Road To WPL Championship: Deadlock In Blue
Road To WPL Championship: Deadlock In Blue
Roundup of WPL action.
Six teams are still in the hunt for those coveted Women's Premier League semifinal positions.
While all 10 teams play in the playoffs, only the top two from each conference play for the championship; everyone else is still in with a shot to take fifth.
Blue Conference
Berkeley All Blues defeated Chicago North Shore 62-12 in a game that the All Blues really needed to win, and win big.
Just about everyone on the Berkeley squad scored, although flyhalf Evan Hoese managed two. This result put Berkeley at 5-2 with 24 standings points
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Glendale did much the same as Berkeley, beating ORSU 62-19 in a must-win. Gabby Cantorna was part of a powerful backline attack, scoring two tries, as did fullback Madison Slaught and wing Adekemi Adewunmi. That victory also put Glendale at 24 standings points, but Glendale has played one less game than the All Blues.
As a result, the Blue Conference is deadlocked at the top with three teams at 24 points. No one is out of it, though, since Glendale’s final game is against Berkeley. A big win for Glendale, denying Berkeley any bonus points, could put the California team into the top two. However, Glendale and San Diego have relatively straightforward season finales, and are still on the inside track to make the semis.
Red Conference
Twin Cities somehow got by Atlanta 25-24, getting two late tries from Kaelene Lundstrum to erase a 24-15 deficit. New York held off the DC Furies 20-12, with wing Sarah Levy scoring three of her teams four unconverted tries, including two in the first 10 minutes.
That result by Twin Cities is likely the death knell for the Harlequins’ semifinal hopes. With only one game left, Atlanta has to win its final match, and hope that New York loses twice. It’s not inconceivable, but it will be difficult.
| WPL Blue Conference | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | PTS |
| Glendale Merlins | 4 | 1 | 1 | 252 | 116 | 136 | 6 | 0 | 24 |
| San Diego Surfers | 4 | 1 | 1 | 170 | 111 | 59 | 5 | 1 | 24 |
| Berkeley All Blues | 5 | 2 | 0 | 218 | 180 | 38 | 4 | 0 | 24 |
| Oregon Sports Union | 2 | 5 | 0 | 167 | 248 | -81 | 4 | 2 | 14 |
| Chicago North Shore | 0 | 6 | 0 | 85 | 237 | -152 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| WPL Red Conference | W | L | T | PF | PA | PD | BT | BL | PTS |
| Twin Cities Amazons | 4 | 2 | 1 | 230 | 162 | 68 | 5 | 1 | 24 |
| New York Rugby | 4 | 2 | 0 | 214 | 178 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 22 |
| Atlanta Harlequins | 3 | 4 | 0 | 256 | 186 | 70 | 6 | 2 | 20 |
| Beantown Rugby | 3 | 2 | 1 | 141 | 158 | -17 | 2 | 0 | 16 |
| D.C. Furies | 1 | 5 | 0 | 99 | 256 | -157 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
Remaining games:
Oct 13
Beantown at DC Furies - Beantown can move up to 3rd with a win.
Chicago North Shore at San Diego - Surfers likely clinch a semi spot with a win.
Glendale at Berkeley - Must-win for Berkeley.
Oct 14
Twin Cities at New York - Whoever loses, especially if it’s NY, open to missing semis.
Oct 20
DC Furies at Atlanta Harlequins - Must-win for Atlanta.
ORSU at San Diego - San Diego needs only a bonus point to clinch a semi spot.
Chicago North Shore at Glendale - Glendale needs to win big.
Oct 21
New York at Beantown - Chance for Beantown to nail down 3rd, or New York top 2.