"Underdogs" Win (8/1)

MOON JELLYFISH IN LONG BEACH, CA -- The teams with less rest manged to drive to comfortable wins as the quarterfinals came to an end.  Minnesota United FC, with an extra days rest, scored a minute and a half apart in the first half but saw their lead cut in half on a PK and it looked like the San Jose Earthquakes may just rally again.  But six minutes later MIN scored and then added another insurance goal to win 4-1.  MIN has relished their underdog status despite being one of the undefeated teams in the tourney and the regular season (which includes the group stage matches).  There was no more Wondo magic (who came in after MIN went up 3-1) or lucky golden shorts magic.

New York City FC, who finished 3rd in Group A, was surprisingly the favorite as I guess POR were playing on two days less rest and barely survived FC Cincinnati the shootout.  And NYC stuck first on a PK but POR tied it right before the half with is always a deflater for the leading team.  The second half saw subs Diego Valeri and Andy Polo score, with the latter with a golazo from outside the box past the outstretched GK (who got his finger tips on it) into the upper right corner.  POR's 3-1 win gives the Western Conference two teams and the Eastern Conference two teams in the Final Four.  There is a 3-day break before the Semis begin Tuesday.

Five picked MIN and that was enough to eliminate Kona Coast Fauci's and Kona Coast Sliders (even though they had NYC later) and keep Deutschland = Koenig from taking second.  It also gave The Six Foot Box at least third place... but with an asterisk as he could lose the 3rd place tiebreaker to Deutschland = Koenig if the total goals is less than 7 and PHI and ORL win their semifinal matches.  All 8 possible outcomes are now detailed in our Final Four Possibilities format.  No one got POR meaning TarjetaRoja was the only entry to get 2 of the 4 semifinalists (MIN, PHI) but can't get any more points.  Pool Champion Bobby Cee Racer also got MIN to finish the tourney with 76 points.

So the free USPS Priority Mail mailers came in the mail today (3 "mails" in a phrase!) and I can fit a jersey, a hat and a scarf in there.  And will try to stuff other goodies as well for our winner, Rob C (Bobby Cee Racer).  Second place will get a hat and scarf and third will get a scarf.  Vintage NASL stickers, LA Galaxy programs, bangers, cell phone credit card holders, and other things that are small, I'll toss in since there is no weight limitation.