Greenville, SC – The Greenville Triumph find themselves at the top of the standings alongside Union Omaha after the two sides played to a 1-1 draw last Sunday at Triumph Stadium. With a slight edge in goal differential, plus-six to plus-five, both teams boast 10 points and a 3-0-1 record.
The Triumph look to remain undefeated through its first five matches as the John Harkes-led side travels to Statesboro, Georgia for their first look at ninth place South Georgia Tormenta FC. Tormenta is 1-4 on the season and returns home to Erk Russell Park after losing their last two on the road (Richmond, North Texas).
Kick off: 7:00 PM EST
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Scouting Tormenta
South Georgia Tormenta has just one win in its first five matches and has allowed eight goals so far this season, tied for third most in the league. Tormenta is one of four teams in the league that has failed to log a clean sheet through the first six weeks of play, and the South Georgia side has only a 10% conversion rate in front of goal thus far.
Tormenta and Greenville are on opposite sides of the spectrum in just about every category. However, when these two teams face off, things are never as simple as they seem to be on pen and paper. Tormenta will have some confidence entering the match after a hard-fought game against North Texas. And although that game resulted in the fourth Tormenta loss this season, the South Georgia side had a lot of quality moments to take back home to Statesboro including a world-class finish by Marco Micaletto.
what to watch for:
Pressure and Discipline: Greenville tested Omaha quite a bit in the first half of last Sunday’s match. But come the second 45, things got a bit stale. As head coach John Harkes said after the match, “We really slowed the game down for them [Omaha]. And the goal came down to discipline on set pieces and turning the ball over too easily.” Both North Carolina FC and Union Omaha have exposed Greenville when there’s a lack of pressure on the ball. With players like Phelps, Liadi and Micaletto on the other side, Tormenta is capable of being dangerous at a moment’s notice.
Put The Game Away: A key to Saturday’s match in Statesboro will be the Triumph’s ability to put Tormenta away early. The home side will undoubtedly be playing with a “something to prove” attitude in hopes to avoid losing five of their first six matches, and teams with that approach become much more dangerous the longer they hang around. When asked what his side needs to improve upon this week after the 1-1 draw, Harkes replied, “We took our foot off the gas heading into the second half [against Omaha], and we allowed them to feel comfortable. We created some open-door solutions for them, and we need to do a better job managing the game this weekend against Tormenta.”
News and notes
Points Leaders: Marios Lomis is tied for first in the league with four goals scored alongside Fort Lauderdale’s Shaan Hundal. The Dutch forward leads Greenville in points with eight. Dallas Jaye is tied for second in clean sheets (2) with Richmond’s Akira Fitzgerald, both players sitting behind Omaha’s Rashid Nuhu.
Milestones: If Tyler Polak and Dallas Jaye play in Saturday’s match, it will mark their 50th League One appearance (including 2019 playoff and final match), all of which have been played with the Greenville Triumph. A number of players are closing in on games played milestones including Evan Lee, Brandon Fricke, Alex Morrell and Don Smart. If Tormenta goalkeeper Pablo Jara plays on Saturday, he will become the first League One player to make 50 regular season appearances.
Injury Report: Midfielder Aaron Walker and winger Alex Morell are hopeful to make their return to the pitch after battling hamstring injuries throughout the last few weeks. Will Mejia continues to recover on the sideline while defender Jacob Goodall will be available for the first time this season.
upcoming
Saturday’s match against regional rival, South Georgia Tormenta, will be the last match until June 13, when Triumph SC travels to Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas to face North Texas SC for the second time this season. The first-place Triumph side returns home Wednesday, June 16 against North Carolina FC at 7:00 PM.
