CCL PRO23: Men’s and women’s semifinal matches set
(Via CCL) – After an exciting regular season of CCL PRO23, four teams from the Men and Women’s side have advanced into postseason. The winner of the ACE, COPA, and GLORO divisions each received an automatic bid for the semifinal matches, with the final wildcard position being taken by the team remaining with the most points and best goal differential.
On the women’s side, first seed Maryland United will play fourth seed Loudoun, and second seed FC Richmond will play third seed McLean. Maryland United won the ACE division by a four-point margin, with a goal differential of +18, and remained undefeated through the regular season, only dropping points in a draw against BRYC. Loudoun earned the wildcard draw with 12 points in the COPA division, winning the tiebreaker against Bethesda with a goal differential of +14 to their +6. Given the slim margins separating teams in the COPA division, we expect Loudoun to give the higher seed Maryland United a tough match, despite their difference in regular season points. FC Richmond won the GLORO Division by a 6-point margin with a goal differential of +13, and alongside Maryland United, was the only other team to remain undefeated through the regular season, only dropping points in a draw against FC Frederick. COPA division Champions, McLean, ended the season with 15 points, only suffering one loss in an away match against Ellicott City. We expect the second and third seed match to be very competitive, with each team winning 5 games in the regular season.
On the men’s side, first seed DC Stoddert will play fourth seed FC Frederick, and second seed Beach FC will play third seed Loudoun. DC Stoddert earned the ACE Division title, and was the only team across both the men and women’s side to go lossless during the regular season. They finsihed with 18 points and 21 goals scored, only allowing 6. FC Frederick earned the wildcard draw with 12 points, sitting second to DC Stoddert in the ACE division. FC Frederick gave DC Stoddert their closest match during the regular season, losing at home in a 3-2 shootout, with DC grabbing the victory late in the second half. Beach FC went undefeated in the GLORO division, earning 16 points, with 5 wins and a draw against FC Richmond. Loudoun sits on top of the COPA division with 11 points, winning the tiebreaker against SYA with a goal differential of +9 to their +2. Similar to the women, the COPA division finished with a very even distribution with only a 4-point margin between first and last place. Despite having a lower seed, Loudoun is sure to give Beach FC a run for their money.
Semi-final dates and times will be determined within the next few days, with the final games being played this Sunday at FFC Park in Fredericksburg Virginia.
