The NPSL Briefing: Playoff Edition
Do the Jesters have a trick up their sleeve? Can Appalachian FC put their foot down?
Welcome to the Playoff Edition of The NPSL Briefing! Below are our previews of the semifinal games for the Gulf Coast Sunshine and Southeast Conferences, along with last week’s regular season results and final regular season standings.
Gulf Coast Sunshine Conference:
Final regular season results:
FC Florida 3-7 Club de Lyon (hat trick by Matias Pourrain)
New Orleans Jesters 1-3 Jacksonville Armada U23
Semifinal 1: Naples United vs Club de Lyon
Credit Club de Lyon
Wednesday, July 9 at 7:00pm EST
Josh N Allen Family Stadium (Naples, FL; Capacity 1100)
These two teams faced each other just once during the regular season, and that match ended in a 2-2 draw. CdL comes in as road warriors after playing just one match at home this entire season. Naples has been very solid all season on both ends of the field, and had some time to rest and prepare leading into this match. That time should be the difference-maker. Prediction: Naples wins 3-2.
Semifinal 2: Jacksonville Armada U23 vs New Orleans Jesters
Credit New Orleans Jesters
Wednesday, July 9 at 7:00pm EST
EWC Community Field and Athletic Stadium (Jacksonville , FL; Capacity 5000)
We'll start here by addressing the elephant in the room: this match was pre-determined by special league rules prior to the start of the season. With that out of the way, it's important to acknowledge that the Jesters also earned their place here under the rules commonly applied to Summer Leagues. A quick glance at the final standings shows them in fifth place on points. But they played fewer matches due to conference geography, and PPG (commonly used by most Summer leagues) has them in third place.
These two teams faced each other twice during the regular season. The first match was a 0-0 draw, and the second (this past weekend) was a 3-1 win for the Armada. Jacksonville has had a very strong season, and will be favored to win and move on to the conference championship. But the Jesters have stayed in form by playing friendlies outside of league play. Prediction: Jesters win in a shootout after a draw and overtime.
Final Regular Season Standings
Jacksonville Armada U23: 25 Points (+26 GD, 10 GP)
Naples United: 23 Points (+26 GD, 10 GP)
Club de Lyon: 16 Points (+15 GD, 10 GP)
FC Florida: 11 Points (-3 GD, 10 GP)
New Orleans Jesters: 10 Points (0 GD, 6 GP)
Miami Dutch Lions: 9 Points (-16 GD, 10 GP)
PSC Florida: 3 points (-8 GD, 4 GP)
Global Soccer Pathways : 2 Points (-40 GD, 10 GP)
Southeast Conference:
Final regular season results:
Greenville United 1-1 Port City FC
Bristol Rhythm AFC 0-0 Hickory FC
865 Alliance 3-5 Appalachian FC
Semifinal 1: Hickory FC vs Port City FC
Credit Hickory FC
Wednesday, July 9 at 7:00pm EST
Moretz Stadium (Hickory, NC; Capacity 7200)
Hickory enters the conference playoffs ranked third nationally in the NPSL power rankings, and for good reason. They ran through the regular season undefeated, and have averaged scoring 3 goals per game. Port City have scored right at 2 goals per game themselves, but have conceded the same. The regular season meeting between these two went to Hickory 4-1. Prediction: Hickory wins this one 4-2.
Semifinal 2: Appalachian FC vs Charlottetowne Hops FC
Credit Appalachian FC
Wednesday, July 9 at 7:00pm EST
Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex (Boone, NC; Capacity 1000)
This is a tough match to predict. In general, Appalachian played a lot of close games - but the regular season match against Charlottetowne wasn't one of them. Just two weeks ago, App FC put their big foot down on the ‘towne, winning 5-1. The other noteworthy thing is that Charlottetowne picked up the majority of their points from the teams lower in the table. The other side of that is they played close matches against all of the playoff teams, other than the thumping from Appalachian. Prediction: this will be a surprisingly tough game for App FC, but they'll come out on top 2-1.
Final Regular Season Standings:
Hickory FC: 28 Points (+24 GD, 10 GP)
Appalachian FC: 21 Points (+14 GD, 10 GP)
Charlottetowne Hops FC: 16 Points (+5 GD, 10 GP)
Port City FC: 16 Points (+1 GD, 10 GP)
Greenville United: 12 Points (0 GD, 10 GP)
Bristol Rhythm AFC: 11 Points (-5 GD, 10 GP)
865 Alliance: 8 Points (-14 GD, 10 GP)
Burlington United : 2 Point (-25 GD, 10 GP)
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