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A pair of Eastern Conference playoff contenders will square off in New Orleans on Saturday. The result is certain to have an impact at the business end of the season. Old Glory are just six points ahead of the Gold, and a loss would put them in danger of tumbling down the ladder. For the home side it might be considered must-win to have a chance of hosting a postseason match.
| CURRENT STANDINGS |
2-5-0 (W1) East 4th
4-3-0 (W1) East 2nd
| STARTING LINEUP CHANGES |
|
IN | OUT |
| 5 | Cam Dolan | William Waguespack |
| 14 | Xavier Mignot | Nikolai Foliaki |
|
IN | OUT |
| 15 | Perry Humphreys | Jason Robertson |
| CAPPED INTERNATIONALS |
(11) – Harmon, Taufete’e, Dolan, Tonga’uiha, Mullen, de Haas, Carty (USA), Mau’u, Fidow (Samoa), Mignot (France), Afungia (Tonga)
(8) – Martinez (Canada), Gattas (Uruguay), Harley, Grigg (Scotland), Daniel, Iscaro, McVeigh, Boni (USA)
| NOTABLE ABSENTEES |
– Pat O’Toole (HO), Kélian Galletier (FL/N8), Nikolai Foliaki (CE/WI)
– Jamason Fa’anana-Schultz (FL/N8), Jason Robertson (FH), Damien Hoyland (FB)
| PREDICTION |
The Gold snapped their five-week losing streak against Anthem but weren’t as convincing as the scoreline suggests. If ever there was a time to put in an 80-minute performance, this would be it. The returns of Cam Dolan and Xavier Mignot are a boost just when Old Glory are missing backline stars Jason Robertson and Damien Hoyland. Despite that challenge, the visitors are in better form having dispatched Seattle with relative ease last weekend. DC are slight favorites on the road.
| LINEUPS |
NOLA GOLD
1 Matt Harmon, 2 Joe Taufete’e, 3 Isaac Salmon, 4 Chase Jones, 5 Cam Dolan, 6 Moni Tonga’uiha (capt.), 7 Aidan King, 8 Jonah Mau’u, 9 Luke Campbell, 10 Dorian Jones, 11 Ed Fidow, 12 JP du Plessis, 13 Isaac Te Tamaki, 14 Xavier Mignot, 15 Julian Roberts
Replacements: 16 Ale Lopeti, 17 Bart Vermeulen, 18 Paul Mullen, 19 William Waguespack, 20 Jay Tuivaiti, 21 Tupou Afungia, 22 Ruben de Haas, 23 Luke Carty
OLD GLORY DC
1 Cali Martinez, 2 Facundo Gattas, 3 Joe Rees, 4 Rob Harley (capt.), 5 Bill Whiteside, 6 Collin Grosse, 7 Cory Daniel, 8 Lautaro Bavaro, 9 Connor Buckley, 10 Jason Emery, 11 Axel Müller, 12 Nick Grigg, 13 Steff Hughes, 14 John Rizzo, 15 Perry Humphreys
Replacements: 16 KoiKoi Nelligan, 17 Jack Iscaro, 18 Sam Davies, 19 Tevita Naqali, 20 Logan Weidner, 21 Ethan McVeigh, 22 John Powers, 23 Owen Sheehy
| MATCH INFO |
Date: Saturday, April 12
Venue: The Gold Mine, Metairie
Kickoff: 18:00 local (16:00 Pacific, 19:00 Eastern)
Weather Forecast: sunny, 70°F (21°C), wind NW 6-8mph (10-13km/h)
Broadcasts: ESPN+, Gulf Coast Sports, Monumental Sports, Sky Sports NZ, The Rugby Network
| OFFICIALS |
Referee: George Myers (Australia)
Assistants: Kat Roche (USA) & Ben Dickenson (USA)
TMO: Cam Russell (Canada)
| HISTORY |
HEAD-TO-HEAD (9) – NOLA 6, DC 2, Draw 1
2024-06-28 – Old Glory DC 27, NOLA Gold 24 (Maryland SoccerPlex)
2024-03-02 – NOLA Gold 18, Old Glory DC 6 (The Gold Mine)
2023-06-03 – NOLA Gold 15, Old Glory DC 28 (The Gold Mine)
2023-03-25 – Old Glory DC 17, NOLA Gold 20 (Segra Field)
2022-05-14 – NOLA Gold 50, Old Glory DC 21 (The Gold Mine)
2022-03-26 – Old Glory DC 22, NOLA Gold 31 (Segra Field)
2021-02-12 – Old Glory DC 21, NOLA Gold 25 (Segra Field)
2021-03-21 – NOLA Gold 26, Old Glory DC 26 (The Gold Mine)
2020-02-08 – NOLA Gold 46, Old Glory DC 13 (The Gold Mine)
