Playoff Scenarios/Factoids - UPDATED Aug. 3

Update as of August 3: ATHLETICA CLAIM SECOND PLACE

Saint Louis Athletica were the big winners in Week 19, clinching a playoff spot by virtue of Washington’s loss to FC Gold Pride on Saturday, and then earning the No. 2 seed in the WPS Playoffs and the right to host the WPS Super Semifinal with a 1-0 victory over the Boston Breakers later in the day.

Saint Louis can now sit back, play its reserves and watch the teams in positions 3-5 battle it out for the final two playoff spots. The Boston Breakers, Sky Blue FC and Washington Freedom are all still in the hunt for a playoff berth and each control their own destiny by notching wins over the competition. Sky Blue FC and Washington clash on August 8, with Boston facing Los Angeles Sol on August 9.

Remaining Games with Playoff Implications:

Wed 8/5 - Sky Blue FC vs. FC Gold Pride - Yurcak Field, Piscataway, NJ - 7pm ET
Sat 8/8 - Washington Freedom vs. Sky Blue FC - Maryland SoccerPlex, Germantown, MD - 7pm ET
Sun 8/9 - Boston Breakers Los Angeles Sol - Harvard Stadium, Cambridge, MA - 6pm ET

The latest playoff picture:

1.) Los Angeles Sol – has clinched the WPS Regular Season title and a spot as host of the WPS Championship presented by MedImmune on August 22

2.) Saint Louis Athletica – has clinched second place in the WPS Standings and a spot as host of the WPS Super Semifinal on August 19 at The Anheuser-Busch Soccer Park.

3.) Washington Freedom – will clinch a playoff spot and home game as the third seed with a win on Saturday. Clinches a playoff spot with a tie on Saturday.

4.) Boston Breakers – will clinch a playoff spot with a win on Sunday. Will clinch home game as the third seed with a win and a Washington tie or loss on Saturday combined with Sky Blue FC tie or loss on Wednesday. Will clinch a playoff spot with a tie if Sky Blue fails to get more than two points. Will clinch a playoff spot with a tie if Sky Blue FC defeats Washington. Will clinch a playoff spot if Sky Blue fails to get more than one point this week.

5.) Sky Blue FC – will clinch third seed and home game with two victories. Will clinch playoff berth with a tie on Wednesday and win against Washington on Saturday. Could also clinch playoff berth with victory on Saturday depending on goal differential.

6.) Chicago Red Stars – Eliminated from playoffs

7.) FC Gold Pride – Eliminated from playoffs

Current Head-to-Heads

Boston vs. Washington 2-1-1
Washington vs. Boston 1-2-1
Boston vs. Sky Blue FC 0-3-1
Sky Blue FC vs. Boston 3-0-1
Washington vs. Sky Blue FC 1-0-1 *one game remaining
Sky Blue FC vs. Washington 0-1-1 *one game remaining

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Bill Wodenhelm on July 13, 2009 at 6:42pm: Cant no one have a perfect record forever. That's just how it goes.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mona<33 on July 13, 2009 at 7:20pm: no...their officially out. theyre not gonna make it...well i dont thinkso.

my lienup?

LA(fo sho no doubt and they better or i will be mad!)
St. Louis (if they host the final match, it wont be fair)
CRS or BB
sky blue (im that confident)

StarCityFan said:
FCGP is officially out of the playoff running.

Not officially. If they won all the rest of their matches, they could finish with 30 points, which would be enough for third, at least. Even winning four out of six would give them a chance if other teams falter. But there's not much margin for error any more.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Leyla on July 13, 2009 at 10:23pm: Ok so since Boston is out, I think this is how it goes now:

Ok so i did the math cause I was bored and this is what I got. St Louis is the only team that can beat the Sol in having the best season record. So here are the possibilities:

Worst thing can be if the Sol loose all 3 remaining games. St Louis is the only team that can over take them. But they will have to win 5 of their 6 six remaining games

If the Sol wins 1 of their remaining 3 games (40 points), St Louis has to win all 6 of their remaining games to over take them with 41 points. Or if the Sol can win 1 of their remaining games and tie one of the 2 remaining games (41 points) we will still have the best record cause of the goal differential with St Louis.

What I'm hoping for is that the Freedom beat St Louis next Wed or if they tie and we beat FC Gold Pride then thats it we are hosting the Championship.

