By Simon Fudge/whitecapsfc.com
As the USSF D-2 Pro League regular season heads into its final week of action, the top five playoff places are still to be secured amongst the contesting clubs.
The
penultimate weekend of action
made for some interesting scenarios before next month's postseason. Though all eight clubs have been assured of their spots in the playoffs, seeds one to five have yet to be determined.
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for USSF D-2 playoff standings and
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for USSF D-2 conference standings
At the top of league's playoff standings, USL Conference sides Austin Aztex and Rochester Rhinos have taken their closely contested battle for the summit to the final weekend of the regular season. With Austin away to Carolina RailHawks on Friday and Montreal Impact on Sunday, Adrian Heath's side need a win in either of their two remaining matches or draws in both games to secure the top playoff seed in USSF D-2, as well as the USL Conference title. However, if the Texas outfit draw and lose in their final two matches, and Rochester win at Athletic Club of St. Louis on Saturday, then Bob Lilley's Rhinos will be first overall and USL Conference title winners. Austin would finish as runners-up in the USL Conference and third overall in the playoff standings.
Portland Timbers also have the chance to be third seed. The Pacific Northwest club can leapfrog Rochester and into third, should they defeat Vancouver Whitecaps FC by two or more goals on Saturday, and the Rhinos lose in St. Louis. That scenario would drop the Upstate New York club to fourth overall.
The other outstanding issue is the NASL Conference title, with Carolina holding a slight edge to claim top spot and the second seed for the playoffs. The RailHawks jumped ahead of Whitecaps FC, who had occupied top spot since the second week of April, by virtue of more goals scored this past weekend. The first two tiebreakers in head-to-head match-ups and goal differential are even between the RailHawks and Whitecaps FC. Both clubs drew their two games against each other this season, while the two sides currently share a goal differential of +10.
A variety of scenarios can play out for Carolina and Vancouver this weekend, though the 'Caps know their first-round playoff opponent will be either NSC Minnesota Stars or Portland Timbers. There is an outside chance that Rochester or Montreal may face Whitecaps FC in the first round.
Playoff seeds Six, Seven, and Eight are confirmed, with Montreal, Minnesota, and Puerto Rico Islanders claiming those spots in that order. The only doubt surrounds the Impact, as the Quebec-based outfit could potentially drop to seventh, should they suffer a major meltdown and lose by nine or more goals to Austin on Sunday. If that was to occur, then Minnesota will move up to sixth overall on goal difference.
