There’s a nagging chicken-or-the-egg question in CASA: Are the fields at Pennypack Park really that bumpy, or are we all not quite as good at soccer as we’d like to think? With a full slate of games on the smooth(er) surfaces at Philadelphia Soccer Club’s fields, we had a chance to find out.

Primera

As the Union and Red Bulls opened a new rivalry, an old one was renewed in Primera. Cannons FC and West Philly FC have been around since the beginning and they’ve played no shortage of epic matches. As Cannons striker Tony Mitchell said during the game, “I’ve scored on these guys like 8000 times.” But after going down by one on a first half penalty, West Philly pulled two back in the second half to grab the points. An incredible defensive effort from the back four sealed the win as Cannons pushed for a late equalizer. Cannons’ loss was Penn United’s gain. Penn tied AC Milan 2-2 behind goals from Joe Colduvell and Drew Rinaldi. Randy MacTough led Cracovia to a… (mac)tough win over Philly Soccer Firm 2-1. MacTough picked up a goal, a yellow card, and Man of the Match honors for his efforts. Firm faces Penn United next week with both teams needing points to stay above the relegation zone.  Grey Lodge remained undefeated by securing a 2-2 tie against Philly United. Philly equaled their goal total from previous games this year with strikes from Wade Gehrhardt and Leo Otero. Real Optimus joined Grey Lodge and Cracovia with three wins by defeating Drinker’s Pub 3-1.

Segunda

Stoney held onto second place by dropping five on Nittany United in a 10v10 game. The win extends Stoney’s league leading goal differential, which could come into play in this tight division. NewPhilly continues atop the Segunda table thanks to a 1-0 win over United Nations FC. Leo Mosquera bagged the only goal of the match. Steagles shut out Organized Chaos with Sal Saladino and Chris Piuggi filling the stat sheet. The loss drops Chaos into the relegation zone, and they’ll have a tough time climbing out with matchups against Stoney and NewPhilly over the next fortnight. Sporting Philly just continues to confound. They are 2-3 after a 4-2 loss to Philadelphia Athletic, and they can’t seem to find a rhythm. They’ll look to continue their loss-win-loss-win pattern next week against Skulls FC. Skulls tied Memphis Taproom 1-1. Mike Gellar scored for Taproom to cancel out Matthew Wienclawski’s strike.

Tercera

The big matchup of the Tercera season was everything we expected it to be. Quaker City eked out a 1-0 win over Mt. Laurel FC to take a one point lead in the table. Chris Rio put home the biggest goal of his team’s season thus far while John Casparro walked away with Man of the Match honors. Mt. Laurel will look to bounce back next week against Revolution 76. The Revs tied Lot Lizards 0-0 and cemented their place in the middle of the table. While they not have the flash of the top four, it’s starting to look like the Revs are a team to avoid come playoff time. Sneaky, they be. A big 1-0 win for Bayern Makefield over Park Towne United kept them out of the relegation zone. Brian Drissel and Sean Reichert had two apiece for Loose Cannons as they upended SoB Independence while Tri-County was upset by FC Spartans 3-1. Tom Teschner stayed hot for Spartans with two goals and the imaginary Man of the Match golden sash.

Abierto

No ties in Abierto this week as everyone was in a high scoring mood. Only the Sweet Lucy’s FC 1-0 win over Pennypack Park Rangers broke the offense-heavy mold. But as goalscorer Jonas The Hawk will tell you, a one goal win is still a win. AOH 61 was ready to roll Saturday and used the slick PSC fields to move the ball fast and often around Sons of Ben Union. The 9-0 scoreline lifted AOH into second place, just ahead of Spruce Goose on goal differential. Lauren Bayne and Nicole Marotta both scored a brace for AOH. Spruce isn’t a team to rest on its pine needles though. They took care of business against Revolving United with a 3-1 victory. Despite taking the loss, Chris Bird had a fantastic game in net for the orange. Sons of Ben Zolo overcame a strong effort from Sidewinders to grab all three points. The win keeps Zolo in first place and the only undefeated team in Abierto. The SoB derby next week is a wonderful chance for SoB Union to flip the script and knock Zolo from its perch. In a battle of two teams hovering above the relegation zone, Kilbanes shut out The Incredibles 4-0.

Everybody returns to Pennypack Park on May 1 for week six games.

We’re about halfway through the season now – anybody have nominations for division/team MVP?