Alright look, I’m trying really hard to be excited about the Prinx Tire Cup. And I am — I’m legitimately stoked for the league cup competition. But Jagermeister was an infinitely cooler sponsor.

Anyway

Most readers will probably remember that Lexington Sporting Club began in USL League One, the third division league, in 2023 and moved up to the second-division USL Championship last year.

In their second and final USL League One season, they spent a lot of money on talent and were definitely the favorite to win the league in the preseason … and then finished dead last.

And they wrote the check to move up anyway.

This year, their second in the Championship, has a similar feel. This year they signed Aaron Molloy, whom Forward Madison Sporting Director Matt Cairns called the best player in America who’s not in MLS. (Longtime Mingo fans will remember his one glorious season with us in 2021. We sold him to Memphis 901 for a reported $25,000 in 2022.) Last year they signed longtime MLS veteran Latif Blessing. Phillip Gudrum, Michael Adedokun, Marcus Epps, Kendall Burks. They have the names.

But again, they haven’t been able to put it together. They currently sit in eighth in the USL Championship Western Conference, having won just one game this season, back on March 25. Most recently they drew 0-0 with Orange County.

That doesn’t mean they’ll be easy to beat, but does mean they’re beatable.

Madison is suddenly good at scoring on set pieces, and continues to be pretty good defensively. That combination is often what’s necessary for a lower-division team to win over a higher-divison one.

Kickoff is at 6 on ESPN Plus or ESPN Unlimited or whatever it’s called now.

While you wait for kickoff, have a listen to this week’s podcast, if you haven’t already.

Sunday afternoon's match between Forward Madison and New York Cosmos had a bit of everything: a long bomb, an Olimpico, a red card, four goals. And it still ended in a 2-2 draw and a pretty well-earned point for the Mingos. This week’s guest is Olimpico-scorer-and-red-card-getter Geni Kanyane to talk about the match , his journey to Madison, and what you do when you've been sent off and have an hour to kill. We finish with a roundup of the week's league action and a preview of the League Cup first round, and in stoppage time: a Wisconsin amateur tournament to pay attention to, and drama in the first round of the USASA National Amateur Cup.

Listen above or on your favorite podcast app!