Everyone knows who will be in the playoffs this year, but teams 2-4 continue to jockey for position, with a semi-final home game on the line. The bottom half of the table played for pride with varying degrees of success. With so much already determined when it comes to ranking the teams, the league standings themselves almost do a satisfactory job of predicting which team should be where.
- New York Lizards: Yes, they’re 10-3, have home field wrapped up, but Ohio went to town on the Lizards. One could make an argument for making Ohio #1 this week, but the Lizards’ body of work remains better throughout the season.
- Ohio Machine: Now THAT was an impressive performance. In an Armenian civil war Greg Puskuldjian went 17-for-26 against Greg Gurenlian. Who would have predicted The Beast would finish below 50% on the week? Keep those all black unis gang, it seems they brought some good luck.
- Rochester Rattlers: Mark Matthews had been on a roll for the Rattlers, but was held without a point. Local boy Kyle Denhoff managed four goals for the Ratts though. With Kevin Rice and Jordan Wolf clicking, and John Galloway practicing masonry in the defensive end, Rochester will continue to be a formidable opponent.
- Boston Cannons: It wasn’t pretty, but Boston did what they needed to do. It took overtime and a strike from their workhorse leader, Max Siebald, to seal the team’s fate, but the Cannons are a playoff team once again.
- Chesapeake Bayhawks: This is where I derivate from the league standings. The Bayhawks barely missed the playoffs this year. Without Tyler Fiorito this team would be down another spot or two.
- Denver Outlaws: Neil Young once sang that it’s better to burn out than to fade away, and the Outlaws spent most of the middle of the season fading away. That’s probably why there isn’t much attention paid to the fact that this is the first time in franchise history that they will miss the playoffs, and on the heels of a championship no less.
- Florida Launch: The Launch had their thrusters cranked up in the first half against Denver, but ran out of fuel in the second half. When you think about it, Florida’s defense this week looked like Denver’s defense for most of the season. It’s not surprising put a +1 in the L column then.
- Charlotte Hounds: At one point the Hounds were tied with the Rattlers 5-5. Jack Runkel stood tall for 60 minutes, allowing 17 goals but managing 14 saves too. This game was a test for Runkel and, all things considered, he played really well.
