There are two weeks left in the W-League season, so I thought I'd take a look at how things stand. There have been few lopsided scores in the league going into this weekend, but that was remedied in a hurry: Friday: Vancouver 5, Victoria 0 Saturday: Virginia Beach 7, Northern Virginia 0 Ottawa 7, London 0 Sunday: Long Island 7, New Jersey 0 And the playoff picture is starting to take shape: Eastern Conference Atlantic Division: The perennial division powerhouse Atlanta Silverbacks are closing in on yet another division championship. They have a four-point lead over the second-place Charlotte Lady Eagles with each team having two games to play. The Virginia Beach Piranhas are still in the running, though, another four points behind but with a game in hand, and they have yet to play Charlotte and Atlanta on the road. Northeast Division: With the Freedom Futures and the Quickstrike Lady Blues gone, this division was up for grabs, and it appears that the Long Island Rough Riders and a much improved New Jersey Wildcats have a firm grip. The DC United Women can still catch the Rough Riders if they win their last two games while Long Island loses their last two. And the New Jersey Valkyries could conceivably take the division if they win out, though that's highly unlikely. But being realistic, the only significant match remaining is on July 10, when the Wildcats host the Rough Riders. The winner will almost certainly take the division, while the loser will take second. Central Conference Great Lakes Division: I’ve always felt a little bit sorry for the Ottawa Fury, who have perennially been one of the very best teams in the W-League but have never won the championship. In 2007, they were regular-season champions but lost to the Washington Freedom in the conference championship, and in every year since then there’s always been someone a little better. But this may be their year. They’re the only team in the league with an unblemished record. (There are other undefeated teams, but they have two or more ties.) And there doesn’t seem any reason why they can’t win their last four games and become regular-season champion. This division uniquely has three playoff positions, and effectively four if Ottawa wins the regular season and gets a bye into the final four. So every team but the last-place London Gryphons are still in the running. Western Conference The Western Conference has historically been the weak link in the W-League ever since the WPSL broke away and took all of the good west coast teams with them. But no more. The Pali Blues, who once feasted on the weak competition with the result of two regular-season and post-season championships and going 33 games before experiencing the first loss in their history, may not even make the playoffs this year. They’re currently tied with the undefeated Santa Clarita Blue Heat for the second and final playoff spot, but Santa Clarita has three games in hand. Meanwhile, the division-leading Vancouver Whitecaps have a four-point lead they seem unlikely to relinquish. The games to watch in this division are coming up soon, as Santa Clarita visits the Pacific Northwest and takes on Victoria, Vancouver, and Seattle on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, respectively.
Thanks for that. I don't think they're giving the regular season champion an automatic berth this year. I haven't checked but Seattle Sounders are saying they have the berth as the host. In the Western Conference Santa Clarita are in control of their destiny as they also have three games in hand on Vancouver. Santa Clarita already drubbed Vancouver 5-2. Kindly, the Whitecaps have scheduled the game for Penticton where it is more likely to be sunny and hot.
The host of the Final Four gets a berth, ala the old days. Considering Seattle isn't any good this season, that's not a great thing. I have no clue about the format of the playoffs since, like the WPSL, the W-League apparently can't be bothered to put any info about the structure of the playoffs up on the web. All I recall reading is that ten teams qualify, which probably means three from the Central and Western Conferences and two from each division in the Eastern Conference.
That would be going back to the way they did it in 2007 and before. I was going to say that at least Seattle is decent, unlike the Rochester Rhinos who hosted it in 2007 and basically handed the Freedom a free pass into the final, but I just checked the standings, and they're not. So the top seed in the final four is going to have an easy time of it in the semis. USL rules for 2010 are here: http://www.uslsoccer.com/aboutusl/rules/index_E.html (Good luck finding them from the home page, though - I can only do it by Googling.) Can't find anything updated to 2011.
