So this weekend marks the end of the A-League season and what have we learned? Well, for starters, never count out a team with a little religion on its side. The Charlotte Eagles were all but left for dead by yours truly a few weeks ago and now they're a choking Lynx away from sneaking into the playoffs. Of course, they'll have to win in Rochester to get the job done which is no small task but if anyone can pull it off I'd have to say it's these Eagles.
At the same time this is assuming the Lynx don't finally put the clamps down on that last playoff spot by knocking of Atlanta. The Lynx get the luxury of playing against an Atlanta team that's already secure in their spot in the playoffs. The only thing that the 'Backs really have to play for in this one is possibly seeding and momentum as they head into the playoffs. Don't tell that to Brett Mosen, though, because he'll be looking to keep his guys sharp.
Theoretically Atlanta could afford to cough this one up against the Lynx and still do some good for their seeding by beating Montreal this weekend but Montreal have bigger issues. Namely, they're trying to overtake the Rhinos for the division and their conference's second seed. Once again a team lead by Bob Lilley is breathing down the necks of the Rhinos as we come down the stretch but this year Lilley's team has already won once at Frontier Field. If they should get Rochester in the playoffs look for the Impact to try and make it a double but then again, does anyone but the Rhinos ever win at that place during the "second season"?
Meanwhile, the Rhinos are doing all that they can to maintain their grasp on the division's top spot and this weekend they'll have a chance to do that while aiding division rivals Toronto. After all, if the Lynx should lose to Atlanta they'll need the Rhinos to do them a favor against the Eagles. Normally one would think Rochester's not all that into charity but if they can do the Lynx a favor by staying on top of their division then so be it.
On the other side of the ledger out west there's really nothing but seeding to play for as all of their playoff spots have already been taken. Seattle has already locked up its division and the conference on the whole so whoever winds up getting out of the four versus five match up gets the pleasure of playing on that loveably bouncy Astroturf.
Milwaukee or Minnesota probably wouldn't mind it too terribly as they have already played well on the stuff against the Sounders. Then again those games came after Seattle had all but demolished their competition from the rest of their division. Speaking of those clubs, El Paso, Portland, and Vancouver are all queuing up to face one another with the likely victor being the "lucky" to make that visit to the former land of grunge.
Either way it appears that there will be a ton of intriguing matches during these playoffs especially considering that some of the clubs developed quite the bit of bad blood between them as the season neared its conclusion. If Richmond gets by their first round opposition and get the Battery in the second round we could be in for a whale of a series as these teams don't like each other and their fans aren't much friendlier. Bob Lilley's history against Rochester has already been mentioned and if Charlotte sneaks in we could see a Mini-Southern Derby. That's before mentioning we could have an All-Canadian first round series if Toronto finally gets in. Out west the possibilities are staggering with the midwestern grudge match between Minnesota and Milwaukee a certain possibility while the NASL gang could have a go around as well.
No matter how you slice it the playoffs are almost here and they'll be guaranteed to be exciting. There's a reason to get worked up over just about any possible playoff series at this point and more than anything else it's interesting to see where we've wound up at the end of the long regular season road. Some teams will feel the sting of agony this weekend and some won't but I'll guarantee you this, there's a lot of work to be done this Labor Day weekend.
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