The past seven months have all led to this, the championship final.  What could be more glamourous than a final between the top two teams in the regular season?  It’s Direwolves vs Lightning for all the glory!

How they got here:

• Direwolves beat Vaders in the quarters and Emeralds in the semis
• Lightning beat Emeralds in the quarters and Nightmares in the semis

How the season series went:

• Direwolves went unbeaten with 3 wins and a draw
• Direwolves outscored Lightning 9-4
• Aaron St. Bernard of the Lightning was the top scorer with 3 goals

Team news

• Lightning have a full squad except for goalkeeper Prathesh Senthil.  In his place, Murat Cokgezen will dress.
• Direwolves are missing Dale Burgess, Prem Chattani, Alex Salcedo, Neil Carey and Kosta Zabashta.  Unfortunately that’s not a mistake.  Theo Blanchard will suit up for his old team.

A Different Game

This match has taken a completely different complexion now that Direwolves are missing so many players.  However, if any team can overcome such a loss it’s Direwolves.  They faced adversity on many occasions throughout the season and still came out on top.  They lost a top player in Theo Blanchard at the mid-season shuffle and they still came out on top.  They’re a disciplined and hard-working team, very much in the vein of mighty Germany.  The football purists will always warn you that if you write Germany off, you do so at your own peril.

Lightning is one of the most appropriately named teams in the league.  They strike hard and fast and you don’t what hit you until you’re picking the ball up out of your net.  Much like Real Madrid, it takes 3 touches and 15 seconds for them to go from defense to offense and strike on the counter.  The question that has to be asked is whether or not they have the maturity to handle the situation.  With an opponent who is missing so many players, false confidence can easily set in for the inexperienced.  Looking at their roster, there’s no reason to think Lightning will fall prey to this but you just never know.

On May 2nd, 2018, a champion will be crowned.

We’re down to the final 4 and both semi-final match-ups promise to be exciting affairs.

Direwolves vs Emeralds

How they got here:

• Direwolves beat Vaders 3-1
• Emeralds won the wildcard spot

How the season series went:

• Direwolves hold the edge with 2 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss
• The most recent match was a 0-0 draw

What to watch for:

• Both teams are missing players including their respective captains, Alex Wong and Paul Callahan
• Dale Burgess has been unavailable for much of the season, but if he suits up it could have a major impact on the game
• Mario Vega picked up an injury last week and while some thought he milked it, he’s still listed as day-to-day

Lightning vs Nightmares

How they got here:

• Lightning beat Emeralds on penalties
• Nightmares beat Red Bulls 2-1

How the season series went:

• Nightmares won the season series with 3 wins and only 1 loss
• Two of these wins came via the same scoreline of 1-0
• Lightning’s lone win was by a score of 8 to 4, which was the highest scoring game of the season

What to watch for:

• the high tempo set by Lightning’s front 3 and Nightmares solid defense – an enticing matchup
• Rogelio to freight-train somebody

Good luck to all 4 teams!

Football for Peace

Red Bulls and Vaders have decided that they’ll mix up the two teams and play for peace.  Friendship before 5th place is our motto.

The playoffs are here!  Read on to see the previews and wildcard rules.

Direwolves vs Vaders

These two teams have played to a 1-1 draw three times this season, including the final week.  While Direwolves are confident heading in, history shows that finishing first doesn’t mean anything in the playoffs.  Last season it was the Barons, donning the same silver jerseys as Direwolves who crashed out in the quarter-finals.  For their part, Vaders had a similar season to Cobra Kai, they played well in most games, finished last only to emerge as Champions.  Will history repeat and will Vaders knock off Direwolves?

Red Bulls vs Nightmares

Nightmares took the season series against Red Bulls with 2 wins and a draw out of 4 matches.  The last match ended in a 1-1 draw where Nightmares felt they played great even if they didn’t win.  If Roma and Liverpool can make the semi-finals of the Champions League, why can’t Nightmares do the same?

Lightning vs Emeralds

People are buzzing about this match and think it’s the best quarter-final.  Just 2 weeks ago the teams battled to a 2-2 draw in which Emeralds showed a lot of character to come back from a 2-0 deficit.  This is reminiscent of a boxing match in which both fighters can’t wait to get out of their corner and start banging.  Will they battle all night long or will someone get an early knockout?

Shootout Rules

If a winner is not decided in regulation time, the following shootout rules will be used:

• coin toss to determine first team to shoot
• 3 rounds of penalties
• if no winner then sudden death with alternating penalties
• no goalkeeper substitutions allowed

Wildcard Spot

The wildcard spot will be decided on the following criteria:

1. Best result in the quarter-final regulation time (losing in a penalty shootout is ranked higher than losing in regulation time)
2. Goal difference in regulation time
3. Goals scored in regulation time
4. Goal difference in shootout
5. Goals scored in shootout
6. Coin toss

Please be on time for both the 6 pm and 7 pm games.  If a penalty shootout is required, we have to get them done before the hour is up so as to not eat into other peoples time.

