Long Beach’s professional soccer team, LA Force, will face the Irvine Zeta FC for the National Independent Soccer Association championship Saturday night at Veterans Stadium.
During its first season in Long Beach, which featured home games at Veterans Stadium and an adjacent soccer field at Long Beach City College, the team finished second out of nine teams in points with 14 wins, two draws and two losses.
Last year, LA Force played at a stadium in Orange County but moved to Long Beach this spring wanting somewhere to “put a footprint,” said LA Force Vice President Alex Lujan.
Getting to host the NISA championship at their home stadium in Long Beach is an honor, “but it’s also a showcase for the league and our players,” Lujan said.
The game kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday at the stadium on E Lew Davis Street. Tickets, $15 for adults and $10 for anyone under age 17, are available here. Long Beach Post readers can use the code LongBeachPost to get a $5 discount on each ticket.
LA Force was one of the founding members of NISA in 2019. The league is in the third tier of the United States Soccer Federation, two levels below Major League Soccer.
Along with finding success on the field, the team has also put an emphasis on embracing the Long Beach community this season, Lujan said.
The team has focused on Long Beach “as a partner, as part of the community, rather than someone just coming in from Los Angeles and renting a facility,” Lujan said.
Outreach has included soccer camps, a jersey photoshoot at the Pike Outlets and partnerships with local vendors.
“That acclimation still is going on and we hope to be a part of the community in 2025 and forward,” Lujan said. After the season, the team will talk with leadership at Long Beach City College with the hope of having the same arrangement in Long Beach next season.
The Auld Dubliner — Long Beach’s stalwart Irish pub — will be serving up drinks at Saturday’s final along with a few local coffee companies. The team’s owner, Bob Friedland, also lives in Long Beach.
Dekel Keinan, LA Force player and head coach, said the team has felt the support from the community as well.
“We appreciate all the young fans that have been coming to support the group,” Keinan said. “I know how important it is for our guys.”
Keinan joined LA Force in 2023 after one year with the Las Vegas Lights of the USL Championship, the league below the MLS.
The 40-year-old’s career has included playing at the top levels of England’s professional soccer league, plus four championships in Israeli soccer.
His advice for the team leading up to the match has been “remember to enjoy the moment, enjoy the preparation, enjoy everything,” Keinan said.
Michael Salazar Jr. has been a key to the Force’s success this year, especially against the Zeta. He scored 8 goals this season and found the net in each of the last two contests against Irvine.
Salazar was also named to the NISA best XI three times this season.
LA Force goalkeeper Seth Torman, who has lived in North Long Beach during the season, won NISA’s golden glove this year — the top honor for a goalkeeper.
He kept six clean sheets this season including three in the last five games. In 15 starts, he saved 76% of shots and allowed 0.77 goals per match.
Torman gave all credit to the defenders and midfield, along with the passionate group of fans who have traveled to away games this season.
“Even if we’re playing away, it feels like a home game,” Torman said. “We’ve really felt the love here.”
LA Force made it to the Championship because the team with the league’s best record, Maryland Bobcats FC, was deemed “ineligible” for the four-team playoffs and “not in compliance with the league nor the U.S. Soccer Federation,” according to a statement from NISA.
That disqualification has led to a long layoff for the LA Force, who last played on Sept. 21.
“We are not looking for any excuses, we feel well-prepared and ready to go,” Kienan said.