sad as it might be...I saw the same thing... 13-year-old Brooke VanDyck will become the youngest player in the WPSL when FC Indiana’s season kicks off on Sunday, May 11th.
Red Stars reserve roster. Watch out for Flaws. http://www.wpsl.info/team/index.php?tid=208&page=roster
37 games on the docket this weekend! (Compared to 36 played so far.) Will be nice to take a good first look at the standings soon.
I have to take this back. They were late arriving, but they're on the schedule and in fact have played.
....so I'm quite late in following up on this, apparently. Exams and visiting home will do that, I guess. So, not all of games from yesterday have been reported to the main WPSL site, but I've looked up a few of the interesting ones. Of note so far: --Reigning champions San Diego Sea Lions are essentially out of contention already, having opened the season 1W-2L, though they are currently back up to 3W-2L --Their two losses came to Beach Futbol Club and LA Premier FC, who clashed yesterday with Beach emerging victories, rising to 6-0 on the season while knocking LAPFC down to 4-1. --The three NWSL reserve squads - Issaquah SC (Seattle), Chicago, and Boston - are all currently perfect (3-0, 4-0, and 4-0 respectively, with Issaquah playing tonight). --Other perfect WPSL teams with more than 2 games played include Syracuse (3-0 Mid-Atlantic), ASA Charge (3-0 South Atlantic), Houston Aces (4-0 Big Sky), Florida Krush (4-0 Sunshine), and Tampa Bay Hellenic (3-0 Sunshine).
I have to take this back again. I've been informed by the operations manager of one of the local teams that the previous ownership of the Inferno folded, but they were taken over by new ownership. However, their participation in the WPSL is only provisional: they can play WPSL teams but can't make the playoffs, and the games they do play don't count in the standings for the teams they're facing. The Fredericksburg, VA-based RVA FC team is in the same position.
The Lions Soccer Club have been expelled from the WPSL midseason after a 15-0 loss, evidently for not fielding a competitive team - http://www.allwhitekit.com/?p=13112 .
Yikes. Well, at least it's good to know WPSL is serious about making good competition. The main WPSL site is still missing several matches from last week (and earlier), but at is looks today: In the west, Cascadia is tight with Issaquah (5-1) having a slight lead over the Westside Timbers (4-1-1), while the two Cali divisions are more clear-cut, with the undefeated California Storm 5pts clear of second-place SanFran Nighthawks in the north (both well above RSL Women) and the perfect 8-0 Beach FC 3pts clear of the San Diego SeaLions but with a game in hand. In the center of the country, the Aces just have one blip on their schedule (7-0-1) but have played two more games than Big Sky's second-place and the Red Stars Reserves are similarly undefeated (5-0-1), their one draw coming to second-place FISC (4-1-1), while the Great Lakes division is quite tight, FCI currently on top by one point over Motor City FC, who has one game in hand. FISC also has a game in hand over the Des Moines Menace. The standings in the northeast have not been updated yet to reflect the booting of Lions SC, but it won't change the fact that the ASA Charge are still perfect (8-0). The other division leaders are Boston Breakers Reserves (5-0-1), CFC Passion (4-0-2), and NYAC (6-1). Last year's national semifinalists NE Mutiny seem to be outside playoff contention. Finally, Tampa Bay Hellenic have shown taking a season off did not hurt their competitiveness, as they are currently perfect (5-0) in the Sunshine division with a game in hand over their chasers, while the Southeast division has FC Nashville Wolves also on top with games in hand. Ideally, I would hope the playoff brackets are grouped in the way I've grouped them above, as that puts a rather even number of teams in each "region" - 19 West, 18 Central, 22 Northeast, 14 Southeast - especially as that seems to divide the strongest teams up relatively equally as well - SeaLions/Storm, Aces/Red Stars, Breakers/NYAC/Charge, Hellenic. Unfortunately that puts three divisions in the west and central regions, and I'm not sure how that would pan out...
The standings have the Charge credited with one more win than games they've actually played according to the schedule. Not sure what's up with that.
Okay, not everything from the past weekend has been uploaded to the WPSL website, but from what is there: -Tampa Bay Hellenic have won the Sunshine conference -The Houston Aces gaffed a huge chance to seal the Big Sky title, dropping an 0-2 decision to chasers OKCFC. I think the Aces' schedule is catching up to them, in addition to being a slightly weaker team this year. -The Chesapeake Charge beat LVU Lady Sonic for their (now) eighth game, giving them an insurmoutable gap above the next two teams in the South Atlantic division. -Chicago Reserves won their game yesterday, so even though FISC did as well, the gap is now too much, giving CHI the Central division title.
