Here are the pairings. Eastern Conference first round (winners advance to the conference final four at MCC [Wildcats with the bye]; semis Saturday, final Sunday): Western Massachussetts at Boston (New England championship, tomorrow) Rochester at Montreal (North Central, Wednesday) NJ Lady Stallions at Long Island (Northeast, Wednesday) Central Conference semis, also Wednesday (the higher seed winner having the option to host the final): Charlotte at Hampton Roads (Atlantic) Fort Wayne at Chicago (Midwest) Western Conference Championship (Saturday): Seattle at Vancouver Winners of conference championships join Ottawa for W-League semifinals (8/7) and championship game (8/8, live on Fox Sports World at 5PM ET). It sure stacks the deck in Ottawa's favor as they don't have to play a game until the league semis , especially since the Wildcats had the league's best record. Strange. Paul
Re: W-League Playoffs Thread [R] Here are the Eastern Conference semifinal pairings for tomorrow night at Mercer County Community College: Montreal v. Long Island will be the 5PM game, followed by the Wildcats-Boston clash at approx. 7:30. The winners will face off Sunday at 5 PM where a berth in the W-League final four is at stake. Paul
Re: W-League Playoffs Thread [R] The Eastern Conference all-star XI was announced yesterday, and the Wildcats put three players on it (Smith, Pichon and Makinen). Congrats to Jen Tietjen-Prozzo for making the cut as well. The league best eleven will be revealed later today. The remainder of the conference lineup: G - Leisha Alcia, Ottawa D - Nicole Krzysik, NJ Lady Stallions M - Kat Lindner, Western Mass M - Stacey Stocco, Boston M - Amy Walsh, Montreal F - Caitlin Munoz, Boston F - Kelly Parker, Ottawa Paul
Re: W-League Playoffs Thread [R] The other conference championship final decided Wednesday was the central, where it will be Chicago (defeated Fort Wayne) vs. Charlotte, who shut out defending champ Hampton Roads 2-0 earlier this week. That game will take place 2PM Sunday in Chicago. Seattle will play Vancouver tomorrow night for the west crown. Paul
Re: W-League Playoffs Thread [R] It will be the Wildcats vs. Montreal in the Eastern final this afternoon; a pair of goals from Makinen (!!) was the difference in eliminating Boston. Click http://www.njwildcats.com/releases/0731Boston.htm for a recap. Game summary of Montreal - Long Island: http://www.njwildcats.com/releases/0731Montreal.htm Vancouver beat Seattle 1-0 late last night to advance to the W-League Final Four in Ottawa next weekend. Paul
3/4ths of W-League Final Four now set Chicago defeated Charlotte, 2-1 today and only one playoff spot remains, the outcome of the Wildcats-Montreal Eastern final... Paul
Ottawa, here they come! Wildcats outlast Montreal in a 6-5 slugfest tonight, per the W-League website. No other details available as I originally post this. They join Chicago, Vancouver and host Ottawa for next weekend's W-League semifinals. Edit: Here are the matchups for next Saturday: Vancouver vs. Chicago, 2:30PM NJ vs. Ottawa, 5PM Paul
Re: Ottawa, here they come! Game report now up; it was wilder than it sounds, and far more exciting than US-China, without a doubt... http://www.njwildcats.com/releases/0801Montreal.htm Paul
Re: Ottawa, here they come! OK, here's the preview of this weekend's (hopefully) penultimate game of the Wildcats' season: http://njwildcats.com/releases/0806Playoffs.htm Paul
Re: Ottawa, here they come! Ottawa Fury co-captain Kelly Parker, who finished behind Marinette Pichon in points *and* goals (45, 18 vs. Pichon's 49 and 21) was named the 2004 W-League MVP tonight. Can I get a from the congregation? Paul
Re: Ottawa, here they come! Found out that Vancouver won semifinal #1, 2-1 over Chicago; Wildcats-Ottawa in the endgame right now; should have an update at the bottom of the hour, hopefully. Paul
Re: Ottawa, here they come! NJ Wildcats vs. Vancouver for the 2004 W-League Championship tomorrow at 5PM on Fox Sports World!! They beat Ottawa 2-1. Match report here: http://wleague.uslsoccer.com/home/80412.html Paul
The 'Cats's own recap of yesterday's terrific win can be found here: http://njwildcats.com/releases/0807Ottawa.htm Good luck today, Frenchie and Mak and everyone! Paul
0-0 end of regulation, Vancouver wins 4-2 on PK's. NJ's first 2 takers, of which Pichon was the second, missed theirs. Paul