Preview: US Super League play-offs
Thu, 15 May 2008 16:10
Following nine weeks of intense competition, thrilling upsets and plenty of surprises throughout the United States Super League (SL), the play-off contenders are at last locked into place ahead of the quarterfinal matches on Saturday, May 17.
We look at the quarterfinal match-ups!
New York Athletic Club v San Francisco Golden Gate
Travers Island, New York - (13.30 EST)
The top-seeded New York Athletic Club, which dealt the Chicago Lions a tough 8-5 loss in their last regular season game, returns to their home field at Travers Island to host wild card team, San Francisco Golden Gate.
SFGG, who battled their way back from a shaky start in 2008 to finish with 25 points in the Red Conference, should pose a strong test for the experienced NYAC team this weekend.
The winner of Saturday's game moves on to face the winner of the meeting between Charlotte and the Denver Barbarians.
Boston Rugby v Chicago Lions
Franklin Park, Dorchester, Massachusetts (14.30 EST)
The Lions just barely eked out a play-off berth, following a commanding 90-0 shutout over Washington, which brought them up to 21 points on the season. Although tied in the points tally with the Dallas Harlequins and OMBAC, the Lions pulled ahead of the pack to clinch the last wild card position, with a regular season defeat over Dallas and a higher try total than OMBAC.
Last year's runners-up, the Lions head out east as the underdogs to face No.2 seed Boston Rugby Club, which made a dramatic turnaround from last season to finish five-nil-two overall.
Boston finished on top of the Blue Conference despite the impending threat from Charlotte heading into the final week of regular season play. Both teams finished at 27 points, but Boston came away with the higher seed due to a victory in head-to-head competition.
Belmont Shore v Boston Irish Wolfhounds
Long Beach, California - (15.00 PST)
With a big win in the make-up round, last weekend, the Boston Irish Wolfhounds joined the Chicago Lions as they snuck into the remaining postseason spots out of the White Conference.
The Boston Irish Wolfhounds knocked off the St. Louis Bombers 43-3 to earn the bonus point victory and secure the sixth play-off seed. This weekend the Wolfhounds meet some stiff competition when they travel to California to go head-to-head with Belmont Shore.
The defending champions Belmont Shore once again finished strong in 2008, ranking atop the Red Conference standings with 26 points and nabbing the third overall spot in the play-offs.
The winner of the BIW versus . Belmont showing goes on to face the victor of the quarterfinal match between Boston Rugby Club and the Chicago Lions.
Charlotte v Denver Barbarians
Skillbeck Athletic Ground - (15.00 EST)
After finishing out of the play-off running last season, Denver has reemerged in 2008, finishing strong to take the fifth seed overall. This weekend, the team travels to North Carolina to play Charlotte, which came thundering back from a nil-seven record in 2007 to claim the fourth seed with 27 points.
With a 21-19 victory over the Chicago Griffins last weekend, Charlotte just missed its chance to overtake Boston Rugby for the Blue Conference title.
The SL match between Denver and Charlotte kicks off at 15.00 EST, following the State High School Championship match between the Union County Lions and the Chapel Hill Highlanders at noon.
