Bobby Cee Racer wins the first-ever HWCI MLS Pool! Two vying for final spot
KAYAKING IN LONG BEACH, CA (smt) -- The MLS may be celebrating its 25th anniversary but it's four expansion teams that will play in the semifinals. 2A-Philadelphia Union ('10), 1F-Portland Timbers ('11), 1A-Orlando City SC ('15), and 2D-Minnesota United FC ('17) all joined just in the last ten years. Only POR has reached a conference final (Champion'15, Runners-up '18) with ORL never making the playoffs in their five years. Three teams will be looking for their first major trophy (PHI lost in the U.S. Open Cup final three times and MIN once) which will be a big deal for their fans. All the major favorites are gone (ATL, TOR, LAFC, RBNY, SKC, SEA) except for MIN, despite the Loons, who are undefeated in 2020 (3-0-2 in regular season, 4-0-3 overall), telling everyone they are the underdogs.
PHI scored 3 times in 15 minutes in the second half to blow past 1D-Sporting Kansas City, 3-1, while MIN scored twice in two minutes in the first half to beat the golden-shorted 1B-San Jose Earthquakes, 4-1. POR scored twice in 11 minutes in the second half to break a 1-1 tie in rallying to win 3-1 over 3A-New York City FC. Only the ORL and 2F-Los Angeles Football Club match provided drama all the way to the end.
Host ORL actually had better stats than LAFC (17 shots to 8, 52% possession), who had averaged 3.75 goals, 21 shots, and 7.25 shots on goal in the tourney, but blew their chance in the 57' when Nani's PK was saved. Three minutes later LAFC scored and held the lead until the 90', when ORL scored off a CK which did not make head coach Bob Bradley happy. In the PSO, LAFC hit one crossbar and with the kicks tied at 4, Nani got his revenge and converted sending the Lions into the semifinals.
The quarters saw 15 goals in 4 matches (3.75 per match), upping the overall average per match to 2.83. The last 8 matches have seen both teams score at least one goal in regulation. Almost half (23 of 48) of the matches have been tied at halftime and POR's win was just the sixth team to win after giving up the first goal (remember, PSOs are technically draws).
In the pool, LAFC's loss mean that Bobby Cee Racer (76 pts) became our first HWCI MLS Pool Champion! This is the earliest (with 5 matches to go) we have crowned an HWCI Pool champion (36 pools). LAFC was the last champion still picked by the 15 entries and that means for the first time since the 1998 HWCI NCAA Pool, no one will have picked the correct champion. The eliminations came fast with LAFC losing and MIN winning. TarjetaRoja (2nd, 69) (the only one to get 2 of 4 semifinalists) actually clinched a top 3 spot first with PHI's win and will finish 2nd or 3rd. The Six Foot Box (3rd, 65) clinched a top 3 spot but only tied for 3rd in two possible outcomes with Deutschland = Koenig (6th, 57). Everyone else is eliminated. ORL's win meant Go Chivas (had LAFC as champ) finishes last with 47 pts.
I got my free USPS Priority Mail mailers and I can fit a jersey, hat, scarf, and other soccer goodies inside for hopefully a flat rate under $10 for Rob C. Now if Sam N, who is in Germany I believe, knocks me off 3rd place, we'll have to figure out when he gets back to LA to deliver the goodies.
I'll be doing daily gameday updates on our Blog and re-posted on Twitter. These updates will be every few days or so and will be emailed out. Everyone can view their pick and bracket by clicking the "Pick" link in the standings next to their nickname. If you want to know who everyone is, the Who's Who in the Pool is now available.
