Well, the first round is over and done with and all I've got for my effort is a decent looking .500 record largely in part to the action on the Left Coast Saturday night. No thanks to those bloody ingrates in the East who couldn't except my decree and just had to go and win their matches. In all seriousness, though, congratulations to our Elite Eight and condolences to our Emaciated Eight.
[Result] Minnesota 7 - Indiana 0
Unfortunately for the Blast they had to peer across the field at a squad that included the names Gentile and Valderrama, granted not the gents you may be thinking of when you normally hear those names but they looked decent enough against this Indiana squad. As if things weren't bad enough the Blast had to go to Minnesota to get their heads handed to them.
[Result] Charleston 1 - Raleigh 0
On the other end of things, that being the end which I'd gotten wrong, the Battery pushed through the first round on the reigning player of the week's, Brett Conway, goal leaving the Express like some much wreckage on the field at Blackbaud.
[Result] Toronto 2 - Long Island 1
Up at the Mitch things turned out well for the Lynx who put their opponents, Long Island, out early enough that they might be able to catch some action on those other links. Toronto won on goals from Brian Ashton and Juan Arango who, if they aren't careful with those names, might wind up on "Making the Band" against the one goal for Long Island that came from Dahir Mohammed.
[Result] Rochester 4 - Hershey 2
As badly as things went for Long Island, Hershey had to heartily dislike the fact that Mali Walton waited to collect his first points of the season until Saturday against them. Yari Allnut, Onandi Lowe, and Dan Stebbins accounted for the 4 Rochester goals while Greg Simmonds and Tim Leonard made things interesting for the Wildcats.
[Result] Richmond 2 - Hampton Roads 1 DBL OT
Richmond had to go to overtime with the little Mariners that thought they could and pulled out the win 2-1 on goals from Paul Lekics and Rob Ukrop. Incidentally, Richmond also won the battle for the most Eastern European sounding names in a squad to score goals in the playoffs as well.
[Result] Seattle 1 - Bay Area 1
Seattle nearly got caught ball-watching as Bay Area players repeatedly bounced the balls on their noses in the build up to their lone goal by Marquis White. Craig Weibel (no relation to Fee Waybill of Hooters fame) and Viet Nguyen scored the goals for Seattle.
[Result] Vancouver 1 - San Diego 1 (Vancouver 5-4 on PK's)
Vancouver decided to bore the Flash to death by playing Darren Tilly up front and then subjecting them to penalties after they were audacious enough to attempt some nice looking play from their goal through Carlos Farias. Paul Dailly found a way through the dozing San Diego defense set the stage for that enthralling zzzzzzz… oh wait, sorry, there's a penalty shootout going on right now? Oh, it's finally over? Hmmm, I guess Vancouver won then, eh? Yes, they did. Vancouver's prize in the next round? Minnesota.
[Result] Milwaukee 3 - El Paso 2 OT
Last but not least the sparkling Digital Takawira played a magnificent game for Milwaukee in netting 2 goals and leading the Rampage to quite a lucky win over El Paso who were heathen enough to try and knock off the second best team (at gathering points that is) in the league. Milwaukee had to overcome goals by Kirk Wilson and Mark Rowland with the Takawira double and Alen Soso, who proved to be alright, getting the odd goal. Milwaukee will have to face a sterner test when they face Seattle in the next round.
What of the second round of the playoffs? They come at us with two legs and appear to be ready to go. Let's have a look at the match-ups.
[Prediction] Richmond 4-3 on aggregate
Toronto vs. Richmond: On paper this looks like quite an exciting duel between two teams that I didn't think would get here. The Lynx look hot right now and it's not just because of their "Making of the Band" combo. I like the Lynx to take the first leg 2-1 in Toronto partly because of travel and partly because Richmond still looks to be getting their playoff legs underneath them (though that line might've been much funnier had Hampton Roads beaten Richmond in the last round). I predict a much different end, though, in the return leg where I foresee the Kickers giving the Lynx a good kicking and prevailing 3-1 in gold goal OT after going in after full-time level on aggregate 3-3. So Richmond will go through on a 4-3 aggregate total.
[Prediction] Charleston 3-2 on aggregate
Rochester vs. Charleston: This will be the toughest of the 4 second round match-up partly because they are playing on back to back days and partly due to the fact that these teams can be fairly stingy when they want to be. I look for Charleston to escape Frontier Field with a 1-1 draw in a very Eastern Bloc kind of match where Ivo Iliarianov and Yari Allnut will be the scorers. Once the Battery come back to Fortress Blackbaud they should take the return and book their ticket to the Conference Finals in a tightly played 2-1 win. Look for Temoc to match Digital's feats of the first round by being his club's sparkplug in the home leg for Charleston. Winner: Charleston 3-2
[Prediction] Minnesota 6-3 on aggregate
Vancouver vs. Minnesota: Now I know I gave the 86ers a lot of stick for playing boring soccer but I'm sure things will get real exciting with the Thunder coming to town. Unfortunately the excitement is coming from the Minnesota bench because they don't have to face San Diego but they do have to face Darren Tilly. First leg : 3-1 Thunder. The second leg sees the Thunder slacking off a bit and resting some starters yet managing to win 3-2 to put them through on a 6-3 aggregate. Sorry I didn't go further in depth but discussing how easily Minnesota will get to the Conference Finals would just disgust me.
[Prediction] Seattle 5-4 on aggregate
Milwaukee vs. Seattle: Seattle gets to travel to Milwaukee for the first leg and they will get beaten with it, the leg I mean. For some reason I don't see the Rampage cooling off just yet and Takawira is making a strong push for MVP and I think he'll be able to help Milwaukee to a 4-3 win over Sounders in Milwaukee. For the second leg, though, I think it will be Milwaukee's turn for a beating. Unfortunately for Seattle it will only lead to a 2-0 win with some stingy defense being the culprit for a rather dull match in the end. Unfortunately for Digital the analog of Seattle will be his undoing and all of a sudden Milwaukee's season will go all pear shaped as the Sounders move on with the 5-4 aggregate win.
So that's how I think the second round is going to shake down so most of you can rest assured that if I am betting against your team then they will likely go through. Either way it will be fun watching two legs decide who the better squad happens to be in each of these match-ups and I figure some people in that other league might be watching over our shoulders to see how it works. I think it will work and am proud of the A-League for stepping up and delivering it to us. Once again, good luck to all the players, coaches, and teams as we head into the next round of playoffs.
