Playoff Race Tightens In Final Week Rhinos, Battery are in, leaving three spots available USL PRO Feature Monday, August 13, 2012 TAMPA, Fla. – The final weekend of the season is shaping up to be a tense one, with only three teams having clinched their places in the USL PRO Playoffs, five teams competing for the three remaining berths, and the all-important second bye to the semifinals also up for grabs. The playoff picture was given some clarity after Saturday night’s action, with the Rochester Rhinos and Charleston Battery both clinching berths in the playoffs after their clash at Sahlen’s Stadium. While the Battery took a 4-0 victory, snapping a five-game winless streak, both teams are now mathematically into the postseason, with only seeding to play for in their final game of the season. The Rhinos currently sit in control of second place, and can join Orlando City in earning a bye to the semifinals with victory against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds on Saturday night at Sahlen’s Stadium. The Rhinos have had a strong record against their rivals at home since the stadium was opened, going undefeated with an 11-0-1 record after their 2-0 win earlier this season. Should the Rhinos fail to take victory, however, the door would open for the Battery, who host the Dayton Dutch Lions on Saturday night at Blackbaud Stadium. A victory is imperative for Charleston no matter the result in Rochester however, with the margin between hosting a quarterfinal contest and having to go on the road a slim one. The Rhinos and Battery have both clinched their berths thanks to the final weekend’s schedule, which sees the Wilmington Hammerheads and Charlotte Eagles meet twice in a home-and-home series that opens at Wingate College on Friday night. Due to their two meetings, while one of the sides could overtake the Battery and Rhinos with a pair of victories, both sides cannot overtake the two teams. Coupled with the Los Angeles Blues being unable to catch either the Rhinos or Battery, those two teams cannot drop below sixth in the standings no matter the results this weekend. The Blues, meanwhile, need a pair of victories to give themselves a chance to reach the playoffs for the second consecutive season. The Blues would also need help, with the pair of games between the Hammerheads and Eagles offering their most likely route into the playoffs. The Blues will face a tough task in the visiting Harrisburg City Islanders, however, who need points of their own to seal their place in the playoffs. Currently sitting seventh in the standings, trailing sixth-placed Charlotte on the second USL PRO tiebreaker of most wins, the City Islanders would clinch a place in the playoffs with a four-point weekend in Los Angeles, thanks again to the two games between the Hammerheads and Eagles. Harrisburg accomplished that last season in their trip out west, taking a 1-1 draw and 2-1 win against the Blues. Fourth-place Richmond would appear to be in the best spot among the remaining teams yet to clinch a berth in the playoffs as the Kickers make the trip to Antigua for a pair of games against the Barracudas on Friday and Sunday evening. Still in with a chance to earn a semifinal bye should they take a pair of victories, the Kickers will hope to emulate their recent 2-0 victory against Antigua on August 3 at City Stadium as they try to extend their three-game winning streak. The rest of the league’s eyes will be principally focused on the series between Wilmington and Charlotte, which will likely determine which side earns, and which side misses out on, a place in the USL PRO Playoffs. The two rivals have met once so far this season, playing to a 1-1 draw on May 19. The Hammerheads hold the advantage, with a one-point lead entering the final weekend of the season, and they would advance to the playoff should the teams play to a pair of ties this weekend. Charlotte, however, has been one of the hottest teams in USL PRO down the stretch, going 8-1-1 in its past 10 USL PRO outings. With the Eagles determined to earn a place in the playoffs after missing out the past two seasons, they will certainly give Wilmington everything it can handle as the two teams battle for a place in the playoffs.
Thanks for sharing. It's a relief that the Battery are in no matter the results for their final game. I've been impressed with Wilmington's play and they would be a great team to see in the playoffs.
yeah, positions 2-7 are still up in the air. Charleston could finish 2nd with a win this weekend, and some luck in other matches. should be an interesting weekend!
Does anyone have the full tiebreaker list? I know that article mentions total wins as a first tiebreaker, but what would come next? All I was getting on my search were tiebreakers from previous years. Basically, if Rochester and Richmond both end on 41, how is that broken?