Ins 'n Outs - Goals (48 Matches): 136 (2.83/match) [Own: 4 (10-SKCvMIN 90'+2, 19-SJvVAN 22', 26-LFCvLA 5', 36-NYvCIN 56'), Subs: 24 (6-DC 84', 17-SEA 77', 16-ORL 81', 19-SJ 72', 19-SJ 90'+8' {2}, 21-DC 72' {2}, 23-COL 84', 26-LFC 80', 30-SJ 83' {3}, 28-ORL 70' {2}, 35-SKC 86', 37-COL 59' {2}, 4-VAN 65', 4-VAN 71' {2}, 39-POR 81' | 39-NYC 81', 39-TOR 87', 41-SJ 86' {4}, 42-SEA 75', 44-POR 67' {2}, 44-CIN 81', 48-MIN 86', 47-POR 65' {3}, 47-POR 76' {4}), 90'+: 10 [1-ORL +7 (GW), 10-MIN +2 (GT), 10-MIN +7 (GW) {2}, 6-DC +1 (GT), 19-SJ +8 (GW), 18-MTL +5 PK, 23-SKC +1 (GW), 26-LFC +2, 38-LA +1 PK (GT) | 41-SJ +6 {2}]... Scoring First: 28-6-10 (4 Nil-Nil (7-SEAvSJ, 24-RSLvMIN, 32-TORvNE | 40-SKCvVAN); 1-MIA:ORL 1:2, 10-SKC:MIN 1:2, 19-VAN:SJ 3:4, 23-COL:SKC 2:3, 26-LA:LFC 2:6 | 47-NYC:POR 1:3)... Leading at Half: 16-3-6 (23 ties; 10-SKC:MIN (1:0) 1:2, 19-VAN:SJ (2:1) 3:4, 23-COL:SKC (1:0) 2:3)... Shutout: 25 (3-NYC, 5-MTL, 7-SEA, 7-SJ, 8-ATL, 9-CIN, 11-COL, 20-ATL {2}, 22-NY, 24-RSL, 24-MIN, 30-CHI, 31-VAN, 27-MIA, 32-TOR, 32-NE, 33-ATL {3}, 34-DC, 35-RSL {2}, 36-NY {2}, 4-CHI | 37-MTL {2}, 38-NE {2}, 40-SKC, 40-VAN)... PK: 14/18 [10-rsl (s) 72', 13-la (s) 12', 18-MTL 37', 18-MTL 90'+5' {2}, 23-SKC 73', 25-HOU 86', 26-LFC 13', 26-LA 31' {1/2}, 31-SEA 16', 38-LA 90'+1' {2/3} | 41-SJ 49', 41-SJ 90'+6' {2}, 41-LFC 14' {2}, 43-clb (s) 79', 44-CIN 81', 46-orl 57', 48-SJ 50' {3}, 47-NYC 27']... PSO: 4 [40-VANvSKC 1:3 (4.0) {PGSS:GGSG}, 43-MINvCLB 5:3 (4.5) {GGGGG:GGSG}, 44-CINvPOR 2:4 (4.0) {GGSH:GGGG}, 46-LFCvORL 4:5 (5.0) {GXGGG:GGGGG}]... Red Card (GF/GA): 10 (3/7) [10-SKC 74' {R} (0/2), 6-DC 45'+6' {2Y} (2/0), 13-POR 75' {2Y} (0/1), 14-MIA 90'+8' {2Y} (0/0), 23-COL 61' {R} (0/2), 23-COL 73' {R} (1/1) <2>, 25-HOU 88' {R} (0/0), 27-MIA 90' {2Y} (0/0) | 41-RSL 84' {R} (0/1), 41-RSL 90'+7' {R} (0/0) <2>]... Multiple G's: 11 [Zardes 2 (9-CLB), Akinola 2 (6-TOR), M.Rodriguez 2 (12-HOU), Mueller 2 (16-ORL), Akinola 3 (18-TOR) {2}, Taider 2 (18-MTL), Rossi 4 (26-LFC), Finlay 2 (37-MIN) | Eriksson 2 (41-SJ), Rossi 2 (42-LFC), Santos 2 (45-PHI)]... Multiple A's: 10 [Pozuelo 2 (6-TOR), Felipe 2 (6-DC), Blessing 2 (12-LFC), Quintero 2 (12-HOU), Pozuelo 3 (18-TOR) {2}, B.Rodriguez 2 (26-LFC), Ginella 2 (26-LFC), Pulido 2 (35-SKC), Gregus 2 (37-MIN) | Dotson 2 (48-MIN)]... 