Thursday, July 24, 2008
TAMPA, FL -- Unlike the PDL playoffs where parity has led to numerous upsets over the past few years, the W-League Conference playoffs have seen few headline upsets as teams with high profile players go into the postseason knowing their opponents are just as star-studded. This year, more will be on the line as players have the added pressure of trying to garner attention from the future Women’s Professional Soccer league.
While the Final Four seemed a bit unusual without the presence of Ottawa for the first time in five years last year, this season it is the new look of the conference playoffs at the focal point. With the swapping of the Atlantic and Northern Divisions between the Central and Eastern Conferences, the composition of the playoffs has taken on a new dynamic, including a rematch of last year’s W-League championship potentially coming in the Eastern Conference Final.
In what is arguably the most competitive of the three events with seeds three, five, six and nine in the tournament, the Eastern Conference could see Atlantic Division champion and 2007 W-League finalist Atlanta advance to meet the defending W-League champion Washington Freedom, the top team out of the Northeast.
The Midwest representatives are new this year with FC Indiana finishing unbeaten and Chicago advancing as runners-up to the Central Conference playoffs. They will face Laval and the Fury, respectively, out of the Northern Division.
Longstanding rivals in the Western Conference and beyond, the Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps will meet in the postseason for the fourth time in the postseason. Vancouver has gone unbeaten with a mark of 3-0-1, with the lone draw seeing Seattle advance via penalties in their first postseason meeting in 2003. The lost meeting was a 5-0 drubbing in the W-League Semifinals in 2006.
USLLive.com Special: The Vancouver Whitecaps will be showing their Western Conference showdown with the Sounders on www.USLlive.com, the broadband home of USL First Division matches online. Fans can view the game beginning at 7:00 pm ET and On Demand.
W-League Playoff Bracket [+]
TEAM BY TEAM PLAYOFF CAPSULES
(#) Overall W-League seed in parenthesis based on points
Central Conference Championship Tournament
FC Indiana Lionesses (2): The Lionesses (13-0-1) clinched a playoff berth and the Midwest Division title July 13. They clinched the regular season conference title July 17. It is the first W-League playoff appearance for the former WPSL club playing in its debut season.
Ottawa Fury (4): The Fury (13-1-0) clinched a playoff berth July 12 and the Northern Division title July 20. In their ninth season, the Fury have made the postseason the last five years, reaching the final four from 2003-2006. They finished fourth, third and second twice, respectively.
Chicago Gaels (8): The Gaels (11-3-0) clinched a playoff berth July 18. It is the first playoff appearance in four years of play for the Midwest runners-up.
Laval Comets (11): he Comets (9-4-1) clinched a playoff berth July 19. In their third year, the Comets have advanced to the postseason the past two years consecutively, posting their first playoff victory this year with a stunning 2-0 win at Toronto in the Divisional Round over the Northern Division runners-up.
Eastern Conference Championship Tournament
Atlanta Silverbacks (3): The Silverbacks (13-0-1) clinched a playoff berth July 4. Atlanta clinched the Atlantic Division title July 12. The Silverbacks were finalists a year ago in their first playoff appearance in three years of play.
Washington Freedom (5): The Freedom (11-1-2) clinched a playoff berth July 13 and the Northeast Division title July 19. The Freedom won the W-League Championship in their first official season of play last year.
Charlotte Lady Eagles (6): The Lady Eagles (11-2-1) clinched a playoff berth July 6. The Atlantic runners-up missed the postseason for the first time in their eight years of existence last year. They previously reached the W-2 final in their debut 2000 season, winning the W-2 league championship the following year. They also advanced to the W-League Final in 2001.
Long Island Rough Riders (9): The Long Island Rough Riders (9-3-2) clinched a playoff berth July 20. The Rough Riders are making their postseason debut in their second season of play.
Western Conference Playoff Tournament
Vancouver Whitecaps (12): The Whitecaps (7-2-3) clinched a playoff berth July 18. The Whitecaps missed the postseason for the first time in seven years of play a year ago. They have reached the league semifinals five times, finish third in 2002, and 2005, second in 2001 and champion in 2004 and 2006. The runners-up in the conference are playoff hosts with first-place Pali claiming an automatic berth in the W-League Semifinals as regular season champion.
Seattle Sounders (13): The Sounders (5-3-4) clinched a playoff berth July 20. The Sounders are in the postseason for the third straight year and sixth time in eight seasons of play. The club has reached the league semifinals three times, finishing third in 2003 and 2007.
