JOURNAL

The #2 TC Rebels won the first meeting with TCFC 6-0, and drew 1-1 and 2-2 for their second and third matches. The Rebels seem to have a pattern in their season. If they score less than 2 goals, they lost or tied. To break through, the key may be to try and score 3 goals against TCFC to claim their second regional match win of the season, and march onward to post-season play.

The #3 TCFC are still in the hunt for their first win of the season, but they have steadily improved over the course of the season. Their first loss to the TC Rebels came in week 4 with a score of 0-6, while their last two games--weeks 8 and 9--were 1-1 and 2-2 ties. TCFC have never scored more than 3 goals in a game. Will the number 3 for both teams play a big role to determine the winner of this match? If they can limit TC Rebels to 2 goals and score 3, they might finally get that first win.

While the #1 Toothpaste have the slight goal differential advantage in this rivalry with the Burgundy Bandit, a small concern might be that the Toothpaste started out the season winning the first 2 matches, then drawing the next two matches, and finally losing the last 2 matches. The last Toothpaste win came back in week 3. In the last 4 meetings, Toothpaste have only scored 1 goal. Toothpaste will have to get back to scoring, ideally 2 goals, and hold Burgundy Bandit to only a single goal to clean them out!

The #2 Burgundy Bandit are the image of a constantly improving team. They started the season with two losses, then got two draws, and ended the season with two wins. Across the six matches, Burgundy Bandit lost the goals allowed tiebreaker by 2 goals (5 goals to 2 goals for Toothpaste), but if you were to exclude those first 2 meetings, Burgundy Bandit would've won that stat 1 goal to 2 goals. They key for Burgundy Bandit will be to continue scoring--especially since they didn't score their first goal until week 8 of the season. Whatever they've done, it looks like they've found the right combination to improve their defense, while improving their goal-scoring opportunities. If Burgundy Bandit can keep on their trajectory, they can steal this series!

The #3 Tiger Lilies are on a 5-game winning streak! The first meeting with Purple Thunder resulted in a 7-1 win. But in their next match, they only won by a score of 3-0. When the Tiger Lilies scored 2 goals or more, they won their match. Scoring at least 2 goals will be the key for the Tiger Lilies to stop the Purple Thunder.

While the #6 Purple Thunder have yet to win their first game, their defense has made great improvements over the course of the season. But they are scoreless in their past 4 matches. If the Purple Thunder can put it all together on Thursday night by scoring a goal or two, and continuing with good, solid defense, they might just tame the Tiger Lilies and pull off an upset.

The #7 Green Toothpaste are one of two 3-win teams, scoring 18 goals and allowing 33. Their three wins have come against the three teams below them in the standings. In order to pull off a surprise upset, the Green Toothpaste will need to find a way to gum up their goal and stop their opponents from scoring. Can the Toothpaste spread out to stop the Thunder Bolts?

The #10 Thunder Bolts have yet to win, but their last two games have seen them make great strikes--er, strides! In their last match they scored against #6 USA Strikers, and two games ago, they gave the Green Toothpaste a close match, just coming up short in a 2-4 loss. Can the Thunder Bolts make a big strike to sizzle the 'paste and get their first win? They have scored almost as many goals as the Green Toothpaste, so defense will be the key!

The #1 Tsunamis' record against the #4 Strikers is 3-1, losing 0-4 in their first meeting in week 2, followed by 3 wins all by the score of 2-1. Each of their losses have come when they were shut out. So if the Tsunamis can score a goal in this match, they may just drown out the Strikers' hopes and come out on top.

The #4 Strikers share almost identical goals scored and allowed stats with the Tsunamis. The last three meetings have resulted in 1-2 losses against the Tsunamis. Will this be the match where they finally pull the plug and drain the Tsunamis? The Strikers always win when they score 4 goals. Scoring 3 goals has resulted in a win, a draw, and a loss. Scoring 2 goals or fewer has resulted in losses. If the Strikers can score 2 goals in each half, they may just pull off the first upset of the tournament!

The #2 Purple Ninjas are scoring twice as much as the Pink Embers while allowing almost the same number of goals. This team hasn't lost a game since week 3, going 5-0-3 since then. But this match can't end in a draw. Will the Purple Ninjas stamp out the Pink Embers?

The #3 Pink Embers are the opposite of the Purple Ninjas, having not won a match since week 3, but they've been involved in a lot of close matches. More importantly, they've drawn the Purple Ninjas over their past 2 meetings. If the Pink Embers can keep the Purple Ninjas to scoring no more than a single goal, their chance of pulling off an upset win will be blazing hot!

The Green Eagles have had probably one of the hardest second-half schedules this season. After getting their first win back in week 5, they then faced the top 5 teams in the division! While it's a tough way to close out the season, they know what it's like to play against the strongest teams week after week. Will the Green Eagles now be hungry to claim victory over the Vipers?

The #4 Green Queens can score! But they also seem to follow a pattern. They have scored in every game of the season. But if they score only 1 goal, they have lost or tied. If they've scored more than 1 goal, they've won. The Green Queens started the season green hot as they won over #1 Striking Cobras and #2 Purple Nightmares. But during the second matches, they cooled off and came away with a loss and a draw. Will the Green Queens be able to bring back some of that early-season power and pull off some upsets? Or will the Unicorn Dolphins be able to pull them into deep waters?

The #5 Unicorn Dolphins ended their season with a 5-game losing streak, but that's only because they had the toughest schedule in the division, playing the #3 Tiger Lilies, the #4 Green Queens, the #1 Striking Cobras, and ending with the #2 Purple Nightmares. The Unicorn Dolphins have improved every time they've played their opponents. The first game against the Green Queens back in week 2 resulted in a 0-3 loss. The second match resulted in a 2-5 loss. The Green Queens are making twice as less goals (but are improving) and allowing twice as many goals. If the Unicorn Dolphins can make it hard for the Green Queens to score, this will be a very close match! This team gets a special shoutout for their creative mascot. I've never before seen a Unicorn Dolphin, have you? :-)