Having had a little time to let the fact that the Union are back in first place in the East sink in, how did Wednesday night’s Chicago and DC United games affect the projected final standings PSP writer Eli Pearlman-Storch introduced on the Philly Soccer Show a couple of weeks ago? Let’s begin with a little recap of how we got to where we are.
At the time, as you can see in the chart below, Eli saw the Union finishing in second place behind Kansas City, with Houston in third, DC in fourth, Columbus in fifth and New York in sixth.
The results of the the following weekend’s fixtures saw the Union move into second place with the win over DC United and draw with Chivas USA, just as predicted. An unexpected Houston draw at home against Chicago, combined with a Columbus win over DC United, resulted in a change in the projected table with Columbus moving up to third and Houston dropping to fifth.
Other than the in last place and out of the playoff picture New England, the Union were the only Eastern Conference team in action over the weekend. Against Eli’s prediction (and probably the prediction of just about everyone else) the Union triumphed in Seattle with an emphatic win to move into first place with a two point advantage over Kansas City. It sometimes can be very nice to get things wrong.
Wednesday night saw Chicago hosting Dallas and DC in Vancouver. Chicago, on 37 points, could have moved into the playoff picture with a positive result against a faltering Dallas. Instead, Dallas prevailed to end a four game losing streak and clinch a playoff spot. DC, with two games in hand entering into Vancouver, had been predicted by Eli to come out with a win. After all, Vancouver is terrible and was at the bottom of the league table. Nevertheless, they dispatched DC with a 2–1 win, handing the visitors their third loss in a row—they have won since the Union beat them—and moving above New England into 17th place.
Looking ahead to this weekend, Eli predicted the Union will defeat Toronto. If they do so, they will clinch a playoff spot and move to 50 points ahead of next Thursday’s game in New York. While the Union are kicking off against Toronto, Kansas City will be doing the same against New York. Eli predicted a Kansas City win. Now in third place Columbus will travel to New England for what looks like three points while Houston will be in Portland for a match Eli predicted will end in a draw.
The updated chart above shows final points and standings based upon the results combined with Eli’s projected points for the remaining games. The numbers in parentheses are the originally predicted totals.
So, how’s it gonna end? What results do you see happening this weekend.
The comment section is, as always, open.
I feel better about the Union chances than I have in along time. I know Seattle was without some key team members but the U I saw last Saturday was a confident and capable bunch planning their work and working their plan. I see them coming away from these last 2 games with 6 points and 1st place.
See us getting 4 but first place as well. Not even sure which game we win. Toronto is coming on strong and Red Bull still have so much talent.
We have an extremely unique opportunity for more mainstream exposure/attention here when you consider the state of Philly sports right now- Phillies gone way before expected, the Nightmare Team, and the Sixers locked out.
Not to mention, the team is peaking at the absolute right time and as the last two years have proven, ANYTHING can happen once you get into the playoffs.
Hope the U can take full advantage!