the day in the 63rd minute, only for Stockade to answer quickly with a goal in the 65th minute, courtesy of midfielder Marco Kloster.

The Siena product then followed that shortly thereafter in the 71st minute with a wildly impressive low, diving header that put Stockade up 2-1.

Seacoast showed they were up for the fight by scoring again in the 74th minute.

Kloster, however, completed his hat-trick in the 81st minute to put Stockade up 3-2.

Then fellow Brazilian Pedro Espindola scored a lovely, low driven shot against the grain in the 84th minute to seal things up and give Stockade the 4-2 win.

For Kloster, the hat-trick made up his first three goals of the season. Espindola's strike, meanwhile, raised the University of Albany forward's tally to an impressive eight goals on the season.

The victory wound up giving Stockade the top spot in the Atlantic White Conference.

Man of the Match: Marco Kloster

Stockade Starting XI: Giddings; Anasta, Barrett, Gatti, Zobre; Koziol, Macklin, Kloster; Guirma, Espindola, Fortier

Kingston Stockade FC Get Shutout Road Win at Seacoast United Mariners

Pedro Espindola scored twice in Stockade FC's win on Saturday. (Photo by kennytphoto.com)

PORTLAND, MAINE — The setbacks have been infrequent for this Stockade side, and even when the club does hit a rough spot, the bad times just don't last long for the boys from the Hudson Valley.

A week after falling to Brooklyn Italians in harsh fashion on the road, Kingston Stockade FC bounced back on Saturday with a resounding 3-0 win away against Seacoast United Mariners.

The victory puts Stockade FC on top of the Atlantic White Conference with a 6-1-2 record (wins-draws-losses). It's also the second time this season that Kingston has bounced back from a loss with a resounding shutout win under first-year coach David Lindholm.

The scoring started in the 10th minute, as winger Pedro Espindola scored off of an assist from Mikey Lanzetta.

Espindola then scored again the 31st minute, this time off of an assist from Matel Anasta (his second of the season). The brace means Espindola now has seven goals total on the season.

The Hudson Valley side then wrapped up the day with a goal in the 89th minute, with David Nkansah-Siriboe collecting honors off of an assist from Josh Maley. The goal was Siriboe's second of the season.

The win also came at a very opportune time for Stockade FC, as second-place Boston City FC and third-place Hartford City FC both lost on Saturday. This means that, with 19 points, Kingston now has a five-point lead at the top of the conference with three matches left to play.

Stockade's next match is at home on Saturday, July 1 at 5 p.m. against Seacoast United Mariners. Stockade then has another match at Dietz Stadium on Monday, July 3 against TSF Academy at 6 p.m.

The regular season concludes at Boston City FC on Saturday, July 8 at 7 p.m.

Man of the Match: Pedro Espindola

Starting XI: Skonieczny; Barrett, Gatti, Lis-Simmons, Anasta; Koziol, Kloster, Lanzetta; Espindola, Creswick, Fortier

Kingston Stockade FC Falls on Road, 1-0, to Brooklyn Italians

Stockade's away fans in Brooklyn.

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — Well, it was fun while it lasted.

After going six matches unbeaten, Kingston Stockade FC fell to Brooklyn Italians on Saturday night, 1-0, in downtown Brooklyn.

The loss was a particularly rough one, as it came at the death when Brooklyn's Jerel Blades put home a cross in extra time for the lone goal of the night.

Prior to the late score, play was quite balanced for the duration, with both sides alternately forcing the action.

The match was also characterized by some spirited, physical play, with eight yellow cards being given out on the night, three to Stockade and five to Brooklyn. The effort shown by both sides shouldn't come as a huge surprise, given the visitors are on top of the Atlantic White Conference, while the hosts are in first place in the Atlantic Blue Conference.

Kingston also showed itself to be a club that travels well, as dozens of Stockade fans gathered in a set of bleachers perched above the pitch. The road fans even had a bit of friendly banter with some members of the Italians' academy players, with both sides going chant-for-chant for long stretches of the match.

Kingston's next match is on Saturday, June 24 at 3 p.m. at Seacoast United Mariners in Portland, Maine.

Stockade Man of the Match: Scott Zobre

Kingston Stockade FC Takes Over First Place in Conference With 2-1 Win Over Boston City FC

Matt Koziol celebrates a successful penalty kick against Boston City FC.

KINGSTON, N.Y. — It was admittedly the most important match in the young club's history. But the upstarts from the Hudson Valley handled the big occasion like a group of seasoned veterans.

In a midseason top-of-the-table clash in NPSL's Atlantic White Conference, Kingston Stockade FC topped Boston City FC, 2-1, at Dietz Stadium on Saturday. The win lifts Stockade FC to the top of the conference with 16 points (5 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss). Boston City sits in second place with 11 points, although they have a match in hand.

The victory means that Stockade has now matched its win total from all of last season, with five. The second-year club has also now won three matches in a row, and have gone six matches undefeated under first-year coach David Lindholm.