I've been told that the playoffs (for the East Conference, at least) are in a different format this year, with only the division winners getting into the postseason. The Charge players are expecting to play the New York Athletic Club (the current leaders of the adjacent division) on July 19 and are looking for revenge for the loss to them in the USASA Women's Open Cup.
Really? Aww, I really liked the eight-team bracket they'd been doing... Well, BuxMont and one of the two leading Mid-Atlantic teams are going to be rather upset, then.
Playoff format is confirmed! "West" PacN-1 (likely Storm) PacN-2 PacS-1 (Beach FC) N.W.-1 "Northeast" First team from all four divisions - Charge, likely Breakers Reserves, CFC Passion, NYAC "Midwest" Top team from each divison - Red Stars Reserves are in "South" Big Sky 1&2 - Houston Aces and OKCFC Southeast 1 Sunshine playoff winner - Top 4 teams in the running (Tampa and three others) Not quite the division of divisions I hoped, but fairly close. I'm just kinda surprised the Northeast and Midwest playoffs aren't bigger - and that the Sunshine division still seems to want to cling to the "you get a playoff berth, and You get a playoff berth, and YOU get a playoff berth!!" mentality.
And now the playoff dates are set as well: "West" SF1: Beach Futbol Club* VS North Bay Wave, Friday, 7/19, 2:45pmPT SF2: California Storm VS Issaquah SC (aka Reign Reserves), Friday 7/19, 5:45pmPT 3rd: Saturday 7/20, 12pmPT Final: Saturday 7/20, 3pmPT "Northeast" SF1: ASA Charge* VS CFC Passion, Friday 7/19, 11amET SF2: Breakers Reserves vs. NYAC, Friday 7/19, 2pmET Final: Saturday 7/20, 4pmET "Midwest" Final: Red Stars Reserves* VS FCIndiana, Friday 7/19, 1pmCT "South" SF1: Tampa Bay Hellenic* VS Houston Aces, Friday 7/19, 11amET SF2: Oklahoma City FC VS Alabama FC, Friday 7/19, 1pmET Final: Saturday 7/20, 11amET Starred teams are the regional hosts. To me, the South playoff seems rather lopsided, with the two stronger teams in the same Semi... (Especially since the West and NE seem to have the "right" idea, pair the hosts with the weakest of the four teams to give the hosts the best chance of making the regional final.) Also, what happened to the Sunshine divisional playoff they mentioned before? Ah well.
...and somehow I had completely mixed up my "days of the week". Playoffs are Saturday/Sunday, not Friday/Saturday.
That's what the league says. The team's Facebook event page has the games in the opposite order. I'll be going to both, so I don't care too much.
The results are in! The CFC Passion were the surprise of the Northeast by downing both Open Cup finalists, beating the Charge 2-1 and then NYAC 1-0 (NYAC having beaten the Breakers 3-2). The Houston Aces are back in the National Semifinals, beating Tampa 2-0 in the South semis 2-0 and then their divisional rivals OKCFC (who had dispatched Alabama FC 1-0) by the same scoreline. The Midwest playoffs were simple and predictable, the Red Stars beating FCI 2-0, marking the third time in four years that a Red Stars team has made it to the national semis of WPSL's top division. Finally, out West, the runaway Pac South winners Beach FC rolled through their games, 3-2 over North Bay FC and then 4-0(!) over perennial powerhouse the California Storm. The poor Reign Reserves lost 1-3 to the Storm, then 1-9(!) to NBFC. Still waiting to hear what the National Semifinal parings will be, but we're guaranteed to have a new WPSL champion this year! Though the Aces and, to a degree, the Red Stars have had experience making it to the championship match before.
Schedule for the semis is up, both games tomorrow: CFCP vs Aces at 4pmET, followed by CRSR vs BFC at 7pm
Come out to watch the top four women's premier teams play at Arundel High School 1001 Annapolis Road Gambrills, MD 21054
Surprise, surprise, the schedule page doesn't agree with the news article. X-D I'm going to assume the article is more correct, meaning the semis really are Saturday.
That's my understanding as well. Whoever's managing the WPSL website is even more incompetent than usual. (For a while there the schedule showed the Charge winning the first-round playoff match and facing NYAC the next day.)
Retweeted by Houston Aces Keeper Notes@keepernotes · 3h RT @HouDutchLions: the @TheHoustonAces head to the @WPSL finals for the second year in a row! Congrats and well done ladies!!!
Semifinals: Houston Aces 2, CFC Passion 0. Beach Futbol Club 4, Chicago Red Stars Reserves 0. All goals scored in overtime after a scoreless 90 minutes. Final: Beach Futbol Club 1, Houston Aces 0.
Poor Aces... once again, losing the final by one goal to a Pac-South team.... Reminds me of the Dynamo/Galaxy back-to-back MLS finals...