The Week That Was 3/9: Toronto, Cleveland and Amarillo Clinch Top Three Playoff Spots

Chicago, Ill. – It was a big week in Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The Cleveland Crunch (Cleveland, Ohio), Canadian Crusaders (Toronto, Ontario) and Amarillo Bombers (Amarillo, Texas) each secured a top-three playoff spot and are set to play in the MLIS semifinals April 11 at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

Playoff weekend (April 10-13) will consist of a wild-card match on Thursday, where the fourth and fifth seeds will face off at a venue in Cleveland outside the Wolstein Center. The winner of that match will go on to play the one-seed Friday, while the two and three seeds will meet in the other semifinal match Friday. The winners of the semifinal matches will advance to the championship Sunday, April 13, while the top two women’s teams in the Women’s Major League Indoor Soccer (WMLIS) will compete in the WMLIS finals April 12.

This upcoming weekend, the MLIS will be a few steps closer to determining the fourth and fifth seed spots.

Here’s a recap of this weekend’s matches:

Cleveland vs. Omaha (Saturday)

The Omaha Kings (Omaha, Neb.) traveled to Cleveland to take on the Crunch. These two last met in the 2024 MLIS Finals.

The Crunch struck early with goals from Gabriel Pewu, Michael Derezic and David Jordan to take a 3-1 lead after the first period. Omaha’s Ali Sodal responded with a goal to briefly tie it at 1-1, and later Bobby Jaffery netted a power-play goal early in the second to cut the deficit to 3-2. However, Cleveland answered quickly with goals from Jannis Schmidt and Derezic to stretch the lead. Omaha battled in the third, with Sodal scoring again and Daniel Zuckweiler adding two goals of his own, but Cleveland stayed in control with timely finishes from Bryan Kern, Schmidt, Aidan Bozak and Derezic, who completed his hat trick. The Crunch won 6-12.

Amarillo vs. Chicago (Saturday)

Chicago came out on top in a gritty, physical battle against Amarillo, securing a 4-6 victory. Gabriel Jurado opened the scoring for Chicago late in the first, and Alejandro Morales extended the lead early in the second before Julio Molina put Amarillo on the board. Amarillo fought back in the third, tying the game at 2-2 on a power-play goal from Luis Rodriguez. However, Nestor Dominguez quickly responded to give Chicago a 3-2 lead heading into the fourth. Chicago took control in the final frame, with Jurado scoring twice more to complete his hat trick and Eduardo Nava adding another tally to stretch the lead.

Ft. Wayne vs. Colorado (Saturday)

Colorado defeated Ft. Wayne 14-5, jumping out to an early lead with four first-quarter goals. Moutaz Badawi scored twice in the opening period and completed a hat trick early in the second. Tomas Tapia added three goals for Colorado, while Ali Mohamed, Tyler Fabian and Josh Thompson each contributed two goals.

Ft. Wayne responded with five goals, all coming in the second half. Alejandro Murillo scored a hat trick in the fourth quarter, while Ty Barnes and Paulo Filho each added a goal. Ft. Wayne played with six attackers for most of the match but struggled to contain Colorado’s offense.

Omaha vs. Lansing (Sunday)

Omaha secured a 19-12 win over Red Cedar FC on Sunday. Leo Meija led Omaha’s attack with four goals, while Gabriel Gaiotto and Sodal each netted three. Omaha spread the scoring around, with several other players contributing to the total.

Red Cedar FC managed to put nine goals on the board but could not close the gap.

Amarillo vs. PAO Chicago (Sunday)

Amarillo rallied from a four-goal deficit to edge Chicago PAO 9-8 in a back-and-forth contest. PAO opened strong with four goals in the first period, but Amarillo responded steadily, tying the game at 7-7 in the fourth. Emanuel Celaya and Miguel Reyes sealed the win with back-to-back power-play goals late in the fourth, giving Amarillo a two-goal cushion before Luis Marquez added a late shootout goal for Chicago PAO.

FT. WAYNE VS. COLORADO (SUNDAY)

Colorado struck three times in the opening quarter, including two goals from Badawi, to take a 3-2 advantage after the first. Colorado then scored five unanswered goals in the second quarter, highlighted by tallies from Aymaro Vargas, Tapia, and Mohamed, to build an 8-2 lead at halftime. Vargas and Badawi were at the center of Colorado’s attack, combining for multiple goals and assists throughout the night.

Ft. Wayne mounted a push in the second half, scoring four times in the third quarter, including a pair from Edoardo Moretti, to cut into the deficit. Brenden Flannell and Steven Munoz added late goals.