Good luck to all the teams!

Congratulations to Direwolves who clinched the regular season title last week.  Their 1-0 victory over Red Bulls capped off a remarkable season in which they never lost their perch atop the standings.  They set a league record for the best ever defense and will be counting on that to carry them through the playoffs.  In the quarter-finals they’ll face Vaders.

Quarter-final #1

• Direwolves vs Vaders

Quarter-final #2

• Lightning/Red Bulls vs Emeralds
• Lightning having a 1 point lead over Red Bulls so if they avoid a loss on Wednesday, they’ll face Emeralds

Quarter-final #3

• Lightning/Red Bulls vs Nightmares
• Nightmares can technically reach 3rd place, but it would only mean they swap places with Red Bulls

Lightning vs Red Bulls

This is the only match that will impact the quarter-final pairings.  Nightmares and Emeralds will care more about the result than the two teams playing as both of them have been quite open about their desire to avoid Lightning.

There are 2 weeks left in the regular season and a number of scenarios can still unfold.  If 2 or more teams are even in total points, the following tie-breaker rules will be applied:

• Overall goal difference
• Overall goals scored
• Points in matches between tied teams
• Goals difference in matches between tied teams
• Goals scored in matches between tied teams
• Coin toss

First Place

• Direwolves need 1 point to secure first place
• Lightning need to win both games and have Direwolves lose both games (Lightning would win the tie-breaker)
• Red Bulls need to win both games and have Direwolves lose both games (Direwolves would likely win the tie-breaker)

Second Place

• Lightning need to match or better the results of Red Bulls (Lightning would win tie-breaker)
• Red Bulls need to better the results of Lightning

Third Place

• Nightmares need to win both games and have either Lightning or Red Bulls lose both games (Lightning & Red Bulls (likely) win the tie-breaker)
• If not, Lightning or Red Bulls will finish third (Since Lightning & Red Bulls play each other, they cannot both pass Direwolves which means Direwolves cannot drop to third)

Fourth Place

• Nightmares need to match of better the results of Emeralds and to a lesser extent Vaders (Nightmares will likely win the tie-breaker)
• Emeralds need to better the results of Nightmares
• Vaders need to win both matches and have Nightmares & Emeralds lose both (Since Nightmares & Emeralds play each other, Vaders need a draw in that match but even if that happens, they’ll likely lose the tie-breaker)
• Lightning or Red Bulls could drop to fourth if they lose both and Nightmares win both (Lightning & Red Bulls likely win the tie-breaker so a fourth place finish is a low probability for either)

Fifth & Sixth Place

• Emeralds need to match the results of Vaders to get fifth place and could possibly drop to sixth if they don’t
• Vaders need at least 1 more win than Emeralds to pull even for fifth (Vaders would likely win the tie-breaker)
• Nightmares could drop to fifth or even sixth place but they would likely win the tie-breaker

Here’s the schedule for Wednesday night:

• Vaders vs Nightmares – 6 pm
• Emeralds vs Lightning – 6 pm
• Direwolves vs Red Bulls – 7 pm

Week 21 might make the playoff picture more clear.  Read below to find out where all the teams might finish, according to Vegas.

Direwolves vs Nightmares

Direwolves can clinch the regular season title if they get a better result than Red Bulls.

• best finish – 1st
• worst finish – 4th
• most likely – 1st

Nightmares can still pass Lightning, but if they do then that’s who they’ll likely play in the quarter-finals.

• best finish – 2nd
• worst finish – 6th
• most likely – 5th

Red Bulls vs Emeralds.

Red Bulls can still catch Direwolves but that window is almost shut.

• best finish – 1st
• worst finish – 5th
• most likely – 2nd

Emeralds are highly motivated to keep out of 6th place but is 4th really better than 5th?

• best finish – 2nd
• worst finish – 6th
• most likely – 4th

Lightning vs Vaders

Lightning will go for it as they want that 2nd seed.

• best finish – 2nd
• worst finish – 6th
• most likely – 3rd

Vaders can still climb out of 6th but have found it hard to maintain.

• best finish – 3rd
• worst finish – 6th
• most likely – 6th

See you on Wednesday night!

Last week’s action clearly showed that the playoffs have come early.  In 3 matches, only 2 goals were scored as everyone was playing more conservatively.  The consequences of week 20 will be good for some and not so good for others.

Winners of their last 2, Nightmares are all of a sudden in the mix for 2nd place.  With a win they’ll be within 3 points of their opponents Red Bulls who currently sit in 2nd place.  Red Bulls have lost 2 in a row by an identical scoreline of 1-0.  You can’t win if you don’t score and a loss this week not only ends the hope for 1st place, but puts them in a 3-way battle for 2nd.  Let’s all hope that doesn’t happen..

