UPSL Midwest Central · Week 4
The UPSL Midwest Central race tightened Saturday as Chicago Strikers and FC 1974 Libertyville climbed to nine points, Chicago Nation stayed unbeaten and Ethos Academy Chicago delivered one of the weekend’s strongest performances.
Week 4 featured five matches across Illinois and Wisconsin, producing 17 goals, two shutouts and a crowded group of contenders near the top of the 2026 Fall standings.
Chicago Strikers make another statement
Chicago Strikers turned in the most dominant performance of the round with a 5–0 victory over Force Football Club at College of DuPage.
The Strikers controlled the scoreboard, protected the shutout and earned their third win in four league matches. After also scoring seven goals against Urbana earlier in the season, Chicago now owns the conference’s most productive attack with 14 goals and the best goal differential at plus-12.
That margin puts the Strikers in first place ahead of Libertyville, with both clubs level on nine points.
Libertyville edges Wisłoka in a defensive battle
FC 1974 Libertyville kept pace at the top with a 1–0 home win over KS Wisłoka Chicago at Libertyville Soccer Complex.
One goal was enough for Libertyville, which protected the lead and secured its second shutout of the season. The victory improved FC 1974 to 3–0–1 and moved the club level with Chicago Strikers on points.
Wisłoka dropped to 1–1–2, but its plus-three goal differential shows how competitive the club has been through four matches. The narrow loss leaves Wisłoka in a four-team group separated by only one point in the middle of the standings.
Ethos Academy gets back on track
Ethos Academy Chicago responded to its first loss of the season with a convincing 4–1 victory over Urbana City FC at Lions for Hope Sports Complex.
The result lifted Ethos to six points from three matches and kept the club within striking distance of the leaders. With one fewer game played than the top three teams, Ethos remains firmly involved in the early postseason race.
Urbana fell to 0–4–0 and remains in search of its first points of the fall campaign.
TBD and Round Lake share the points
TBD FC and Round Lake Evolution FC finished level at 1–1 at Bank of Sun Prairie Stadium.
The draw moved TBD to five points through four games. Round Lake now has four points from three matches and remains part of the tightly packed middle group.
Neither side created separation, but the result could prove valuable in a conference where a single win can move a club several places.
Chicago Nation stays unbeaten
Berber City FC and Chicago Nation FC played to a 2–2 draw at Dunbar Park Turf in the final result of the round.
Chicago Nation remains the conference’s only team with four matches played and no losses, improving to 2–2–0. The draw moved Nation to eight points, one behind Chicago Strikers and Libertyville.
Berber City also remains unbeaten at 1–1–0. With only two matches played, the club has games in hand on every team above it and an opportunity to rise quickly as the schedule catches up.
Source: Midwest Media Network ↗
A three-team race at the top — for now
Chicago Strikers lead the conference on goal differential, FC 1974 Libertyville sits even with them on nine points, and Chicago Nation is only one point back. Ethos Academy is next with six points and a game in hand.
The picture behind those four teams remains wide open. TBD has five points, while Wisłoka, Berber City and Round Lake each have four. Force and Urbana will enter the next round looking for their first wins.
Week 4 did not produce a runaway leader. It created a deeper race, with established contenders at the top and several clubs still positioned to change the standings with one strong weekend.
Follow the Marketing Media TV UPSL Midwest Central hub for local match coverage and automatically updated conference standings.
Official sources
- UPSL Premier standings
- Chicago Strikers official results
- Urbana City FC official results
- TBD FC official results
- FC 1974 Libertyville official results
- Chicago Nation FC official results
Correction: An earlier version of this report contained incorrect Week 4 results. Marketing Media TV rebuilt this recap using official UPSL team result pages and the league standings.
