NWSL North Carolina Courage Consistently Ranks Top
The world of women’s league soccer in the USA has never been so exciting,nor has there been such an amazing team constantly claiming the top spot. Here is the latest press release from NWSL on the upcoming playoffs.
With a packed roster of talent, he former UNC and national-team star Heather O’Reilly is still big name on the NC Courage roster. Will she help make the difference and get her squad set for the playoffs?
Is first place NC Courage ready for their road test against Sky Blue FC? When will NC Courage secure a playoff berth? We will know the answer to this question in one day.
Here is the Press Release from NWSL:
The North Carolina Courage are on the brink of becoming the first club to secure a spot in the 2018 NWSL Playoffs.
The Courage are now within reach of a playoff spot if the club can continue their impressive form with a win on Saturday against Sky Blue FC at 7 p.m. ET and then see a few of results go their way to book their place in the playoffs this week.
In addition, North Carolina has an outside chance to wrap up home-field advantage in the semifinals as well but it will require a win against Sky Blue FC and that the Red Stars and Thorns FC do not win their respective games and a draw in the Pride vs. Royals FC game.
Meanwhile, the rest of the league is very much alive and will be battling to remain in contention for one of the top four spots in the 2018 Playoffs. Also, no team is on the brink of being eliminated this weekend. See below for the scenarios heading into the weekend.
|
# |
Team |
Pts. |
GD |
GR |
Max Pts. |
Magic No. |
Elimination No. |
|
1 |
North Carolina Courage |
42 |
23 |
7 |
63 |
5 |
— |
|
2 |
Seattle Reign FC |
29 |
6 |
8 |
53 |
18 |
— |
|
3 |
Orlando Pride |
25 |
0 |
7 |
46 |
22 |
— |
|
4 |
Chicago Red Stars |
25 |
3 |
7 |
46 |
22 |
— |
|
5 |
Portland Thorns FC |
23 |
4 |
8 |
47 |
— |
23 |
|
6 |
Utah Royals FC |
21 |
-3 |
8 |
45 |
— |
21 |
|
7 |
Houston Dash |
20 |
-5 |
8 |
44 |
— |
20 |
|
8 |
Washington Spirit |
10 |
-13 |
7 |
31 |
— |
7 |
|
9 |
Sky Blue FC |
3 |
-15 |
10 |
33 |
— |
9 |
| Glossary – Pts: Points, GD: Goal Difference, GR: Games Remaining,Max Pts.: Maximum points possible | |||||||
* = The Magic Number or Elimination Number for each team does not reflect scenarios that require tiebreakers. Tiebreaker scenarios are required when a team’s Magic Number or Elimination Number is 1.
The NWSL What If’s for Week 16 Weekend Scenarios:
North Carolina Courage will clinch a spot in the 2018 NWSL Playoffs if…… Courage win vs. Sky Blue FC AND Reign FC win or draw vs. Red Stars
OR
… Courage win vs. Sky Blue FC AND Royals FC draw vs. Orlando Pride
OR
…Courage win vs. Sky Blue FC AND Reds Stars win vs. Reign FC AND Royals FC win vs. Pride AND Dash win or draw vs. Thorns FC
OR
…Courage win vs. Sky Blue FC AND Reds Stars win vs. Reign FC AND Pride win vs. Royals FC AND Dash win or draw vs. Thorns FC
North Carolina Courage will clinch home-field in the semifinals of the 2018 NWSL Playoffs if……Courage win vs. Sky Blue FC AND Reds Stars loss vs. Reign FC AND Royals FC draw vs. Pride AND Thorns FC loss vs. Dash
NWSL Tiebreaker Procedures:
To Break a Tie in the Standings
If two or more teams are tied on points at the end of the regular season, the tie will be broken through the following steps:
Two teams
1. Head-to-head record
2. Overall goal difference
3. Overall goals scored
4. Head-to-head road record
5. Goal difference in all road games
6. Goals scored in all road games
7. Head-to-head home record
8. Goal difference in all home games
9. Goals scored in all home games
10. Coin toss
Three teams
1. Points per game against other two teams
2. Overall goal difference
3. See tiebreaker procedure for two-team scenarios
NOTE: If two teams are still tied after the third team has advanced via the tiebreaker, the tie will be broken using the two-team tiebreaker rules.
