The Soccer Tournament ended Day Two with a weather delay that took the final games past our bedtime: Shoutout to the broadcast engineers who left the audio going so we could hear raindrops landing on the microphone.
No matter. We'll catch up now that the fields have drained, and the men's knockout bracket is set.
The women's games start today, and if you want to learn more about the squads be sure to read the Hudson River Blue guide to all eight of the teams.
Michael Battista
1. Newtown Pride FC remain hottt
The reigning kings of TST continued their dominant form with a 4-1 win over Zala. That lone goal against is the only one Newtown allowed in their three group stage games, the lowest total in the tournament, and their +9 goal differential is the fourth-highest. They are one of just 10 undefeated teams. Newtown next play Hashtag United (1W/2L, 7 GF/6GA) tonight at 9:15 pm ET, and you have to like their chances against the team whose founder and chairman is Spencer Owen, a.k.a Spencer FC on YouTube.
Michael Battista
2. Nani FC are for real, Agüero Team ain't
We completely underestimated Nani FC, another team going into the Round of 32 with a perfect 3-0 record. Nani have 14 goals for and 4 goals against, which come out to a tidy +10 goal differential. They next play Sneaky Fox FC (1W/2L, 7GF/8GA) tonight at 8:15 pm ET.
Who's not playing tonight: Agüero Team. They went winless in three games as they allowed 14 goals in group stage play.
3. The harder they come...
...the harder they fall: That was the category we created here in the HRB guide to all 48 men's teams for the big-name clubs we thought were ill-prepared for The Soccer Tournament. Boy, were we right. FC Bayern, Borussia Dortmund, Inter, and Villarreal CF all fielded teams, and they combined for just three wins in 12 games, with 25 goals scored and 42 goals allowed for a goal differential of -17. The one to advance is Villarreal (2W/1L, 4GF/6GA).
One error of judgement on our part was to consider Burnley FC a contender. The Championship side went winless in three games, and allowed 18 goals. Our bad. Let's see if the Burnley women fare better today.
Hudson River Blue Staff
4. Giovinco: Still got it
The Golden Boot leader after the group stage is none other than Sebastian Giovinco, who was a late signing for Kwik Goal FC. He's been here before. The onetime tormentor of New York City FC won the MLS Golden Boot in 2015 when he was with Toronto FC. Kwik Goal ( play North Carolina FC
Andrew Leigh
5. Keep an eye on Reggae Rovers
A group of players with roots in Caribbean nations, Reggae Rovers are undefeated in three games with a TST-leading 16 goals for and just 3 goals against. Goalkeeper Marvin Phillip, who is currently signed to AC Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago, has 19 saves — that's good for a save rate of 86.4%. Reggae Rovers play Tobacco Road FC (1W/2L, 13GF/16GA) today at 11:45 am.
Oliver Strand