Vaders and Emeralds have both made it clear that they prefer to face anyone other than Direwolves in the quarter-finals.  While the rest of us laugh and act like we’re not offended, these comments cut deep.  Vaders currently have a 1 point lead and with a win could reach as high as 4th, depending on the Nightmares-Red Bulls result.  Emeralds will be looking to St. Patrick to bring them some luck on Wednesday night.

Although Direwolves will almost certainly finish in 1st place, they still have to play out the season.  Lightning will not want to be the team that let them have it.  With the best goal differential in the league, they should feel confident heading in.  Similarly to Red Bulls, a win keeps them in the hunt for 1st but a loss could mean a battle for 4th.  Direwolves can just about even the Barons of last season in terms of point per game, If they win all their remaining games.  They can also finish with the best defensive record of all time.

I’d like to end with a friendly reminder that this is a fun league.  Being competitive is a good thing and it makes us all better players – but let’s keep the physical play down.  I just got off the phone with Barcelona’s chief scout and he will NOT be in attendance.  Also, when the referee misses a call, it’s fine to voice your displeasure but keep it clean and then move on with the game.

There are only 5 matches remaining in the regular season and the playoff picture may become more clear after week 19.

Direwolves (1) vs Emeralds (5)

Emeralds have lost 4 in a row and in the process, conceded more goals than Gibraltar.  Things only got worse when VIctor Schiebehenne’s season came to an end as he’s been battling against a bout of stigmata.  Cue the triumphant return of none other than RonalDuy!  The league’s all-time leading scorer is back to wreak havoc on the Direwolves.  “I’m happy to sign for Emeralds”, said RonalDuy.  “John Altinian is only 1 goal behind me on the all-time list and that’s close enough as far as I’m concerned.”  Alex Wong of Direwolves was asked for his thoughts on Duy’s return and said “I’m happy for him and for Emeralds but we’re still winning this game.”

Lightning (3) vs Nightmares (4)

Last week, Lightning sent a statement to the league with their 1-0 shutout of Red Bulls.  Ash Connor said, “yeah we can score a lot of goals, we can make it rain for sure.  But we can also defend as well as anyone else.”  Metinho replied, “Buddy, I scored 4 goals last week, do you really want a piece of this?”  If Metinho has his way and Lightning lose, they can forget about 1st place.  If Nightmares lose, they’ll remain in a battle for 4th place.

Red Bulls (2) vs Vaders (6)

Red Bulls had their 7 game unbeaten streak snapped last week.  They have to rebound against Vaders if they want to stay in contention for 1st place.  Last time these teams met, a last minute goal by John Di Re gave the Red Bulls a win.  Vaders claimed the ball had gone out just before the goal and it should’ve been a side kick-in for them and subsequently swarmed the referee.  They’ll be looking for some petty revenge this week.

Direwolves (1) v Vaders (5)

Vaders will look to extend their unbeaten streak to 2 matches.  They have a respectable record against the league leading Direwolves, having 2 draws and 1 loss.  In fact, both of Direwolves’ draws have come against Vaders. Another interesting fact is that the 7 goals scored in all matches have come from 7 different goalscorers.

Red Bulls (2) v Lightning (3)

This is a huge match for both teams but Lightning will feel more of the pressure.  They have to win to keep pace with the top 2 and after last week’s romp of the Emeralds, who can deny them?  These teams last met in late January and after 50 minutes of intense battle, the game finished 3-3.  There was a lot of mutual respect won between the teams that day.

Emeralds (4) v Nightmares (6)

There hasn’t been much to separate these two teams this season.  In 3 head-to-head matches, each team has won a game with 1 draw in between.  They also share an identical 33 goals for and 43 against.  Emeralds however have drawn 1 more match which gives them the 1 point edge heading in.

With 7 weeks left in the regular season, the standings are becoming more and more important.  While the playoff picture is far from clear, some teams need to make their move now.

Nightmares (5) v Vaders (6)

These two teams can finish anywhere between 3rd and 6th while the top 2 spots are likely out of reach.  Nightmares have a 3 point cushion but Vaders have the edge in the season series have won 1 and drawn 2.  It’s hard to see Vaders get out of 6th place if they aren’t able to get the full 3 points this week.

Lightning (3) v Emeralds (4)

Last week’s win for Lightning ended their mini-slump.  Unfortunately for them, this slump cost them 2nd place and if they want to get that spot back, a win over Emeralds is crucial. For their part, Emeralds can still reach 2nd but can’t afford any slip-up on Wednesday night.

Direwolves (1) v Red Bulls (2)

It’s a huge game in prime-time to finish off the week.  A win for the Direwolves and they’ll surely finish as regular season champions.  A draw would also be a good result, but would still leave Red Bulls in the game.  A win for Red Bulls and it’s game on for the rest of the season!