MLIS Season in Full Swing with Four Games on Tap

The Cincinnati Swerve and Rapid City FC had the spotlight to themselves last week in the inaugural Major League Indoor Soccer game, but the action picks up in Week Two with four games on the calendar on Saturday.

The Omaha Kings will visit the Brew City Legends, the Chicago Mustangs will travel to Rockford to take on the Illinois State Line Falcons, the Cleveland Crunch will head down I-71 to Cincinnati, and the Austin Emerald will head to Missouri to take on the Springfield Demize.

Omaha Kings at Brew City Legends
Both teams played in M2 last year before joining MLIS this offseason. Omaha won the M3 championship in 2020-21 and narrowly lost to the eventual M2 champion San Diego Sockers 2 in the semifinals last season.

The Kings return with Manuel Lira (16 goals, 15 assists in 11 games) and Leonides Mejia (18 goals, 5 assists in 12 games) leading the offense and goalkeeper Efren Flores back in the nets.

Brew City, through a partnership with the Cincinnati Swerve, went 1-11 in M2 playing as the Brew City Swerve. But the core of the Legends roster comes from their PASL affiliate who went 5-2-1 last year. That core includes former Honduran U17 National Teamer Hector Portillo and Endy Marban, who played professionally in Spain and Mexico.

Chicago Mustangs at Illinois State Line Falcons
The Mustangs will try to conquer another league after nabbing titles in the PASL, PASL-Premier (men and women), and M2. The Falcons will be making their first foray into professional indoor soccer after going to the finals as an at large entry in the US Open Arena Soccer Championship.

In addition to sharing the state of Illinois, the teams have a common element in Falcons coach Jesus Flores, who was once a star goalkeeper for the Mustangs.

Cleveland Crunch at Cincinnati Swerve
The Swerve, who lost their home opener 8-1 last week, are in building mode, while the Crunch, who plowed through the M2 regular season with a 12-0 record last year, are in win-now mode.

Cleveland compiled a +98 goal differential last year, but their perfect season ended with a 7-4 loss to the San Diego Sockers 2 in the championship. Despite winning the 2020-21 M2 championship, the Crunch are hungry for more.

Admir Suljevic and Mike Derezic, who led M2 with 47 and 39 points, respectively, return to the Crunch, who brought in longtime indoor defender Benny Dargle as their new Head Coach.

Austin Emerald at Springfield Demize
The Demize have been patrolling indoor and outdoor leagues for the last 15 years, while the Emerald are entering just their second year as a club. Springfield won the M3 Central Division championship last year, providing momentum for their rise to MLIS.

Emerald co-owner Kyler Moore and player/coach Andy Hyres are both former Demize players.