Having dominated inter-division play in Week 4, the Eastern Division Standings stayed relatively the same as we move into Week 5. There remain a logjam of teams at every level all bunched together meaning no team safe is in their current playoff position and likewise no team at the lower end is anywhere near in danger of being out of it soon either. Click here to see this week’s lineups.
Starting the night we see a battle between two of the three division leaders, New York and Connecticut, both of whom have won and drawn two matches thus far. The Dreadnoughts’ monstrous 2500+ lineup features for the third time, but surprisingly the two weeks they have gone with this strategy are the two weeks they have only managed to draw - obviously not what they had to be hoping for. They will definitely look to better that lineup’s record this week, but it will be anything but easy with the Knights not having lost yet this year and also bringing a formidable lineup to the battle.
Up next is a match between Boston and Philadelphia, a matchup historically dominated by the Blitz. But the Inventors have gotten off to the much better start this season, and the Blitz find themselves in the very unfamiliar position of being near the bottom of their division after having made the playoffs in their last seven seasons. Whether past history or current trends shall dictate the course of this match should be interesting to see.
Manhattan battles New Jersey, in a rivalry which began when both teams entered the league together in 2007 and squared off in their first ever match. Each of them has gotten off to a very solid start this season, the Applesauce tied for the division lead and the Knockouts only a half point out of it. But given the bunched nature of the teams, it’s hard, when so much time remains, to really be comfortable in any spot, and both teams will look to come out strong this week to solidify their spots.
Baltimore battles New England in the final match. Both teams have struggled a bit in the early going but have plenty of time to try to bridge the minor gap that the other teams have set between them. But even so, it’s never easy for any team to win many matches in a row in the USCL, and a team setting themselves up needing to do just that is generally in bigger trouble than most might think making this a very important match for both.
Tune in Monday to watch the Eastern Division Teams battle!