PEORIA IL (June 30, 2022) – Peoria City, fresh off of a 2-0 victory at Minneapolis City SC, will look to strengthen its hold on one of two USL League Two playoff spots in the Deep North Division when it hosts its final two home games of its inaugural season this weekend at Shea Stadium.
Peoria City (4-2-3, 15 points) will host FC Manitoba (3-4-2, 11 points) Friday and Thunder Bay (3-1-2, 11 points) Sunday. Both matches are slated for 7 p.m. kickoff times at Bradley University’s Shea Stadium.
Although Peoria City leads both of its weekend visitors by four points in the Deep North Division standings, Thunder Bay has played two fewer matches and leads PC in points per game, 1.83 to 1.67. With a win Friday, Peoria City can eliminate FC Manitoba from playoff contention. FC Manitoba currently sits at 11 pts with 3 games remaining. The win would propel Peoria City to 18 points in the standings which means FC Manitoba would only be able to get 6 more pts and finish the season at 17 pts. A Peoria City victory Friday also will eliminate St. Croix SC from playoffs contention.
FC Manitoba and Peoria City met just a few weeks back in Manitoba, where Peoria City was victorious, 4-1. Adria Sabater recorded the first-ever hat trick for Peoria City in that game.
Looking ahead to Sunday’s regular-season home finale, the matchup against Thunder Bay also carries huge playoffs implications. The Chill begin the week with just six games played, but Thunder Bay starts a 4-games-in-6-days stretch Friday night at division-leading Des Moines. Following Sunday’s visit to Shea Stadium, Thunder Bay will visit St. Croix SC Tuesday and Minneapolis City SC Wednesday.
The season’s first meeting between Peoria City and Thunder Bay ended in a 1-1 draw, but both teams stand to gain a big advantage from earning a full result Sunday.
Tickets for Peoria City home games start at just $5 and are available for purchase in advance online at peoriacitysoccer.com or by visiting Peoria City Five Bar locations The Fieldhouse Bar & Grill, The Fox Pub & Cafe and Pour Bros. Craft Taproom. Parking is free for Peoria City home games at Shea Stadium with tailgating permitted at 5 o’clock.
ABOUT USL LEAGUE TWO
A part of United Soccer Leagues, LLC, which also operates the USL Championship, USL League One, Super Y League and the new USL Academy, USL League Two is the top pre-professional soccer league in North America, offering a summer platform for aspiring professionals across the United States and Canada. League Two is the defined and proven pathway for players to progress to the ranks of professional soccer, while its clubs become fixtures in the communities where they operate. More than 70 percent of all MLS SuperDraft selections since 2010 have League Two experience, including 66 alumni chosen in 2018 and 61 in 2019. Werder Bremen’s Josh Sargent, Inter Miami CF’s DeAndre Yedlin, and Atlanta United’s Brad Guzan are among the many U.S. National Team players to have competed in USL League Two before making their professional debuts.
