The USCL Quarterfinal matches brought tremendous excitement with many amazing swings. The four teams who managed to weather the storm and make into the Semifinals will now have to do it all over again with the stakes even higher as each tries to reach their first ever USCL Championship Match. Click here for the Semifinal Lineups!
In a repeat playoff match from 2011, Manhattan takes on Philadelphia in the East. The Inventors dominated the regular season in 2011 before suffering a surprising defeat to the Applesauce in the Quarterfinals despite having draw odds. It’s been a year since, but the Inventors finally have a chance to even the score, again possessing draw odds in what is sure to be a tight match. This encounter sees the two two boards with the same matchups as the teams’ Week 7 regular season meeting which the Inventors got the better of (with colors switched). Whatever the match may look like on paper, last week in the West showed us that anything can definitely happen in the postseason so no one can take anything for granted.
In another not long ago playoff meeting, Seattle takes on Arizona in the West. The two teams battled in the 2010 playoffs under very similar circumstances, the Scorpions possessing draw odds and utilizing them to good effect then as that wound up being their path to victory. Being eliminated on a draw is never a fun experience for any team, and the Sluggers will surely be looking for revenge from that meeting. Seattle did get the better of the team’s regular season Week 3 meeting due in large part to GM Akobian’s victory there, in the only game from that match that will see a rematch in the upcoming Semifinal - and having the White pieces, him doing this again may well be the key to the Sluggers’ chance to overcome draw odds and advance to the Championship.
Tune in Monday as the field whittles down to two in what should be a great couple of Semifinal matches!