3+Pts: 6 [Zelarayan GAA (9-CLB), Akinola GGG (18-TOR), Pozuelo AAA (18-TOR), Rossi GGAGG (26-LFC) | Eriksson AGG (41-SJ), Santos AGG (45-PHI)]... Zero SOG (Shots): 1 [22-NY (7)]... Goal Line Tech (Award): 1 (0) [34-MTL xG= 68']... VAR (-Reversal(Taken Away), +Reversal(Added), =Confirmed, xNo Call): 20 [9-CLB xOff={g} 49', 10-MIN xOff+{g-} 64', 12-HOU Off-{g+} 45'+5', 13-LA xOff+{g-} 81', 16-PHI HB-{pk-} 75', 19-SJ xRC={yc} 56', 20-ATL xOff+{pk-} 45'+5', 20-ATL xRC+ 90'+9', 18-TOR xHB+{pk+} 90'+4', 23-COL xRC={yc} 43', 23-COL xRC+ 58', 23-COL xHB+{pk+} 69', 25-POR xHB+{pk+} 83', 26-LA Off={xg} 54', 26-LFC xOff={g} 90'+1', 32-TOR Box-{pk-} 87', 4-CHI xHB+{g-} 84' | 41-RSL xHB+{pk+} 90'+4', 44-CIN xOff+{g-} 62', 46-LFC xOff+{g-} 32', 48-MIN xHB+{pk+} 48']... 63%+ Poss (2-3-6): 10 [8-ATLvNY (69) L, 6-TORvDC (66) D, 12-LFCvHOU (72) D, 19-SJvVAN (68) W, 30-SJvCHI (63) W {2}, 36-NYvCIN (68) L, 38-LAvHOU (64) D, 39-LFCvPOR (64) D | 40-SKCvVAN (63) D(W), 43-CLBvMIN (65) D(L), 48-SJvMIN (65) L {3}] ... 20+ Shots (S/SOG/G) (3-3-3): 8 [12-LFC (23/6/3) D, 16-NYC (26/8/1) L, 19-SJ (30/11/4) W, 23-HOU (24/4/1) L, 4-CHI (25/5/0) L | 40-SKC (36/8/0) D(W), 42-LFC (25/8/4) W {2}, 43-CLB (21/6/1) D(L), 48-MIN (20/13/4)]... Postponed (>30m): 3 [8-ATLvNY (Lightning 45m), 6-TORvDC (Testing 24h), 4-CHIvVAN (Lightning 93m) 63']... Cancelled: 3 (2-NSHvCHI, 14-MIAvCHI, 29-ORLvNSH)... Replacements: 6 (4-DALvVAN->CHIvVAN, 15-PHIvNSH->PHIvMIA, 17-SEAvDAL->CHIvSEA, 27-NYCvCHI->MIAvNYC, 28-PHIvMIA->PHIvORL, 30-DALvSJ->CHIvSJ)... Match Order (2,14,29 CCD; R16 restarts at 37): RR: 1 | 3-5 | 7 | 8-9 | 10-11 | 6-12-13 | 17-16-15 | 19 | 20-18-22 | 21-23-24 | 25-26 | 30-31 | 27-28A | 32-33-34C | 35-36E-37D | 4B-38-39F | R16: 37-38 | 39-40 | 41-42 | 43-44 | QF: 45 | 46 | 48-47 | SF: 49 | 50 | F: 51...
Standings (5th-24th)
[ MLS is Back Tournament ] [ Regular Season ] # Gp Tm G W-L-D Pt GD GF-GA DP Pos G W-L-D Pt GD GF-GA -- -- --- - ----- -- -- ----- -- --- - ----- -- -- ----- 2A PHI 5 4-0-1 13 5 8-3 95 | 4E 5 2-1-2 8 0 7-7 1F POR 5 3-0-2 11 4 10-6 127 | 3W 5 3-1-1 10 1 8-7 1A ORL 5 3-0-2 11 4 8-4 112 | 3E 5 2-1-2 8 2 7-5 2D MIN 5 2-0-3 9 4 9-5 86 | 2W 5 3-0-2 11 6 12-6 ----------- 5 1B SJ 5 3-1-1 10 3 12-9 88 | 6W 5 2-1-2 8 0 10-10 6 2F LFC 5 2-0-3 9 7 16-9 74 | 4W 5 2-0-3 9 5 15-10 7 1D SKC 5 2-2-1 7 0 7-7 100 | 1W 5 4-1-0 12 8 13-5 8 3A NYC 5 2-3-0 6 -2 6-8 97 | 12E 5 1-4-0 3 -4 2-6 ----------- 9 1E CLB 4 3-0-1 10 7 8-1 75 | 1E 5 4-0-1 13 8 9-1 10 2E CIN 4 2-1-1 7 -1 4-5 81 | 8E 5 2-3-0 6 -3 6-9 11 2C NE 4 1-1-2 5 0 2-2 46 | 9E 5 1-1-3 6 0 4-4 12 1C TOR 4 1-1-2 5 -1 7-8 57 | 2E 5 2-0-3 9 5 7-2 13 2B SEA 4 1-2-1 4 -1 5-6 60 | 5W 5 2-1-2 8 3 7-4 14 3B VAN 4 1-2-1 4 -2 5-7 51 | 8W 5 2-3-0 6 -3 7-10 15 3D RSL 4 1-2-1 4 -3 4-7 110 | 9W 5 1-1-3 6 0 3-3 16 3C MTL 4 1-3-0 3 -2 4-6 63 | 5E 5 2-2-1 7 0 8-8 ----------- 17 4B CHI 3 1-2-0 3 -3 2-5 71 | 11E 5 1-3-1 4 -4 4-8 18 3E NY 3 1-2-0 3 -3 1-4 55 | 6E 5 2-2-1 7 -2 5-7 19 3F HOU 3 0-1-2 2 -1 5-6 52 | 11W 5 0-2-3 3 -5 6-11 20 4C DC 3 0-1-2 2 -1 3-4 54 | 10E 5 1-2-2 5 -1 6-7 21 4D COL 3 0-2-1 1 -3 4-7 56 | 7W 5 2-2-1 7 -1 8-9 22 4F LA 3 0-2-1 1 -5 4-9 55 | 12W 5 0-3-2 2 -6 5-11 23 4A MIA 3 0-3-0 0 -3 2-5 75 | 14E 5 0-5-0 0 -5 3-8 24 4E ATL 3 0-3-0 0 -3 0-3 78 | 7E 5 2-3-0 6 -1 4-5 -- DAL | 10W 2 1-0-1 4 -2 4-2 -- NSH | 13E 2 0-2-0 0 -2 1-3 (Moved to East before Tourney) Note: DP are match-based; subsequent supplemental discipline or removals of cards not included
