UPSL: Match Preview - Cleveland United FC v LSA Mustangs II

Philip Farrell
4 days ago
3 min read

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Match: Cleveland United FC v LSA Mustangs II

Date: Saturday, May 9th, 2026. 18:00 (Eastern)

Venue: Walker Valley High School Soccer Field, Cleveland, TN.

CLEVELAND, Tn --- Fifth-place Cleveland United Football Club welcome the LSA Mustangs II to Bradley County this Saturday in UPSL Division One Georgia North action. The game, to be played at Walker Valley High School due to a clash at CUFC’s regular home, Bear Stadium, kicks off at 6pm Eastern.

Cleveland United (5th place / P:6 W:2 D:1 L:3 GF:17 GA:19 GD:-2) have enjoyed mixed form in their first ever season, something to be expected of new teams. They sit in fifth and look a solid bet for playoff soccer, but are yet to claim any points at home. Their draw and both wins all came away. How Head Coach Tom Bayliss and his lads would love a home win for the first time in the regular season. Spearheaded by captain Ryan Prince Chouyouti at the helm; can they find the combination to do so?

LSA Mustangs II (10th place / P:5 W:1 D:1 L:3 GF:2 GA:13 GD:-11) sit second from bottom with just four points from a possible 15, but do enjoy a game in-hand on some of their rivals. They have picked up a win from two away matches though, albeit against bottom side Scenic City II. The division’s lowest scorers, they’ve only netted two goals all season and will need to be much sharper up front this weekend to claim any points.

We’re to expect cloudy, but dry, conditions and 77 degrees at kick-off, perfect for a quality game of soccer.

Checking In:

Cleveland - Head Coach Thomas Bayliss and his charges will be desperate to finally give the home fans a win. CUFC has enjoyed strong crowds, attracted to the family friendly game day atmosphere and enjoyable offerings of concessions and merch. But wins bring fans back and this is likely the best chance Cleveland will have of getting a hallowed three points at home, given its against the league’s second-bottom side.

United began their season with a heavy 6-1 loss at Bear Stadium to Georgia Athletic. Since then, however, results have improved. They followed up the Athletic loss with a massive 9-4 win away to North Georgia United, and have also scored a 3-2 away win at Scenic City II. At home, they were very unlucky to lose 3-2 to Mableton on April 11, while the April 25 loss to Chattanooga U20 has to be seen in the context of how CFC U20’s season has been going (they’ve won every game). Cleveland’s sole draw was an entertaining 2-2 result at Club The Strongest Atlanta in Gwinnett on April 19.

Midfielder Benji Plesnicar is their top scorer with 6 goals, but he was injured in the CFC U20 game and I don’t believe is expected back soon. The team’s most important player is their captain Ryan ‘Prince’ Chouyouti, who has four goals on the season. He was suspended in the away win at Scenic City II and is expected back.

LSA Mustangs II - You can always expect to struggle more being a Division One ‘II’ team for a Premier Division side. While the Mustangs II languish second-from-last in their division, their parent club sit second-from-top in theirs. (Oddly, the same situation exists in Scenic City SC, whose senior team sit top of Premier Division Georgia North while their II team sit bottom of Division One Georgia North).

Mustangs II are the least proficient side in the division, having only two goals to their name so far in Spring 2026. While a number of their games earlier in the season were close affairs (a creditable 1-0 loss to CFC U20, a 1-0 loss to Scenic City II, and a 1-1 tie with Atlanta Ignite), they’ve conceded 11 goals across their two most recent games, a 5-0 drubbing away to Dalton United and a 6-0 home defeat to Lithonia City.

Cameroonian striker Sama Chifen is their top scorer.

Analysis and Predictions:

I can see a Cleveland United win here today, and possibly a big one. LSA don’t score enough goals and have looked leaky at the back in recent games. There would be no better opportunity for CUFC and Prince to bang in a couple of goals and give Bradley County its overdue win. My thanks to Nahni Skaih (Skaih.Photography) for the photo in this article. You can follow her excellent work on Instagram here @skaih.photography.