Tennessee Tempo FC Off to California For UPSL National Semifinals in Irvine

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - It’s official! Tennessee Tempo FC are headed to the UPSL National Championship Final Site to take on Chicago Nation FC in one half of the National Semifinals. With games being played on August 8th and 10th, the Tennessee-based team will take their talents across the country as they attempt to cement themselves in league history; but how did they make it there?

For many seasons now, Tempo has been competing at the forefront of the proclaimed “4th Division of US Soccer”, where the team has seen great success since its founding just years ago. That growing reputation has garnered the respect of players, coaches, and fans alike, helping to create a pool of talent that has been a force this 2025 Spring season. In regular season action, Tempo went 10-1-0 with their sole loss coming to 2024 Fall Conference Champions Southern Indiana FC, but what has truly impressed has been TNTFC’s run in post-season action.

Extending their three-game shutout streak and six-game win streak, Tempo began their run at the National Tournament with a 5-0 rout of Tennessee United SC, a staple of soccer in the Volunteer State. A 4-0 upset against all odds meant that TNT wouldn’t have a chance to avenge their only loss of the season to Southern Indiana, but rather they would have to take on a scorching hot FC Leopards side at home for the KY-TN Conference Championship.

Despite holding firm for the opening parts of the first half, FC Leopards couldn’t hold off the flying Tempo attack and found themselves down 2-0 at the half, with goals coming from Nathaniel Bedai and Gregory Cousins before the break. Sending numbers forward to chase goals in the second half meant that TNT could settle themselves fully into the game and by the final whistle, Seth Poku and Kendall Porras Cubero had doubled the gap to take home the club's fifth conference title in four years.

With their title in-hand, it meant Tempo would get their bid to the National Tournament, as well as the chance to host the opening round because of their strong regular season record. This set the team up for a Round of 32 matchup against St. Louis side, 314 Soccer Club. Keeping momentum on their sides, the team held down the fort in Murfreesboro with a 3-0 victory. Yet another goal from the captain, Bedai, as well as leading goalscorer Harrison Watts and Belize-international Latrell Middleton put TNT through to the Round of 16 where they would yet again host, this time against North Carolina’s, Asheville FC.

The best stories always have a great plot-twist and Head Coach Gift Ndam had to tweak not just his chapter, but his formation as well, against Asheville FC. Despite going ahead 1-0 with Bedai scoring his third goal in as many games, a red-card decision was given against Tempo and with more than an hour of gametime left, the team had to weather the storm while being a player down. Answering the call, and perhaps several prayers as well, Francois Djiba showed off his goalkeeping ability in the second half to preserve the shutout, while also being aided by massive defensive efforts from top-to-bottom.

Seeing their way through the fog, Tempo’s effort culminated in a Southeast Region Championship match against the dominant Florida side, Miami United FC. Up to that point TNT had yet to concede a goal in eight matches, while not dropping a game in eleven, though they had to face their strongest competition yet.

Both sides threw everything they had at one another with moment after moment being shared between the two. Tempo struck the crossbar in the opening minute of the game, while Miami showed off the high-press that teams could so often not handle. Each side looked for their own hero, the player that would score the elusive goal or deliver the killer pass, but this time around it would be TNTFC who found their man.

In the 83rd minute, with absolutely everything on the line, it was late-substitute Latrell Middleton who would seal the game for Tempo. Joe Omondi’s throw-in was headed into the middle of the field and the Belizean fought through three players to break away and find himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Two touches, four strides, and one shot was all it took for Middleton to break the line and hit a curling ball into the top corner of the net; igniting the bench and crowd alike as the Tennessee side got the goal they needed in the 1-0 victory.

Five post-season wins later and this Tempo FC team finally has their chance back at the Final Site, taking on high-flying Chicago Nation FC on August 8th. The Semifinal is set for kickoff at 10 PM Central Time in Irvine, California with the UPSL Youtube Channel presenting all of the weekend's games for free to fans from across the planet.