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News

Why you should be watching the MASL Playoffs

By Joseph Reina April 5, 2023
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The Major Arena Soccer League's postseason is about to kick off!
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After a hectic 167-game regular season, the Major Arena Soccer League is on the verge of its exciting postseason. The playoff format is new for this season and will see ten teams competing for the Ron Newman Cup throughout April and May. Best of all, you can tune in to watch all the action for free as the games are streamed live on Twitch.

How do the playoffs work?

The league features 14 teams split into Eastern and Western divisions. After each team has played its 24 regular season games, the top five teams in each division advance to the postseason with a bracket similar to Major League Baseball’s old playoff format. 

The fourth seed hosts a play-in game against the fifth seed to determine who will face the top-seeded team from their conference. From there, it's time for the quarterfinals where the top-seed plays against the fourth/fifth-seed playoff winner, and the second and third-seeds face off. 

The rest of the playoff games use a best-of-two-games series, but crucially, not an aggregate fixture, meaning the combined score doesn't matter. Teams will need to win two games to advance to the next round.

“But what if they split the games?” Great question. In the event of a tie, teams play a fifteen-minute mini-game immediately following the second game. The winner of this mini-game advances as the series winner.

The winners in each division then face each other for the right to play in the Championship with the winner taking home the Ron Newman Cup. 

What is the schedule?

The playoffs begin Wednesday, April 5 for the Western Conference play-in game as the fifth-seed Mesquite Outlaws travel to Washington to face the fourth-seed Tacoma Stars.

Western Conference Play-In Game:

#5 Mesquite at #4 Tacoma - Wednesday, April 5 at 10:35 pm ET

Eastern Conference Play-In Game: 

#5 Kansas City at #4 Utica on Monday, April 10 at 6:05 pm ET

Western Conference Quarterfinal: 

Game 1- #2 Chihuahua at #3 Monterrey - Friday, April 7 at 9:05 pm ET

Game 2 - #3 Monterrey at #2 Chihuahua - Monday, April 10 at 10:05 pm ET

Game 1 - #1 San Diego at Winner 4v5 IF #5 Mesquite - Friday, April 7 at 8:05 pm ET

Game 2 - Winner 4v5 IF #5 Mesquite at #1 San Diego - Sunday, April 9 at 8:05 pm ET

Or

Game 1 - #1 San Diego at 4v5 Winner IF #4 Tacoma - Monday, April 10 at 10:35 pm ET

Game 2 - 4v5 Winner IF #4 Tacoma at #1 San Diego - Tuesday, April 11 at 10:05 pm ET

Eastern Conference Quarterfinal: 

Game 1 - #2 Baltimore at #3 Florida - Friday, April 7 at 7:05 pm ET

Game 2 - #3 Florida at #2 Baltimore - Saturday, April 8 at 6:05 pm ET

Game 1 - Winner 4v5 at #1 Milwaukee - Thursday, April 13 at 7:05 pm ET

Game 2 - #1 Milwaukee at Winner 4v5 IF #4 Utica - Sunday, April 16 at 2:05 pm ET

Or

Game 2 - #1 Milwaukee at Winner 4v5 IF #5 Kansas City - Monday, April 17th at 8:05 pm ET

The next round’s dates will be determined following the culmination of each conference’s quarterfinal matches. 

2023 MASL Ron Newman Cup Playoffs Preview

Western Conference

All season, the Western Conference has been dominated by the San Diego Sockers. The six-time champions are defending league champions and were just crowned MASL Shield champions after their dominant campaign that saw Phil Salvagio’s side win 22 of 24 games and outscored their opponents by a combined 61 goals. The Sockers have world-beaters across the turf with Kraig Chiles, Leonardo De Oliveira and Tavoy Morgan finishing the season with 41, 40 and 35 points (goals and assists) respectively. 