If three teams qualify from the Western Conference, that makes things pretty interesting. Vancouver and Santa Clarita are almost certainly in, so the final playoff spot looks to come down to either Pali or the Colorado Rush. But the Rush have a fairly easy home-and-home against their in-state rival Colorado Force, while Pali has to go on the road against the formidable Blue Heat and not-so-formidable LA Force. But they'll need to win at least one of those in order to be assured of a playoff spot.
Ottawa mentions in their release that FOUR teams in the Central Conference make the playoffs. I'm puzzled. Does anybody have the vaguest clue as to how the playoffs are going to work?
Searched and searched and finally found the details in the Media Guide (NOTE: big PDF file): Seems rather unbalanced conference-wise: in the Eastern Conference, 12 teams compete for 4 playoff spots; in the Central, it's 7 teams but the same number of spots; in the Western, there are 8 teams but only 2 playoff spots.
Thanks for finding that. The fact that the Central Conference gets four playoff spots and the Western Conference only gets two is totally and utterly bogus. I mean, four spots for seven teams? Really? It seems to me that the best teams on the whole this year are out west, and it's a shame some good teams are going to miss out on the postseason. How things stand at the moment: Central Conference 27 - Ottawa [CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOT & #1 SEED] 17 - Laval 13 - Toronto 12 - Quebec City - 8 - Rochester 7 - Hamilton 2 - London [ELIMINATED] Eastern Conference Atlantic Division 20 - Atlanta 16 - Charlotte - 12 - Virginia Beach 11 - Dayton 3 - Fredericksburg [ELIMINATED] 1 - Northern Virginia [ELIMINATED] Northeast Division 17 - Long Island 17 - New Jersey Wildcats - 11 - DC United Women 9 - New York Magic [ELIMINATED] 8 - North Jersey Valkyries 0 - New Jersey Rangers [ELIMINATED] Western Conference 27 - Vancouver 23 - Santa Clarita - 23 - Pali Blues 21 - Colorado Rush 12 - L.A. Strikers [ELIMINATED] 12 - Seattle Sounders [QUALIFIED AS HOSTS] 7 - Colorado Force [ELIMINATED] 1 - Victoria Highlanders [ELIMINATED]
Agreed. The #2 team in the Central Conference would be in fifth place (on points) in the Western, and probably worse than that if they'd actually had to play those teams. I wonder if they decided that before a lot of the midwest teams left the W-League to join that one that Shek Borkowski's involved with.
Hello bythesea: Any idea why the Whitecaps scheduled this game in Penticton? It is really a long way from Vancouver.....
In a surprising result, last night the Santa Clarita Blue Heat could only muster a tie against the last-place Victoria Highlanders. To put things in perspective, this is only the second point Victoria has picked up in 12 matches this season, while it's only the third time all season that the Blue Heat have settled for a draw. Meanwhile, the W-League has reported that the Atlanta Silverbacks' win Saturday over the Dayton Dutch Lions has clinched them a position in the playoffs. (This isn't evident from the standings until you realize that the #2 and #3 teams, Charlotte and Virginia Beach, play each other to end the season, so they can't both earn the maximum number of standings points.) Vancouver can be the next team to clinch a playoff spot if they beat Santa Clarita Friday night. The winner of that match will almost certainly take first place in the Western Conference.
No idea why Penticton in particular. They've visited most of the nearby communities and they needed to find seven sites this season.
Just got back from watching the Silverbacks comprehensively demolish Fredericksburg 7-0 (that's a lot of goals for $10) to clinch the division. First half ended 1-0, but an F-burg player was sent off before the half (last defender denying a goal-scoring opp). Atlanta came out at the beginning of the second half and put 3 up in about the first 10 minutes by which point the Impact looked like they were out of gas. Atlanta seemed to be content with 4, but F-burg had nothing for them, so, once some hungry subs came on the field, they just turned up the heat again. Impact had one rocket strike in the first half from about 20 yards out that hammered the crossbar, but that was about it. D looked pretty solid. I have to say, I've seen them twice now and Tiffini Turpin has been stellar both times. She put 2 on the board tonight (scored the 1st and either the 6th or 7th) and had at least 1 if not more assists, but she was absolutely electric in the attack all night. Tore up the left flank in the first half, then switched in the second and pounded them from the right. Just great ball control, low center of gravity, acute vision (her assist near the end was a thing of beauty--too bad there's no video) and just a very gritty, determined player. I'm gonna see if I can get her into a Beat jersey and slide her onto the field next week. Rebecca Nolin also seems to be thriving in her post-Beat career. She's a real general out in the midfield, both as a d-mid and a distribution machine. This team is definitely looking, to use a worn-out analogy, like they're firing on all cylinders for the post-season!
