Written By: Joe Chatz | WPSL Correspondent

 

The Midwest Conference, part of the WPSL Central Region, consists of 10 teams stretching from Iowa to Ohio. Additionally, the conference features two Regions this season that divides the teams from the East and West side of Indianapolis.

The National Road Division consists of five teams in Indiana and Ohio - Columbus Eagles FC, Dayton Dutch Lions FC, FC Dayton, FC Pride (Indianapolis), and expansion team FC Spirit (Indianapolis).

 

The Lake Michigan Division consists of the other five teams from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin – Chicago KICS FC, FC Milwaukee Torrent, Iowa Raptors FC, Midwest Select SA Muskrats (Indiana), and Quad Cities Rush (Iowa).

 

The champion of the Lake Michigan Division will host the conference champion on July 8 with the winner ultimately hosting the Central Region Playoffs the following weekend.

 

NATIONAL ROAD DIVISION

The two longest-tenured teams of the National Road Division are Columbus Eagles FC and FC Pride who both return for their ninth seasons. Columbus Eagles FC finished third in the standings in 2022 with a 3-3-2 record. The Ohio-based side will play all its home games this year at Historic Crew Stadium. The Eagles will begin the season on the road on May 27 against FC Spirit and will play its following two games away before its home opener versus FC Pride on June 4.

 

Head coach Jamie Gilbert has led FC Pride since its inaugural season in 2014 and returns for 2023. While last season wasn’t the best of years for FC Pride, who compiled a 3-5-0 record, it does hold an overall 32-29-13 league record.  The Indianapolis-based side will be looking to improve on its fourth-place finish from a season ago. FC Pride opens its season on May 19 when it hosts FC Dayton at the Pride Performance Center.

One-time WPSL regular-season champions Dayton Dutch Lions FC is back for its fifth season in the league. After a tough 2022 season, the Dutch Lions will be looking to turn things around in search of its first win since June 2021. The Dutch Lions will kick its season off on the road against FC Pride on May 26 before hosting Columbus Eagles FC on June 3 in its home opener.

 

There’s not much more FC Dayton could’ve done in its first season in the WPSL last year after compiling a 7-1-0 record and winning the division in the process. Head coach Bradley Schluter and co. have collected talent from around the Dayton area and will look to defend the division crown en route to a conference title and beyond. FC Dayton begins this season on the road when it travels to Indianapolis to take on FC Pride on May 19.

 

The lone expansion team in the entire Midwest Conference, FC Spirit joins the WPSL’s National Road Division as another team in Indiana. The Evansville-based side will play its home matches at the EVSC Soccer Complex. FC Spirit will Columbus Eagles FC in its first WPSL match on May 27.

 

LAKE MICHIGAN DIVISION

Four of the five teams in the Lake Michigan Division are returning for just their second WPSL season. The lone veteran of the division, and reigning division champions, is FC Milwaukee Torrent who will compete in its fifth season. Andreas Davi is back to defend the team’s crown after his side compiled a 7-1-0 record in the 2022 regular season and will be bringing back a plethora of players from last year’s team including Marquette senior Elsi Twombly who led the Torrent with six goals. FC Milwaukee Torrent opens its season on May 26 against Midwest Select SA Muskrats at Hart Park in Wauwatosa, Wis.

 

Chicago KICS FC is back for year two and, while it experienced a slow start in its first five games last season, it found its groove in its final three games outscoring its opponents 13-1. The KICS will play its home games at the De La Salle Institute but will begin the season on the road against Midwest Select SA Muskrats on June 6 in Saint John, Ind.

 

Iowa Raptors FC is one of two Iowa teams preparing for its second WPSL season – this time with a change in divisional alignment. The Cedar Rapids-based side finished with a 2-5-0 record in 2022 which sat it fourth in what was the former Heartland Division. The Raptors begin open the season on May 31 when it hosts in-state rivals Quad Cities Rush SC at Prairie high school.

 

The largest soccer club in the Quad Cities area, Quad Cities Rush SC, has been in operation in one form or another since 1978 as an entity of Rush Soccer. Now with WPSL experience under it, Quad Cities looks to build its defense around Monmouth junior goalkeeper, Lea Selquist, who played 682 minutes last Fall in eight games while facing 36 shots and only allowing four goals – this will be a pivotal gain in the team after conceding 39 goals in 2022. Quad Cities Rush will play its home matches at the St. Vincent Athletic Complex in Davenport, Iowa, and is set to kick off its season on May 31 against to Iowa Raptors FC.

 

Midwest Select SA Muskrats, the division’s lone Indiana representative, is led by head coach Jamie McNichols for a second season – this time with the additions of several Division I athletes from the area in an effort to right the ship in 2023. The Muskrats will face a strong test right out of the gate in its season opener against FC Milwaukee Torrent at Hart Park.