The early parts of the match on Saturday were characterized by opportunities for both sides. Stockade FC finally broke through late in the first half when forward Michael Creswick was brought down in the penalty area for a penalty kick. Matt Koziol then converted the spot kick in the 44th minute to put Kingston up 1-0 heading into the half. The goal was Koziol's fifth of the season.

Stockade continued to threaten when play resumed in the second half, and eventually broke through in the 62nd minute, and in extremely impressive fashion, at that. 

Stockade midfielder Marco Kloster initiated the attack with a very impressive run through the guts of the Boston City defense, beating a number of Boston defenders off the dribble before deftly distributing the ball to his left to fellow Brazilian Pedro Espindola. Espindola then one-timed a side-footer from 35 yards out, successfully chipping the Boston City goalkeeper from a ridiculous distance. It was Espindola's fifth goal of the season as well.

The amazing goal sent the crowd of 992 fans — a Stockade record — into hysterics, and Espindola played to the fans with his goal celebration by running to the stands and embracing one of the young supporters before donning said fan's Stockade ball-cap after it had fallen to the Dietz Stadium track.

Led by a backline of goalkeeper Steven Skonieczny and defenders Matel Anasta, Juan Gatti, Jamal Lis-Simmons and Brandon Curtis, Stockade defended with purpose from there, yet Boston City was able to break through in the 82nd minute, thanks to a goal by defender Leandro Carvalho. Stockade saw the match out, though, thanks in particular to some fine saves by Skonieczny.

Next up for Stockade FC is a trip to the five boroughs to face the Brooklyn Italians on Saturday, June 17 at 7 p.m. Brooklyn is undefeated through four matches, meaning it should be another tough test for the Hudson Valley side.

Stockade Man of the Match: Matt Koziol

Stockade Starting XI: Skonieczny; Curtis, Gatti, Lis-Simmons (C), Anasta; Koziol, Kloster, Maley; Espindola, Creswick, Konicoff

Kingston Stockade FC Speed to 5-0 Win At Rhode Island Reds

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — The main sponsor on the front of the Kingston Stockade FC kit is a bus company. And a terrific one at that, in Trailways.

It's at least somewhat fitting for a soccer team to have a bus sponsor, as there's a very famous phrase in world football called "parking the bus," which is when a team decides to play defensively in order to try to limit the opposition's scoring opportunities.

That said, parking the bus certainly isn't the Stockade way of late. In fact, given the way Kingston has been playing lately, it's safe to say that their bus isn't stationary, but rather screaming down the highway as if piloted by Sandra Bullock in "Speed".

On Sunday, Stockade headed north to Providence in their plush Trailways bus for a match with conference rivals Rhode Island Reds. Fresh on the heels of an impressive 4-1 home win over New York Athletic Club at home on Saturday, Stockade set out with aims of nothing less than another vital win on the road.

And the boys delivered, with an impressive 5-0 away victory.

The back-to-back wins means this is the second time this season that first-year Stockade coach David Lindholm has impressively led the team to a maximum point haul of six points in a weekend (three points are awarded for each win) during the most congested parts of the schedule.

This red-hot Stockade side now has a 4-1-1 record on the year (wins-draws-losses). They've also scored 18 goals in six matches.

In short, the club's Trailways bus isn't just in high gear right now. It's darting about with such panache that it's showing itself to be worthy of a bit part in a Vin Diesel movie.

To no one's surprise, the scoring began early on Sunday, as scoresheet regular Michael Creswick scored in the 8th minute. Eric Fortier played Creswick wide into space during a 2-on-1 and the ruthless English forward converted.

Fortier himself then made it 2-0 in the 13th minute with a lovely, powerful volley.

Matt Koziol then gave Stockade a 3-0 lead going into halftime with a successful header in the 45th minute. The holding midfielder has shown an extremely impressive aerial ability all season, so it shouldn't come as a huge surprise that he'd eventually convert in such fashion.

Pedro Espindola then scored in the 54th minute on a 1-on-1 breakaway with the Rhode Island goalkeeper. Espindola was played through via a lovely floated ball by Matel Anasta.

Joe Bogart then completed the scoring in the 88th minute after a give-and-go at the top of the 18 with Scott Zobre.

All told, Stockade netted five goals on the day. And nine goals in two matches. Or nine goals in 180 minutes.

A goal every 20 minutes, roughly.

It's not quite "Gone in 60 Seconds", but it's a rate of conversion that any soccer team on the planet would find acceptable.

Thankfully, this greedy gang of goal-getters just happens to reside in the Hudson Valley. Catch 'em while you can.

Stockade's next match is on Saturday, June 10 at 5 p.m. at Dietz Stadium against first-place Boston City FC.

Man of the Match: Eric Fortier

Stockade Starting XI: Skonieczny; Anasta, Gatti, Lis-Simmons (C), Curtis; Koziol, Kloster, Maley; Espindola, Creswick, Fortier

By Randy Kim, Kingston Stockade FC GM