Yeah, it was just a thorough mismatch at 11v11 and once the red card came out, it got really, really ugly. Should've been in double digits if the Silverbacks finished some of their chances. Scary thing is, Impact had Chantel Jones, one of the best keepers in college in goal! It could've been much worse with a lesser goalie. First three goals in the second half were all from Megan Tomlinson, in the span of three minutes. Fastest hat trick in W-League history? Silverbacks are probably going to be hosting Eastern Conference playoffs in a few weeks. Hearing whispers of a potential doubleheader on Saturday night with the NASL team. Would be great for attendance. Also, funny Silverbacks news. Apparently Lyndsey Patterson was rostered with the team before she ended up signing with the Beat. I'm guessing the Silverbacks would've loved to pick her back up when she left the Beat...unfortunately it ended up just a few days too late of the W-League roster deadline. Also, with results today, Silverbacks clinch a division title and Santa Clarita's win eliminates the Colorado Rush from the playoffs.
Hard-fought is right: five yellow cards and two ejections, including the SC coach. Final score 2-1. Vancouver goal by Sydney Leroux; Santa Clarita goals by Edite Fernandes and Holly Hein. Each team needs one more win to clinch a playoff spot, but Santa Clarita has two more games (one with the Pali Blues) while Vancouver only has one. Both are four points clear of the Blues, who need to win their last two matches for any chance at the playoffs. Holding the match in Penticton seems to have been a good idea: attendance was over 2000. Meanwhile, on the other coast, the DC United Women beat the New Jersey Rangers, 3-1, to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
In a dramatic contrast, Fredericksburg was able to hold the #2 team in the division, the Charlotte Lady Eagles, to a scoreless draw yesterday. This leaves the door open for the Virginia Beach Piranhas, two points behind Charlotte with two games to play to Charlotte's one. The two teams play each other at Charlotte on Friday, July 15, with the winner (if there is one) clinching the second playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. The final standings in case of a draw will depend on how Virginia Beach does against Atlanta the next day.
The Santa Clarita Blue Heat have lost to the Seattle Sounders by a score of 1-0 . The Sounders scored off a penalty kick early in the game. Blue Heat played 86 minutes with 10 players.
First loss of the season for Santa Clarita. That leaves Ottawa as the only undefeated team in the league.