Ok so I think this is accurate. LOL!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by snipoppers16 on July 15, 2009 at 5:30pm: OT:

Can someone tell me WHAT is the point of having the All-Star game August 30th during European championships? It won't be Umea's first team, at least not including any Europeans and about half of the WPS all-stars will be with their national teams.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by XAshleyX on July 16, 2009 at 2:23pm: yeah it stinks not having all of the All-Stars here playing. but its just a fun game with some amazing players taking part, im excited for it! plus its in STL so that makes it even better lol

snipoppers16 said:
OT:

Can someone tell me WHAT is the point of having the All-Star game August 30th during European championships? It won't be Umea's first team, at least not including any Europeans and about half of the WPS all-stars will be with their national teams.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by K C on July 16, 2009 at 8:09pm: Los Angeles-A foregone conclusion that they will finish 1st. They could probably lose the rest of their games and no one would catch them. Note that Chivas has a home game on August 22nd, so the WPS championship will have to be played in the afternoon or maybe even the morning.

Saint Louis-They have been the most consistent team outside of Los Angeles and should have the inside track for 2nd. 31 points would clinch a playoff spot for sure for them, which would be 2-2-2 the rest of the way. Their worst 6-game stretch to this point is 2-2-2 at the start of the season. They should make it, but don't count them in yet. They play too many games where the keeper has to save them.

Boston-A month ago, I would have said that they were probably in. Now, I'm not sure, although the victory over Chicago gives them breathing room. They have a very tough stretch to finish the season (Sky Blue at home, at Washington, at Saint Louis, LA at home). Certainly a good chance, but not a sure bet yet.

Sky Blue-The turnaround kids. They also have a tough road schedule left, but no LA to contend with. I'd say they are right above 50-50. Not by much.

Washington-Their road schedule is the easiest of any team and they get to play the teams that are ahead of them (Saint Louis, Boston, and Sky Blue) all at home. That's a big advantage. Probably slightly below 50-50, but a victory over Saint Louis makes them better than even odds.

Chicago-One game less remaining than the teams that are ahead of them, a game with Los Angeles, road trips to Sky Blue and Saint Louis. The good news is they play three of the teams ahead of them. The bad news is they are running out of time and games and have a tough schedule left. Not good odds, but not impossible.

Gold Pride-They're not out of it, but they need to beat Boston or it's over. Not necessarily mathematically, but the rest of their schedule is pretty tough and they haven't won since the middle of May. I'd say they're hanging by a thread at best.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by eb103 on July 21, 2009 at 6:46am: Yeah I with you on that - bad planning on someone's part! I know I'll be glued to the TV during the European Championships...Come on England :)

snipoppers16 said:
OT:

Can someone tell me WHAT is the point of having the All-Star game August 30th during European championships? It won't be Umea's first team, at least not including any Europeans and about half of the WPS all-stars will be with their national teams.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by firstSpartan37 on July 21, 2009 at 11:48pm: Hmmm...

1.) There will be 4 playoff teams, 3 of those will have ONLY 1 home playoff game.

C'mon Jersey, take down Butt. Louis. I've been talking too much trash for it to blow up in my face.

SOL for the Championship!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Austin H on July 25, 2009 at 9:10am: Explosion in your face, commencing in 3.... 2....

firstSpartan37 said:
Hmmm...

1.) There will be 4 playoff teams, 3 of those will have ONLY 1 home playoff game.

C'mon Jersey, take down Butt. Louis. I've been talking too much trash for it to blow up in my face.

SOL for the Championship!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by firstSpartan37 on July 25, 2009 at 11:42am: firstSpartan37 said:

1.) There will be 4 playoff teams, 3 of those will have ONLY 1 home playoff game. C'mon Jersey, take down Butt. Louis. I've been talking too much trash for it to blow up in my face.
SOL for the Championship! Austin H said:
Explosion in your face, commencing in 3.... 2....
Hmmm...

Yeah, yeah, yeah...hmmmm...oh well.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Austin H on July 25, 2009 at 7:18pm: lol Okay, as trollish as you've been, I must give you props for that entertaining manipulation of previous posts.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Mona<33 on July 26, 2009 at 8:58am: editted:
LA
breakers
athletica
sbfc
nuff said.
we're gonnabeat boston. we've done it before in preseason; ▶ Reply to This