Looking for lots of Halloween treats, Tropics host Sporting Tampa Bay Sunday

by Brian Ackley

AUBURNDALE, Fla. – The Florida Tropics SC Presented by Bond Clinic will be looking for more treats than tricks this Halloween weekend when they host Sporting Tampa Bay FC in a 6 p.m. start Sunday, Nov. 1 at the Lake Myrtle Sports Complex in Auburndale.

The Tropics enter the weekend in a three-way tie for second place, and will embark on a four-team road trip after Sunday, including a rematch with the only team to beat them so far this year (Dragon City FC on Nov. 28) and a Polk County rematch against Winter Haven United (Nov. 21).

Florida is coming off its most complete win of the season, 4-1 over the PSE Conquistadores --one of the teams tied with the Tropics in the United Premier Soccer League Florida West division – on Oct. 18. The Tropics were off last weekend.

Tropics forward Victor Parreiras, the 2019 UPSL national and playoffs Most Valuable Player, is expected to play, after missing the team’s last two games with a hamstring issue.

The Tropics will play a 12-game fall season and are the defending 2019 Spring UPSL national champions. Because of the ongoing pandemic, the UPSL did not play a spring season this year. Florida will also start its fifth season playing indoors in the Major Arena Soccer League this winter as the defending Eastern Conference champions. Games are played at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.

GP W L D GF GA PTS

Dragon City FC 5 4 0 1 13 2 13

St. Petersburg FC Aztecs 5 3 2 0 19 10 9

PSE Conquistadores 5 3 2 0 18 11 9

Florida Tropics 4 3 1 0 10 5 9

Winter Haven United FC 6 2 3 1 14 11 7

Sporting Tampa Bay FC 6 1 5 0 7 35 3

Huracan FC 3 0 3 0 1 8 0