Things have firmed up a bit since last week’s update. Here’s where we stand now. Eastern Conference Atlantic Division: The Atlanta Silverbacks have clinched both the division and conference title and will therefore host the Eastern Conference Championship. The Charlotte Lady Eagles can take the other playoff spot with a win on Friday against the Virginia Beach Piranhas. The Piranhas can take the spot with a win over Charlotte, or a tie with Charlotte and a win over Atlanta on Saturday. Northeast Division: The Long Island Rough Riders have won the division, with the New Jersey Wildcats coming in second. Central Conference Great Lakes Division: The Ottawa Fury have clinched the division title, the conference title, and the W-League regular season championship. The remaining playoff spots are up for grabs, but it doesn’t really matter because Ottawa will stomp them all. Western Conference The Santa Clarita Blue Heat went on a road trip to the Pacific Northwest with a chance to separate themselves from the rest of the division. They picked up a huge win against the Vancouver Whitecaps to pass them in the division standings (counting tiebreakers), but in the other matches only managed a draw against the last-place Victoria Highlanders and lost to the fourth-place Seattle Sounders. As a result, the playoff spots are still up for grabs among Santa Clarita, Vancouver, and Pali. Santa Clarita needs three more points to win the conference or two more points to clinch a playoff spot. They play Los Angeles on Wednesday and Pali on Sunday. Vancouver can clinch a playoff spot with a win in their final game on Friday and will win the division as well if Santa Clarita gets two or fewer points from their final two games. The Pali Blues are facing missing the playoffs for the first time in their illustrious four-year history. Defeating the Blue Heat on Sunday is essential but still not sufficient. If the Blue Heat win on Wednesday and the Whitecaps win on Friday, that game goes from crucial to meaningless as they’ll be eliminated from contention. Important games coming up: July 13, 10:00 pm. LA Strikers at Santa Clarita Blue Heat - Santa Clarita clinches conference title with a win. July 15, 5:30 pm. Virginia Beach Piranhas at Charlotte Lady Eagles - Winner clinches the #2 playoff spot in the Atlantic Division. July 15, 10:00 pm. Colorado Force at Vancouver Whitecaps FC - Vancouver clinches playoff spot with win. July 16, 7:30 pm. Virginia Beach Piranhas at Atlanta Silverbacks - If Friday’s game is a draw, a Piranhas win here gets them in the playoffs. July 17, 10:00 pm. Pali Blues at Santa Clarita Blue Heat - The season’s last game is a must-win for Pali if they’re still in the running.
Santa Clarita could only manage a draw against the LA Strikers last night, which leaves the last two playoff spots wide open. Any one of the three teams still in contention can win the division, place second, or miss the playoffs entirely, depending on the results. The Pali Blues are back in charge of their fate. If they beat Santa Clarita, they're in the playoffs and can even win the division if Vancouver draws or loses their match. However, anything other than a win, and they're eliminated. Vancouver plays the Colorado Force at home on Friday night. A win puts them in the playoffs, and then they'd be rooting for the Pali Blues to beat or tie the Blue Heat because that would give them the division as well. However, if they draw or lose to Colorado, then they'll be rooting for Santa Clarita because a Pali win would knock them out of the playoffs. Santa Clarita still has the most points of the three teams and is in the best position. A win against Pali gives them the division title. Even a draw does likewise unless Vancouver wins. And they can even make the playoffs with a loss if Vancouver doesn't win.
Standings after Wednesday: Central Conference 33 - Ottawa [CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOT & #1 SEED] 17 - Laval [CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOT] 17 - Toronto [CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOT] 16 - Quebec City - 10 - Rochester 8 - Hamilton [ELIMINATED] 6 - London [ELIMINATED] Rochester has to win its final two matches to make the playoffs at Quebec City's expense. Eastern Conference Atlantic Division 23 - Atlanta [CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOT & DIVISION TITLE] 17 - Charlotte - 15 - Virginia Beach 14 - Dayton [ELIMINATED] 7 - Fredericksburg [ELIMINATED] 1 - Northern Virginia [ELIMINATED] Winner of Charlotte/Virginia Beach on Friday is in. If it's a draw, VB needs to beat Atlanta on Saturday to make the playoffs. Northeast Division 20 - Long Island [CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOT & DIVISION TITLE] 17 - New Jersey Wildcats [CLINCHED PLAYOFF SPOT] - 17 - DC United Women [ELIMINATED] 12 - North Jersey Valkyries [ELIMINATED] 10 - New York Magic [ELIMINATED] 0 - New Jersey Rangers [ELIMINATED] Western Conference 28 - Santa Clarita 27 - Vancouver - 26 - Pali Blues 21 - Colorado Rush [ELIMINATED] 15 - Seattle Sounders [QUALIFIED AS HOSTS] 13 - L.A. Strikers [ELIMINATED] 10 - Colorado Force [ELIMINATED] 5 - Victoria Highlanders [ELIMINATED] Lots of permutations, which StarCityFan has detailed above.