For opponents worried about keeping San Diego off the board, scoring can be just as much of a nightmare. Goalkeeper Boris Pardo’s league-leading 3.8 average goals against was a key part of the Sockers’ defense that conceded just 99 regular season goals. They are favorites for a reason and have shown few weaknesses all season. Betting against San Diego is not advised.

The Chihuahua Savage represents the best chance for a new Ron Newman Cup finalist from the West. This season’s runners-up led the league in scoring with a staggering 179 goals, 19 more than next best San Diego. The two sides faced off twice this season with the Sockers winning both games but it should be known they were far from comfortable wins. If both sides advance and face off again, this could be a barn-burner. 

The race for playoffs could not have been tighter as four teams from third to sixth all finished the regular season separated by just a point. The Monterrey Flash pipped the third spot with 38 points while Tacoma, Mesquite and the Empire Strykers all finished level on 37. 

The Stars advanced fourth due to their additional regulation win and Outlaws beat out Empire based on their better head-to-head record. Really, it was that close. All this chaos meant that the Strykers and MASL top scorer, Franck Tayou, will miss the postseason by the slimmest of margins. 

For Tacoma and Mesquite, none of that matters now and they will be hoping to keep their seasons alive for as long as possible, beginning with their play-in match on April 5. Watch out for Stars forward Nick Perera, who led the league in points with an astounding 70 points in 23 games. His 3.0 points per game put the Spanish-born American in another stratosphere compared to the competition.

Watch for Perera and Tacoma as they attempt to beat Mesquite for the fourth time this season and on their home turf no less. 

Eastern Conference

While domination reigned supreme in the West, the top five teams in the East spent the entire season taking turns beating each other. No team in the division finished the regular season with a winning record away from home which could make for some interesting results in the playoffs. 

The Milwaukee Wave led the division for the majority of the season but had to wait until after their penultimate game to clinch the Eastern Conference title. 

Injuries posed a threat for Milwaukee, especially toward the end of the season, when many of their starters missed games, forcing younger players to step up and get results. Wins against the St. Louis Ambush, Dallas Sidekicks and Florida Tropics in the last month of the season were the difference for the Wave, who now await the winner of the Kansas City Comets and Utica City FC play-in game. 

If head coach Giuliano Oliviero’s side can put an end to their habit of letting late leads slip, the sky is the limit for Milwaukee. If not, their less-than-ideal defensive record could be their undoing. 

The Baltimore Blast and Florida Tropics will actually finish their quarterfinal tie before Kansas City and Utica City even kick a ball. The Blast are getting hot at just the right moment, winning three of their last four games, and have not lost to a team other than Utica City since Feb. 25.

Baltimore’s 10-2-0 home record is superb, with a uniquely small pitch that allows for more direct play. It suits the team’s playstyle and especially Lucas Roque, who is averaging two points per game and finished the season with 30 goals.

While their last meeting was all the way back in December, Florida actually beat Baltimore twice, even handing the Blast one of their two home losses all season. Obviously, a lot has changed since then, but the Tropics will head to Baltimore on April 8, knowing a win is not just possible, but vital to their season continuing. 

Utica City’s defensive record is the worst among all playoff teams and their -21 goal difference is the second worst only behind Mesquite. What they do have going for them is their overtime record. Utica had played five games that went to a golden-goal extra time and won four. They’ve also won eight of their 12 home games, which bodes well for their play-in game against Kansas City. 

Conversely, the Comets have lost four of their six overtime matches and have struggled massively away from home. It’s hard to count out KC, especially with player-manager Leo Gibson and Wisconsin-native Zach Reget who is averaging 2.2 points per game since joining the Comets from the Harrisburg Heat. In the event they do win against Utica, Kansas City has every chance of knocking off the Wave too, who they beat four times in six games including once in Milwaukee. 

One thing is for sure, you’ll want to tune in to see Utica’s Gordy Gurson square off against KC’s Reget and Gibson with both teams’ seasons on the line. 

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