As we are now officially in the fall, NorCal leagues all throughout the state are nearing their mid point as the tables are now more clear with most featuring at least one strong favorite. This week, NorCal Matchday returns to the NPL, where teams are hoping to possibly earn promotion into the ECNL-RL, NorCal Premier Soccer’s top division of play.

Here are your games of the week:

U16 Girls NPL South
9/25	Santa Clara Sporting		7:00 p.m. @ Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park		WSC Crush
Local rivals Santa Clara Sporting and WSC Crush will meet in a rivalry game Thursday under the lights as both are looking to make their way higher up in the table. Sporting currently sit in second place with six points, but have a game in hand on first place Belmont United, who have seven points. Meanwhile, WSC Crush are looking to rebound from a slow start that has seen them earn just one point from two games thus far.

U17 Boys NPL East - Blue
9/25	Elk Grove United		7:00 p.m. @ Bartholomew Sports Park		Elk Grove Soccer
This Elk Grove derby between Elk Grove United and Elk Grove Soccer is scheduled for prime time Thursday night, an under the lights battle for city bragging rights. While both sides currently trail first place Butte United in the standings, the side that comes out victorious will likely remain in the mix.

U16 Boys NPL North
9/27	Tahuichi FC		4:00 p.m. @ A Place to Play		Mission YSL
This matchup between first place Tahuichi FC and Mission Youth Soccer League could end up deciding the U16 Boys NPL North title. Both sides are the only remaining undefeated teams in the division, however, Tahuchi currently sits atop the table with a perfect 4-0-0 record. Meanwhile, Mission YSL are just behind with a 2-0-1 record, making this match a must win for the visitors.

U14 Girls NPL East
9/28	San Juan South		9:00 a.m. @ San Joaquin Delta College		IR Academy
Just one point separates the top three sides in the U14 Girls NPL East, and two of those three sides will meet each other this weekend when San Juan South host IR Academy Sunday morning. San Juan are currently in first place in the division, edging Reno APEX out via the goals scored tiebreaker. Meanwhile, IR Academy are a single point behind, with nine points from three games.