I think these are still valid...from the USL site. http://www.uslsoccer.com/aboutusl/rules/index_E.html "Standings tiebreakers The breaking of ties in the final league standings, playoffs and finals is accomplished by applying the following criteria, listed in order of importance: The following two guidelines will be followed during the implementation of USL tiebreakers for all ties involving three or more teams: 1) The tiebreaker will determine the winner first. 2) The tiebreaker will continue to be followed in order to determine the ranking of the remaining teams without restarting from the beginning. 1) Head-to-head record based on total points in League games.* 2) Total wins in League games 3) Goal difference in League games. 4) Goals scored in League games. 5) Total points within smallest grouping. If number of games is unequal, then point percentage will be used. 6) Ranking based on points earned against top four group finishers. This tiebreaker will not be used if four or less teams comprise the group. If number of games is unequal, then point percentage applies. 7) Point percentage outside/smallest division or conference in League games 8) Total points in all regular season and Open Cup Qualifying games combined. If number of games is unequal, then point percentage applies. 9) FIFA Fair Play – Team with fewest disciplinary points in League games. (If number of games is unequal, points will be divided by games played to arrive at a common basis for comparison.) 10) Lottery conducted by USL at League office." League games: refers solely to games that count towards the regular season standings. Open Cup qualifying specific games are NOT “League games” when it comes to determining placement in the League standings. (When utilizing these criteria to determine tiebreakers for Open Cup groups, “League games” should be interpreted as all games that count toward the Open Cup group standings.) * Should more than two teams involved have played each other an UNEQUAL number of times, this tiebreaker will be skipped. Group: term used to describe the primary unit in which a team competes (i.e. PDL – Southwest Division) Point Percentage: number of total points earned / maximum possible points (3 per game)
Given the tiebreakers, both teams would have 12 wins and they split the season series. so it would come down to goal differential. Right now, Richmonmd is at +4, while the Rhinos are at +3. Rhinos lost a big lead in this area with a 4-0 loss last week. So assuming Richmond at a minimum beats Antigua twice by one goal, the Rhinos would have to beat Pittsburgh by 4 goals to gain the advantage. Above article says Rhinos only need to beat Pittsburgh, but unless I missed something, I think Richmond has a good shot.
just wondering what other USL fans think of OC dominance? Does anybody think USL should have pro/rel?
Well if you have a defacto D2 team playing in a D3 league you get what you get a 20 point differential in standings....IF their was pro/rel they would be in NASL last year. but it's funny because it does look like a pro/rel league one team at the top and the other are stragglers.
You know Orlando earned six more points this year than last, right? Six. They won two more games this year than last. The rest of the league beat up on each other, contributing to the (current) 19-point gap between them and second place Richmond. After Orlando, only five points separate the 2nd through 7th place teams. Five. They're not stragglers. Atlanta's a straggler. Edmonton's a straggler. The NASL doesn't have a team that's substantially better than most of the others.
at least it's competitive what's the point of having the same team win two years in a row now, I'm talking about regular season standings, but if that's what USL is all about have fun.
Orlando put a great team on the field this season, there is no denying it, but they are not "out of our league". I had the pleasure of watching Wilmington beat them 3-1 this season. They also played to a draw 6 times this year so it's not like the rest of the clubs are not competing with them. If teams exist long enough there will be cycles where they dominate and when they struggle. Two years is hardly a dynasty. Real Madrid have won their league 31 times, it happens! Betis has only won it once but both teams have been playing against each other since the 20s! We're good!
So, by your logic, the NFL is a garbage league and should have pro/reg because the Patriots won back to back Super Bowls in 2005 and '05? I pray every day. Not for world peace. Not for children starving in Africa to have a sandwich. But rather for OCFC to join the NASL. To run the table in a perfect season and beat the Rowdies four times 8-0. Then, and only then, might you shut the hell up with your ridiculous nonsense. Then you would have the stupid rivalry that in your small mind exists between Tampa and Orlando. But in the meantime, the Rowdies are having a good season of their own. Go play in your own sandbox.
Antigua [0-1] Richmond yesterday. If that happens again, then of course we have to root for a Rochester [5-2] Pittsburgh result, which would make GD and GF identicle between the two teams. The tie-breaker falls to step 6. But of course, since we don't know who finishes in fourth place yet, that can't be computed for sure. (I wonder if you can interpret this to mean "the top four teams, not including the tied teams." In that case, it would mean teams finishing 1-4-5-6, or the playoff teams.) In that case, all remaining league games would have an effect on who gets the second seed. The Los Angeles [2-2] Harrisburg result sets up a case where Charleston, Wilmington, and Harrisburg could all end up with 37 points (for fourth, fifth, and sixth places). (In this case, Charlotte would end up with 36, so would be out of the playdowns.) A three-way head-to-head would not apply, since Charleston-Wilmington played each other three times. Wins would be Charleston 12, Wilmington and Harrisburg 10. GD is Harrisburg +4 (and would go up), Wilmington +2 (could go up, down, or steady). A tie in both GD and GF is still possible (for example, Harrisburg wins 3-2; Wilmington splits two matchs 0-1 and 4-0). Tie-breaker falls down to step 6. The top four teams are now known, so the results against them are: Wilmington: 16 / 11 = 1.45 ppg. Harrisburg: 14 / 10 = 1.40 ppg. (thanks to the spreadsheets that I built to track this.)
Your right their was a trend...MLS talk + winning titles = 10k attendance then fast forward to 2012. Sound familiar.
I will add another tidbit, I don't see a difference between MLB players who took steroids knowingly. and a soccer team who knowingly stays in a lower division so that they have a advantage against other teams...asterix next to the title.