So here we are with only four teams left playing for the whole enchilada, all the marbles, and a bunch of other cliches that add up to these clubs playing for a pretty big prize. So far in this postseason the big stories have been upsets, the resurgence of Milwaukee, and the defense of Rochester. The Rhinos have yet to give up a goal and their foes in the next round are one of the few teams that were able to light up the staunch defense of Charleston in the last round. Meanwhile, Vancouver dismantled Seattle after the Sounders ran roughshod over the rest of the league. Now the Whitecaps will have to play the perfect underdog once again as they face a Milwaukee side that appears to be hitting its stride after knocking out arch rival Minnesota last week.
Richmond-Rochester
@ Richmond 9/19 (7:00 EST)
@ Rochester 9/21 (7:35 EST)
As the case is almost every year the Rhinos have set up camp and are prepared to repel any attempts on their championship. The question on most Rochester fans' lips why they won't host the final on September 28th? While it might seem that those select few Rhino fans are a little overconfident their team's success in the past few years probably makes that attitude almost understandable. Now, why some Rochester fans have a chip on their shoulder the size of Frontier Field when it comes to their beloved Rhinos I still don't know.
Either way, the team itself is well coached and looks poised to win another championship after all don't we all love to watch defensive soccer that wins championships? No? Okay, well it still wins so there. Anyway, it seems fairly obvious at this point that someone's going to have to crack the Rochester defense a few times before even they think they're vulnerable. Can Richmond do it starting tonight?
The Kickers have an offensive squad that looks like they are beginning to hit on all cylinders at just the right time. Charleston's defense didn't have any slouches on it and yet Richmond did have a magnificent half-hour against the Battery in their second leg meeting but duplicating that magic will be very tough against the Rhinos defense.
Leigh Cowlishaw will certainly have his troops ready to play but I can't see them beating this Rochester team. It's nearing the end of September and the Rhinos have that old feeling back again. Sorry Kickers but it looks like the fun ends here with a 1-1 draw in Richmond and a 1-0 win for the Rhinos at home.
Vancouver-Milwaukee
@ Vancouver 9/19 (10:30 EST)
@ Milwaukee 9/21 (8:00 EST)
Milwaukee has an excellent chance to play for the A-League championship if they can beat another lower-seeded team. Of course that chance is on paper and not on the field. The Sounders also had a terrific chance, on paper, to beat Vancouver but it was the Whitecaps who were able to capsize Seattle's hopes. Either way this should turn out to be a very competitive and fun meeting to watch if Milwaukee will play offensively the way that they are capable of then we could see some quite interesting scores. It's not likely, though, as Boro Sucevic is clearly aware of how close he has his club right now to a championship.
Meanwhile, on the other side of this match-up Vancouver is certainly coming in flying after thoroughly dismantling Seattle. The real question here is can they continue this kind of scoring pace? So far the Whitecaps have knocked out the higher seeded Timbers and Sounders. Now they'd like to add Milwaukee to this list and have a fighting chance to host the final. After all it's been a while since the league made Rochester play for the championship outside of Frontier Field, well since that little blip on the radar that was their visit to Minnesota but we won't bring that up.
Anyway, I digress, in this series I think the Rampage have a decent shot of stopping this run by the Whitecaps but for some reason Vancouver has captured my imagination. For that reason alone I think I'll go with a 2-0 Whitecaps win at Swangard and a tense 1-1 draw in the Brew City.
So there you have it. Vancouver versus Rochester for the championship on September 28th to be beamed to homes all across the country. So what are the odds on Vancouver hosting the final? Lower seed and all, it couldn't happen could it? Oh but it will now that the league has announced that the Western winner will host. Either way we should all just enjoy another weekend of intense playoff action and I'll be back next week to preview the championship match which will probably wind up being Milwaukee versus Richmond after my picks.
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