Guess the Starting XI and Final Score (MLS Match #26 -San Jose Earthquakes)

Welcome to another season of our Vancouver Whitecaps contest “Guess the Starting XI and Final Score”. As is tradition, thanks to former regular Spencer for starting this several years ago. It has grown into a great contest and I am appreciative of him for the original idea. Like last season, we will break the contest up into the three ‘seasons’: first half, second half, and non-MLS. We will continue to have fun monthly ‘bonus’ prediction categories, with some being based on whatever it topical at the time. Last season we had things like “Robbo post-match quotes”, “yellow cards”, “first goal scorer”, and several others. However, to start the season, we will keep March simple. With that out of the way, let’s remind you all how the scoring is done.

Contest Details

• Contest article will be posted 2-3 days prior to game day.
• We will keep track of first half, second half, and monthly winners so that late joiners will have something to play for.
• I will have a separate ‘contest’ for Voyageurs and Champions League.
• As the MLS season is 34 matches, each half of the season will be based on 17 matches, with your worst two match predictions being dropped. This will allow everyone a few misses or bad guesses throughout the season.
• Predictions will be ‘valid’ if posted HERE 1.5 hours prior to kickoff (or half an hour prior to the lineup being officially announced).

How Scoring is Determined

• You receive 1 point for every player you correctly guess to be in the Starting XI. Receive 1 bonus point for correctly predicting 10 starters. Receive 3 bonus points for correctly predicting 11 starters.
• You get 5 points for correctly guessing Win/Lose/Draw.
• You receive 1 point for correctly guessing each team’s final score. Receive 1 bonus point for correctly guessing both teams final score (for a total of 3).

That means, if you correctly predict the Starting XI, Final Score, and Winner, you can earn 22 points!

After each match, I will tally the scores and update the standings, which will be posted with the following match’s prediction article. I will post three sets of standings. First, the results from the previous match. Second, the monthly standings. Third, the first/second half standings (with your worst two match predictions removed).

Match Review (New York Red Bulls) and Preview (San Jose Earthquakes)

We have a bunch of updates to make, so I am going to try and make this quick. First, the Final Standings for the Non-MLS (aka Voyageurs Cup) contest are up, including all the fun stats. Congrats to rtomsheck who ran away with that one!

Next, we have the NYRB match standings. Congrats to The Squirrel for their 17 score. They correctly predicted the 2-2 draw, along with AmandaC. The only difference is that The Squirrel was better on the lineup prediction (9 versus 7). CascadiaCrunchFC rounded out the Top 3. Speaking of CascadiaCrunchFC. They were the only one to predict a Brek Shea card. The most common other choices were, of course, Felipe (my choice) and Juarez. With the multiple games in quick succession, there were some varied lineup scores, with no one earning a bonus; in fact The Squirrel was tops at 9. I even saw a couple of Rowe predictions! Of course, several of you would have done better if it were not for that last-minute NYRB goal. Several of you had a 2-1 Whitecaps victory prediction.

With one match to go in August, CascadiaCrunchFC holds a three point lead over me (62 to 59), with BlackPanther99 right on my back at 58 points. The next several places are still in the hunt for the August title. Remember, this is the final match where we will be predicting the first (yellow) card of the match. Get that correct, including predicting no Vancouver Whitecaps yellows, and you earn a bonus three (3) points.

In the Second Half Standings, The Squirrel has a bit of a lead over Arjon (84 to 78). Isabelt is in third, at 76, while chuckbiscuits is in 4th with 75. It is still very tight at the top.

This weekend, the Whitecaps travel to San Jose to take on the Earthquakes. You might recall that last season the match started out great with two quick goals....only to be undone by a red card. The year previous, it looked like the Caps could win with Manneh on a breakaway at the end of that one, but nope! In fact, the Caps have yet to win in San Jose. Do you go with history or carve a new path in your ‘Winners’ prediction?

Who knows about the lineup. No Whitecaps player is suspended for this one and major injuries are minimal right now. Should be a solid lineup. I will update you though as more information becomes available.