OK, a lot to unpack. First, please do not schedule quarterfinals games yet even if you can match up your seeding. I need to double-check my math and, since tomorrow is an off day (no games scheduled) I will post official Knockout Round seeding and time frame tomorrow.
Unofficially, the Knockout Round is decided. The final scheduled game is on the 29th between Club de Fútbol Deportivo Cotopaxi and Canadian National Football Club in Group B. Since both teams are eliminated, the game does not impact the standings outside of which team will finish third.
The four unscheduled games, unfortunately, remained unscheduled. The return game between Cotopaxi and CNFC could have made a difference but was not on the docket by the deadline. Contrary to what I posted last week, since Cotopaxi did state on the 22nd that they resent the challenge to CNFC and it was never accepted, I awarded the point to Cotopaxi and CNFC officially forfeited. Neither can catch black mambas, who won their way into the tournament with two goals in as many minutes and beat Cotopaxi 5-3.
The other unscheduled games, all home games with Iberian Sharpshooters Football Club, impacted everything and probably saved one of the two advancing Group F teams a 1st Round birth. Sharpshooters forfeited all three games and the other teams were awarded a single point. The result, Koblenz Lions won Group F on goal differential over Greatest of all TIME, who lost their chance to win the group and grab a 1st Round bye when North Polar Dragons beat them 4-1 at North Polar's home pitch.
There were a number of tiebreakers that determined seeding but the most important was the one between Group E's La Daga Club de Fútbol and Group C's VB Hibernian since it determined the #4 seed and a bye and the #5 seed, which will start 1st Round play later this week. Both teams ended up with 11 points but La Daga held a +6 goal differential to VB's +5...so, Curran Crawley netting a goal in the 56th minute during a 3-2 loss to Cambridge Hornets gave his club an extra week or more off and one step closer to a Championship. The man should ask for a raise.
6/29/2022 7:43 AM (edited)