Bits 'n Bobs - the Knockout matches do not count toward the regular season standings... the NWSL Challenge Cup final between the Houston Dash and Chicago Red Stars drew an average of 572,000 on CBS (I saw the ending on All Access), a record (topping 2019's final of 166,000)... MLS did get 639,000 viewers for its FOX broadcast of ATL-RBNY but its overall average is just 4% higher than last year, a big disappointment for a country that was craving live sports and MLS was the first pro team men's league to go live; this was hampered by 9 am EDT matches which couldn't top 175,000... PHI scored 3 goals in 15 minutes in the 2nd half... this was first time LAFC didn't score 2+ goals and just the second time they allowed less than 2... LAFC's 60' goal was their first shot on goal and Bradley Wright-Phillips' goal was his 4th in 5 matches for his new team... SJ had 63%+ possession in 3 of their 5 matches (2-1-0)... MIN had 13 shots on goal (4 goals)... NYC was the last 3rd place to team to lose and prevented the semis from having three Group A teams... all four semifinalists are undefeated (as are LAFC and CLB) in the tourney... POR's Sebastián Blanco has had one assist in all five tourney matches (5 assists tied with TOR's Alejandro Pozuelo in the tourney)... LAFC's Diego Rossi leads with 7 goals in tourney... Pool Summary: 3 picked PHI (TarjetaRoja clinched at least a tie for 3rd)... no one had ORL (8 lost out on LAFC) which meant Bobby Cee Racer wins the pool (having led since July 21 (tied) and July 22 (sole possession of 1st))!, 4 alive vying for 1 spot, Go Chivas clinches last with 47 pts; 5 picked MIN giving The Six Foot Box at least a tie for 3rd and eliminating Kona Coast Fauci's (7th-Tied, 56) and Kona Coast Sliders (7th-T), no one got POR keeping things at status quo (TarjetaRoja is the only one get 2 of 4 correct and 8 got none)... entries averaged just 0.53 semifinalists (13.3%)... Disciplinary Points are calculated as accumulation of each: foul (1), yellow card (3), 2nd yellow card/straight red cad/coach dismissal (7), and any supplemental discipline (8) -- however there is no official published tally for the public...
So how much does it cost to mail the prizes to myself?...
Scott
HWCI circa 1990
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