Chicago Nation FC and Berber City FC will meet in the UPSL Premier Midwest Central conference final after both advanced with shutout wins over the weekend. Nation defeated Chicago Strikers 6–0 on Sunday, Nov. 8, while Berber beat Ethos Academy Chicago 2–0 on Saturday, Nov. 7.
The results leave the top two finishers from the Fall 2026 regular season playing for the conference playoff title. Nation brings an unbeaten league campaign into the matchup, but Berber has already shown it can take points from the conference leader.
Midwest Central semifinal results
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Berber City FC 2–0 Ethos Academy Chicago.
- Sunday, Nov. 8: Chicago Nation FC 6–0 Chicago Strikers, at College of DuPage.
The scores are listed in the official UPSL results. Both winners move on; the fall playoff runs of Ethos and Strikers end in the semifinals.
Chicago Nation carries its regular-season form into the playoffs
Nation finished the nine-game regular season with seven wins, two draws and no losses, scoring 35 goals while conceding just three. Seven of those matches ended in clean sheets, according to UPSL’s regular-season review.
The 6–0 semifinal victory adds another clean sheet to that record. Combining the regular season and conference semifinal, Nation now has 41 goals scored and three conceded across 10 matches—a calculation from the league’s published results.
That record makes Nation the form favorite heading into the final. The challenge for Berber is to find a way through a defense that has given opponents very little over the course of the fall.
Berber has already tested the favorite
There is a reason this matchup deserves more than a glance at the standings. On Sept. 19, Berber and Nation drew 2–2 at Dunbar Park. It was the only regular-season game in which Nation conceded more than once, and one of only two matches it did not win. The result appears in Nation’s official match record.
Berber finished second with 17 points and a 5–2–2 record, level on points with third-place Ethos. Its semifinal win settled that pairing on the field and earned another meeting with Nation.
Where the rest of the conference finished
Chicago Strikers took the fourth playoff position with 16 points. FC 1974 Libertyville also finished with 16 points but placed fifth in the league’s published standings. KS Wisloka Chicago was sixth with 14, followed by Round Lake Evolution FC with 13. None of those three clubs reached the four-team fall playoff field. See the official Fall 2026 standings and our earlier playoff preview.
Watch the Midwest Central semifinals
Chicago Nation FC vs. Chicago Strikers
Source: Midwest Media Network on YouTube. Watch on YouTube.
Berber City FC vs. Ethos Academy Chicago
Source: United Premier Soccer League UPSL on YouTube. Watch on YouTube.
Final date and kickoff: confirmation still needed
As of Nov. 9, UPSL’s public listings do not agree on the final’s schedule. The league homepage lists Chicago Nation vs. Berber for Sunday, Nov. 15, at 4:45 PM Pacific, which is 6:45 PM Central. However, the dedicated final match page still shows Saturday, Nov. 14, with the time marked TBD.
The venue is not confirmed in that match listing. Fans should verify the date, kickoff and location with the clubs or the league before making travel plans. The finalists are established; the scheduling details remain unresolved in the available official sources.
